OT: Vacation

Lake Okoboji's water content just isn't something I am gonna die on a hill about, but I can tell you that it's always seemed fine to me. The weeds have never bothered me, the water always seems clearer than most. Boating is great. I have friends that fish there every day. The shops are nice. Good food easy to find. I can walk almost anywhere. The night life is top shelf. I only kind of agreed with the "Go on vacation, leave on probation" aspect when 4th&G said it was because there IS a heavy police force in the area. They will arrest your ass for anything. Which IMO, is a good thing. I like to feel safe. They don't put up with shit. That said, it's kind of shit show sometimes. People are drunk. The townies are a little strange, there's some dirty parts. But I think that can said about just about anywhere. Boji has been a place I've been going to regularly for 30 years and likely will be a place I go to routinely for the next 20-30 too.

My buddy's family has a place up in Boji. Dude got piss drunk and went back to take a shower. He ended up sitting down in the shower and his ass cheek formed a perfect seal on the drain. He fell asleep. He was awoken at 6 in the morning when the flood he caused in the bathroom had started leaking onto his grandmother, whose room was directly beneath the shower, and awoken her. To my knowledge, he has never been invited back to Boji.
 
Wife and I did our first cruise in February (Cozumel, Costa Maya), then a week in Georgia & South Carolina last month. The real vacation began this morning when she flew out to Seattle to help our duaghter get settled in her new digs. No WAY I am spending a week painting and carrying boxes that the movers should have carried/deposited in the first place!

Heading to Chicago & Evanston to catch the Hawks in October. Have a week in July/August around my birthday. And. I. Am. Not. Going. Anywhere. That. Week! Too much stuff to do around the house!

Where'd you go in Georgia and Cackalacky? Charleston and Savannah?

How was your cruise? We're doing Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas Western Caribbean cruise in January. It goes to those same places you mentioned and a few others. I told my mom they don't need to spend that much money on us, but she insisted. It's like $10k or something. Frankly, I'd rather just do a bowl game trip if Iowa goes to a game in the Southeast or to the Daytona 500 so I can drive and it would be way cheaper, but my mom is so sick of Iowa winters she needs to leave as much as possible. We had plenty of days that were in the 60's and 70's in January last year and I don't really need to go somewhere warmer. I really hate traveling long distances with my son, but I guess I'm jaded by the numerous flights we've taken to Japan.
 
I remember spending a week at Boji with the family back in the early 90s. The resort was good, food was great, atmosphere was wonderful. But it seemed that rock & roll music at that time was a rarity around those part. Then again I've been to places in Florida where the muzak piped in was nothing but pop/contemporary from the late 50s/early 60s.
 
Where'd you go in Georgia and Cackalacky? Charleston and Savannah?

How was your cruise? We're doing Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas Western Caribbean cruise in January. It goes to those same places you mentioned and a few others. I told my mom they don't need to spend that much money on us, but she insisted. It's like $10k or something. Frankly, I'd rather just do a bowl game trip if Iowa goes to a game in the Southeast or to the Daytona 500 so I can drive and it would be way cheaper, but my mom is so sick of Iowa winters she needs to leave as much as possible. We had plenty of days that were in the 60's and 70's in January last year and I don't really need to go somewhere warmer. I really hate traveling long distances with my son, but I guess I'm jaded by the numerous flights we've taken to Japan.

East of ATL (Covington, mainly), then Aiken, SC for a night (nice town). A night in Charleston (fine, but really just a town hit by a 'cane and business closings that they have replaced with tourism $).

We did Independence of the Seas. Personally, though the cruise was okay, we have decided we just aren't the cruise types. We like the idea of a "base" town/place, with a lot of day trips for hiking, shopping, brew-pubs and the like. Local restaurants/dives are a must. Finding and buying local food products is a must. Hence, Georgia to pick/buy apples in October is always a good trip for us. Local wineries are okay, but you really need to go further north for that. The best wineries for "out of the way" we have found were near Quebec City on the Ile d'Orleans, an agricultural island in the St. Lawrence. Quebec City, followed by train to Montreal, is a great trip. Montreal has a market in the Jean Talon area that is a smaller, more manageable version of Pike Place in Seattle. Which, BTW, is another great city to visit, though I could never live there. But the daughter absolutely loves it, so it gives visiting opportunities.

Problem with Seattle during football season? Noon-time Hawks games (Eastern time) start at 9-fricking-a-m. Sure, a Bloody Mary with breakfast is cool, followed by a few beers. But come lunch time, I'm ready for a serious nap.
 
East of ATL (Covington, mainly), then Aiken, SC for a night (nice town). A night in Charleston (fine, but really just a town hit by a 'cane and business closings that they have replaced with tourism $).

We did Independence of the Seas. Personally, though the cruise was okay, we have decided we just aren't the cruise types. We like the idea of a "base" town/place, with a lot of day trips for hiking, shopping, brew-pubs and the like. Local restaurants/dives are a must. Finding and buying local food products is a must. Hence, Georgia to pick/buy apples in October is always a good trip for us. Local wineries are okay, but you really need to go further north for that. The best wineries for "out of the way" we have found were near Quebec City on the Ile d'Orleans, an agricultural island in the St. Lawrence. Quebec City, followed by train to Montreal, is a great trip. Montreal has a market in the Jean Talon area that is a smaller, more manageable version of Pike Place in Seattle. Which, BTW, is another great city to visit, though I could never live there. But the daughter absolutely loves it, so it gives visiting opportunities.

Problem with Seattle during football season? Noon-time Hawks games (Eastern time) start at 9-fricking-a-m. Sure, a Bloody Mary with breakfast is cool, followed by a few beers. But come lunch time, I'm ready for a serious nap.
Nothing against Georgia, but have you spent some time in Western NC? The apples east of Hendersonville are legit in October. And Asheville probably has way more your scene if you are looking for local breweries and restaurants.
 
Nothing against Georgia, but have you spent some time in Western NC? The apples east of Hendersonville are legit in October. And Asheville probably has way more your scene if you are looking for local breweries and restaurants.

Asheville is a "No", for us. It's people who want to move to Taos, or people who "envy the inner serenity" of those who "make it" to Taos!

I have done the NC gig numerous times. I certainly enjoy visiting, but there are tons of other places I enjoy more.
 
East of ATL (Covington, mainly), then Aiken, SC for a night (nice town). A night in Charleston (fine, but really just a town hit by a 'cane and business closings that they have replaced with tourism $).

We did Independence of the Seas. Personally, though the cruise was okay, we have decided we just aren't the cruise types. We like the idea of a "base" town/place, with a lot of day trips for hiking, shopping, brew-pubs and the like. Local restaurants/dives are a must. Finding and buying local food products is a must. Hence, Georgia to pick/buy apples in October is always a good trip for us. Local wineries are okay, but you really need to go further north for that. The best wineries for "out of the way" we have found were near Quebec City on the Ile d'Orleans, an agricultural island in the St. Lawrence. Quebec City, followed by train to Montreal, is a great trip. Montreal has a market in the Jean Talon area that is a smaller, more manageable version of Pike Place in Seattle. Which, BTW, is another great city to visit, though I could never live there. But the daughter absolutely loves it, so it gives visiting opportunities.

Problem with Seattle during football season? Noon-time Hawks games (Eastern time) start at 9-fricking-a-m. Sure, a Bloody Mary with breakfast is cool, followed by a few beers. But come lunch time, I'm ready for a serious nap.

I love the 9am games. But then I like the noon naps too!
 
Took an early summer family vacation to Estes Park in May and had our grown children join us there from around the country -- rented a house with a hot-tub and view. It snowed the 1st two days which led to some spectacular spike-assisted hiking in the mountains. The hot-tub got a workout. Elk everywhere and moose too. By our last day we were in t-shirts. I've traveled through 49 states, but the road heading south out of Estes along the eastern edge of Rocky Mountain National Park was one of the most beautiful stretches of road I've ever been on. Trivia tidbit: RM Nat. Park is 1/8 the size of Yellowstone, but has more annual visitors.
 
Teacher: "Timmy, what did you do this summer?" Timmy: "I went fishing with my brothers, the fish I caught was so big, I could barely fit it in my mouth."

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