David and I are collaborating on this karma. I'll randomly select a winner at some undetermined point in the near future. David, with his jeweler's eye and vast generosity, will select the Karma (hint - likely a Citizen watch) which will ship directly from him.

As with prior karma's, please be an active participating member with an average of at least 1 post per day (I don't post much and my average is 2 posts per day).

In the spirit of summer trips, post a suggestion based on first hand experience for a 1-2 week trip and why you recommend it. Trip should be relatively relaxing, perhaps some light hiking, beach combing, smooth water kayaking. Destination should be relatively easy travel (ie 1-2 hops by plane). Away from city hustle and tons of people. And not too expensive. And definitely not someplace where safety is a concern (no Turks, no Mexico, no Amazon rainforest).

Good Example: Big Island of Hawaii. Okinawa.

Not Good: Big Apple (dense metro). Bora Bora (nice place but multi-hops and very expensive > $250 / person / day).

Thank you to David for without him this karma wouldn't be the same.

We did 8 days in Rome this summer, was supposed to be 9, but we got stuck in Munich for a day.

Can't fly direct from IAH to FCO, so we connected in Munich on the outbound & Heathrow on the return.

Not cheap, but we had a ton of airline miles, so I got 4/5 of the plane tickets for $500, round trip.

Tons of walking, some heavy crowds, but we enjoyed it.

Took the train up the coast to the beach for a day, I think it was $36 round trip, for the 5 of us.

My wife & I are planning to go again, just us, for our 20th anniversary in 2030, adding a couple days in Germany and England on each end.

------

On the cheaper front, we're taking our annual Pensacola trip over Labor Day weekend, just the 2 of us, make up anniversary trip.
Last year, we added on the NAS Pensacola Aviation Museum & it was great.

Please do not enter me in to the Karma, but I'd give the nod to Flagler Beach.

Not all that touristy, but about a half hour drive to Daytona.

Not many crowds. The beach is dark at night. You can spend days at the railroad museum and the weekend is good for the 24 hour race.

Not too spendy. You can put all the money you saved into a Roth later. Good times.

Best trip of my life.

Blackwater Creek Ranch, outside of Cody, Wyoming. Blackwater Creek Ranch

Oh my God.

Here is a link to the gallery. https://postimg.cc/gallery/sybC80Y

Picked up at Cody airport by ranch van. Dinner family style with other guests in main lodge. Personal cabin with beds, bath, and fireplace.
Admission tickets prepaid to Yellowstone, Museum of the West, Cody Rodeo, Shoshone river white water rafting, and Cody Dinner Theatre.

Horseback riding every day, including an all day ride to the firefighter's memorial in the Blackwater Creek Range, above the Shoshone river.

Good food, nice people, beautiful scenery, comfortable cabins, no internet or cell connection unless you were in the main lodge.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ArtieS,

Sadly, despite 23 years here, I don't meet the "1 post per day average."

interesting idea,


peopley,

Charleston SC,

yes, can be crowded, however, we stayed across the river,
did the tourist thing and hit the museum ships,

ate at local places, for the most part,

drove into town each day (we drove down from VA), parked, walked an area, move the car, walk another area, etc etc

wife likes cemetary's so we hit a lot of them and older churches in old town,

avoided the tourist bars and areas, and were never crowded,

2nd trip down was for the Hunley funeral, so that was crowded,

tons of history, a day trip to Savannah for the same (avoid paula dean's place, it was not good)



2nd, for a possibly shorter stay,

Monticello wine trail in central VA,
his Monticello, of course
and all the local wineries,

stay in Barboursville in one of the cottages or the on site hotel,

food there is fantastic too,


plan your days right, pick up a lot of history inside an hour ride, and ditto some fantastic food, wine, and beer,

Va Liquor is still not really a good thing but getting there,

Anywhere from Sarasota to Sanibel Island, Florida.
Some great beaches, lots of great places to eat, lots of flat water kayaking through the mangroves, light hiking through the Myakka River State Park.
There are lots of nice little areas like Siesta Key, Longboat Key, and Sanibel that are not overly crowded.
Sarasota up to Clearwater and Tampa are a bit more crowded.

We used to do lots of kayaking in the area and we switched to Stand up paddle boards. Gives a much better view of the wildlife in the water than kayaking.

If I can enter on behalf of Mojojojo, as I have too many daily posts, and he might have better destinations.

Guam. Places other than Tumon Bay (crowds/tourists), out in the rural areas, and coastal villages, it's less crowded and lots to see. Rent a car, make you own way.

Germany. Octoberfest. Everywhere.

Lets See - Maui, stay in a condo not a hotel, Kaanapali Ali right on the beach, had it's own pool, and a grill, we'd go to Albertsons during the day, pick up fresh caught fish, beer, etc and grill out at night. Wasn't a night that went by that someone walking back to the Hyatt from a $xxx meal with family didn't comment they'd wish they had stayed at the condo, oh an a day golfing at Kapalua and got married at Iao Valley...

Europe a couple of times, Ireland was the best, well duh, Guinness and Pub food, then Germany and Italy but all very good trips.

In the interest of being helpful, I'll throw out 2 suggestions.

The Pacific Coast Highway from Port Angeles, WA south as far as you care to, LA if you can. My recent trip is HERE.
It is a trip that you can do any way you want to. Camp, RV, hotel. Countless opportunities for hiking, beaches, various excursions, historic stops, and some of thhe most stunning vistas anywhere, I took 2 weeks and we mostly made it up as the mood struck us.

OR

St Marteen. Tropical paradise. Great beaches, great restaurants, great shopping. When we go, it is usually a leisurely breakfast, spend the day on the beach with lunch at one of the beach huts. Back to the villa in the afternoon to soak inthe. Pool until dinner. Pick a restaurant for dinner and then back to the villa to soak in the hot tub. Rinse and repeat. Zip-lines, snorkeling, fishing, hiking, shopping……. Whatever you feel like.

You'll need to do the math, not sure if I qualify.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SpinZone,

Thanks for the chance. I would love a nice watch beyond my iwatch.

Best trip of my life was when my mom and I went to Maui during COVID. My mom was just improving, due to a new medication, from being at her lowest during cancer. She worked so hard to build up the endurance to make the trip. We got lucky that there were not a ton of people visiting Maui and going there checks off all your boxes. Best trip of my life and we visited absolutely every single part of the island. This was the first time for the both of us going there. It is a trip I would absolutely recommend to anyone. We spent one week and got to see all, but two weeks would have been great. We were lucky as we had friends with a home in Maui and that is where we stayed. We also got unbelievably lucky to get tickets due to a computer glitch to go to the top of Mount Haleakala for the sunrise. Amazing to be 10,000 feet, above the clouds, and watch the sunrise. Getting a ticket is like winning a lottery and someone was watching out for my mom and I to have an amazing trip.I made sure we got there super early so I got a front spot with no one in front of me and this is my video of the sunrise.




Took my mom to an AMAZING dinner. We will remember this trip the rest of our lives. I have only the photos of this trip setup as computer background pictures to rotate every 15 minutes to remind me of this all day everyday.

Please exclude me from the Karma.

Ketchikan, Alaska.

Go in the summer for (near) 24 hr daylight. Calm ocean kayaking to see whales and bald eagles. Misty Fjords day cruise. Getting pulled through the rainforest by yelping sled dogs. Hiking in the rainforest. Salmon fishing.

Bruce

Not sure how I qualify, but I have 2.

The easier one is the panhandle of FL, yes Pensacola & Panama City are nice, Gulf Shores & the hidden gems scattered about. While they are good, I am smitten by the slower pace further East near Apalachicola FL. One has to keep the weather in mind, of course much cooler than S FL in the Winter.

The other spot is Eagle Beach Aruba. I know Hawaii is nice, but this is much closer for many, likely less costly, and beautiful. Any crime is near dead last on a list. The nice thing, when you leave they have U.S Customs, so a normal gate with the USA return.

https://www.aruba.com/us/plan-...uEAAYASAAEgIEt_D_BwE

I suspect you meant 1 post per Month?
Otherwise I'm sure I would not qualify.
Regardless, my submission would be a tour of the South Island of New Zealand. Just a beautiful place with really nice residents.

I dont meet the requirement, but i do read more than I post.
As a child I really liked Oceanview campgrounds in south Jersey. 15 minutes from the beach and great times with the family. Its all my parents could afford.

As an adult OBX in Corolla, NC. Just relaxing on the beach with friends, swimming in the surf.

Worst vacation: went to Disney World with my aunt because my parents were divorcing.

We did part of the UP in Michigan in October of 2024 and I'd highly recommend.

Fall colors, hiking, waterfalls, Lake Superior, light houses, Northern Lights...








ETA: No need to enter the karma, I don't meet the requirement - just thought I'd share about Michigan as our trip was one that stands out as fun and relaxing for me .

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ShouldBFishin,

quote:

The easier one is the panhandle of FL, yes Pensacola & Panama City are nice, Gulf Shores & the hidden gems scattered about. While they are good, I am smitten by the slower pace further East near Apalachicola FL. One has to keep the weather in mind, of course much cooler than S FL in the Winter.

I've been going to the Santa Rosa Beach area on 30A since 1996. It's changed a lot... but still very nice. We usually go late Spring, before the big summer crowds. We love it there.

The other one I'd mention is a resort called Massanutten in Virginia. In the summer, you can hike the mountain ridge. In the winter, it's a ski resort.

I believe you're based in the Bay Area, so plenty of options to fly to Portland or Eugene, then drive out to the Oregon coast. I've been impressed with the little town my mother in law lives in (Waldport). Reedsport, Florence, Waldport, Newport. Plenty of walkable beaches. Tons of camping if that's your thing. I'd imagine there are plenty of AirBNB options as well. I'd head there in the shoulder seasons to avoid the crowds.

For something a bit more adventurous and foreign - Croatia. Fly into Dubrovnik, rent a car and slowly make your way to Split, Zadar, Plistvitsa (?) national park, Pula, Rovijn (?). Affordable, lots of English speaking hospitality, and beautiful beaches.

Count me in. But for me we really enjoyed Punta Cana all inclusive. The resort gave us access to several of the other resort cousins connected.

So we could visit the other beaches, bars and restaurants as part of the package. best vacation we've done.

quote:

Originally posted by ShouldBFishin:

I wish I'd taken a photo of the sign at the Vatican, 551 steps to the top of the dome of the Basilica [yes, I counted ] .
The first 75% wasn't bad, the last 25% is really narrow with curved walls as you circle the dome.
Then another 551 back down.