Last year the kids tired of the beach house we had been renting and barely went out to the beach at all so this year we decided to rent a mountain cabin here in Marion, NC. Last evening these 2 wandered through the backyard. That was pretty exciting.

37 minutes ago, The_Omega said:

Last year the kids tired of the beach house we had been renting and barely went out to the beach at all so this year we decided to rent a mountain cabin here in Marion, NC. Last evening these 2 wandered through the backyard. That was pretty exciting.

Is there a lot for kids to do there? I didn't realize how close that is to Charlotte. We spend the majority of our time at the mountains in Blowing Rock, Beech Mountain, or Asheville/Grove Park Inn for anniversaries and sheet.

1 hour ago, hputenis said:

Is there a lot for kids to do there? I didn't realize how close that is to Charlotte. We spend the majority of our time at the mountains in Blowing Rock, Beech Mountain, or Asheville/Grove Park Inn for anniversaries and sheet.

There’s hiking. Lots of hiking. Hiking to waterfalls, hiking to overlooks, hiking to gorges. We did the Linville Gorge area one day, which is great, takes a little effort but they make it as easy to get to the various scenic spots as possible. If you’re down for some more strenuous hikes you could spend days there doing other trails like Table Rock as well. We did Tom’s Creek Falls another day which is a fairly easy .75 miles out and back

Unfortunately I’ve reached the point in my life where watching my kids do the same reckless crap I used to do scares the crap out of me so I have to hang back or walk away and let them do their thing. This cabin’s great, got a game room with a foosball table, skee ball table and a couple of arcade games in the basement. We’re spending our evenings bonding over dad reliving his drunken glory days by whipping everyone in foosball. I love our mountains, but still prefer the beach for vacation. At the beach, when I’m sitting around doing nothing I feel like that’s what I should be doing. Here, when I’m sitting around doing nothing, I feel like I should be doing something, anything, else.

34 minutes ago, The_Omega said:

Unfortunately I’ve reached the point in my life where watching my kids do the same reckless crap I used to do scares the crap out of me so I have to hang back or walk away and let them do their thing. This cabin’s great, got a game room with a foosball table, skee ball table and a couple of arcade games in the basement. We’re spending our evenings bonding over dad reliving his drunken glory days by whipping everyone in foosball. I love our mountains, but still prefer the beach for vacation. At the beach, when I’m sitting around doing nothing I feel like that’s what I should be doing. Here, when I’m sitting around doing nothing, I feel like I should be doing something, anything, else.

be honest, you're just mad your eyes don't get to indulge in the recent trend of thong bikinis.

Anyone with experience going to Rehoboth Beach? gf has gone there with her kids a few times in the past I think, and planning a trip there for August. I haven't been, so figure if anyone has experience and recommendations, I can suggest those.

2 hours ago, Agent23 said:

be honest, you're just mad your eyes don't get to indulge in the recent trend of thong bikinis.

Well I wasn’t, but now I am…

Natures sand art project

A wood carving in an antique store in Linville Falls, NC. I call it The Female Butt Head

On 7/2/2026 at 7:10 PM, Agent23 said:

Anyone with experience going to Rehoboth Beach? gf has gone there with her kids a few times in the past I think, and planning a trip there for August. I haven't been, so figure if anyone has experience and recommendations, I can suggest those.

Yeah, a million times but that was 25 years ago. Doubt it has changed that much though. You'll want to use Queen St to enter the beach on the southern edge which will take you directly to Poodle Beach (haha).

Not sure what you are looking for these days but the bigger party spot is Dewey Beach about a mile south of Rehoboth. Rehoboth has the better restaurants and a mix of family stuff into the mix. Let me know if the wild green parrots are still there.

4 hours ago, DrPhilly said:

Yeah, a million times but that was 25 years ago. Doubt it has changed that much though. You'll want to use Queen St to enter the beach on the southern edge which will take you directly to Poodle Beach (haha).

Not sure what you are looking for these days but the bigger party spot is Dewey Beach about a mile south of Rehoboth. Rehoboth has the better restaurants and a mix of family stuff into the mix. Let me know if the wild green parrots are still there.

wild green parrots as in live birds? (I spent years of my life going to Key West so I am accustomed to wild chickens... but parrots sound like an entirely different thing!)

2 hours ago, Agent23 said:

wild green parrots as in live birds? (I spent years of my life going to Key West so I am accustomed to wild chickens... but parrots sound like an entirely different thing!)

Yes. They are actually parakeets. Pretty cool. You’ll see them around the south part of town.

Opatija, Croatia

Asolo Italy

On a neat cruise going south on the Adriatic.

Who has info on Banff? We are beginning to discuss a trip. Possibly in November, but possibly not till next year.

Im a bit confused on park access.

Also would like info on places to stay. Peaks looks like a great location for convenience. Some others are more on the mountainside, but not sure how accessibility to everything else is from those places.

33 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

Who has info on Banff? We are beginning to discuss a trip. Possibly in November, but possibly not till next year.

Im a bit confused on park access.

Also would like info on places to stay. Peaks looks like a great location for convenience. Some others are more on the mountainside, but not sure how accessibility to everything else is from those places.

I’m crafting a Banff trip now. On the bucket list. The Banff question is if you want summer weather or winter activities. I’d kill myself skiing so I’d only go in summer so I could see the lakes in that neon blue. Lake Morraine is the best one and that apparently requires some careful planning. Can’t park there, need to take a bus unless staying at the Morraine Lake lodge, which looks really cool but doesn’t allow kids. Tons of hotels in the region. Easy flight from east coast.

1 hour ago, eagle45 said:

I’m crafting a Banff trip now. On the bucket list. The Banff question is if you want summer weather or winter activities. I’d kill myself skiing so I’d only go in summer so I could see the lakes in that neon blue. Lake Morraine is the best one and that apparently requires some careful planning. Can’t park there, need to take a bus unless staying at the Morraine Lake lodge, which looks really cool but doesn’t allow kids. Tons of hotels in the region. Easy flight from east coast.

Wow big EMB meet-up in Banff!!

We arent skiers. November seems like good hotel rates. Might be nice weather. Might be cool, might be cold with snow. I'm open to any of it. It's probably worth going a few times to see it in different ways.

I saw a youtube video that says lake moraine sells out passes months in advance. Then 2 days ahead you can get possibly get passes but theybsell out in about 30 seconds so its no guarantee.

But lake Louise sounds like its accessible for everyone. But, I could be wrong on that. They're in the same spot connected by bus with no private cars allowed on the road.

If we go in November we may not see Lorraine but hopefully Louise? Not sure.

I also see you need park passes just to get in to Banff, and there are a few different national parks requiring passes. So I dont know if you need separate passes or if you just but the same pass that gets you in to any park...

Seems like a bunch of research required.

One other thing I saw was a canoe at Morraine is $160 for an hour. However, there is one hotel that offers free canoes.

Also debating between Fairmont for the luxury, or peaks for the location, or some others with very Instagramable rooftop hot pools.

55 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

Wow big EMB meet-up in Banff!!

We arent skiers. November seems like good hotel rates. Might be nice weather. Might be cool, might be cold with snow. I'm open to any of it. It's probably worth going a few times to see it in different ways.

I saw a youtube video that says lake moraine sells out passes months in advance. Then 2 days ahead you can get possibly get passes but theybsell out in about 30 seconds so its no guarantee.

But lake Louise sounds like its accessible for everyone. But, I could be wrong on that. They're in the same spot connected by bus with no private cars allowed on the road.

If we go in November we may not see Lorraine but hopefully Louise? Not sure.

I also see you need park passes just to get in to Banff, and there are a few different national parks requiring passes. So I dont know if you need separate passes or if you just but the same pass that gets you in to any park...

Seems like a bunch of research required.

One other thing I saw was a canoe at Morraine is $160 for an hour. However, there is one hotel that offers free canoes.

Also debating between Fairmont for the luxury, or peaks for the location, or some others with very Instagramable rooftop hot pools.

I’m a compulsive vacation planner. I hate leaving things to chance and (you can tell by my blog postings) I have a horrible tolerance for deviating from the plan. The point…book the pass in advance never leave it to chance. I make dinner reservations a year in advance for vacations because I’m a lunatic.

6 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I’m a compulsive vacation planner. I hate leaving things to chance and (you can tell by my blog postings) I have a horrible tolerance for deviating from the plan. The point…book the pass in advance never leave it to chance. I make dinner reservations a year in advance for vacations because I’m a lunatic.

I am sort of.

I made a hell of a map of NYC Christmas points of interest and mapped out the most efficient path to walk.

Did an awesome plan for Niagara Falls last year as well.

I think it pays to know ahead of time so you dont waste time when there is a ton to do within a few days.

I'll be researching this a ton to make sure we know how to go efficiently from one point to another and whats nearby. But I won't make specific times for this.

They're are countless hikes and lookout points, points of interest etc.

Im finding that just going for a drive there is about as breathtaking as the endpoint view you are looking for at the end of a hiking trail.

I feel like we will check out a bunch of stuff but it's also going to be nice sitting on the balcony with a view at the hotel or in one of the rooftop hotel pools with a view. We are thinking of no kids on this trip so there's a chance for relaxation.

Been seeing lots if good things about the Moose hotel for good central location, rooftop hot tub, and I believe they offer complementary bus passes for getting around.

Moraine Lake Lodge is the hotel that offers free canoes. Which is nice since you'd otherwise have to pay $160 an hour there. I wonder if booking that hotel automatically means you have a pass then. Those are supposed to be hard to get.

And looks like you can not take any transportation to moraine lake in November due to potential avalanche. No busses after October.

On 8/14/2024 at 7:27 PM, eagle45 said:

Anyone have stories or experiences of crazy people they’ve encountered in their travels?

Outside of seeing new places and doing new things, sometimes travel lets you be someone new who ends up bonding with crowds you’d NEVER get mixed up with at home.

 

When my wife and I and our travel friends did Ireland last year, we did Northern Ireland first then worked our way counter clockwise around the coast. It was I think our 2nd night there we were in Donegal - after dinner and a stop at a pub we headed back to the hotel. The wives went to bed and we headed to hotel bar for a few more - after a bit the night manager came in. He was in charge of the front desk, bar, etc since it was late. He was Serbian - seemed pretty normal at first but then the conversation slowly changed. First it was about how Nikola Jokic was the greatest basketball player of all time - better than MJ, Lebron, etc. Which OK, fine, he's Serbian so we indulged him. From there it just got crazier though - he went into full blown conspiracy theory about 9/11 being a hoax and really just ripping on America. He was also incredibly misogynistic. We finished our drinks and got the hell out of there - very glad we were only there for one night

I have never been to Banff. But summer weather is only in July and August. Some places near Banff will start getting snow in late September. There will definitely be snow in November.

Southern Alberta has some nice other places as well. Consider Waterton Lake N.P., which borders the US's Glacier N.P. The Dinosaur Trail covers dinosaur sites. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is a prehistoric Native site. E.P. Ranch was a royal residence, owned by Edward VIII. Calgary is a fun city, and they are building a new hockey arena. See the Saddledome before it is demolished (when do the Flyers play in Calgary?).

The best time to fly into and see Calgary is July, when the Calgary Stampede takes place. It is supposed to be the Canadian Mardi Gras, for cowboys, with a lot of drinking and hookups.

So, Mrs HE wants to see the lakes in their beautiful color, not frozen over. Late November isnt happening. Considering late October now. Looks like there could still be snow, but thinking it'll be too soon for the freezing to happen.

Less risk of icy hiking trails...

6 hours ago, xzmattzx said:

I have never been to Banff. But summer weather is only in July and August. Some places near Banff will start getting snow in late September. There will definitely be snow in November.

Southern Alberta has some nice other places as well. Consider Waterton Lake N.P., which borders the US's Glacier N.P. The Dinosaur Trail covers dinosaur sites. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is a prehistoric Native site. E.P. Ranch was a royal residence, owned by Edward VIII. Calgary is a fun city, and they are building a new hockey arena. See the Saddledome before it is demolished (when do the Flyers play in Calgary?).

The best time to fly into and see Calgary is July, when the Calgary Stampede takes place. It is supposed to be the Canadian Mardi Gras, for cowboys, with a lot of drinking and hookups.

That stuff sounds cool. Not sure about e45, but we will only be going 3 nights so I'm sure we will stick close to Banff.