Vacation Plans??

Yeah, that's what I thought Victor, the cute cabins at Acadia. Very sweet and cozy looking. Good price too! You'll have a great time! Can I stowaway in your luggage? Oh, wait. I'll drive a limo. Get you all there in style.

Sure, if you drive, there's a extra bedroom. We're doing Amtrak to Portland and I'll rent a car from there.

Don't tempt me.

DH loves taking train trips, even if driving would be faster - it can be fun. Hope you enjoy your trip!

Thanks Deb. Where are you guys going?

No train this time, flying in to Vegas and renting a car and doing a couple of the National Parks in CA and UT.

Oh, you did post that - sorry. I love the parks. Take lots of photos!

And if I win enough in Vegas, I'm buying a rock waterfall fountain!

schicken - thanks for posting all that info! I am not from the northeast, so it's great to get all those great ideas!

DD, My Dave, and I are flying to paradise! (aka Victoria BC). Well, actually, we are flying to Seattle - then we will try to figure out how to get to Victoria - we're thinking of renting a car (never done this before!).

Anyway, if you love gardens, Vancouver Island is the place to be :-)

If you love camping, BC is the place to be. and if you love modern, international cities, Vancouver is listed as the number 1 city in the world (tied for top place with Sidney Austrailia and Vienna Austria).

I will get part of the cost covered, because I am presenting a paper at a conference in Vancouver. :-) While in BC, we will get to visit friends and family . . . :-)

So you like Vancouver, Michaela? Hee hee. Have fun. Hope they allow you back in the U.S.! Will all your immigration issues be resolved by then?

victor,
what has yet to be mentioned is the largest cost in a caribbean vacation is often the connecting flight. For this reason I would suggest first and foremost a trip to St Johns as it is a quick cheap ferry ride from St Thomas...again quick direct cheap flights. That same ferry interconnects with a few BV islands but is a bit more cumbersome. As a family with young (2yr old+) kids we have stayed in a vast array of accommodations. The girls are now young adults an their memories for our experiences on St Johns are clear and positive. If you are interested in specific accommodation recommendations let me know. Katy

Thank you Katy. I will keep this in mind. Appreciate it!

Washington DC is one of my favorite places. Been there four or five times. Great that so many of the attractions are free! It was awesome to sit in on a supreme court case. last time, we got to go to the Naval Observatory and look through the telescope at Saturn. Love the subway there. Also, seeing the documents is thrilling. We will return when both kids are at an age to find it interesting.

Gosh ... I really need to take advantage of all of the "stuff" around me here! Let me know when you're coming this way, V-Cat.

That reminds me ... I heard on the news today that Shrub is cutting the funding for the National Arboretum by 40%. *Sigh*

I think that I just broke the law and mentioned a "current event." Please forgive me. ... and if you're ever in the DC area, do visit the National Arboretum, as it's a wonderful place.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/781809/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/781940/

This message was edited Feb 22, 2008 8:51 PM

My sis and her husband were stationed(for the navy) in Baltimore so we were in DC a lot somehow we missed the arboretum. Maybe next time.
Speaking of Baltimore that's another great trip to Inner Harbor. Doesn't take long to get there either.

Look up how to see the "thunder hole" in Maine. Ocean comes in with a roar--kids get splashed, adults not so excited.

I've always wanted to go to Maine!!! This kid's kind of excited about Thunder Hole. :)

My HUGE "vacation" this year will be my trip up to visit Zuzu in May !
(I don't get out much ! )

Victor, since when are you allowed to cross state lines?

Thunder Hole is at times more thunderous than others. I saw it at a quieter time.

Thunder Hole is at it's best on a stormy raw day at high tide. It does thunder when the tide comes in and you DO get wet!!

So Victor - do you hope for a raw stormy day on vacation? : )

Victor, we had to pay extra for special documents to allow us to leave the country and re-enter. We have also been advised to take our marriage certificate and our daughter's birth certificate to prove they are both connected to me. Believe me, if you are applying to leave the country concurrent with applying for permanent residence, you have to be soooo careful, or they won't let you back in.

Vancouver is amazing!!!!! If I will the lottery today, I am buying another Our Old House in Shaunessey in Vancouver - and all my DG friends can stay for free when they visit BC. :-)

Seandor, would absolutely love that.

Count me in!

We are also heading up to Bar Harbor this summer. Kind of embarrassing that I live in Maine, yet hardly ever go up the coast. The problem with living here and enjoying it is that with the summers come the crowds...a lot of people like to vacation here! I kind of hate crowds, or more particularly, summer traffic, so we tend to stay put. I'm also pretty bummed that I'm probably gonna miss part of my astilbe blooming time this year. I kind of don't want to leave my garden in the prime months, now that I have one. Is that weird or a normal feeling to you guys that have been gardening a long time?

Perfectly normal. When I plan my vacation, I then figure out what I'll be missing.

It's really hard to explain it to family members, I'm finding. Do they not know that my garden is bleak,ugly, and depressing for about nine months of the year??? Every day in the summer is precious to me. Plus, I'm already stressing about who I can get to water my plants. I'll be praying for rain my whole vacation, lol.

Victorgardner;
I didnt have time to read through this whole thread, but When my daughter was alot younger, I took her on a train ride from CA to the east coast and back. We called it our 'land cruise' kind of like a cruise ship, but via Amtrak. The price was great, because they have offers where you buy an adult ticket and the kids are either half off, or free altogether. She quailified for the 'free' ticket, so I bought myseld a 30 day pass for all over america. It enabled us to travel by train at night, and then each day we would wake up in a new city. we would get off the train and explore the city and then get back on the train at night and go again. We went from CA through the rockie mountains, up through all the northern states. We stopped in Chicago for a few days, then WA DC (3days) then NY 2 days-then Boston, Charleston, back to chicago, then back through the lower states stopping in Albequerque, and LA. it was a great trip. only downfall was sleeping in those seats for so many nights! Dont know if I could do it again! LOL

Also, princess cruises offers really low rates for alaska cruises, approx $100 per day per passenger and includes all your food....we have gone the last 2 years and always have a blast. If you go early season (may) or late season (Sept) the rates are lowest. I would highly recommend alaska cruise, the kids are kept busy on the ship and have a blast in port.
Anjl

Thank you Anjl! I think the train marathon would be too much for my back but it is a cool idea. Alaska is definitely high on my list! I really look forward to visiting there one day. I have also heard great things about the cruise. Thanks again for the tips.

Oh, I love this thread! I've always wanted to go to Vancouver. If I win the lottery, I'll buy a place there too Michaela! We can be neighbors! A cruise in Alaska is also something I've always wanted to do.

I was only very sorry to read about the National Arboretum. Even though it's current events, it's about gardening! My heart is broken. I used to live in DC from '91 - '94 and I'd visit it all the time. I've never seen a place more beautiful.

What happened to the National Arboretum? now I will have to google this . . .

It's not a definite thing, Harper. Just a proposal at this point.

All I could find was the president's proposed budget cuts for arboretums. Is that what you're referring to Harper?

Oh, good.

Michaela, the Arboretum is still there. Wrightie was saying that they were talking about cutting its funding by 40%

Oh, hey, Victor!

He wants to cut the budgets for ALL arboretums?!

Okay, NOW this is getting political.... keeping mouth zipped.

Howdy.

Doody

Harper, I think we would make great neighbours in Vancouver. I want it duly noted that I contributed $2 to the wealth and happiness of a (probably) nice couple in Georgia, and I hope they return the favour. :-)

Haper and I want to buy nice homes with large yards in Vancouver. SouthEast Marine Drive would be great! HUGE YARDS, or Lion's Bay - more rugged with hillside gardening and AMAZING views of the mountains and the Pacific.