I see that Hall of Fame tackle and former Eagle Bob Brown died today (Saturday). He actually played in the first game I ever went to, but he was traded to the Rams the following year. He later played for Oakland en route to Canton. 

2 hours ago, BigEFly said:

 

@HazletonEagle avoid I81.  I have traveled it way to much headed to Texas.  Got a better route for you.  Take the Blue Ridge down to the Smokies. Enjoy Shenandoah on the way, Natural Bridge.  If you need to go a little faster at times, pop onto the Lee Highway.  See Ruby Falls. Then cruise over towards Birmingham and down through Montgomery and Selma towards Gulf Shores.  Then over to Mobile Bay and then Gulfport.  Take the Natchez Trace north.  Be sure to take in Merriweather Lewis’ murder or suicide mystery and the Indian Mounds. Take the trail in the Cypress Swamp. Hop off in Tupelo and look for Elvis’ birthplace.  Do Broadway in Nashville then pop up to Mammoth Cave and do the tour.  ((That’s also where the Corvette museum is that partly caved into a sinkhole.  Then head towards the Blue Grass Parkway considering some side bourbon trips then up to West VA. Get off the highway in WV  Explore the parks. Then over to Harpers Ferry (tour it,maybe kayak the river)  over to Frederick (consider the B&O, Catoctin National Park) up 15 to Gettysburg. Got you back to PA so I think you can find home again.  That should kill some of the dead time for you.

@HazletonEagle the route BigE has described is far superior to the one I laid out.  It will take you a bit longer, but it is far superior.

11 hours ago, eagle45 said:

 

I'm a compulsive travel planner and usually set up trips several months to a year ahead of time.  I  ended up with stars aligning in a weird way and an unexpected week off from work for the 2nd week of July.  Booked some flights and hotels and checking out Portugal with the fam.  Jet lag and a 2.5 year old seem like an awesome combination, but you can’t knock it until you try it.

The waves at Nazare are a must.

20 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

Still like it more active in here.

You can come to my forum.  I’ll keep you company. 

16 hours ago, Alphagrand said:

That sounds stressful and awesome at the same time.  Any idea how long you’ll stay in Hawaii, or is it dictated by the military?

I'll be there for 3 years and then it's a mystery where I'll be next lol. Gonna try to make my way to the east coast since all my family is that way

13 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

Wow a lot going on.  Congrats on the pregnancy and hope you enjoy your time in Hawaii. 

Central Park is a good suggestion. I haven't seen Time Square but don't really feel I'm missing much.   I've been to NY maybe only twice in my life.  Haven't been in Central Park yet.  Might be really nice to take a stroll. 

 

My main concern is how to navigate driving to NYC. I figure you can't really expect to drive in to the city and find a parking place.  I was just at Bayonne for a cruise and you can see the Stanton island ferry from on the ship. 

Figured maybe there is parking there and can ride the ferry over? Someone on WU suggested some sort of train iut if jersey city. 

Trying to look up parking info on Google seems confusing. So many spaces for rent at varying prices.  I think that's the main thing is figuring out how to get in to the city with the least hassle,  and not paying an arm and a leg for some crappy parking spot somewhere. 

Yea I would 100% just take a train, it's just not worth the hassle of driving around down there. Even taking a taxi is a pain it's just a nicer option if you don't want to walk a mile+ to get where you're going. 

But central park is so beautiful, and there's almost always something going on there so maybe Google it and see if there are any festivals or art shows or anything like that when you'll be there. If not, it's nice to just find a spot to sit and enjoy the day

10 hours ago, vikas83 said:

Take the train dude, it is much easier. You can take NJ Transit from Trenton, and you can also take Septa to Trenton. Back in college, we took Septa to Trenton, transferred to NJ Transit and arrived in Penn Station. You can also take Amtrak, which is faster. In the city, take cabs and Ubers or the Subway - there is a WTC stop on the subway, and you can just take it from Penn Station. 

100% this.

Buy the round-trip ticket for NJ Transit in Trenton when you first get there.  And then try to line it up so you can catch one of the express trains to Penn Station - it can usually shave off 20 minutes or so as opposed to the regular route.  Straight shot to Central Park up 7th or 8th from there.

3 hours ago, just relax said:

The waves at Nazare are a must.

That was on the list.  Big wave season is in the winter though.  I hear Nazare is worth a visit in its own right…with only 1 week to spend, it was a tough cut from the itinerary.  

Okay, since this travel theme has gotten some traction.  How about each of us describe the favorite trip we have ever taken.  I’ve described here two trips (neither being my favorite trip, but damn good ones nonetheless) … the 3,500 mile road trip this May, and the hitch hiking road trip from Ithaca NY to Max Yasgur’s farm in 1969.  What are the favorite trips you have taken?

56 minutes ago, hukdonfoniks said:

100% this.

Buy the round-trip ticket for NJ Transit in Trenton when you first get there.  And then try to line it up so you can catch one of the express trains to Penn Station - it can usually shave off 20 minutes or so as opposed to the regular route.  Straight shot to Central Park up 7th or 8th from there.

sounds good. But my main reason for visiting is not central park. I want to see the WTC memorial and museum at ground zero. How close or far are the WTC and central park?

3 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

sounds good. But my main reason for visiting is not central park. I want to see the WTC memorial and museum at ground zero. How close or far are the WTC and central park?

WTC is south of Penn Station in the Financial District.  By train it's probably like a half hour between them?

23 minutes ago, mattwill said:

Okay, since this travel theme has gotten some traction.  How about each of us describe the favorite trip we have ever taken.  I’ve described here two trips (neither being my favorite trip, but damn good ones nonetheless) … the 3,500 mile road trip this May, and the hitch hiking road trip from Ithaca NY to Max Yasgur’s farm in 1969.  What are the favorite trips you have taken?

Im bad at picking favorites.

1. I think my trip to California when I was 8 years old is still one of the highlights for me. We stayed with family and spent about 2 weeks I think. We fit a lot in. We stayed with a relative in Davis. Traveled to Monterey, and San Francisco. In San Fran we did all the typical touristy stuff. Drove down Lombard street. Rode the cable cars. Went to Fisherman's wharf. And toured Alcatraz. We also spent some time with a relative in Sacramento. We went to pebble beach golf course, and saw the tall red woods. And traveled to Las Vegas for 3 days. Explored the strip, and saw the Hoover Dam.

2. I also loved going back to Vegas for 6 nights as an adult. With my wife. Was there for a conference. Did that stuff till noon, and then spent the afternoon and nights with Mrs HE. So much time spent relaxing by the Luxor pool. Saw all of the free shows on the strip like the fountains at the bellagio, and the Pirate show at Treasure Island right before they got rid of it. We bought week long bus passes for their public transit bus system and went off the strip for a casino that had bingo (Mrs HE loves bingo).  Accidentally missed our Cirque show, and a performer died at a Cirque show that night. We went and listened to a timeshare thing to score some last minute tickets to the Blue Man show since we wasted our Cirque tickets. Checked out Freemont St, which wasnt really our scene. Couldnt hear the city bus announcement on how to get back to the strip and ended up hoofing it for miles through vegas ghettos late at night. It seemed very sketchy, but wasn till I got back till @Wentz_Era told me we were walking through some really bad parts. Ill always remember that. She came home with our first bun in the oven.

3. 10 year wedding anniversary Mrs HE and I took a cruise to Bermuda where we got to stay for 2 days. It was great to be able to spend time relaxing in the adults only area of the ship, and on the beaches. I think those were some of the best beaches Ive ever been on. Loved the rocky landscapes right up against the sand and water. I got some awesome photos there. And learned some really interesting things about their culture. The locals really love talking about their islands and their way of life. Really cool to hear them talk. I would definitely go back to Bermuda one day. One thing I didnt like was that everything around seems to be closed by like 4:30 every day. That was weird. Luckily we had the ship to go back to at night. Not sure what youd do at nights if you were staying at a hotel there.

4. Since we took that cruise without kids and felt the guilt we finally got our kids on a cruise 2 weeks ago to the Bahamas. It was really fun seeing them so awestruck between the size and beauty of the ship, all of the endless bread and desserts they could take. We let them get away with it on vacation 3 days in, and my older son would still randomly say "I cant believe this" or "This is amazing" as we walked around.  They've never seen anything but the murky gray/green waters of Ocean City NJ. They were blown away by the clear blue water in the Bahamas. My older son loves looking for sea life and we saw plenty of it. I know cruizing is not for everyone but the Royal Caribbean Aqua 80's show on the Oasis class ships has got to be the most impressive thing happening at sea in the entire industry. And their private island Perfect Day at Coco Cay is a spectacular destination. I wish you could just travel directly there and stay for a while rather than a 1 day destination on a cruise. 

1 hour ago, mattwill said:

Okay, since this travel theme has gotten some traction.  How about each of us describe the favorite trip we have ever taken.  I’ve described here two trips (neither being my favorite trip, but damn good ones nonetheless) … the 3,500 mile road trip this May, and the hitch hiking road trip from Ithaca NY to Max Yasgur’s farm in 1969.  What are the favorite trips you have taken?

I can’t top our honeymoon. Rome, Venice and Dubrovnik. Of the three, Dubrovnik was my favorite.  I fell in love with that city.  The people are terrific, the city was beautiful and the food was amazing everywhere we went. Ended up extending our honeymoon an extra day there. 

I don't have a favorite trip, but I have been doing my annual "drive". I head out and pick a direction then drive until I get tired then loop my way back. Two years ago I left Aptos for Tahoe/Reno and went up through Idaho to Jackson Wy. I hung out at the Grand Tetons (amazing place), then through Yellowstone. I went up into Montana to Glacier National Park, then looped through Idaho, Washington and Oregon...beautiful country.

I leave tomorrow for a shorter trip up into Puget Sound and then down the coast from Washington and Oregon. I retire next year from education after 38 years, so I am looking at the PNW for transplant. I am so done with California.

1 hour ago, aptosbird said:

I don't have a favorite trip, but I have been doing my annual "drive". I head out and pick a direction then drive until I get tired then loop my way back. Two years ago I left Aptos for Tahoe/Reno and went up through Idaho to Jackson Wy. I hung out at the Grand Tetons (amazing place), then through Yellowstone. I went up into Montana to Glacier National Park, then looped through Idaho, Washington and Oregon...beautiful country.

I leave tomorrow for a shorter trip up into Puget Sound and then down the coast from Washington and Oregon. I retire next year from education after 38 years, so I am looking at the PNW for transplant. I am so done with California.

Shame you didn't swing down to Moab for Arches, DeadHorse, and Canyonlands Island in the Sky and Needles. Arches is more spread out with amazing structures chocolate chipped through the park while Needles and Island in the Sky are stunning throughout. Goblin is about the same driving distance from Main Street as Needles and both are worth it.  I thought they'd all just be a bunch of rocks but it's amazing, especially at night. Coming from Philly I couldn't imagine the stars you'll see at night in Dark Sky Certified parks.

1 hour ago, aptosbird said:

I don't have a favorite trip, but I have been doing my annual "drive". I head out and pick a direction then drive until I get tired then loop my way back. Two years ago I left Aptos for Tahoe/Reno and went up through Idaho to Jackson Wy. I hung out at the Grand Tetons (amazing place), then through Yellowstone. I went up into Montana to Glacier National Park, then looped through Idaho, Washington and Oregon...beautiful country.

Definitely beautiful country.  This YouTube video gives that part of the country an interesting wrinkle.  

 

 

21 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

Shame you didn't swing down to Moab for Arches, DeadHorse, and Canyonlands Tabletop and Needles. Arches is more spread out with amazing structures chocolate chipped through the park while Needles and Tabletop  are stunning throughout. Goblin is about the same driving distance from Main Street as Needles and both are worth it.   

On our recent trip we spent half a day in Arches.  It was fabulous.  We didn’t give Canyonlands the same level of attention due to time constraints … and because of all the time we had spent in Escalante-Grand Staircase.  

We look forward to Canyonlands and Goblin in a future trip. We drive from Davis, CA to Granby, CO every summer, and we vary our route through Utah every year.

Have you ever been to Valley of Fire State Park north of Las Vegas?  If you haven’t you should be sure to do so.  Here’s a preview from one of our favorite PBS shows. 

 

5 hours ago, mattwill said:

Okay, since this travel theme has gotten some traction.  How about each of us describe the favorite trip we have ever taken.  I’ve described here two trips (neither being my favorite trip, but damn good ones nonetheless) … the 3,500 mile road trip this May, and the hitch hiking road trip from Ithaca NY to Max Yasgur’s farm in 1969.  What are the favorite trips you have taken?

Just got back from australia. Travel sucks.

its all the same garbage

Huge game for the Philadelphia Stars in 10 minutes on Fox.  Final game of the year.  If they win then they make the playoffs.  

6 hours ago, mattwill said:

Okay, since this travel theme has gotten some traction.  How about each of us describe the favorite trip we have ever taken.  I’ve described here two trips (neither being my favorite trip, but damn good ones nonetheless) … the 3,500 mile road trip this May, and the hitch hiking road trip from Ithaca NY to Max Yasgur’s farm in 1969.  What are the favorite trips you have taken?

This answer won’t surprise you much, but my favorite is probably wherever I go next for fun.  (Note I am saying this grabbing a glass of wine in Durango.). It is so hard to say as I have seen so much of the country.  The nine weeks I spent in Milan taking side trips every weekend and bank holiday was pretty memorable.  Backpacking not far from where I sit in the back country for a couple weeks was awesome. Closest I have been to spiritual was sitting above the tree line at around 14k watching the afternoon thunderstorm roar is is a hell of a memory.  

The summer my dad hitched our pop up behind the station wagon in 1969 and six weeks later we had gone from Texas to SD to drop of our cat with my grandmother and great grandfather, gone up to ND (including TR NP), Glacier NP to Calgary to Banff, Jasper over to British Columbia down western WA to Idaho down the Snake River, Craters of the Moon, into WY through the Tetons, down to Yellowstone, over to Devil’s Tower through Custer SP in SD, the Badlands and back to SD to watch Neil Armstrong step onto the moon while sitting next to my 97 year old great grandfather (who land rushed in Oklahoma as a young man).  That was my last summer seeing him.  That one sticks out. They were burning the summer wheat off in KS on the way home.

Today wasn’t bad, breakfast in the plaza in Santa Fe, Taos, through the San Juan’s to a glass of wine in Pagosa Springs and over to Durango with a stop at Chimney Rock. 

7 hours ago, mattwill said:

Okay, since this travel theme has gotten some traction.  How about each of us describe the favorite trip we have ever taken.  I’ve described here two trips (neither being my favorite trip, but damn good ones nonetheless) … the 3,500 mile road trip this May, and the hitch hiking road trip from Ithaca NY to Max Yasgur’s farm in 1969.  What are the favorite trips you have taken?

Obviously, my favorite trip is when I met my wife in 2012 in the Philippines; I had never been outside of North America before so that trip was extremely memorable.  
 

Our favorite trip as a couple was to the South Caribbean to celebrate my 50th birthday back in 2016.  St. Croix, St. Thomas, Martinique, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis — I never would have dreamed I would celebrate my 50th birthday in the West Indies — and the highlight of the trip for me was sailing in and out of San Juan.  Such a great city combining Old San Juan and its history with New San Juan.  Many fantastic beaches (all open to the public by law in Puerto Rico).  That was before the destructive storms, so I hope the region has fully recovered.

I would really like to return to San Juan, but my wife had a bad experience trying to get checked in to leave the country, so she’s not as eager.

7 hours ago, mattwill said:

Okay, since this travel theme has gotten some traction.  How about each of us describe the favorite trip we have ever taken.  I’ve described here two trips (neither being my favorite trip, but damn good ones nonetheless) … the 3,500 mile road trip this May, and the hitch hiking road trip from Ithaca NY to Max Yasgur’s farm in 1969.  What are the favorite trips you have taken?

I've got two, in Europe and in the U.S. 

Between high school and college I took a "gap year" and went to Europe, starting in France. It started out as a two-week stay but ended up being 11 months. I hitchhiked, mostly - it was a simpler and more innocent time then and rides were easy to come by. All over France, Amsterdam, Bruges, Munich, Frankfurt, Rottenburg in the Black Forest, all over Switzerland, much of Italy. One thing I learned early on, you can always get work in a classy restaurant kitchen if you're willing to work really hard. Just knock at the back door. I washed dishes, bussed tables, chopped onions, swept floors, and ate fantastic food in the group meals before the restaurant opened. My best ride when hitchhiking was when I was going down to Monte Carlo to see the Grand Prix. I got picked up by an American in a sports car who wanted to practice his French. He was disappointed that I was an American too but we spoke French the whole way down. The road was straight up on one side and straight down on the other with no guard rails and he was doing four-wheel slides around turns.  I was terrified for about five minutes until I noticed that he was in complete control. The driver was Phil Hill, and he was driving in the race. I got to go down in the pits the day before to watch the crew work, though not on race day itself. He was driving for Honda, the first year they had an entry. Graham Hill from England won the race. I was given a great grandstand seat near the finish line, not more than 10 yards from where Princess Grace sat. She and Prince Rainier were there for the start, left for a while, and came back for the finish. I had a sleeping bag and slept on the beach below the Rainier castle. There were maybe a half-dozen others like me and the authorities never appeared. Like I said, different times.

In the U.S. I drove cross-country on my Honda 750. There are too many things I saw to list but the road from Cimarron to Taos was the most beautiful stretch of road I have ever seen and  that includes roads through the Alps in both France and Switzerland. There was a bar outside Tucson that was magic but I doubt it's still there.

2 hours ago, RememberTheKoy said:

Huge game for the Philadelphia Stars in 10 minutes on Fox.  Final game of the year.  If they win then they make the playoffs.  

 

 

Stars up 20-15 to start the 4th.  Michigan driving though with a big QB run and are now just outside Philly's 20.  Stars had a huge lead until Michigan got a defensive touchdown in the 3rd to turn this game around.  

2 minutes ago, RememberTheKoy said:

 

 

Stars up 20-15 to start the 4th.  Michigan driving though with a big QB run and are now just outside Philly's 20.  Stars had a huge lead until Michigan got a defensive touchdown in the 3rd to turn this game around.  

 

Michigan Panthers just took the lead 23-20.