Where you headed for the holidays?

[MarkBarbieri]

Where will you be taking your holiday pictures this year? We're on our way up to Estes Park, Colorado. The boys really wanted to see Grandma and Grandpa and they really wanted to play in the snow.

We're currently two hours in to the 19 hour drive. I rented a mobile wi-fi hotspot so that we'd all have Internet in the car. It's slow, but it works fairly well.

Because we're driving, I'm hauling most of my camera and video gear. I left the 50mm, the 100mm, and my 420EX flash back in The Woodlands with my sister. She just bought a Rebel T1i and wanted to try some extra toys. I'm going to try to take more video this trap, rather than my usual habit of taking almost nothing but photos.

Santa isn't bringing any photo gear for me this year. My seven year old is getting a Canon D10. He was using a W30, but it died in Typhoon Lagoon last summer and he's been asking for a replacement ever since. Santa will be bringing my camera gear in the spring when company bonuses get paid.

[KCmike]

Everyone have a Merry Christmas! All of our family will be traveling to our house this year. Have safe travels Mark.

[ukcatfan]

Not going anywhere this year. We saw my parents over Thanksgiving at WDW. Most of the family is too far away to visit very often. Our season pass blackout ends on the 1st, so we are kicking around going for the 2nd and 3rd.

[Evad]

To the in - laws in the next town over......:woohoo::woohoo: :rolleyes1

[wenrob]

Most of my extended family lives nearby and DH's family is flung far and wide. Coming from divorced families the pressure to spread ourselves thin and the drama that always ensued convinced us to concentrate on our little family several years ago. Let me tell ya, my holidays are SO MUCH more peaceful and enjoyable now. So we do visiting and phone calls around the holidays and then kick it at home. Everyone seems okay with it since no one "gets us" for the holidays. Dear Sis will come over on Christmas Eve because both our hubbies are working. We'll just kick back and have some munchies and desert. She does the same as we do, Christmas with just her family. May not work for everybody but we like it.:santa:

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday wherever you may roam.:goodvibes

[klmall]

If we get fully cleared out from the record-breaking snowstorm still coming down AND the snow/rain predicted to come in on Christmas Day we will make the one-hour+ drive to Baltimore.

This is one unbelievable snow! Biggest December snowfall since record keeping began in the Washington metro area!

[Todd_H]

We're fortunate to have both of our families in the same town. MOST of the time it's a good situation (like holidays). They're coming to our house this year on Christmas morning and will be gone by 3pm :banana:.

[Stephanie218]

We're taking a red eye back to CT on Christmas Eve...it ended up being the cheapest time to travel. Hoping for no snow!

[WVDisGeek]

Assuming the snowstorm and abandoned cars get cleared away by Thursday, we are headed to my folks in Williamsburg. We live in Charleston, WV and we got about 10 inches of snow. We have to travel through parts of WV and Virginia that have received anywhere from 18 inches to 2 ft. +. Friends of ours spent 13 hours stuck on the interstate last night!

I finally got to download my pics from our week at the World (Dec. 6-11) so I have plenty to keep me busy!

No matter where everyone goes this Holiday Season, SAFE TRAVELS!

[mabas9395]

Just moved to the Chicago area from Seattle a little over 13 months ago. Most of our family is back west but we'll be staying here this year and doing the holidays on our own. It sure is different not having to make all those visits in 48hrs. Different, but nice in its own way.

[Chikabowa]

The longest I have to travel is the hallway between my bedroom and the kitchen. :)
We don't ever go anywhere, we host the whole family here. It get tedious always hosting everything... but it works out best, so we do it.
I wish I was going somewhere fun!

[Suburbanmom]

We are just staying home. We will drive to my in-laws on Christmas day for lunch, but they are local, only 15 minutes away. I'm glad.

[bostran1]

Since the courts don't close except for the big holidays, I'll be working on Christmas Eve. I will take Amtrak to New London, CT and that train will be hopefully be on time as I have 15 minutes to make it to a ferry to Long Island where my wife will pick me up and we'll do the Italian Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve.

I was lucky, Santa came for me today. I got Crumpler's "Industry Disgrace" neck strap (so far so good, very comfortable but I wish it had some give in it) and a new National Geographic bag so that I can carry my camera and laptop in one bag easier.

My main photography-related gift this year is a two-week trip to Japan and Hong Kong in June!

[MarkBarbieri]

WE left Amarillo at 6:00 this morning. We are at the Texas-New Mexico border. We should be in the mountains this afternoon.

[JoeDif]

WE left Amarillo at 6:00 this morning. We are at the Texas-New Mexico border. We should be in the mountains this afternoon.


Have a safe trip!!

We are staying local. We have about a 30 mile drive on Christmas Eve then dinner at DW's brothers house for Christmas day.

[boBQuincy]

If we get fully cleared out from the record-breaking snowstorm still coming down AND the snow/rain predicted to come in on Christmas Day we will make the one-hour+ drive to Baltimore.

This is one unbelievable snow! Biggest December snowfall since record keeping began in the Washington metro area!

Speaking of record keeping, our news channel mentioned 200 years of records at RDU airport. Did they build the airport in 1809 and wait almost 100 years for airplanes to be invented? That's forward thinking! ;)

As for us, since DW went into the hospital for a few days about two weeks ago (forcing us to cancel our December WDW trip) we will be staying home for the holidays. DW is doing very well but still not up for much holiday travel.

We moved our WDW trip to February, DVC and Southwest are very good about cancellations and rebooking! :)

[spinetnglr]

I'm staying put this year ... My son is coming in from Philly and I will spend a quiet day with him and my mom. My older brother(his wife has to work this year on Christmas day) and nephew will probably stop in for brunch. Then maybe later go to my younger brother's for dinner but that will be the extent of it. Our family gave up the gift buying for each other a few years ago and we just try to get together and spend time with one another. Makes the holidays so much easier to prepare for. I still get my son and my mom gifts but thats about all the shopping I have to do.

[annnewjerz]

We'll be at my Mom's house about 10 minutes away on Christmas Eve, which is what we do every year. On Christmas Day, we'll be heading an hour and a half to Ocean City, NJ to visit with my in-laws (although I'm trying to get out of that this year, since we'll be seeing them that weekend also) and then going to my Brother's house about 10 minutes away for an "Italian Feast" courtesy of my Sister in Law.

With vacation, work, funerals, snowstorms, etc. I kind of just wish we were staying home for the whole weekend to relax and decompress, but that's not what the holidays are about! :rolleyes:

[klmall]

Speaking of record keeping, our news channel mentioned 200 years of records at RDU airport. Did they build the airport in 1809 and wait almost 100 years for airplanes to be invented? That's forward thinking! ;)

As for us, since DW went into the hospital for a few days about two weeks ago (forcing us to cancel our December WDW trip) we will be staying home for the holidays. DW is doing very well but still not up for much holiday travel.

We moved our WDW trip to February, DVC and Southwest are very good about cancellations and rebooking! :)

I was just over looking at your wonderful WDW Christmas pictures in another thread and thinking 'canceled trip' :confused3. Guess I missed that somewhere in the forums. Glad to hear she is doing better and I know you will plan another trip.

[Pea-n-Me]

It's my Christmas to work so I'll be at the hospital. I really don't mind - there's something special about being there, especially for patients who might be alone. I will see some of my family for a while as well.

No photography equipment for me this year. I *almost* asked for Lightroom, but realized that life's been so crazy I haven't had time to do much in the way of photography for several months now, so I don't think it would make much sense. Instead, I'm getting a new coffee pot (that grinds and brews :lovestruc ) to go with my new kitchen. :woohoo:

[MarkBarbieri]

Speaking of record keeping, our news channel mentioned 200 years of records at RDU airport. Did they build the airport in 1809 and wait almost 100 years for airplanes to be invented? That's forward thinking! ;)

Maybe it was an airport for balloons. Weren't hot air balloons invented in the 18th century? Or maybe the older records were approximations generated by a trick to hide the decline or some similar scientific reason.

As for us, since DW went into the hospital for a few days about two weeks ago (forcing us to cancel our December WDW trip) we will be staying home for the holidays. DW is doing very well but still not up for much holiday travel.

We moved our WDW trip to February, DVC and Southwest are very good about cancellations and rebooking! :)

Sorry to hear about your cancellation but glad to hear that it is really just a postponement.

We made it to our destination. We're now 9,000 feet above sea level in the Colorado mountains. There is some snow on the ground, but not loads. It's supposed to snow tomorrow night and Wednesday. The kids are loving it. I'm still adjusting to the altitude.

Here is a six year old photo of where we are staying. I'll go out and take some new pictures when I've had a chance to acclimate first.
http://photos.barbierifamily.org/Travel/Colorado/2003-11-Colorado/CRW4441/3252710_Hmj9j-L.jpg

[WillowBelle]

We're staying here in TN for the first time in 12 years :woohoo:. This will be the first year since my DDs have been born that WE don't have to wake THEM to open presents so we can pile in the car and drive 10+ hours to FL. Mom is coming in from NJ (DH and I moved her from FL to NJ in August), brother is coming in from IL, and sister and BIL in from GA. We will be headed to ATL for NYE though :rolleyes:. Wouldn't be the holidays if we didn't spend at least 4.5 hours in the car.

[jann1033]

Instead, I'm getting a new coffee pot (that grinds and brews :lovestruc ) :woohoo:
ot what kind did you get? i've come to realize all my researching for photo gear has made me crazy so now i have to spend months research everything I buy and of course expect perfection once i get it.... so after a long drawn out months+ search just got a Cuisinart thermal grind and brew and love it! ( our Sears has a "damaged box" clearance section so at 1/2 price none the less since some one went a little crazy with the box cutter)....fresh hot coffee, yum! ( hub gets up long before me so before it was old rewarmed microwaved sludge for me.) but....still trying to decide what pans i want to replace my old worn out ones, and have been looking for like 4 months... the reviews for the g&b from users weren't that great but editorial ones were and it heats the H2O hot enough.
a few months ago husband bought me a cookbook on french cooking i wanted so now i have been spending more of my extra $$$ on my "other " hobby and less on photo gear..and am going to have the lbs to prove it if i don't knock it off soon:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

[Pea-n-Me]

LOL, Janet. I'm similar but now I know who to come to if I don't have time to fully research something myself. :rotfl:

I got the same one - the Cuisinart Grind and Brew. :thumbsup2 I've wanted one for years but there wasn't a real rush as I was fairly satisfied with my Mr Coffee w/ thermal carafe. (I'm more the home coffee drinker than anyone else, DH grabs one on the way to work or has one there; mainly drinks it at home w/ me on the weekends.) I've been in Bed Bath and Beyond a lot looking at kitchen stuff and I noticed it there and said, yes, now's the time. I got the toaster to match and am probably going to also get the matching blender. I know everyone's getting those (shoot don't really even know the name) Keurigs (?) that brew one cup but a) I've heard mixed reviews and that the coffee's sometimes not hot :confused: and b) I have one long favorite brand of coffee (Eight O'Clock) so I'm not interested in the flavor varieties.

The best part was that I was able to get both the coffee maker and toaster at Christmas Tree Shops who had them at a discount.

BTW, I worked on Christmas and as I said I generally enjoy being there on the holidays. But this year I had to deal with a very difficult interpersonal situation and it sucked the joy out of the holiday for me there. Fortunately the rest of my holiday was nice.

I hope everyone here had a good holiday, including Mr Kramberries over there in Colorado. :lmao:

[td1129]

We were in WDW from Dec. 17-23. My wife and I stayed at SSR for the first two nights, switched to the Poly for 3 and stayed at BCV during the last night. It was a great trip!