Big trips

[Blue]

I've been on a few vacations in my life. Including the legendary "Road Trip" where my family of six all piled into the minivan and we went all the way to Toronto and back. Memories..

 

How about you? What sort of awesome adventures have you been on in your life?

[Flyingamerboy]

A holiday to Florida for 3 weeks.

Longest holiday I have had.

[Doom Shepherd]

One summer, my family drove out from Pennsylvania to New Mexico, in one giant loop around the country. Saw White Sands, Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Vegas, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Dinosaur Monument, Cheyenne Mountain, and a load of other places.

 

We also stayed a week at Philmont Boy Scout Ranch, where I climbed a mountain, went on a 50-mile hike, panned for gold, shot real black-powder rifles, and got eaten by mosquitoes (but fortunately not a grizzly bear.)

[Blightmare]

Death Valley and Yosemite Valley aren't my biggest trips but they are by far my 2 most favorite places on Earth. Only in the winter for DV though.... Summer really makes it live up to it's name.

 

Biggest trip would have to be the first time we drove from Cali to British Columbia.

Edited August 31, 2011 by Guest (see edit history)

[Jek Jek Roo]

I travel a lot. I've seen almost every place in Poland. I'll never forget my first trip to Berlin by a plane. And pergamon museum. The best places are near the sea. Baltic sea is a perfect place for me for spend the vacations. I go there in summer, and in winter I go skiing to the moutains. I went camping with my family some days ago. It was a nice place. Our camp trailer was near the river and my dad went fishing for all night. Later we had a bbq and we were playing scrabble.

[Batman]

My family has been on two cruises so far (I love going on cruises! )

-First one was western Caribbean (Mexico/Belize/Honduras)

-2nd one was eastern Caribbean (American Virgin Islands/British Virgin Islands/Bahamas)

 

As for road trips we toke one really big one, started in South Carolina (where I live) and went to South Dakota to see Mont. Rushmore. Made a few stops at Illinois (visit family) and Wisconsin (stopped at an amazing water park called the Kalahari)

[Blue]

For several years my family went on a camping trip to a city called Osoyoos in British Columbia. It's in the heart of the Okanogan lake country of the province, where it's dry as a bone because of the rain shadow of the Selkirk mountains, but hot as hell because the area is sort of like a desert. That way in the heat of the day you escape by drinking something cold or going for a swim.

[BTGBullseye]

My family has had trips around the US before, but my favorite trips were me just walking out into the middle of nowhere when I was 6... (in rural South Dakota you can do it)

[Batman]

My family has had trips around the US before, but my favorite trips were me just walking out into the middle of nowhere when I was 6... (in rural South Dakota you can do it)

 

Seriously South Dakota is just so barren, its kinda calming, although storms on the plains are scary looking as shit. Climbing the little mountains was cool to me, I remember also visiting the Black Hills when I was down there, we saw alot of animals (well mainly buffalo.)

[J.C.]

Let's see... I actually keep an excel file with all my travels by plane, don't exactly know why. Perhaps I was waiting for this post all along . These are the most notable trips.

 

1994 - Italy and Spain (one month in each country): we had a school trip to Italy (where that whole Pope shaking incident took place). After that, I went to Spain and stayed by myself in Madrid for a week and then in Malaga (to the south) with an aunt for the rest of the month.

 

1998 - Antarctica (one month): freezing my ass off with the penguins and sea lions, helping with my uncle's high-energy particle detector (I'm not kidding).

 

2004 - Argentina (one week): I was working for P&G and went to check out the Villa Mercedes plant. I went with a really hot coworker, but was to much of a wuss to try and put the moves on her.

 

2004 - Poland (one week): I went to P&G's Targowek Plant, in Warsaw. It was really interesting, their culture is so different from mine. Their language was incomprehensible gibberish though and since not many people understood english, I resorted to a lot of pointing with my finger.

 

2004/2005 - Brazil (4 times, one week to ten days each time): I went to Joinville several times to check out the construction of a couple of machines we needed. Joinville received a lot of german immigrants, and the mix of german and brazilian genes has resulted in every single woman being insanely hot in that town. Seriously, it's ridiculous.

 

2007 - Brazil (Buzios, 10 days): my girlfriend wanted to go. So we went. Incredible beaches.

 

2008 - Spain (Barcelona and Malaga, 2 weeks): I went to the Mobile World Congress that takes place every year in Barcelona and stayed there for a week. Very beautiful city. Then I spent a week at my aunt's place in Malaga.

 

2009 - Uruguay (Punta del Este, 10 days): Punta del Este was a very famous destination for the jet set in the seventies. So naturally, we had to go... almost 30 years later.

 

2009 - USA (Miami, Orlando, New York, 10 days): I attended WES in Orlando. Took a few days off to visit Miami and New York. Returned home limping (I went to a lot of places in NY, walking most of the time).

 

2009 - Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, one week): my girlfriend wanted to go. So we went.

 

2010 - Italy (2 weeks): I wanted my girlfriend to see the old country. So we went.

 

2010 - Argentina (Buenos Aires, 5 days): my girlfriend and I took advantage of a look weekend and flew to Buenos Aires, only to be stuck for 2 additional days because a small plane skidded off the runway and our flight home was cancelled.

 

2010 - USA (Miami, Orlando, Washington DC, 10 days): I went to WES again, and took a few days off to visit Miami and Washington D.C. When I went to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and stood in front of the command module from Apollo 11, I was in tears. Such a beautiful piece of hardware.

 

2011 - England (London), Scotland (Loch Ness, Edinburgh), Ireland (Dublin), France (Paris) (17 days in total): another extended vacation with my girlfriend. I said "ok, we'll go, but I MUST see Stonehenge and Lock Ness". An I did

 

There are other minor trips to Brazil and Argentina not worth mentioning here and a lot of running around in my country (we have very beautiful sights here).

Edited September 1, 2011 by Guest (see edit history)

[Scorpia]

something tells me ^you get around alot J, don't have any idea what's leading me to that....

[Blue]

Are you employed by an airline perhaps, J.C.?

[Kirkreng]

JC's big ass list

O.O

Biggest trip i've had i can remember is to Scotland which is like right next to The Netherlands. Son, i am jelly.

[Axeldeath]

I've been to-

 

-England

-Scotland

-Denmark

-Norway

-Sweden

-Thailand

-Burma

-Australia

-Singapore

-Malaysia

-China

-Fiji

 

I also spent 6 months travelling around New Zealand in a house-bus getting home-schooled.

[J.C.]

Are you employed by an airline perhaps, J.C.?

I wish . In the end, it's a combination of some good luck, working for companies with operations in several countries and the fact that I like to travel, meet new people and see the places that I've read about all my life. I mean, how many people can say they sat at the office of the colonel in charge of a russian base in Antarctica, ran around an abandoned WW2 bunker at the top of the Rock of Gibraltar, looked up at mount Vesuvius from the ruins of Pompeii, visited the Catacombs, Colosseum and Forum in Rome, climbed the Eiffel tower, been to the top observatory of the Empire State Building, almost fainted at "The Hulk" in Universal Studios, marveled at the Stonehenge circle, hunted for Nessie in the shores of Lock Ness, bought souvenirs at the foot of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, or bargained for a Russian fur cap in a flea market, in the middle of winter, in Warsaw? These are all very dear memories to me. I mean... I WAS AT FREAKING 221B BAKER STREET, MAN! That's the very definition of awesome.

 

I've been to- -England -Scotland -Denmark -Norway -Sweden -Thailand -Burma -Australia -Singapore -Malaysia -China -Fiji

I also spent 6 months travelling around New Zealand in a house-bus getting home-schooled.

That's so cool. I hope one day we can meet and share war stories.

 

I'm a little surprised no one has asked about the Pope shaking incident I mean, it's not every day you grab (by mistake, I was a bit exited) the head of one of the major religions in the world and shake him.

Edited September 1, 2011 by Guest (see edit history)

[Blightmare]

Actually I am very curious about said pope shaking incident.

 

What hap?

[Kyon]

Went to Norway for a week for a music festival.

[J.C.]

Actually I am very curious about said pope shaking incident. What hap?

The year was 1994 and I was a barely self aware dumb teenager. I was with my classmates in the big papal throne room, inside the Vatican. Pope John Paul II was there, talking to the crowd. When he finished, he walked out and passed right next to where I was standing. In my excitement, I tried to touch him (and so did everyone else around me) and ended up grabbing him by the shoulder of his cape and shaking him a bit too hard . He didn't fell or anything (I doubt anyone noticed) but I was really scared there for a moment and thought the swiss guard would jump me and kick my ass .

 

I apologized though, when I was back in Italy last year: I visited his tomb in the Vatican Crypts and whispered that I was sorry. He was a cool guy, I think we're ok now .

[Blightmare]

Haha, well, I'm sure he forgave you. Can't imagine anyone, let alone the pope, hold a grudge against someone for shaking them a lil too hard. XD

[BTGBullseye]

Actually I am very curious about said pope shaking incident. What hap?

The year was 1994 and I was a barely self aware dumb teenager. I was with my classmates in the big papal throne room, inside the Vatican. Pope John Paul II was there, talking to the crowd. When he finished, he walked out and passed right next to where I was standing. In my excitement, I tried to touch him (and so did everyone else around me) and ended up grabbing him by the shoulder of his cape and shaking him a bit too hard . He didn't fell or anything (I doubt anyone noticed) but I was really scared there for a moment and thought the swiss guard would jump me and kick my ass .

 

I apologized though, when I was back in Italy last year: I visited his tomb in the Vatican Crypts and whispered that I was sorry. He was a cool guy, I think we're ok now .

He was an awesome guy, I know he wouldn't've held a grudge.

 

By the way, next time you get invited to Antarctica, if you happen to have an extra ticket, I like snow and cold a lot...