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Where have you traveled?

Gianna

By Gianna
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DegasElite Pear Member

DegasElite

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, kamakazi20012 said:

I have no clue...he never said.  When asked he wouldn't answer.  The only other person that would possibly know passed as well.  I don't think any of my Mom's siblings would know.  He lived in Arkansas.  I have no clue where he was stationed.  It wouldn't be public information would it?

I am not sure. You may have to check with the VA, I would guess. Or, ask the Army or whatever branch of the armed forces he served in. The worst that they can say is no.

dauber Orange Member

dauber

Posted
Posted

Wow...where have I traveled...interesting thing is that when my wife and I lived in New Jersey and lived within a 1-hour drive of Newark International Airport, we didn't really travel many places! But...destinations:

Dauber as a little kid:

  • a few road trips to Florida (from the Chicago suburbs)...the sights were fun, but the drive was excruciating. When you're between the ages of 5 and 17, it's no fun taking road trips with your parents! (or MY parents, I should say!) When I was a little kid, like 3 or 4 years old (either 1977 or 1978), we were in Daytona Beach and a day at the Magic Kingdom and another at Sea World
  • about seven years later, we made another trip down. Parents booked a room in Daytona Beach that turned out to be crap, and we drove all up and down Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach for a couple of hours looking for a place that wasn't trash. Ended up not finding one and spent a night in a Days Inn in Ormond Beach that had a greasy floor, roach in the bathroom, sand in the bathroom sink, etc. and wound up finding a nice Holiday Inn in Orlando, which is fine because we were also going to WDW and Sea World. Before Orlando we spent a day in St. Augustine, and on the way back home we stopped at the Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, GA because my mother was into doll collecting and wanted to check out the place where Cabbage Patch Kids come from. NOT the ideal stop for a ten-year-old boy such as myself!
  • a few more road trips, but to Clearwater Beach, FL. I got sick of dealing with my parents, so by the time I was 17 I put my foot down and said I was staying home. 😆

Dauber as a single adult:

  • Just a weekend trip to Virginia, MN, to go to a friend's wedding. It was an interesting ten-hour drive. I got to drive through Twig, MN -- literally blink and you'll miss it! Stopped in Duluth on the way home to do some record shopping at the Electric Fetus.

Dauber as a married adult:

  • My wife and I have been to Vegas many times. It's weird because every time we entertain the thought of going there, we get frightfully lucky and find a cheap flight, the hotel (Flamingo) has obscenely low rates, etc. Last time we were there I went to the Pinball Hall of Fame. Definitely worth visiting -- and this is coming from a guy who isn't a big pinball fan! (I went because aurcade.com showed that they had Q*Bert's Qubes. Unfortunately, it wasn't out on the floor that day!) I love Vegas, but it's one of those places where when I'm there, I'm ready to come back home after three days. During one of our Vegas trips we took a bus tour over to Grand Canyon. If you've never been there, trust me: the greatest picture in the universe cannot do it justice. Just breathtaking!
  • We took five road trips back and forth to New Jersey to visit my wife's mother, bringing the dog along. When I got my current job, we stopped doing that because I didn't want to blow that paid time off driving. (Now, my mother-in-law comes to us in the summer!)
  • Summer of 2010...I got laid off, and I was at the company long enough that my severance actually funded my entire summer! It was AWESOME! In addition to the road trip with the dog, we took a road trip (without the dog!) to South Dakota and checked out Wall Drug Store, Mount Rushmore, and the Badlands. So, so cool.
  • Went to the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH a couple of times. That's...just about the only thing Cleveland has that's worth visiting, and even then, just one visit will do, unless there's a temporary exhibit you really, really want to see.
  • At least once a year my wife and I do a weekend getaway in New Buffalo, MI. Very small town, but great for a weekend getaway, and a lot of "Harbor country" is an easy drive from there. Easy drive TO New Buffalo, too; an hour and a half from Chicago on a bad day.
  • Went to Door County, Wisconsin last summer. HIGHLY recommend it. We stayed in Sister Bay. We saw a tourism documentary about Door County on the local PBS station and decided to check it out. We effing LOVED IT. We were planning to do it again this summer, but things are shaky with the COVID-19 situation. They actually asked people to not come out to Door County because they don't have a big enough hospital to accommodate a lot of people, should people be affected by the pandemic. We're going to New Buffalo instead -- which is fine because the place where we stay doesn't have any enclosed public areas.
  • Bermuda -- we took a honeymoon cruise there the spring after we were married. Such a cool place. It's good for those who are afraid of change: it's British enough to be a foreign country to Americans, but USA-compliant enough for us Yankees. 🙂 If you like alcoholic drinks, you GOTTA go to the Swizzle Inn and have their claim to fame: the rum swizzle. If you order one, they plunk the pitcher on your table and you're practically overcome by fumes. 🤣
  • New Orleans -- my wife and I have been there twice so far, but we've yet to visit anywhere but the French Quarter. Such a good time. Quite humid, but there's enough to keep you occupied so you aren't terribly bothered. I consider New Orleans the #1 WORST place to visit if you're trying to lose weight -- the food there is just effing amazing and plentiful! (#2 - Chicago; #3 - Austin)
  • San Francisco - my favorite place ever to visit. I could go on for so long about it. For details, listen to chapter 9 of Autobiography of a Schnook on your favorite podcast supplier. 🙂
  • A few years ago we took a trip to Los Angeles. It was my first time there. I was expecting it to be kind of creepy and not really a fun place to be, but I really really wanted to go just to say I've gone. Oh my GOD, did I have an amazing time. I was shocked at how NOT creepy Hollywood is -- I always heard bad things about it! I think they really cleaned it up in the last ten years. The weather was perfect. The scenery was amazing. We saw Brian Wilson do Pet Sounds at the Hollywood Bowl, which was easily one of the most amazing musical experiences of my life. (When concerts start up again, I'm going to constantly check the Bowl's schedule just to see if I can come up with some kind of excuse to go there again. It's my favorite performance venue. I so wanna go back!) We also spent a day in Disneyland during that trip; neither my wife nor I like Disney, but I have to admit i had a great time!
  • Portland, OR - very cool place. I don't know what more to say. Well...except they have what I consider to be the greatest book store in the world, Powell's City of Books.
  • Toronto, ON -- my wife and I went there a couple of times for a few days. I felt very at home there. Quite a friendly place, easy to navigate, abuts the Great Lakes, good food, and pretty safe. (Kinda like Chicago, I guess!) Can't wait to go again!
  • Washington, DC -- history was always a terrible subject for me, but I maintain that if I had learned US history by spending time in D.C. as a kid, I would have had a much better time with it. So much there. Smithsonian, National Archive, FDR Memorial, the list goes on. Highly, highly recommend visiting.
  • Austin, TX - just a cool place. (Figuratively speaking, that is; it can get pretty hot and humid!) Good music scene and dangerously good food!
  • Nashville, TN -- gonna admit, I didn't like it. At all. Went there for a concert at the Ryman (which actually is a really beautiful place), but...I couldn't wait to leave. Then again, we spent the whole time on Broadway downtown; I'm not averse to going back to see other parts of the town.
  • San Diego, CA -- been there three times, and each time I was there I WAS SICK. Just ONCE I'd like to visit healthy!! We were supposed to go in April, but you can guess how that worked out. We rescheduled for late July, and so far things are looking good for that.

Wow...just realized that was a LOT of travels. My wife and I aren't rich by any stretch of the imagination, but I think one thing that contributes to our frequent travels is that she's a teacher, and NEEDS to get away for spring break every year! We live in Chicago now (which I'm going to say now is my favorite place on the planet), and we have easy access to two international airports, and by gum, we use 'em. We luck out a lot with frequent flyer miles, credit card rewards, etc., that keeps our travels affordable. We're saving up for an eventual trip to London and to Hawaii. Maybe by the time we're 90 we'll be able to afford it!

Supernatural, perhaps...baloney, perhaps not.

DegasElite Pear Member

DegasElite

Posted
Posted
On 6/1/2020 at 2:31 PM, dauber said:

Just a weekend trip to Virginia, MN, to go to a friend's wedding. It was an interesting ten-hour drive. I got to drive through Twig, MN -- literally blink and you'll miss it! Stopped in Duluth on the way home to do some record shopping at the Electric Fetus.

I love Duluth. Been there many times. I have even been to the Edge Water Park. Fourth-largest city in Minnesota. It used to be the third-largest.

dauber Orange Member

dauber

Posted
Posted
On 5/31/2020 at 7:06 PM, BlackCatz40 said:

The Grateful Dead were a great group. I love the long version of "Touch of Grey." I like Jerry Garcia's guitar in there.

"Ripple" does it for me every time. Such an amazing song.

Supernatural, perhaps...baloney, perhaps not.

socrates63 Pretzel Member

socrates63

Posted
Posted (edited)

That's quite the travel log @dauber 👍

I discovered the joy of traveling because of work. I used to work for Amazon as a localization program manager for fulfillment center software. As part of that gig, I had occasion to visit warehouses in parts of Europe and Asia (and US). On one particular trip, I scheduled the trip so that I'd spend the weekend in Paris (coming from Madrid). My previous visit to Paris was during my honeymoon with my wife in 1997 and we followed an itinerary then. This time, I decided not to make an itinerary but chose a general direction from the hotel and simply walked out. It gave me a chance to see how people lived and travel at a slower pace. It changed my perspective and appreciation for what travel can be. By the way, I never knew you could get cramps in your feet but that night I found out that you can.

From that time on, I tried to make cultural immersion the focal point of traveling (we still visit tourist spots and destinations). One way to do that easily has been doing Airbnb. Since that business trip, I've taken the family to Europe (Paris, Rome) and Asia (Korean, Japan), and we stayed in Airbnb. The kids were a little unsettled initially that dad didn't book hotels, but we made it a talking point to see other cultures outside of our little suburban cul-de-sac. They embraced it and appreciated the experience.

So many places to visit in this world of ours! My wife and I are considering getting an RV once the kids are on their own and travel the US.

Before Marriage

  • National parks: Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite, Mt. Rushmore, Banff (Canada)
  • Washington DC and surrounding historical sites (middle school trip). The highlight for me was the Smithsonian.
  • Outside North America: Israel, France

After Marriage

  • US: Hawaii, California (LA, San Diego, San Francisco), Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon (Crater Lake 👍), Texas (Dallas), Nevada, Arizona (Grand Canyon), New York, Utah, New Mexico, Virginia
  • Canada (BC, Toronto), Mexico (Tiajuana only)
  • Europe: England, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria
  • Asia: China, Korea, Japan

One of my personal highlights during family travel 🙂 As a little kid in Korea during most of the 70s, Mazinger Z was my 'bot. I found one in a shop during my family trip to Tokyo two years ago. I think I embarrassed my sons. 

 

IMG_8856.jpeg

Edited by socrates63
HDN Pretzel Member

HDN

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 6/1/2020 at 2:31 PM, dauber said:

Went to Door County, Wisconsin last summer. HIGHLY recommend it. We stayed in Sister Bay. We saw a tourism documentary about Door County on the local PBS station and decided to check it out. We effing LOVED IT. We were planning to do it again this summer, but things are shaky with the COVID-19 situation. They actually asked people to not come out to Door County because they don't have a big enough hospital to accommodate a lot of people, should people be affected by the pandemic. We're going to New Buffalo instead -- which is fine because the place where we stay doesn't have any enclosed public areas.

I took a day trip up there this summer. Stayed safe, of course, and didn't go inside anyplace. Let's say people didn't follow the advice. It is HORRIBLE! Might be the most unsafe place during the virus. People were packed into restaurants and shops. I do love me some Door County. Great place. Don't go up in the summer as it is PACKED all of the time. In May, most of the businesses are open but there aren't near as many people there. We always go up in May and stay in a condo. Fun fact: The Rushes in Door County is where I played my first video game, Vs. Super Mario Brothers! Sadly they no longer have an arcade up there.
I'm interested. @dauber, where did you stay? If you ever go back, see if you can't get into the High Point Inn in Ephraim! There is a Crystal Castles cab there; see if you can't beat my high score if it's still standing! HDN, of course. They also have Ms. Pac-Man, Klax and 1943 cabinets there. And the Newport Resort in Egg Harbor has Mechanized Attack and Sega Tetris cab that'll give you two credits for only one quarter!

Door County is beautiful and 1000% recommended by your pal HDN.

Edit: Ironically, when @dauber originally posted this, I was in Door County!

Edited by HDN
dauber Orange Member

dauber

Posted
Posted (edited)

Ooh, good to know -- I love Klax. 🙂 We stayed at the Birchwood in Sister Bay. Loved it!

Oh...and my wife asked the concièrge how far a walk it was to the business district. She was told, "It's very close, but you probably want to drive; it's a pretty steep road." My wife said, "We were just in San Francisco a few months ago." "Oh...then you'll have NO PROBLEM walking then!"

Edited by dauber

Supernatural, perhaps...baloney, perhaps not.

HDN Pretzel Member

HDN

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, dauber said:

Ooh, good to know -- I love Klax. 🙂 We stayed at the Birchwood in Sister Bay. Loved it!

Lightning struck when we were staying there last summer. Klax was fine before but after the lightning struck the building the CRT on that machine has been a little wonky and green. Still plays fine. The lightning also threw the display on 1943 out of sync, but I unplugged it for a few seconds and it was fine. Has a fuzzy line going down the middle but that was there before. Still works but Ms Pac Man will occasionally reset. That one doesn't have the original display; some kind of flat screen is there. Don't bother with it.

Forgot to mention they also have a broken Bump n Jump. I wish that worked as I love that game. Doubt they will fix it as they don't seem to care much about their machines at the High Point Inn. There were some other games there including a multicade.

@dauber Door County is like my second home I know so much about it. I have been up there countless times as it is only an hour's drive from where I live and is a nice day trip.

Edited by HDN
MaximumRD Apple Member

MaximumRD

Posted
Posted

Well, before meeting my beloved wife 15+ years ago I had only ever traveled within my country except for a trip to Chicago thanks to a relative inviting me to spend Christmas, amazing to me as I visited the School where they filmed THE BREAKFAST CLUB. Other than that though no real travel or really the means to do so. Then I met Melissa 😍 which would change my life in many ways including travel as she had a passion for it. Now, me I cannot say I enjoy travel per say, I tend to "live in the moment" so, my enjoyment starts for me once I have arrived, exploring, sight seeing etc. So, my travel would begin with meeting my Melissa, a year later getting married in LAS VEGAS 😜 Honeymoon in Dominican Republic. We would soon move from Toronto Ontario where I had lived all my life to a small city in B.C. called Kelowna, outside of visiting various neighboring towns and cities throughout the Okanagan and B.C. we've vacationed many places, sometimes bed and breakfasts, sometimes all inclusive resorts and even a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands. Destinations have included -

Canada: 

Whistler / Lake Louise / Banff / Salt Spring Island /

Outside Canada:

Cuba / Mazatlán /  Playa Del Carmen / Cozumel / Alaska / Nashville / San Diego 

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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