Vacation ideas?

[witzend]

This summer husband and I are going to Vegas for a conference for 4 nights - Thurs - Mon. husband and I talked about his vacation hours available, and realized that he has 5 weeks coming to him and if he doesn't use it he stops accruing it, so he has asked for the rest of the week and gotten it off.

We have a good deal on airfare and the hotel down there already. We'll make arrangements to get a car. We have a couple of companion tickets so we could add a leg to our trip and go from home to Vegas to Somewhere else to home without a lot of additional cost. I have thought about the Grand Canyon, but it would be a 4.5 hour drive and with my limited mobility I don't know if we would do much more than get out of the car and look for a little while, then we would need someplace else to go. I know that we would do the same at Hoover Dam.

Does anyone have any ideas about what else we might do in the area? Or even not in the area, really, if it were something that we could fly to and get home on our airline without having a big old layover.

 

[klmno]

I enjoyed traveling thru Washignton state but that might not work with limited mobility. You could do something in CA- do you like renting a nice, relaxing cabin in the forest or touring more luxurious places or basking on the beach?

 

[susiestar]

Are their any concerts you want to stay and see in Vegas? Anything that you have always dreamed of seeing and haven't? What are your favorite things to do? How could you incorporate them into your trip? Could you fly to a port city and take a short cruise? Do you have a hobby? Is there a place that you could visit to learn more about it or enjoy it? I have friends who collect those Longaberger baskets, the ones from the home parties. Many of them have flown to where they are made so they could tour the factory and make their own little basket.

We don't really vacation, so others will probably have better ideas.

You could see where Amtrak goes and take a train trip. They are supposed to be pretty cool.

 

[1 Day At a Time]

I agree with susiestar about Amtrak. Years ago we took Amtrak from San Diego to New Mexico and then took a bus to the Grand Canyon. We went with my mother in law who had RA and it was just perfect for her. The train hugs the beach from San Diego to LA - it is such a beautiful view the whole way. When you travel across the desert from LA to New Mexico you can go in an observation car and native American guides share information about the Pueblos - some of which you can see from the train. We paid the extra for a compartment - I would recommend it. It was a gentle visit to the Grand Canyon's south rim. It's amazing just to see it. We do remember that trip so fondly. It was many years ago, so I don't know how or if it has changed.

We also greatly enjoyed a trip to the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state and Victoria Island in British Columbia. If you enjoy gardens, Butchart Gardens on Victoria Island is simply awesome...

Enjoy your vacation!

Valerie

 

[LittleDudesMom]

What about Albuquerque? My brother lives there and, from everything I have heard, it is lovely. There are some great Pueblo villages that accommodate those with limited mobility. My mom flew out there two years ago and had a wonderful time visiting the sites.

Sharon

 

[klmno]

FWIW, I drove thru Alberquerque and it was the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen. I haven't been to Victoria but have been to Vancouver, BC, and it seemed to have more than I could possibly explore on a short visit. I have heard fraom several people that Victoria (paricularly the Gradens) are more than worth it. There is a lake in WA state that is splendid- Crystal Lake maybe but I can't swear that' the name- and a neat German village that is worth visiting.

And let's not forget - you could always fly to the east coast for a few days!

 

[gcvmom]

Well, if you enjoy driving through scenic areas... if you head north on I-15 out of Vegas into southern Utah, you can drive through Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, etc., and then drop south to the Grand Canyon and then loop back to Vegas. That could easily take a week or more if you want to just take your time. There are plenty of spectacular pull-outs along the highway that don't require a hike to see some pretty amazing scenery.

Then again, SoCal has LOTS of stuff to do and is about 4.5 hours from Vegas... What do you enjoy?

 

[everywoman]

Come south!!! Come south!!!

 

[Fran]

Witz, I am a big lover of the dessert areas but touring in the summer is tough for me. Obviously, in a/c in the car it's beautiful but if it's summer you might want to go up in elevation. Yellowstone/Jackson Hole is another beautiful place. You can drive the big circle through the park. It's set up for those more disabled. You won't have to walk too far to enjoy the water falls and vista's. Last summer in July was crowded but the time before I didn't notice quite as many cars. It is, without a doubt, my favorite place to explore as far as nature.
I loved the San Juan Islands and Vancouver.

This year, I'm taking the nephews to Washington Difficult Child. : ) I think I'm more excited than they are. It's like reliving when my kids were little.

 

[DammitJanet]

Fran....ugh...lol. I dont think I ever want to go to Difficult Child again! This last time blew it for me. Definitely not ADA friendly.

 

[Kathy813]

Witz,

husband and I went to Vegas in March with another couple and had a great time. Definitely see the show Jersey Boys while you are there. It is awesome! We also saw Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King which were good, too, but the consensus was that Jersey Boys was by far the favorite.

We rented a car at the airport and went to get an In-N-Out burger since I had always heard about them and we don't have those here in the south. After that, we drove 30 miles to Red Rock Canyon. It is a circular car ride through the Canyon with beautiful rock formations. It would be perfect for someone with mobility issues. Then we went to our hotel on the strip and were able to drop off the car right at the hotel.

If you go to the tix4tonight outlets on the Strip you can get good deals on show tickets and restaurant meals. They didn't have tickets for the really hot shows (Jersey Boys & Phantom), though, when we were there but we did get a great deal on the Lion King tickets.

http://www.tix4tonight.com/

The other couple stayed a couple days longer and drove to a town called Sedonia and stayed at a bed and breakfast. They went to the Grand Canyon from there. They said the Grand Canyon was their favorite part of the trip.

Be ready for the heat. It was actually a little chilly in March but husband has been there in July on business and the temperature was 114 degrees. Yikes!

~Kathy

 

[Nomad]

We are going in the Fall.
Does anyone here know the name of that puppeter that has adult/funny puppets? He is relatively new and quickly signed a multi million dollar contract. Don't recall his name, but I heard he is very funny.
Also...does anyone know the temps in the Fall in Las Vegas?

 

[Kathy813]

Hi Nomad,

I think that you mean Terry Fator. He won America's Got Talent and signed a multi-million dollar contract in Vegas.

Here's a website for the temperatures by month. Scroll down until you see the chart. http://govegas.about.com/cs/weather/a/temperaure.htm

~Kathy

 

[klmno]

I thought Nomad was referring to Jeff Dunham- but I'm not sure how new he is.

 

[witzend]

We love Jeff Durham! I had forgotten that he played Vegas. I will have to look to see if he is there while we are in town.

 

[klmno]

I love him, too! I even let difficult child watch him on comedy channel with me- I know he's somewhat adult oriented but he's not like those comedians who just try to win an audience by cursing or talking trash. I would love to see him in a live show!

 

[Kathy813]

I never heard of Jeff Durham. I'll have to check him out. I do know that Terry Fator is playing Vegas. His face takes up the entire side of a building and I remembered him from America's Got Talent.

Witz, I'm jealous! I would go back to Vegas in a heartbeat but this time I would include the Grand Canyon. Of course, my next trip isn't too shabby either. We just booked a Hawaiian cruise for next summer with two other couples. I'm so excited.

~Kathy

 

[donna723]

Kathy and Nomad, you will have to look up Jeff Dunham if you've never seen him before. The first time I saw him, I laughed myself sick! I'm not sure if he's fairly new or just fairly new at being well known. Don't be put off that he's a ventriloquist - he's hysterical! His stuff is "adult" only in the sense that it's aimed at adults, adult subjects, and not kids. It's not dirty or anything really obscene like a lot of them. He has several different specials that are on Comedy Central once in a while and just about all his stuff is on YouTube - just go to YouTube and search on "Jeff Dunham" He has several different characters but watch "Achmed and Dead Terrorist" first. You'll love it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwO...117AFDF5F&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1