23 hours ago, mr_hunt said:

nice pics, diapers.  any pics of you in a bikini?   

Ha, funny.  I'll leave you this.  A side view of the dancing gals at the all-white welcome party last Friday.  Believe my son took this one as that's my wine in the lower right hand corner. 

Last one.  Drone shot. 

On 11/14/2023 at 9:01 AM, DiPros said:

Back from the Dominican.  My 1st time out of the US. Nephew got married. This gated estate they were on was absolutely stunning. We stayed a few minutes away in the town of Cabrera which is the north end of the island.  Flew into Santo Domingo on the south end so it was almost a 3 hr trip. We rented a car and I would not recommend doing this. We researched and had directions but still got off course. It was wild with all the motor scooter’s and trucks that were old and looked like their load would fall over at any moment. Most of the drive was highway and very scenic. 
 

Cabrera was a safe town. We walked to dinner the first night.  A little noisy  but that’s the culture . Lots of dogs everywhere and cattle. Our Airbnb was a 2 bedroom apt fully functional, clean, 2 balconies and a pool on the roof. 4 nights under $500 total. Owner lived on 1st floor. Super host.  We did lose electricity the 1st night for a few hours. Water was lukewarm but who wants a hot shower in that tropical climate.  
 

1. Did you explore Santo Domingo?  The Zona Colonial ("Old Town") has the oldest buildings in the New World.  One or two buildings date from the 1510s, and Christopher Columbus actually set foot in one.  His son's house is there, too.  Just imagine, there are buildings in the Zona Colonial of Santo Domingo that were 100 years old when the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth.

 

2. Your first time out of the US for real?  Not even to Canada, like Niagara Falls?

16 hours ago, xzmattzx said:

1. Did you explore Santo Domingo?  The Zona Colonial ("Old Town") has the oldest buildings in the New World.  One or two buildings date from the 1510s, and Christopher Columbus actually set foot in one.  His son's house is there, too.  Just imagine, there are buildings in the Zona Colonial of Santo Domingo that were 100 years old when the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth.

 

2. Your first time out of the US for real?  Not even to Canada, like Niagara Falls?

We did not.  It was recommended that we not drive around that city.  We had to go almost 3 hrs. to the north end of the island for the wedding.  It was a long travel day.  I will take a shuttle if I ever go there again.  Driving was a bit scary when not on the highway.

Actually, no. I've been to Niagara Falls and Toronto way back in 1984.  Pretty sure I crossed the border with a paper driver's license. Things are so different today.  Glad I have a passport now and don't need the real ID.  I paid for both the book and the card. 

Anyone with some experience in the Tulum/Mayakoba/Riviera Maya area?

Going there for a wedding in a couple weeks and tagging on a few extra days.

My wife and son probably won’t leave the resort except for a catamaran day, but we are traveling with another family where we can do a guys day trip.

I was thinking diving the cenotes, which I’ve never seen before, but wasn’t sure what else is in the area.

45 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

Anyone with some experience in the Tulum/Mayakoba/Riviera Maya area?

Going there for a wedding in a couple weeks and tagging on a few extra days.

My wife and son probably won’t leave the resort except for a catamaran day, but we are traveling with another family where we can do a guys day trip.

I was thinking diving the cenotes, which I’ve never seen before, but wasn’t sure what else is in the area.

I've never been there, but based on some notes I have, the cenotes seem like a good idea.  The ruins of Tulum are also supposed to be impressive.  It's a walled Mayan city on the beach.

 

Nohoch Mul is a pyramid taller than Chichen Itza.

 

I also have a note about Isla Holbox, but it's incomplete, so I don't know what's special about it, other than it being a good tourist destination.  But it was worth beginning to write about.

ive been to Tulum, but only as a cruise port destination (excursion from Cozumel). So I only know the ruins, and the beach there. 

This was in 2009. Ferry took us from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen (which was also beautiful, but since then has become overrun by Cartel activity). From Playa del Carmen we had a bus ride to Tulum with random armed military checkpoints along the highway. 

Would recommend the ruins, and definitely spending some time on that beach. The water was spectacular.

Other than that, I have no knowledge to share. 

2 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

ive been to Tulum, but only as a cruise port destination (excursion from Cozumel). So I only know the ruins, and the beach there. 

This was in 2009. Ferry took us from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen (which was also beautiful, but since then has become overrun by Cartel activity). From Playa del Carmen we had a bus ride to Tulum with random armed military checkpoints along the highway. 

Would recommend the ruins, and definitely spending some time on that beach. The water was spectacular.

Other than that, I have no knowledge to share. 

Cartel activity, sounds great.  If my only post in the first week of December is "help me,” you’ll know what happened.

 

6 hours ago, eagle45 said:

Cartel activity, sounds great.  If my only post in the first week of December is "help me,” you’ll know what happened.

 

You should try messaging JR because I think I remember he went to Mexico sometime in the past year. 

46 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

You should try messaging JR because I think I remember he went to Mexico sometime in the past year. 

He’s gonna tell the cartels to come after me.

18 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

He’s gonna tell the cartels to come after me.

that will be an adrenaline rush. 

My mum turns 60 in a week and I had no idea what to get her so I'm going to take her on a holiday. She went to the Hawaii for her Honeymoon with my dad, otherwise she hadn't been to the USA and has been wanting to go. I was originally looking at booking refundable flights and accommodation to Vegas to the SB earlier in the year in case the Eagles made it again. Slight pivot and we're going to be in Vegas for SB weekend regardless.

Just finished booking everything today, she is aware of what we're doing because I wanted her to pick the places she wants to go and see. We start in LA for 3 days before flying to Vegas. After that we'll check out NYC, do a day trip to Philly, spend a couple more days in NYC and then fly to Nashville for a few days. We'll finish off in Miami for a couple of days and she can visit one of her friends who lives there.

She'll head home and I'm going to  spend about another week and visit a friend in Chicago, fly back to LA and go full @OCEaglefan nerd and check out Disney and Super Mario World at Universal for a couple of days before flying home. 

Wooo!

taking the family to Mario for my son’s 12th birthday in March 

On 12/5/2023 at 4:06 PM, OCEaglefan said:

Wooo!

taking the family to Mario for my son’s 12th birthday in March 

To where?

Could use some advice from any Disney-Orlando experts on here.

I have annual pass to Universal Studios so I make a few visits a year (especially in the **** Jan/Feb months in Minnesota), and this time I saw that Hollywood Studios has an after-hours event Wed 1/10 that runs from something like 930p-1230a with vastly decreased capacity (separately ticketed event). They do let people enter the park at 7pm to get a head start which I'll plan on, and some blogs online make it sounds like its pretty easy to hit all the open attractions during that 4hr window, with many claiming that the popular Star Wars rides can easily be hit multiple times.

I've never been and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the rides/attractions/shows don't operate during the 930-1230a window, so looking for advice on anything I should try to hit first thing at 7pm before their normal "closing" hours around 9, and if there are any attractions that I should skip altogether (unless hitting them last) as they aren't worth the time if I'm looking at a 5.5ish hour timeframe? 

The line on the Star Wars ride when I went was insane. It broke down while I was mid line and we were stuck there for a while. Eventually the other wait points become 'interactive'. I think it took me from like 8am to 4pm to do most of what I wanted to do there. I think I may have ditched a couple (Tower of Terror) so I could go to Epcot and try and smash out that park. Best bet is to check the app, look at what you want to do, look at the times certain attractions run (Indy stage show for example) and then break it down into a colour coded spreadsheet by area

4 hours ago, Mat said:

The line on the Star Wars ride when I went was insane. It broke down while I was mid line and we were stuck there for a while. Eventually the other wait points become 'interactive'. I think it took me from like 8am to 4pm to do most of what I wanted to do there. I think I may have ditched a couple (Tower of Terror) so I could go to Epcot and try and smash out that park. Best bet is to check the app, look at what you want to do, look at the times certain attractions run (Indy stage show for example) and then break it down into a colour coded spreadsheet by area

In glancing their website, I don’t think the Indy show (as one example) runs past like 4ish, so I’m expecting that a handful of things won’t be operational from that 7p-1230a timeframe. 
 

here’s some info I just found on a website. https://www.undercovertourist.com/blog/disney-after-hours-at-hollywood-studios/
 

Just booked a large house in Cadaques Spain for a big group of old college friends for next fall.  We've been there before and loved it so it gets a return trip for this group.

Cadaques is a small town on the Med a couple hours northeast of Barcelona and about 45 mins from the French border.  Cava country and home to Dali (his house is a really funky museum, e.g. pool shaped like a phenus/nutz).  Absolutely a town worth a visit if you ever venture up to the Catalonia part of Spain.

Going to Fort Lauderdale next weekend with my brother & sister-in-law.  He bought his whole family tickets to the Eagles farewell tour at Hard Rock Live Mar 2nd.  Steely Dan opens for them. I booked us an air bnb on the next block over from my nephew's house.  Should be good although a short trip.  Leaving Friday morning and returning Sunday.

 

Wife and I did a long weekend at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville 2 weeks ago.  If you're in NC or anywhere close, I highly recommend this place.  Amazing views, spa, restaurants, and bars.  They have an outdoor giant hot tub that overlooks the Blue Ridge Mountains.  We were actually complaining because it was too hot outside in February to really enjoy it but still amazing nonetheless.  It was our first time both away from the girls since Hayden was born in July and very much needed!  

On 2/22/2024 at 9:10 AM, DiPros said:

Going to Fort Lauderdale next weekend with my brother & sister-in-law.  He bought his whole family tickets to the Eagles farewell tour at Hard Rock Live Mar 2nd.  Steely Dan opens for them. I booked us an air bnb on the next block over from my nephew's house.  Should be good although a short trip.  Leaving Friday morning and returning Sunday.

 

Parrot Lounge near A1A and Sunrise Blvd. in Central Beach is the Philly sports bar in Fort Lauderdale.

 

A block or two away is the Bonnet House, a historic house situated in the pines and palms.

 

Down A1A is Elbo Room, a historic beachside bar from the 1930s.  It's cash only.

 

Further down A1A is the Swimming Hall of Fame, which is small, but interesting if you have a connection to the sport.

 

 

On 2/22/2024 at 1:44 PM, hputenis said:

Wife and I did a long weekend at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville 2 weeks ago.  If you're in NC or anywhere close, I highly recommend this place.  Amazing views, spa, restaurants, and bars.  They have an outdoor giant hot tub that overlooks the Blue Ridge Mountains.  We were actually complaining because it was too hot outside in February to really enjoy it but still amazing nonetheless.  It was our first time both away from the girls since Hayden was born in July and very much needed!  

The Inn at Biltmore is a great place too. Plus, if you stay there, you get free rein of the grounds (touring the house costs extra of course).

I’m traveling to Venice and Rome in September. 3 days in Venice and 5 in Rome. I’ve been to both before and hit most of the major attractions. Looking for recommendations for things off the beaten track or restaurants to try in either city. 

On 3/2/2024 at 11:10 AM, Blazehound said:

I’m traveling to Venice and Rome in September. 3 days in Venice and 5 in Rome. I’ve been to both before and hit most of the major attractions. Looking for recommendations for things off the beaten track or restaurants to try in either city. 

Have you been to Ostia Antica southwest of Rome?  That is the Roman ruins town that is apparently much less crowded than Pompeii.  The modern town of Ostia seems to be an Italian beach town, so you might have good weather in September to swim in the Mediterranean.

 

I've heard that some of the other islands in Venice Lagoon are worth visiting: Murano, Burano, Tercello, etc.  They're the historic middle class, now work-a-day islands that aren't over-touristed.

 

 

On 3/2/2024 at 11:10 AM, Blazehound said:

I’m traveling to Venice and Rome in September. 3 days in Venice and 5 in Rome. I’ve been to both before and hit most of the major attractions. Looking for recommendations for things off the beaten track or restaurants to try in either city. 

Venice and Rome are both great cities to see after you've hit the major check boxes.

Venice...get lost.  Wander around the canals, just walk around.  I would recommend making a 12pm lunch reservation at the Gritti Palace dock for lunch.  If you are the first to arrive, they'll give you a canal front table and you could pass a 4 hour afternoon there just eating, drinking, and watching the boats go by.  If you haven't done it already, walk or take the elevator to the top of the clock tower in St. Marks square.  IMO, Bistro Di Venice is the best restaurant in the city for dinner.

Rome...I could spend a year there without getting bored.  Walk to Trastevere.  It's across the Tiber, has lots of great restaurants and wine bars, and is a nice new perspective.  Most tourists don't make it quite that far.  A 45-60 minute drive out of town is Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the Pope.  It's a perfect day or half day trip...very picturesque town with beautiful views over a crater lake.  Rosciolli is my favorite restaurant in Rome.  Started out as a meat and cheese shop and evolved into one of the most popular restaurants in the city.  Got so popular they just opened up a location in NYC.  It's really difficult to get a reservation, even in advance.  They ignored me for a res and only responded to my wife's instagram.  Il Sostegno is also outstanding.

You can always take the train to Naples and a car into the Amalfi coast, time permitting.  That's my favorite place on Earth.