I'm looking for :
1) somewhere I haven't been/seen (since I'm very not-traveled, this leaves things pretty wide open - no MN or ND!)
2) somewhere a car isn't required (to see the sights/explore the area/get to food/etc.)
3) somewhere in the US (no passport - tried for one when I was married, but was informed I was on a "no-passport list")
4) affordable - VERY affordable (I'm quite limited on funds available for travel/lodging expenses)
5) not Vegas (I like Vegas & have friends there, but I traveled to Vegas in '11 and '12 and, as mentioned in #1, want to go somewhere I haven't been/seen)
6) somewhere I'm not trapped in a hotel (if I wanted to spend a week solely in a hotel room, I could do that here)
the dates I'm looking at for "vaca" are :
> May : M 18th - F 22nd
> Jun : M 15th - F 19th
> Jul : M 13th - F 17th
...these are, of course, just dates that would work personally (and it would be just ONE of the weeks, not all three)
- once I have something, I have to run the date for approval/before I put a cent down, which is why a back-up date would also need to work (just in case)
via brainstorming, co-workers, & on fb I've gained a few recommends/ideas - a couple which I've explored, others which I haven't yet touched on
* DC/National Mall : this was my initial "goal" which I would've LOVED, but from research it's unaffordable (flight/hotel)
* Badlands/SD : sounded great, but research has shown thus far that it's very vehicle oriented :(
* Los Angeles : VERY vehicle oriented AND unaffordable (though I had an inkling before I researched)
* Honolulu/Hawai'i : looked GREAT, with cheap hotels... BUT flights were VERY unaffordable :(
* Grand Canyon : just started looking into - seems possible at a glance (but so did DC/National Mall at first)
* Philadelphia
* New Orleans
* St. Louis
* Rapid City (I think this would fall into the Badlands/SD area, though)
* Hot Springs
* Reno (thinking this may be a lot like Vegas was, with less to see?)
anyone have further info/ideas/recommends - regarding the above or otherwise?
humerously, my officemate is concerned about my traveling alone to somewhere I don't know anyone, but honestly, isn't that the point of a vacation?
I visited my fathre in ND for my "vaca" last year and one can only spend so much time with relatives - particularly my relatives
and - unfortunately - many of the people I know/knew well are either long passed, have their own plans/families/etc., or don't live in the US
( and traveling with a stranger would be a little awkward, I would think? plus I like going off on tangents/on a whim and I'm not an "itinerary type" of person )
I just know I want to do SOMEthing for a vacation, not just end up like previous years where I use up my vacation time via an extended weekend here and there just before they expire.
PLUS I'd like to actually travel and see some of this country I live in outside of MN/ND... this country is too huge and there's a lot (a LOT) I've never seen *sighs*
so, again - ANY ideas or recommends are welcome!
random twits
2/13 :
is it bad of me to be glad that my neighbours are moving end of month, so I won't have t'worry about my daughters getting a contact high?
this IS the neighbour that introduced himself by knocking on my door and asking if I sold or knew anyone that did... and had a newborn :(
2/20 :
this winter is starting to burn me out mentally and drag me down physically... *ugh* how long now until we have LOWS in the 50s? *sigh*
watched recently :
via netflix/hulu:
SNL 40th Anniversary Special
Constantine (1st Season)
Grimm (4th Season)
Gotham (1st Season)
The Flash (1st Season)
Agent Carter (1st Season)
Atomic Brain Invasion
The Inbetweeners (2011)
ownedflix:
A Bug's Life [Pixar's]
WALL-E [Pixar's]
Earth To Echo
Escape From Planet Earth
National Lampoon's Senior Trip
-thom Wolfox sR Rhose
unusualist - I have yet to find a religion and/or spirituality that fits my own personal beliefs... other than, of course, the fact I am a (fallen) god.
( y'just now figured out that I'm basically a non-practicing hedonist? "if it feels good, do it, if it feels bad, you're doing it wrong" )
( "I believe in the proven power of willpower and the truth we are the gods we created. No one being created this universe and its wonders." )
( "the words of wisdom I follow will be the words I've written myself based on the life and experiences that I have Lived, Enjoyed, & Survived" )
( "I live not for tomorrow nor yesterday, but for the day in which I dwell - today. Today is who I am, I know not who I'll be tomorrow, nor am I who I once was. Aspects of yesterday may remain into tomorrow, but I'm never completely the same, for each day I live, I learn and this knowledge changes me, rebuilds part of me, and I am anew." )
( "may the platelets of justice travel the bloodstream of villainy, clog its arteries with honourable vengeance, and induce a coronary of truth" )
( "we are all inmates in the same asylum, some of us are just better at bribing the guards" / *breathe ... relax ... kill ... rinse ... repeat* )
( "Who do I think I am? thom Wolfox sR Rhose, official slaveboy, SchmooGod of the MidWest, and RedKnight of Pattern - amongst other names, why?" )
( "In a previous life I was the engine block to a '56 chevy, I lost my heart to a Volkswagen Bus... er, wait - or was that a '57?" )
( "I may not be the brightest orange in this bag o'donuts, but I know vasoline when I smell it!" / "Godfuck Me, Jesus!" )
"Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave..."
"Oh, man. I'm sensing something very canadian about this place..."
"It's all true, god's an astronaut, Oz is over the rainbow, and Midian is where the monsters live..."
Jax : "yay for you, do you want a cookie or a bozo button?"