What was your best vacation ever?

vreihen16 · 12-17-2020, 08:31 AM

My favorite vacation was a 4-day solo Thanksgiving jaunt to London that I took right after 9/11. The trip started with a bang, er, I mean a sonic boom as soon as my British Airways flight cleared US airspace. (Bucket list item crossed off.) Spent a lot of my time exploring the London Tube (subway) system, using a Palm Pilot and the Metro world public transit app because that's how people rolled in 2001.

One of my favorite things was a double-decker tour bus ride. The tour guide asked everyone where they were from, in a British accent. When he discovered that every passenger was from the USA, he told us that he had recently moved to London from the US, dropped the British accent, and and went full Boston accent for the rest of the tour. He gave the tour from a US history perspective, which included showing the tree where the king had the messenger who delivered the Declaration of Independence hanged, and telling us how the people of England were plotting to throw Starbucks into the Thames as revenge for the Boston Tea Party.

Thanksgiving Day included a walk *under* the Thames from Canary Warf to the Cutty Sark through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, followed by a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner in Greenwich Park in the cafe east of the Royal Observatory and prime meridian (bucket list item to walk across prime meridian).

Anyway, the trip was prompted by seeing an old London Underground poster in a NYC museum exhibit, and finding out that reprints were for sale at the Transport For London museum in London. It was one of the few souvenirs that I brought back, and my co-workers know to stay away from my $10,000 poster because it means more to me than human life!

Some above-ground pictures:

.

Dpc2u · 12-17-2020, 08:48 AM

Really hard to say I have one favorite of the many, but of the most recent, 11 days in Romania where I drove the Transfagarasan highway. Intended to go back this year to drive the Transalpina, but..... that didn't happen. 🙄

Tommy-G · 12-17-2020, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dpc2u

Really hard to say I have one favorite of the many, but of the most recent, 11 days in Romania where I drove the Transfagarasan highway. Intended to go back this year to drive the Transalpina, but..... that didn't happen. 🙄

I have a coworker from Bulgaria and he showed me pics, it looks beautiful

///d · 12-17-2020, 09:26 AM

I'd have to say Grand Teton Nat'l Park.

My buddy and I go on a big back country backpacking trip every summer. This trip was supposed to be 5 days on the trail, but the conditions of the mountain pass on day 2 were too dangerous and sketchy, so we called it and back tracked out. Ended up spending the remaining days just winging it checking out the park and went to Yellowstone for a day. Saw my first moose and grizzly in the wild. It was awesome to have nothing planned, no schedule, no place to be.

Wont make another trip until 2022, but hoping to make the Milford Sound Trek in New Zealand happen. Bucket list hike.

jmg · 12-17-2020, 10:58 AM

One of my most memorable was probably a trip to a private island in the South Pacific a family friend owns or partially owns or something... it wasn't quite clear. It was a tiny island with the longest, but sketchiest dock I had ever seen over the clearest, bluest water I had ever witnessed.

jmg · 12-17-2020, 11:02 AM

From the same trip, but different island. Little did we know a storm would hit this island and strand everyone here for a week. Luckily, we hopped on a boat and skipped to another island that had an airport on it the day before. The days leading up to the storm were very beautiful though.

pennsiveguy · 12-17-2020, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2one8

I'd have to say Grand Teton Nat'l Park.

My buddy and I go on a big back country backpacking trip every summer. This trip was supposed to be 5 days on the trail, but the conditions of the mountain pass on day 2 were too dangerous and sketchy, so we called it and back tracked out. Ended up spending the remaining days just winging it checking out the park and went to Yellowstone for a day. Saw my first moose and grizzly in the wild. It was awesome to have nothing planned, no schedule, no place to be.

Wont make another trip until 2022, but hoping to make the Milford Sound Trek in New Zealand happen. Bucket list hike.

That looks fantastic. Ex-wife and I did our honeymoon in Jackson. There were big fires in Yellowstone and around Jackson that year, so there were restrictions on where we could go but still a fantastic area.

Tommy-G · 12-17-2020, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmg

One of my most memorable was probably a trip to a private island in the South Pacific a family friend owns or partially owns or something... it wasn't quite clear. It was a tiny island with the longest, but sketchiest dock I had ever seen over the clearest, bluest water I had ever witnessed.

First thing I thought was "damn that dock looks sketchhhyyyyy"
Beautiful though...

GenXer · 12-17-2020, 12:29 PM

The most relaxing vacation I've had in a long time was Daytona Beach believe it or not.

During the busy season it's unbearable with all the race fans and spring break people.

But the week of Thanksgiving, it's just a nice sleepy Florida town. Clean, inexpensive and miles and miles of beaches. You could run at full sprint in just about every direction and you probably won't hit anyone.

We left the patio door of our hotel open every night we slept. It was dry and warm at about 75F at night and 85F during the day.

jmg · 12-17-2020, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TommyG-inFlaNow

First thing I thought was "damn that dock looks sketchhhyyyyy"
Beautiful though...

Totally sketchy. It was low tide or something because it was 10 ft above the water, the wood was super old, with some planks visibly cracked, missing, or broken, and it was loooonnnnnnngggg. It felt like 100yds or something. The water was crystal clear and you could see to the bottom which had to be 20-30 feet, which was spectacular, but it made he dock seem even higher.

Tommy-G · 12-17-2020, 03:42 PM

Just some random pics from my above mentioned Europe trip.
Paris->Monaco->Florence->Rome

Ximian · 12-17-2020, 04:15 PM

Picking up wife's XC90 through Volvo's Overseas Delivery Program. We spent nearly a month driving around Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, and Croatia.

There's something really cool about driving the same car in the US that you drove through all those other places.

///d · 12-17-2020, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

That looks fantastic. Ex-wife and I did our honeymoon in Jackson. There were big fires in Yellowstone and around Jackson that year, so there were restrictions on where we could go but still a fantastic area.

I love it there. We are stopping there again on the way back from Sawtooth Range in Idaho over New Years.

One of my other favorite places is Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park. Fires rocked that area this fall. Its sad to see fire damage, but with fires comes new life for the forest.

pennsiveguy · 12-17-2020, 05:51 PM

Another memorable trip was to Helsinki and then northward to Finnish Lapland, 100km above the Arctic Circle, for Christmas in 2016. Spent a day and a night in Helsinki visiting my then-GF's brother (she was a native Finn). The outdoor Christmas Market in the main city square is really cool. And then the 3 of us hopped a plane for Ivalo and from there drove to Saariselka. Had a beautiful log cabin with a huge fireplace and lots of birch firewood. And, of course, a sauna. Weather was great - much warmer than the -25F we had left behind in Minnesota.

HFW003 · 12-17-2020, 06:40 PM

For an Australian the antithesis of Christmas is a white Christmas. In December 2019 my Wife, Son and I traveled around Europe for about two and a half months. It was very special having a white Christmas and is by far my best Holiday.

Sorry, apparently you will have to turn your head sideways to see some of the pics.

Merry Christmas everyone !!1

H

masterzapper · 12-17-2020, 09:15 PM

Anywhere in French Polynesia. Highly recommend visiting several islands.

Tommy-G · 12-18-2020, 08:04 AM

Guys, in todays world this is really great seeing all your experiences....I so miss traveling but seeing all your shots is GREAT! Keep them coming....

happyjack · 12-18-2020, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by masterzapper

Anywhere in French Polynesia. Highly recommend visiting several islands.

definitely a bucket list for us!!

UncleWede · 12-18-2020, 10:56 AM

Jamaica-mahn!

We stayed at a Sandals or something, but it was a tiny one they had just acquired. After the first morning, the omlette lady knew how I wanted it, and it was ready by the time I had my plate full of fresh fruit.

BEST memory: My 10-yo son and I playing chess with one of those life-sized sets, in a complete downpour around noon, and I hardly got any water in my diet Cuba Libre!

Second best, but it took nearly 30 years. I had purchased tickets with a GF to go to Machu Pichu, stay in a yoag retreat. I had visions of the apus talking to me under a full moon.

2 years ago I convince wife and another couple that I didn't care where else we went, as long as we were in the sacred valley under a full moon. And there she rose, over the top of the apus, just as I had seen all those years ago.

CalAcacian · 12-18-2020, 02:22 PM

Safari in Zimbabwe in mid-2019. The full trip was LA to Manchester to Zurich to Lucerne to Bern to Prague to Vienna to Spielberg (driving a Cayman S on the Red Bull ring in a massive rain and thunderstorm) back to Vienna to Zimbabwe (Victoria falls area) to do a 5 day and 2 day safari to Johannesburg to Abu Dhabi and back home all in 14 days.

I've been lucky to travel Europe extensively, but I at a certain point you can reach a level of saturation with typical European sights and old churches etc. Landing in Zimbabwe was such a breath of fresh air. It was a truly unique experience.

12-17-2020, 08:31 AM	#23
vreihen16 Recovering Perfectionist 20543 Rep 1,005 Posts Drives: BMW-less :( Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Orange County, NY iTrader: (0) Garage List 2014 Mighty Freight ... [0.00] 2000 Audi TT Quattro [0.00] 1967 Formula Vee [0.00]	My favorite vacation was a 4-day solo Thanksgiving jaunt to London that I took right after 9/11. The trip started with a bang, er, I mean a sonic boom as soon as my British Airways flight cleared US airspace. (Bucket list item crossed off.) Spent a lot of my time exploring the London Tube (subway) system, using a Palm Pilot and the Metro world public transit app because that's how people rolled in 2001. One of my favorite things was a double-decker tour bus ride. The tour guide asked everyone where they were from, in a British accent. When he discovered that every passenger was from the USA, he told us that he had recently moved to London from the US, dropped the British accent, and and went full Boston accent for the rest of the tour. He gave the tour from a US history perspective, which included showing the tree where the king had the messenger who delivered the Declaration of Independence hanged, and telling us how the people of England were plotting to throw Starbucks into the Thames as revenge for the Boston Tea Party. Thanksgiving Day included a walk under the Thames from Canary Warf to the Cutty Sark through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, followed by a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner in Greenwich Park in the cafe east of the Royal Observatory and prime meridian (bucket list item to walk across prime meridian). Anyway, the trip was prompted by seeing an old London Underground poster in a NYC museum exhibit, and finding out that reprints were for sale at the Transport For London museum in London. It was one of the few souvenirs that I brought back, and my co-workers know to stay away from my $10,000 poster because it means more to me than human life! Some above-ground pictures: . __________________ Currently BMW-less. Last edited by vreihen16; 12-17-2020 at 08:36 AM..
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12-17-2020, 08:48 AM	#24
Dpc2u Major 11491 Rep 1,065 Posts Drives: E93 M3, E60 M5, F15 X5, E46 Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Middle Tennessee iTrader: (0)	Really hard to say I have one favorite of the many, but of the most recent, 11 days in Romania where I drove the Transfagarasan highway. Intended to go back this year to drive the Transalpina, but..... that didn't happen. 🙄 Attached Images __________________ E46, E60 M5, E93 M3, F15 X5 IG - @thebimmerhaus
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12-17-2020, 09:26 AM	#26
///d Captain 1898 Rep 619 Posts Drives: F15 35d M Sport Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Minne-snow-ta iTrader: (0)	I'd have to say Grand Teton Nat'l Park. My buddy and I go on a big back country backpacking trip every summer. This trip was supposed to be 5 days on the trail, but the conditions of the mountain pass on day 2 were too dangerous and sketchy, so we called it and back tracked out. Ended up spending the remaining days just winging it checking out the park and went to Yellowstone for a day. Saw my first moose and grizzly in the wild. It was awesome to have nothing planned, no schedule, no place to be. Wont make another trip until 2022, but hoping to make the Milford Sound Trek in New Zealand happen. Bucket list hike. Attached Images
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12-17-2020, 10:58 AM	#27
jmg Lieutenant General 19279 Rep 14,258 Posts Drives: G82 M4C X-Drive Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (1) Garage List 2025 BMW M2 [10.00] 2022 G82 M4C X-Drive [9.89] 2018 F80 M3 CS [9.90] 2018 BMW i3 REx [5.00] 2015 BMW i3 REx [0.00] 2016 BMW F80 M3 [7.29] 2016 BMW F30 340i ZTR [10.00] 2013 BMW F30 328i [0.00] 2006 Audi S4 25Quattro [7.00]	One of my most memorable was probably a trip to a private island in the South Pacific a family friend owns or partially owns or something... it wasn't quite clear. It was a tiny island with the longest, but sketchiest dock I had ever seen over the clearest, bluest water I had ever witnessed. Attached Images __________________ 2022 G82///M4 Competition X-Drive - KW-HAS, Millway Race Camber Plates, Cup2 Connect, PSI High Flow Midpipe, Lightweight Front Lip, M Perf Flow Through Wing Previous • 2018 F80 ///M3 CS • 2016 F80 ///M3 Ordered • 2025 ///M2 Last edited by jmg; 12-17-2020 at 11:06 AM..*
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12-17-2020, 11:02 AM	#28
jmg Lieutenant General 19279 Rep 14,258 Posts Drives: G82 M4C X-Drive Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (1) Garage List 2025 BMW M2 [10.00] 2022 G82 M4C X-Drive [9.89] 2018 F80 M3 CS [9.90] 2018 BMW i3 REx [5.00] 2015 BMW i3 REx [0.00] 2016 BMW F80 M3 [7.29] 2016 BMW F30 340i ZTR [10.00] 2013 BMW F30 328i [0.00] 2006 Audi S4 25Quattro [7.00]	From the same trip, but different island. Little did we know a storm would hit this island and strand everyone here for a week. Luckily, we hopped on a boat and skipped to another island that had an airport on it the day before. The days leading up to the storm were very beautiful though. Attached Images __________________ 2022 G82///M4 Competition X-Drive - KW-HAS, Millway Race Camber Plates, Cup2 Connect, PSI High Flow Midpipe, Lightweight Front Lip, M Perf Flow Through Wing Previous • 2018 F80 ///M3 CS • 2016 F80 ///M3 Ordered • 2025 ///*M2
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12-17-2020, 12:29 PM	#31
GenXer Major 1396 Rep 1,031 Posts Drives: Like a bat out of hell. Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: here and there iTrader: (0) Garage List 2017 Chevrolet Volt [0.00] 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe [0.00]	The most relaxing vacation I've had in a long time was Daytona Beach believe it or not. During the busy season it's unbearable with all the race fans and spring break people. But the week of Thanksgiving, it's just a nice sleepy Florida town. Clean, inexpensive and miles and miles of beaches. You could run at full sprint in just about every direction and you probably won't hit anyone. We left the patio door of our hotel open every night we slept. It was dry and warm at about 75F at night and 85F during the day. Attached Images
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12-17-2020, 03:42 PM	#33
Tommy-G Captain 4605 Rep 694 Posts Drives: 2015 435 Vert Alpine White Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bradenton FL iTrader: (0)	Just some random pics from my above mentioned Europe trip. Paris->Monaco->Florence->Rome Attached Images
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12-17-2020, 04:15 PM	#34
Ximian . 2090 Rep 2,021 Posts Drives: E92 M3 Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: MN iTrader: (1) Garage List 2011 BMW M3 [0.00] 2021 BMW M3 [0.00]	Picking up wife's XC90 through Volvo's Overseas Delivery Program. We spent nearly a month driving around Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, and Croatia. There's something really cool about driving the same car in the US that you drove through all those other places. Attached Images Last edited by Ximian; 12-17-2020 at 08:32 PM..
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12-17-2020, 05:51 PM	#36
pennsiveguy Major 3548 Rep 1,062 Posts Drives: F15 xDrive50i M-sport Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: Edina, MN iTrader: (0) Garage List 2017 BMW X5 xDrive50i [0.00]	Another memorable trip was to Helsinki and then northward to Finnish Lapland, 100km above the Arctic Circle, for Christmas in 2016. Spent a day and a night in Helsinki visiting my then-GF's brother (she was a native Finn). The outdoor Christmas Market in the main city square is really cool. And then the 3 of us hopped a plane for Ivalo and from there drove to Saariselka. Had a beautiful log cabin with a huge fireplace and lots of birch firewood. And, of course, a sauna. Weather was great - much warmer than the -25F we had left behind in Minnesota. Attached Images __________________ 2017 F15 xDrive50i M Sport \| Superformance GT40 Roush 511 IR FE
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12-17-2020, 06:40 PM	#37
HFW003 Brigadier General 6197 Rep 3,273 Posts Drives: 2024 M340i xdrive Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Newcastle, Australia iTrader: (0) Garage List 2024 M340 x drive [10.00]	For an Australian the antithesis of Christmas is a white Christmas. In December 2019 my Wife, Son and I traveled around Europe for about two and a half months. It was very special having a white Christmas and is by far my best Holiday. Sorry, apparently you will have to turn your head sideways to see some of the pics. Merry Christmas everyone !!1 H Attached Images
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12-17-2020, 09:15 PM	#38
masterzapper Private First Class 147 Rep 130 Posts Drives: 328i X Touring Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Cincinnati, OH iTrader: (0)	Anywhere in French Polynesia. Highly recommend visiting several islands. Attached Images
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12-18-2020, 08:04 AM	#39
Tommy-G Captain 4605 Rep 694 Posts Drives: 2015 435 Vert Alpine White Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bradenton FL iTrader: (0)	Guys, in todays world this is really great seeing all your experiences....I so miss traveling but seeing all your shots is GREAT! Keep them coming....
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12-18-2020, 10:56 AM	#41
UncleWede Long Time Admirer, First Time Owner 18404 Rep 9,422 Posts Drives: G01 X3 M40i Dark Graphite Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Oxnard, CA iTrader: (0)	Jamaica-mahn! We stayed at a Sandals or something, but it was a tiny one they had just acquired. After the first morning, the omlette lady knew how I wanted it, and it was ready by the time I had my plate full of fresh fruit. BEST memory: My 10-yo son and I playing chess with one of those life-sized sets, in a complete downpour around noon, and I hardly got any water in my diet Cuba Libre! Second best, but it took nearly 30 years. I had purchased tickets with a GF to go to Machu Pichu, stay in a yoag retreat. I had visions of the apus talking to me under a full moon. 2 years ago I convince wife and another couple that I didn't care where else we went, as long as we were in the sacred valley under a full moon. And there she rose, over the top of the apus, just as I had seen all those years ago.
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12-18-2020, 02:22 PM	#42
CalAcacian Lieutenant 561 Rep 575 Posts Drives: 2018 M2 Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: Orange County, California iTrader: (0)	Safari in Zimbabwe in mid-2019. The full trip was LA to Manchester to Zurich to Lucerne to Bern to Prague to Vienna to Spielberg (driving a Cayman S on the Red Bull ring in a massive rain and thunderstorm) back to Vienna to Zimbabwe (Victoria falls area) to do a 5 day and 2 day safari to Johannesburg to Abu Dhabi and back home all in 14 days. I've been lucky to travel Europe extensively, but I at a certain point you can reach a level of saturation with typical European sights and old churches etc. Landing in Zimbabwe was such a breath of fresh air. It was a truly unique experience.
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