OT Vacation Plans?

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ABM said:
Starting to make plans for Christmas/New Year's @ Asheville, NC. My wife's birthday the 27th, so around 12 of us renting a big lodge cabin and hanging out for the week. Beautiful place to be that time of the year.

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The Biltmore Esate @ Christmas is pretty special....

 
donkiez said:
We have pretty much finalized the Tahiti itinerary. One of my favorite parts of traveling is that I really get into researching the geography, history and culture of areas leading up to the trip and planning for the trip. I had no idea how large Tahiti is and how different all the islands are. Some islands are stupid expensive, like Bora Bora, but there are 118 total islands all offering different versions of paradise at different price levels. There are different island chains and island types all over the size roughly of the USA. There is a good possibility we will come back to see more there.

This trip is basically our wedding, so we are overspending on it. We decided to spend all that money on ourselves for a dream vacation instead of an actual wedding. This is fine by me as it will be cheaper than a wedding and I have always hated the idea of having an actual wedding, all the planning, expense and then day just sound like an expensive headache to me. Then we realized that one of our family members is likely to do something stupid and mess up the whole thing anyway, so eloping is a great idea. We will have a small official ceremony in town before we leave, then a very small reception for family. From there it's air Tahiti out of Seattle, landing late in Papeete. Overnight in Papeete and then Bora Bora the next day. Doing beachfront on the mainland for 5 days at Le Moana, so we can explore the island. Then transferring to Thalasso on the Motu for an overwater bungalow for 3 nights. The second day at Thalasso we have arranged a private Polynesian commitment ceremony. They take care of all the details, we get boated to a private beach that is all set up with mount Otemanu as a backdrop, dancers, a minister, photographer and the works (its not offical thats why we need to do it before we leave also). Beforehand they do her hair and afterwards we will do the romantic dinner add on. Dinner will be in the restaurant in the best seat, multicourse, and they will make a minor fuss over us to let everyone know it's our night. After Bora Bora we will fly to Moorea for 5 more nights for an OWB at their Hilton, we also plan to rent a car at Moorea and explore the island a lot. Last two nights are back in Papeete where we will spend a day downtown shopping and eating at their food cart area.

This whole trip kind of blows the vacation budget for a very long time, but it will be worth it. So far everything is free cancelation in case she comes to her senses before then! or an emergency happens. To help with the future vacation budget, I am probably going to get the IHG and Hilton credit cards for this trip and rack the hotel points big time. Not sure if I will keep either long term, but I can probably score a free vacation from each plus their sign up bonus.
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I floated the idea of a bad ass vacation and small ceremony to the then fiance but that didn't fly. I didn't like spending so much on the wedding but it's what she wanted so it is what it is. Our wedding was badass, family members on both sides still talk about how much fun it was and that's saying something because other than immediate families, neither side knew the other but melded awesomely. Was at a wedding last weekend for one of her cousins and at the after party her family all agreed that our reception was the still the reigning champ.

I'm with El Pres and would love to go somewhere around Christmas time, was thinking NY but we probably wouldn't be there until Christmas and afraid that whole vibe would be over. Wife is graduating with her doctorates in mid December and need to do something to celebrate that achievement!
 
bigbailes said:
I floated the idea of a bad ass vacation and small ceremony to the then fiance but that didn't fly. I didn't like spending so much on the wedding but it's what she wanted so it is what it is. Our wedding was badass, family members on both sides still talk about how much fun it was and that's saying something because other than immediate families, neither side knew the other but melded awesomely. Was at a wedding last weekend for one of her cousins and at the after party her family all agreed that our reception was the still the reigning champ.

I'm with El Pres and would love to go somewhere around Christmas time, was thinking NY but we probably wouldn't be there until Christmas and afraid that whole vibe would be over. Wife is graduating with her doctorates in mid December and need to do something to celebrate that achievement!
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NY is dope for the Holidays. Def gotta go before Christmas to get those bell ringers, the music everywhere, etc.

Radio City Rocketts show was dope.
 
EL PRESIDENTE said:
NY is dope for the Holidays. Def gotta go before Christmas to get those bell ringers, the music everywhere, etc.

Radio City Rocketts show was dope.
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We arrived there on Black Friday last year, Stayed for 4 nights in midtown Manhattan. It was awesome! Missed the tree lighting by a day, though.
 
EL PRESIDENTE said:
NY is dope for the Holidays. Def gotta go before Christmas to get those bell ringers, the music everywhere, etc.

Radio City Rocketts show was dope.
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Probably have to be next year than, she was supposed to graduate Dec. 10th but for some reason they pushed it back to the 17th which sucks and we're pretty much locked into going to the PNW on Christmas Day, so not much wiggle room. Might have to settle for Fredericksburg down here, which is a cool little wine town in the Hill Country and well worth visiting if you're ever in the Austin/SA area and are looking for something a little different.
 
donkiez said:
We have pretty much finalized the Tahiti itinerary. One of my favorite parts of traveling is that I really get into researching the geography, history and culture of areas leading up to the trip and planning for the trip. I had no idea how large Tahiti is and how different all the islands are. Some islands are stupid expensive, like Bora Bora, but there are 118 total islands all offering different versions of paradise at different price levels. There are different island chains and island types all over the size roughly of the USA. There is a good possibility we will come back to see more there.

This trip is basically our wedding, so we are overspending on it. We decided to spend all that money on ourselves for a dream vacation instead of an actual wedding. This is fine by me as it will be cheaper than a wedding and I have always hated the idea of having an actual wedding, all the planning, expense and then day just sound like an expensive headache to me. Then we realized that one of our family members is likely to do something stupid and mess up the whole thing anyway, so eloping is a great idea. We will have a small official ceremony in town before we leave, then a very small reception for family. From there it's air Tahiti out of Seattle, landing late in Papeete. Overnight in Papeete and then Bora Bora the next day. Doing beachfront on the mainland for 5 days at Le Moana, so we can explore the island. Then transferring to Thalasso on the Motu for an overwater bungalow for 3 nights. The second day at Thalasso we have arranged a private Polynesian commitment ceremony. They take care of all the details, we get boated to a private beach that is all set up with mount Otemanu as a backdrop, dancers, a minister, photographer and the works (its not offical thats why we need to do it before we leave also). Beforehand they do her hair and afterwards we will do the romantic dinner add on. Dinner will be in the restaurant in the best seat, multicourse, and they will make a minor fuss over us to let everyone know it's our night. After Bora Bora we will fly to Moorea for 5 more nights for an OWB at their Hilton, we also plan to rent a car at Moorea and explore the island a lot. Last two nights are back in Papeete where we will spend a day downtown shopping and eating at their food cart area.

This whole trip kind of blows the vacation budget for a very long time, but it will be worth it. So far everything is free cancelation in case she comes to her senses before then! or an emergency happens. To help with the future vacation budget, I am probably going to get the IHG and Hilton credit cards for this trip and rack the hotel points big time. Not sure if I will keep either long term, but I can probably score a free vacation from each plus their sign up bonus.
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Sounds awesome! Keep an eye out for sharks when you’re snorkeling. Tahiti and Moorea are beautiful!
 
With the British Pound taking a large dump do any of you think there might be deals on the UK vacation sites?

When I was in PV two weeks ago I noticed TUI there. A travel company with their own planes.
 
SlyPokerDog said:
With the British Pound taking a large dump do any of you think there might be deals on the UK vacation sites?

When I was in PV two weeks ago I noticed TUI there. A travel company with their own planes.
Click to expand...

What kind of travel are you looking to do? You might be better off just planning and booking all your own stuff as the best way to take advantage of the currency. There are tons of airlines out of Seattle direct to London, lots of competition to find a decent deal with.
 
EL PRESIDENTE said:
Trying to find some good Christmas vibes this winter. I like cities that are cold-ish, lots of lights, big department stores all decorated out, hot apple cider, christmas lights, and all that jazz.

Already did NY which was great and got some in London last year as well. I've done SF and Vancouver in the past and it was pretty good since I went to the Charles Dickens fair, which was really cool.

Thinking maybe Boston may be good? Montreal? Not sure if I wanna do a Eurotrip, if the prices are good maybe.

https://localadventurer.com/best-places-to-celebrate-christmas-in-the-us/
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Germans love Christmas.
 
SlyPokerDog said:
With the British Pound taking a large dump do any of you think there might be deals on the UK vacation sites?

When I was in PV two weeks ago I noticed TUI there. A travel company with their own planes.
Click to expand...
A good friend of mine who's a Brit just moved back to Bath England from Boulder Colorado for the first time in many decades and told me the exchange rate is really favorable to buy British pounds now...he made out on the exchange rate in England when he changed US dollars. I might play the money market a bit ....I used to do quite well in the money market. Made a bundle on the Yen back in the day and bought the first EU currency when it came out and lost a bit on it. All in all I've made a lot more than I've lost trading money.
 
donkiez said:
What kind of travel are you looking to do? You might be better off just planning and booking all your own stuff as the best way to take advantage of the currency. There are tons of airlines out of Seattle direct to London, lots of competition to find a decent deal with.
Click to expand...

We're looking to go to Belize and Guatemala this Feb/Mar for more Mayan jungle adventures. Looking for deals at a few nice resorts along the way. There are some really nice islands off the coast of Belize where we could end our trip at or get a cheap flight to Costa Rica and then fly home from there.

Pretty much looking for deals of opportunity.

Our last two Mayna adventures we like to end the trip at a nice 5 star all-inclusive for the last 4-5 nights of our trip because we go hard on the archeology sites and things, lol.
 
riverman said:
A good friend of mine who's a Brit just moved back to Bath England from Boulder Colorado for the first time in many decades and told me the exchange rate is really favorable to buy British pounds now...he made out on the exchange rate in England when he changed US dollars. I might play the money market a bit ....I used to do quite well in the money market. Made a bundle on the Yen back in the day and bought the first EU currency when it came out and lost a bit on it. All in all I've made a lot more than I've lost trading money.
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The British pound has sunk to just over a dollar. A very favorable rate.
 
SlyPokerDog said:
We're looking to go to Belize and Guatemala this Feb/Mar for more Mayan jungle adventures. Looking for deals at a few nice resorts along the way. There are some really nice islands off the coast of Belize where we could end our trip at or get a cheap flight to Costa Rica and then fly home from there.

Pretty much looking for deals of opportunity.

Our last two Mayna adventures we like to end the trip at a nice 5 star all-inclusive for the last 4-5 nights of our trip because we go hard on the archeology sites and things, lol.
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Bring me back a spear
 
Lanny said:
The British pound has sunk to just over a dollar. A very favorable rate.
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I really want to go to London again. Maybe do the London/Paris trip using the Eurostar. I think we will eventually go though where the dollar will crash too, who knows when. But when I went last year it was actually ok costwise....and if they bring back VAT refunds like they are discussing.....
 
EL PRESIDENTE said:
Bring me back a spear
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You want a Macuahuitl, an obsidian sword.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macuahuitl

7437dc8bd4e52cdf776356231ac2467b.jpg
 
Back from Hawaii as of three hours ago. 10 days of peace all by myself. Finally found some dive bars full of fun locals. This great local restaurant I frequent does a big prime rib dinner on Thursdays, so that was great (and the owners have their own local farm and great local ingredients and are actually from Eugene, so that’s kinda cool).

Home for three weeks and then heading back to the island for another ten days or so.
 
Stevenson said:
We're in Israel right now and shortly headed to Egypt and then Jordan/Petra.

We first scheduled this for April of 2020. Then the next summer. Third time's a charm! So great to be traveling and having an adventure again.
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Man, I LOVE the Jewish Quarter of old-city Jerusalem! Oh, the deals that can be had!! :)

Enjoy, Sir.
 
SlyPokerDog said:
We put the Alfredcamera home security app on an old smartphone and leave it in our hotel room. Notifies us anytime someone comes into the room. Very easy to set up and it's free.
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Shocking Video Employee Allegedly Snooping Through Guest’s Belongings At Cancun Resort

On a recent trip to Cancun, tourist Arturo Brunello had the unfortunate experience of having his hotel room broken into while he was away. Fortunately, he had the foresight to set up a hidden camera. He took to TikTok to share footage of a resort employee apparently rummaging through his personal belongings, clearly looking for valuables.

The clip shows a man who appears to be wearing a housekeeper’s uniform walking into the room while Brunello was away. The individual then begins scanning the room before helping himself to a can of beer.

He was then captured going through Brunello’s private possessions, checking the drawers and personal valuables before inspecting his luggage.

While there is no mention of the resort’s name in the video, Brunello details the reasoning behind his decision at the tail end of the clip. He also explains that he didn’t expect anything like this to happen; he recounts getting startled when his Apple app alerted him when there was movement in the room. He’s glad that he caught the individual in the act.

In his words, he said, “Our vacation got weird. I won’t be naming the hotel because they handled this situation very well. Just be careful out there and use technology to your advantage.”

https://thecancunsun.com/shocking-v...r1303wilmUncxeakanUwABOTiDAT68rudlomodPlD7cAc

The actual video of the employee snooping through stuff is here -
https://sipse.com/novedades/turista-exhibe-empleado-hotel-cancun-revisar-sus-cosas-434838.html
 
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