The "I'm Traveling somewhere" Thread

[ReaperKK]

I'm going to try and make it out again this coming years, one of the best vacations I've ever taken.

[Podaar]

Heading to Palm Springs Cali on Saturday.

[Anguyen92]

Well, I think I've done well this Black Friday.  I got my flight and hotel to San Francisco, Seattle, and Spokane.  Set me back $715.00 for six nights in hotels (everything except Spokane are in hostels) and will be taking Alaska Airlines for all but one flight (that one will be Delta).  Could have set me back $800.00 had I made the reservations last week.  I made sure I save one day per city to do or see something that the city are well known for and that I may take a trip to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho and see that nice lake.  As for being in San Francisco and Seattle, I'll think about what I want to do there the day before seeing Alter Bridge.

[El Barto]

Heading to Palm Springs Cali on Saturday.

Lovely time of year to be there. It's pleasant out and the streets are nicely lit.

[Podaar]

Heading to Palm Springs Cali on Saturday.

Lovely time of year to be there. It's pleasant out and the streets are nicely lit.

It’s unseasonably cool here but compared to the freezing temperatures in Utah, I’ll take it. I was able to get in a round of golf yesterday so it’s all good.

[Azyiu]

So I took a quick / short trip to Tokyo a couple weeks ago. I also spent one night in Kawaguchiko among the 4 days I spent in Japan. Kawaguchiko is a famous onsen town right at the foothills of Mount Fuji. Hope you enjoy this video as I visited a famous park / shrine where Mt. Fuji is in full view.

https://youtu.be/--55ETEmQJQ

For those who interested, I used some brand new gear for this video; as it was shot exclusively on a GoPro Hero 8. I also color graded it on DaVinci Resolve, but made a mistake by not editing on it. Rather I did the editing on the older PowerDirector, hence some video noise. 

[Lonk]

The link doesn’t work 

And GoPro is up to 8 already? I thought they stopped at 6 lol. I have a GoPro 4 Silver that I never use anymore.

[Azyiu]

The link doesn’t work 

And GoPro is up to 8 already? I thought they stopped at 6 lol. I have a GoPro 4 Silver that I never use anymore.

Strange... fixed it and it should work now. 

[cramx3]

That looked very cool!

After my last business trip I have hit United Gold Status (50k miles) and retained my IHG Spire Elite status (61 nights at their hotels).  They've made it harder and harder every year to keep that IHG status, and United is changing their miles program next year (unsure if it's better or worse for me), but I've been United silver for 4 years now, finally hit Gold with my biggest travel year ever.  So far, nothing booked for 2020 though, but I can expect to be back in Denver for sure and likely Europe for work. 

Been thinking about vacation time next year, I fucked up and didn't use any days until September and ended up having to burn the rest of my days in December instead of spreading them out and maybe doing a vacation earlier in the year.  I've still got my eyes on going to Zion.  We'll see though.

[El Barto]

That looked very cool!

After my last business trip I have hit United Gold Status (50k miles) and retained my IHG Spire Elite status (61 nights at their hotels).  They've made it harder and harder every year to keep that IHG status, and United is changing their miles program next year (unsure if it's better or worse for me), but I've been United silver for 4 years now, finally hit Gold with my biggest travel year ever.  So far, nothing booked for 2020 though, but I can expect to be back in Denver for sure and likely Europe for work. 

Been thinking about vacation time next year, I fucked up and didn't use any days until September and ended up having to burn the rest of my days in December instead of spreading them out and maybe doing a vacation earlier in the year.  I've still got my eyes on going to Zion.  We'll see though.

Looking to burn a bunch of miles, myself. Wanting to hit Europe next Spring and maybe catch a couple of shows. Man, they sure make it hard to use those miles, though. You try to fly to Europe for the advertised 57k miles (business class) and they will go out of their way to make sure it takes 32 hours and involves sleeping at some bumfuck airport. If you want a bearable flight that 57 jumps up to 180k or so. On top of that AA actually punts you off to British Airways, which will tack on $500 worth of fuel charges to any award flight. That's actually why I'm looking to get rid of them. Honestly, trying to use the damn things just pisses me off.

Best case scenario is seeing Rammstein in some Kraut soccer stadium. I think that's probably the pinnacle of traveling to see a show. Those tickets sold out instantly, though, and scalpers don't seem to be an option as the tickets are personalized now.

[cramx3]

My united miles are sitting just under 200K, my plan is not to use them yet though.  I'm saving those miles for when work stops paying to send me places and I stop accumulating them so I can burn them for personal travel and then leave my United loyalty and just start flying whatever is cheapest.  As of now, I usually use my chase credit card points to pay for travel.  I find those rewards WAY more valuable than miles.

At least with IHG points (I'm just under 600k) it's super easy to use and stay for free pretty much anywhere.  I burn those all the time on free nights but with their multiplier programs, I can earn those points back very quickly for example I burned about 200k points staying at the Venetian in Vegas, got that all back within three months thanks to their end of year 4x multipliers.

[El Barto]

My united miles are sitting just under 200K, my plan is not to use them yet though.  I'm saving those miles for when work stops paying to send me places and I stop accumulating them so I can burn them for personal travel and then leave my United loyalty and just start flying whatever is cheapest.  As of now, I usually use my chase credit card points to pay for travel.  I find those rewards WAY more valuable than miles.

At least with IHG points (I'm just under 600k) it's super easy to use and stay for free pretty much anywhere.  I burn those all the time on free nights but with their multiplier programs, I can earn those points back very quickly for example I burned about 200k points staying at the Venetian in Vegas, got that all back within three months thanks to their end of year 4x multipliers.

Yeah, I dumped my Aadvantage card a couple of years ago for the Chase card simply because it's so much more flexible. It covers all three alliances. And it's a damn shame, as AA hubs out of DFW so 9/10 it's the best, cheapest option. Their rewards just suck. I did pick up a new Aadvantage card earlier in the year, though, as the signup bonuses had gotten really good. I'll cancel it in the next month or two and start the clock on the next signup bonus. I suppose the clever thing to do would be to sign up for an airline specific card each year when cancelling the last. Three of them would be a steady rotation of 40-50k each year for essentially nothing.

For hotels I went with Choice, as it's one of Chase's travel partners. Plus, they have 10+ properties in any city you go to, and there's always one that's pretty good (most are pretty squalid). As a rule I'm partial to Marriott, but not so much as to pay a 66% premium. Plus, I almost never eat hotel breakfasts, which is where moving up from Choice makes the biggest difference.

[pg1067]

My upcoming trips:

I'll be in NYC the last week of the year for work, but I'll be staying an extra day for the Islanders game against Vancouver on 2/1.  I have a love/hate relationship with this particular work event.  It's basically a convention and is fairly boring.  I get CLE hours, so that's a big positive (along with the paid trip to NYC).  I also have to fend off the myriad invites for dinners and cocktail hours with our outside counsel and consultants.

Finally making a spring training trip with my son at the end of February.  I was told by someone who has done this many times that it's best to go toward the beginning of spring training before it gets TOO hot in the Phoenix area.  We're only going out for an extended weekend.  We're going to see the Dodgers at the Brewers on Friday afternoon, the Rockies at the Giants on Friday evening, and the Diamondbacks at the Dodgers on Saturday afternoon.  I was more than a little surprised about the variation in ticket prices.  The tickets for the Rockies v. Giants game were more than twice as expensive (for worse seats) than the tickets for the Dodgers v. Brewers game (the prices for third game were somewhere in the middle).

The big trip will be with my daughter's high school marching band, which will be playing in next year's day parade in Rome, Italy.  I looked at the "sample" itinerary last week, and it looks awesome!  We're going to get our passports renewed later this month (and I'll be writing checks all year long for this...oh boy!).

[lordxizor]

Bought semi-last minute plane tickets to Phoenix for myself and my family. $86 round trip. Can't really beat that. Now we have only 11 days to figure out what the heck we're going to do with ourselves there. Planning to go to Sedona and maybe the Grand Canyon for some of the trip, though it's not the best time of year for that. Any other suggestions?

[cramx3]

Sedona is awesome, I wish I had planned more than an afternoon there during my drive from the Grand Canyon to phoenix.

[Anguyen92]

Well, the trip up north along the West Coast is in about two weeks and as per usual, I have no clue I want to do.  I have a day slotted in each city where I want to do something in San Francisco, Seattle, and Spokane.  The only thing I am sure of is that I want to drive to Coeur D'Alene, ID when I'm in Spokane.  Looks like a nice city to see.  Don't know what to do in terms of activities that I can do only in those cities.

[cramx3]

There's an awesome marijuana shop in Seattle I'd totally recommend, then you'd be fine the rest of the day 

I only spent one day in Seattle and we did the Space Needle which was cool.  If you had more time and a rental car, I'd say go check out Mt. Rainier for a full day.

San Fran, not sure.  THere's the tourist trap of Fisherman's Wharf which is nice if you've never been, get some chowder and watch the seals. 

[chknptpie]

Bought semi-last minute plane tickets to Phoenix for myself and my family. $86 round trip. Can't really beat that. Now we have only 11 days to figure out what the heck we're going to do with ourselves there. Planning to go to Sedona and maybe the Grand Canyon for some of the trip, though it's not the best time of year for that. Any other suggestions?

Last time I did the Grand Canyon, we rented bikes at a place near the visitor center. It was the best way I have ever seen the Grand Canyon. We didn't have to wait for buses or wait in any lines to see things. Granted I couldn't walk right to dinner, it was so cool. Brakes were a bit shaky on those hills though. I think got up to 30mph per my husbands Garmin.

Are you coming during spring training? Going to a baseball game when its 75 with a nice breeze is amazing.
Hiking? Mountain biking? Pink Jeep tours? I think it depends on what you're into. Best stuff to enjoy right now is outdoors, as its in the 60s and 70s.

[cramx3]

This week I booked a couple flights for personal travel:

Going to Jacksonville to visit my parents with my siblings over a long Easter weekend in Apri
Going to Atlanta for ProgPower in September 

and a few road trips scheduled:

Road trip to Philly in March for Devin Townsend
Road trip to Hershey in May for Volbeat/Gojira
Road trip to Philly in August for Motley Crue/Def Leppard
Road trip to Boston in September for Aerosmith

[Lonk]

This week I booked a couple flights for personal travel:

Going to Jacksonville to visit my parents with my siblings over a long Easter weekend in Apri
Going to Atlanta for ProgPower in September 

and a few road trips scheduled:

Road trip to Philly in March for Devin Townsend
Road trip to Hershey in May for Volbeat/Gojira
Road trip to Philly in August for Motley Crue/Def Leppard
Road trip to Boston in September for Aerosmith

I thought about going to that show, but I just gonna wait for their August show with Deftones. You have a good list so far though 

[cramx3]

I'm not into the Deftones at all plus that local show in NJ is at my most disliked venue.  The Hershey show is a Saturday and I do enjoy Volbeat so it makes for a nice little weekend getaway.  Haven't been to Hershey since I was a kid, might go to the park or do a the Hershey tour too, something to make the weekend more interesting.

[ReaperKK]

Heading out to Boston for the rest of the week tomorrow. Looking forward to it, my wife has been working up there for the past two months so I'm looking forward to spending time with her and eating some good food.

[Anguyen92]

Well, my week-long trip to San Francisco to LA to Seattle to Spokane to Coeur D'Alene starts tomorrow.  I got nothing planned other than my Alter Bridge concerts and going to the nearby church for the weekly mass and Ash Wednesday, but I got a lot of great ideas thanks to you guys and another forum.  Now I just need to research on bus fares and BART fares and stuff like that to get around.

[lordxizor]

Got back late last night from Sedona AZ and the Grand Canyon. Gorgeous place, weather was awesome. Fun little last minute trip for the family.

Planning a trip to New Orleans for the wife and me in early May. Dirt cheap flights from Minneapolis and I loved it there when I went 4 years ago. We'll see if it happens. Need to find someone to take the kids for a few days, which is the trick. God knows we need some time away. We've literally never traveled without them, only dropped them at Grandparent's and stayed at home by ourselves for a few days.

[Anguyen92]

This is lovely.  Taking the BART to a station near my hotel room.  Only going to set me back $11 for the 30 min ride from the airport.

[pg1067]

Heading off to an extended weekend in the Phoenix area for some spring training games.

Anyone done this before and have any tips?  We'll be going to see the Dodgers at the Brewers Friday afternoon, the Rockies at the Giants Friday evening, and the D-Backs at the Dodgers on Saturday afternoon.

[chknptpie]

Heading off to an extended weekend in the Phoenix area for some spring training games.

Anyone done this before and have any tips?  We'll be going to see the Dodgers at the Brewers Friday afternoon, the Rockies at the Giants Friday evening, and the D-Backs at the Dodgers on Saturday afternoon.

Don't forget sun screen and a hat! I love sitting out in the grass, rather than a seat. Plan for a ton of traffic. Spring training makes the traffic 4X worse.

[TAC]

Got back late last night from Sedona AZ and the Grand Canyon. Gorgeous place, weather was awesome. Fun little last minute trip for the family.

Awesome. We did Sedona back in '98 and the Grand Canyon a few years ago.

[Dream Team]

In Puerto Rico right now. Playa Flamenco was awesome as expected.

[pg1067]

Heading off to an extended weekend in the Phoenix area for some spring training games.

Anyone done this before and have any tips?  We'll be going to see the Dodgers at the Brewers Friday afternoon, the Rockies at the Giants Friday evening, and the D-Backs at the Dodgers on Saturday afternoon.

Don't forget sun screen and a hat! I love sitting out in the grass, rather than a seat. Plan for a ton of traffic. Spring training makes the traffic 4X worse.

Thanks!  Got the sunscreen and bought seats.  I'm definitely NOT a sit on the grass kind of guy.

[Cool Chris]

Not really "I'm traveling somewhere" but Mrs. Cool Chris and 8 year old daughter are going to Dublin for a week in April to visit wife's sister who is working there for a couple weeks. I am staying home because 1) we didn't want to take our 2 year old and 2) I would rather stay home anyway.

[ReaperKK]

That's cool. My wife and I want go to Ireland soon.

[MirrorMask]

While I'm sure Dublin is a pretty town to visit, my ideal trip to Ireland would be all around the country. Rent a car and drive to all the iconic town and places - Galway, Cork, Rock of Cashel, Cliffs of Moher, maybe Skellig islands... there are nations whose capital is not representative of the whole country, or at least so breathtakingly beautiful that it makes up for not seeing anything else, and I believe Ireland is one of those cases. Same as Norway, I'm sure Oslo is kinda pretty, but you really have to see the fjords.

[TAC]

While I'm sure Dublin is a pretty town to visit, my ideal trip to Ireland would be all around the country. Rent a car and drive to all the iconic town and places - Galway, Cork, Rock of Cashel, Cliffs of Moher,

We did exactly this 3 years ago. I can post about it tomorrow night.

[chknptpie]

I was hoping to take my husband to London and Paris this summer, but I'm concerned about purchasing such expensive plane tickets with the Covid concerns going around the globe.