Vacation Ideas for 2022

[timer]

My wife and I (mid 60s) haven't decided on a vacation trip for this summer/fall. I've been wanting to make a road trip out west to Rapid City, SD....but I don't think we will do that this year.

Given the price of gas - and my increasing anxiety about driving long distances - I've been thinking about taking a bus tour or a train ride.

I have on my bucket list to go to Chicago and catch Amtrak to Toronto and go across Canada - all the way to Vancouver - on the train. Or maybe take the train to Albuquerque, NM for the Balloon Festival. I've also thought it would be way cool to take the "City of New Orleans" - the train that runs from Chicago to New Orleans. That train actually makes a flag stop in Fulton, Kentucky - at around 3:14 a.m.

I have an aunt who used to travel with her husband on the Shockey bus tours. She loved doing that.

Have any of y'all ever taken a trip on Amtrak? Or taken a bus tour with Shockey (now Jefferson)?

 

[Mya’sdaddy]

Back in 92 I took Amtrak from Pomona CA to Chicago then on to Indy. I enjoyed it and it was very relaxing trip. Probably relaxing because this was kiss my A$$ cali trip I’m out of here. My dad pick me up in Indy and I settled in to my new home in Maysville, KY.

 

[riverboss]

We are going to take a road trip this yr, it was going to be 2 weeks drive out and see the grand canyon and what ever else we could see along the way!
Gas prices are high but I'm not putting off something I may never be able to do over a few hundred dollars!
Take that trip and don't look back, at the blink of a eye your life can change or end, life's not a dress rehearsal there are no do overs grab all it has to offer before it's gone.

 

[JR in KY]

@timer I have accompanied my wife on a couple bus trips ran by Martin Tours. One to the Marintine provinces in Canada and another to Yellowstone, a 10 day trip.
The bus was OK, you got to see things that you always wanted to See and some things you Never Wanted to see. It's kinda a sport for old retired Female Schoolteachers and some the attractions are geared to the audience.

Trains have always interested me also but I have never been on Amtrak. We took an all day Steam Train trip a couple years ago on the Cumbrees and Tolteck RR in Colorado and New Mexico that was great. I would like to take the trips you mentioned and you should Try one.
You.
And Everyone Else.
Need to go places you always wanted to Go and Do It Soon before your health declines.
@riverboss have a good trip and GO if you possibly can.

 

[HeadedWest]

Back in 92 I took Amtrak from Pomona CA to Chicago then on to Indy. I enjoyed it and it was very relaxing trip. Probably relaxing because this was kiss my A$$ cali trip I’m out of here. My dad pick me up in Indy and I settled in to my new home in Maysville, KY.

Guess you wanted to keep easy access to Amtrak???

 

[HeadedWest]

I’ve never been on Amtrak but my wife took it to Chicago with some of her family as a trip…they aren’t used to the diversity (not just race) of the city clientele and had a few experiences they could have lived without.


Unless you just don’t trust your vehicle, I’d drive…make a couple days of the drive and enjoy the ride.

 

[Feedman]

Looks like we are going on a trip to Guam this summer or fall. Tropical climate.

 

[Little FR]

The only days I take off work are to hunt or fish. I enjoy renting a cabin on the river in Arkansas and catching trout all week. That’s about as fancy as I get.

I’m not much on getting too far from home for very long, the last couple years.

 

[HuntressOfLight]

Aerobatics, Stunt Flying, Aerobatics Flight Experience

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be in a stunt plane performing aerobatic maneuvers then this flying experience is for you.

www.adrenaline.com

 

[KYDEERCHASR]

last September 6 of us flew to Rapid City and rented a van for 10 days. we went through the Bad Lands, Black Hills, and Mt. Rushmore.
then went to Yellowstone for 2 days. then through the Tetons and into Jackson Hole. flew out of there back home.

Fantastic trip.

 

[bearleft]

Jackson Hole is bad ass!!
We stayed in Grand Teton village and Drove on every road we could find.
Wife and I saw a 5' wide 400"+ bull bugling at under a 100 Yds.
Fed Grasshoppers to 20"-24" Trout in every stream we hiked into!
Yellowstone and Kauai, Hawaii it's a toss up to which is the most beautiful places I've ever been!!

 

[xbokilla]

This is a dreamers thread for sure. Y’all make me wanna get my bags packed and head out now. Anyone ever been to Tahiti? For whatever reason, I always wanted to stay in one of those grass hut rooms above the water. I’ve looked at several trips but have never pulled the trigger.

 

[Buzzy]

This is a dreamers thread for sure. Y’all make me wanna get my bags packed and head out now. Anyone ever been to Tahiti? For whatever reason, I always wanted to stay in one of those grass hut rooms above the water. I’ve looked at several trips but have never pulled the trigger.

Pull the trigger. It only gets less realistic the longer you wait. No one knows what is going to happen so just go do it.

 

[Oldrook]

Been to several islands, Mexico, out west to Yellowstone into Canada through the badlands. All great trips but all very different. Been wanting to try a Mississippi River cruise when I retire

 

[timer]

We've been blessed to be able to take a lot of incredible trips during my life. We've slowed down a lot over the past couple of years - well, my wife has slowed down. I tell folks I'm 65 going on 45 and she is 65 going on 85. The last couple of years have been real hard on her....all the BS about the pandemic really got her down.

I was off last week - had planned on taking a fishing trip but due to the storms in Louisiana we had to call it off. So the wife and I took some short day trips and it seems that she is becoming much less anxious about being away from home.

I want to echo what Buzzy and Riverboss said above. I've always told folks not to wait to travel. War, pandemic, economic stress, sickness can all take away your freedom to travel. Tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. Do things while you are young and can get out and enjoy the places you visit.

Another reason....(my net present value view of travel)....if you do things while you are young, you can relive them for the next forty, maybe fifty years. At 65, I still enjoy travel but I'm not gonna be around for the next forty or fifty years to remember, relive and enjoy the places I'll go and the things I'll do.

And finally, I met a guy on the Alaskan Ferry System several years ago. I was telling him how much we enjoyed hopping around the Inside Passage on the ferries and spending the night in the villages along the way. (When you travel by ferry, you can get off the ship and stay in the village. The cruise ships arrive around 10 a.m. - dump off 20,000 maniacs who rush and run around like they are on a deadline, making the place miserable for everyone - and everyone hurries to get back on board around 4 p.m. So before 10 and after 4 you have the whole place to yourself.) He said something I'll always remember....He said traveling by ferry vs. traveling by cruise ship is the difference between being a traveler and a tourist. Absolutely nothing wrong with being a tourist....I've been one many times. But it is so much better to be a traveler.