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2018 Travel Thread


soxfan49

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8 hours ago, soxfan49 said:

Anyone ever been to the Grand Canyon? I'm going to be there this weekend. Just wanted to know about tours, if there are fees just to walk up and take pictures or can I do that free of cost, if there are gift shops, etc.

Thanks!

If you go down the Bright Angel Trail, there are resthouses with water at 1.5 and 3 miles and you can turn around and come back up.  Don't go down South Kaibob unless you are prepared because there's no water.

 

Like the signs say, "Down is optional, up is mandatory!"

Edited by Leonard Zelig
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16 hours ago, Leonard Zelig said:

If you go down the Bright Angel Trail, there are resthouses with water at 1.5 and 3 miles and you can turn around and come back up.  Don't go down South Kaibob unless you are prepared because there's no water.

 

Like the signs say, "Down is optional, up is mandatory!"

Even with the stops, the Bright Angel causes more rescues than any trail in any other national park. The fact that it's a lot more aerobically challenging on the return trip, combined with a heavily visited national park where 95% of the visitors are not experienced backcountry types, causes a lot of issues. Definitely be careful, bring lots of water and snacks, etc.

 

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We did the Bright Angel trail when we were there in April. We went down about 6 miles to a viewpoint where you can actually see the river down below. It is about the halfway point to making it to the bottom. We then went back up to the top. I was ready to be done well before we made it back to the top but we made it. That is about the farthest that is recommended to do in 1 day.

Don't know if we'll go back but it would be cool to go all the way to the bottom. You need a couple days for that though.

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The Grand Canyon doesn't fucking look real as you're staring at it.  Before my dad passed, we had discussed doing a Spring Training trip where we'd fly into Phoenix, catch a couple Sox games, drive up to the Grand Canyon (again), go to the Hoover Dam and go up to Vegas for a couple days before flying out.

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  • 3 weeks later...
15 hours ago, ChiliIrishHammock24 said:

Anyone have tips for deals on Disneyland and Universal Studios passes? We've looked in to Costco, but they sell a 3-day pass. We are just doing 1 day at each park.

Disneyland, as in the one in Anaheim?  If so, good luck. They don't do discounts, especially on one day passes.  IF you know someone, maybe they can get a socal ticket...but not sure if you need to show an ID to prove you in the zipcode when you arrive at the park.  I also don't know if they have any current socal resident offers right now anyway.  I'm presuming not.  

 

Universal usually has deals. I'd google it.  

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7 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

Disneyland, as in the one in Anaheim?  If so, good luck. They don't do discounts, especially on one day passes.  IF you know someone, maybe they can get a socal ticket...but not sure if you need to show an ID to prove you in the zipcode when you arrive at the park.  I also don't know if they have any current socal resident offers right now anyway.  I'm presuming not.  

 

Universal usually has deals. I'd google it.  

I've googled both and haven't found much luck.  Probably doesn't help that we are going during Halloween week, when they are likely busy anyway.

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  • 1 month later...

Speaking of my Cali trip....went to Paramount Ranch to see where they shoot Westworld, and dozens of other shows/movies in the 91 years that the old West town has existed.....and then it burns down less than a week later.

Go on a Malibu Wine Safari on Saddle Rock to see the hills and drink wine and feed exotic animals.....and it too burns down.

 

It's weird that I have all these pictures on my phone on places that don't even exist anymore less than a week later.

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On 11/10/2018 at 10:52 PM, ChiliIrishHammock24 said:

Speaking of my Cali trip....went to Paramount Ranch to see where they shoot Westworld, and dozens of other shows/movies in the 91 years that the old West town has existed.....and then it burns down less than a week later.

Go on a Malibu Wine Safari on Saddle Rock to see the hills and drink wine and feed exotic animals.....and it too burns down.

 

It's weird that I have all these pictures on my phone on places that don't even exist anymore less than a week later.

Yeah that's pretty crazy.

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  • 2 months later...

The girlfriend and I, and my best friend and his wife are going to take a vacation to Boston at the end of May. He is going to be there for a wedding, I will be there just because we've always wanted to see a game in Fenway.

Our current plan is to get an AirBNB just south of Boston in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood. It's like a couple blocks from the Sam Adams brewery. Does anyone have any opinions on that area? Or places to go or things to see or places to eat? My girl and I are the more adventurous type. My buddy and his wife would rather find a bar and drink all day. We will have a rental car, they are going to Uber around, so it may not even be things for groups of 4. 

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On 1/16/2019 at 1:18 AM, ChiliIrishHammock24 said:

The girlfriend and I, and my best friend and his wife are going to take a vacation to Boston at the end of May. He is going to be there for a wedding, I will be there just because we've always wanted to see a game in Fenway.

Our current plan is to get an AirBNB just south of Boston in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood. It's like a couple blocks from the Sam Adams brewery. Does anyone have any opinions on that area? Or places to go or things to see or places to eat? My girl and I are the more adventurous type. My buddy and his wife would rather find a bar and drink all day. We will have a rental car, they are going to Uber around, so it may not even be things for groups of 4. 

The freedom trail is very touristy but its a good way to see a lot of historical stuff in a pretty efficient way. 

The Sam Adams tour is good. It's short but you get a decent amount of beer at the end. 

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17 minutes ago, joejoedairy said:

The freedom trail is very touristy but its a good way to see a lot of historical stuff in a pretty efficient way. 

The Sam Adams tour is good. It's short but you get a decent amount of beer at the end. 

Agreed. Boston is also easy to get around on the "tube."

Driving is hell in Boston. No straight roads and they just blow around curves and hope the others stop.

The train is easy from the brewery area to Fenway and you get to see a great deal of the neighborhoods and university right on the line.

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1 hour ago, ptatc said:

Agreed. Boston is also easy to get around on the "tube."

Driving is hell in Boston. No straight roads and they just blow around curves and hope the others stop.

The train is easy from the brewery area to Fenway and you get to see a great deal of the neighborhoods and university right on the line.

Are the train systems generally safe in Boston? At least compared to Chicago? I avoid taking the trains in Chicago at all costs.

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1 hour ago, ChiliIrishHammock24 said:

Are the train systems generally safe in Boston? At least compared to Chicago? I avoid taking the trains in Chicago at all costs.

They are much safer than Chicago.  I've always used the train and have never had an issue in a dozen trips there. One of my favorite places to visit. 

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7 hours ago, Heads22 said:

The Academy is just a fantastic place to visit

Yes it is. They are closing the chapel for 4 years for renovations.  Going to watch my daughter at a track meet, then off to skiing for a couple if days.

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11 hours ago, ptatc said:

They are much safer than Chicago.  I've always used the train and have never had an issue in a dozen trips there. One of my favorite places to visit. 

Ok cool, thanks! Maybe we will think about taking the trains in to the city then. Like I said, the AirBNB we found is about a 5 minute walk to the orange line.

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14 hours ago, soxfan49 said:

Heading to Providenciales in a few weeks. I posted it awhile ago but no one has ever seemed to have been there. It should be pretty awesome.

I read that you thought Providence was gonna be so awesome, so I re-read it and realized it wasn't Rhode Island you were talking about. ?

Turks and Caicos is on our short list for the wife's 40th trip next year, it looks amazing.

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2 hours ago, LittleHurt05 said:

I read that you thought Providence was gonna be so awesome, so I re-read it and realized it wasn't Rhode Island you were talking about. ?

Turks and Caicos is on our short list for the wife's 40th trip next year, it looks amazing.

I have been to Providence before and it was nice, but I guarantee you that Turks and Caicos will be even nicer. :)

It's convenient now that Southwest flies into Providenciales. We will be there for 5 nights and 6 days. Every resort that's all inclusive or beach side was $600-$1,200/night, so we are staying a tad inland and just going to walk each day.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So we got our AirBNB for Boston, we got our Red Sox tickets. Now we just need to buy our flights.

About 2 weeks ago I found a flight for about $206 round trip that I am kicking myself for not grabbing now because the cheapest I see are about $280. And even more, I noticed that there are no return flights later than 6PM anymore on the Saturday we are flying back. So my question for people who fly frequently are, do airlines tend to add more flights at some point when the date gets closer? We are flying out May 28th, and returning June 1st. The later flights clearly filled up, as there were several flights between 6 pm and 10pm previously. 

Should I assume those times are not going to come back, and just grab the latest flights I can find at this point? Or are they likely to add more? No idea how this stuff works, I rarely fly. 

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5 hours ago, ChiliIrishHammock24 said:

So we got our AirBNB for Boston, we got our Red Sox tickets. Now we just need to buy our flights.

About 2 weeks ago I found a flight for about $206 round trip that I am kicking myself for not grabbing now because the cheapest I see are about $280. And even more, I noticed that there are no return flights later than 6PM anymore on the Saturday we are flying back. So my question for people who fly frequently are, do airlines tend to add more flights at some point when the date gets closer? We are flying out May 28th, and returning June 1st. The later flights clearly filled up, as there were several flights between 6 pm and 10pm previously. 

Should I assume those times are not going to come back, and just grab the latest flights I can find at this point? Or are they likely to add more? No idea how this stuff works, I rarely fly. 

Doubtful they would add flights. If you aren’t checking bags, and willing to make a stop outbound, check skiplagged.com. You can get a round trip for about $180 and leave on the first at about 630 pm. Chicago is a hidden stop on that United flight. 

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We didn't want to wait any longer on the flight. My girlfriend decided that she wanted to stay an extra day and leave on a Sunday instead of Saturday afternoon. My friends already had the AirBNB until Sunday anyway, so we are just going to pay them a little extra to stay another night. 

So all together we got the round trip flight for like $267 per person, United Airlines going there, and JetBlue coming home. It's funny because even though that seems like a pretty decent price, it's the most I've ever paid for a plane ticket. My roundtrip to AZ was $105 and my roundtrip to Vegas was like $135.

We got our Fenway tickets, plane tickets, AirBNB, so the last thing we need to get is a rental car for a few days when we travel to Portland, ME and Salem.

Edited by ChiliIrishHammock24
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1 hour ago, ChiliIrishHammock24 said:

We didn't want to wait any longer on the flight. My girlfriend decided that she wanted to stay an extra day and leave on a Sunday instead of Saturday afternoon. My friends already had the AirBNB until Sunday anyway, so we are just going to pay them a little extra to stay another night. 

So all together we got the round trip flight for like $267 per person, United Airlines going there, and JetBlue coming home. It's funny because even though that seems like a pretty decent price, it's the most I've ever paid for a plane ticket. My roundtrip to AZ was $105 and my roundtrip to Vegas was like $135.

We got our Fenway tickets, plane tickets, AirBNB, so the last thing we need to get is a rental car for a few days when we travel to Portland, ME and Salem.

I love Portland and Salem. If you time for another game, go to a Portland Seadog game. Cool park and fun. Salem is self explanatory  and has a ton of good microbreweries.  

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