Just curious, where else do you like to go?

[bobbiwoz]

Another family here that uses the National Parks Passport. This past summer we were in Washington DC and you can really rack up the stamps there!!!

We are looking into Yellowstone and maybe doing a mini cross country drive from New England. Or may just fly into Vegas and go from there.

I've only been to DC a few times since I bought the passport, we used to live in NJ and went there more often. However, even though I had my passport the last time, it wasn't easy for me to find all of the places mentioned in the book! I'm glad they do exist, and I'll have to give it another try!!!

You can get quite a few stamps in Yellowstone!..and then Grand Teton NP is also right there and lovely, and so different than Yellowstone. The difference is not only in the scenery, but also in the outlook of the rangers. Just one little point, in Yellowstone all of the rangers were very quick to call the animals Bison, it was definitely not buffalo, but in Grand Teton, they were most likely to be referred to as buffalo! We chuckled every time we heard the reference. We had been to Yellowstone first, and the word buffalo had been drilled out of our vocabulary. We finally made it there this September, and we are so glad we did. We flew into Jackson Hole airport.

Bobbi

 

[littlestar]

Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN or North Carolina; Hilton Head, SC; Destin/Panama City, FL

 

[disneymom8589]

How wonderful! We've taken the free tour of Angel of the Sea many times. It's a favorite event for our guests. One of these days, we'll indulge and spend a night!

Every Christmas since we bought our house there, we host a few Coast Guard recruits on Christmas day. The Red Cross sponsors the event, called Operation Fireside. We've enjoyed meeting these young folks who are protecting our shores. Usually during the summer, people are invited once a month to evening sunset ceremonies on base. When we first bought there, locals were even able to join Sunday services weekly, but then came 9/11. I want to thank you and your son for supporting our country by service.

Bobbi

Thank you for hosting Coast Guard recruits! The hosts at Angel of the Sea mentioned that families take in CG recruits during the holidays. What a special thing you are doing for those young and women who are away from home!

 

[TenThousandVolts]

Besides regular trips to WDW and dISNEY'S hhi- We go to NYC, Ocean City, MD, & Cape May, NJ every year.
DH and I also like to get to New Orleans or the Caribbean/Mexico every few years.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

Aren't we all blessed with this beautiful country? Your Shenandoah Valley is beautiful. I love staying at Big Meadow and Skyland.

Bobbi

Yes indeed! America has a little bit of everything! We love Cape May (we have lots of relatives there) and oh the Shenandoah Valley is breathtaking- DH and I went for a weekend trip to the Homestead Resort down there. It was fall and the colors were so beautiful, the air was crisp, just such a perfect weekend retreat.

 

[dizney4us]

In addition ro WDW we love visiting the Amish country in Lancaster PA, we enjoy NYC, Cape Cod, and Disney Cruise Line.

 

[tidefan]

We have another timeshare that we love in St. Maarten. Other than that, we tend to vary, though Princess Cruises do seem to be a favorite...

Next Summer we are going to try the BC side of the Canadian Rockies (Bighorn Meadows in Radium Hot Springs - Anyone been there?) that we traded one of my FIL's Marriott lock-off weeks for (got a 2Bdr for a 1Bdr), so we'll let you know next year how that is...

 

[LocustPoint]

I find it hard to tear myself away from WDW and my husband has suggested that we go other places. Last year we went to Sedona, the Grand Canyon and Moab, Utah via the Adventures by Disney Southwest Splendor tour. Next year we are doing a cruise as my DH has never done a cruise. Did I mention it was a Disney cruise? I work part time for the Orioles so April through September are difficult times to get away for me, but since it was at the ballpark that I met my DH he knew what he was getting into. I'm also extremely fortunate to live blocks from Fort McHenry in Baltimore and find myself there quite frequently. We still find time to do long weekend trips to Brigintine, NJ where my DH has family, but WDW is where I can relax the most.

 

[JimMIA]

I've only been to DC a few times since I bought the passport, we used to live in NJ and went there more often. However, even though I had my passport the last time, it wasn't easy for me to find all of the places mentioned in the book! I'm glad they do exist, and I'll have to give it another try!!!

You can get quite a few stamps in Yellowstone!..and then Grand Teton NP is also right there and lovely, and so different than Yellowstone. The difference is not only in the scenery, but also in the outlook of the rangers. Just one little point, in Yellowstone all of the rangers were very quick to call the animals Bison, it was definitely not buffalo, but in Grand Teton, they were most likely to be referred to as buffalo! We chuckled every time we heard the reference. We had been to Yellowstone first, and the word buffalo had been drilled out of our vocabulary. We finally made it there this September, and we are so glad we did. We flew into Jackson Hole airport.

Bobbi

Just for info, every Visitor Center has its own passport stamp. So, at EVER for example, we have five stamps: Coe Visitor Center, Royal Palm, Flamingo, Shark Valley, and Everglades City. Places like D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston, you can rack up a bunch of stamps in a very short time.

Also, if you forget your passport, most visitors centers have little squares of blank paper that you can stamp and glue in your Passport.

Bison: Bison are bison. To be technically correct, they are American Bison (bison bison), and there are two subspecies: Plains Bison (bison bison bison) or Woods Bison (bison bison athabascae) -- and I'm not making this up! They're NOT buffalos, no matter what someone calls them. Rangers are not infallible. In fact, we are SO fallible, we have a name for stuff we make up -- Ranger Lore!

You'll get name differences no matter where you go. Usually they are local names for subspecies, like cougar, mountain lion, puma, panther. But some of them just plain wrong...like buffalo.

For example, here in the Everglades we have a bird that gets renamed every 3-4 years. It used to be called the Green Heron. Then it became the Little Green Heron (there is no BIG green heron). Then it became the Green-backed Heron (its back is actually sorta blue, the wings are sorta green...sometimes). Currently, it's back to Green Heron in most bird books, but you'll hear it called just about anything.

 

[bobbiwoz]

...Bison: Bison are bison. To be technically correct, they are American Bison (bison bison), and there are two subspecies: Plains Bison (bison bison bison) or Woods Bison (bison bison athabascae) -- and I'm not making this up! They're NOT buffalos, no matter what someone calls them. Rangers are not infallible. In fact, we are SO fallible, we have a name for stuff we make up -- Ranger Lore!

You'll get name differences no matter where you go. Usually they are local names for subspecies, like cougar, mountain lion, puma, panther. But some of them just plain wrong...like buffalo.

For example, here in the Everglades we have a bird that gets renamed every 3-4 years. It used to be called the Green Heron. Then it became the Little Green Heron (there is no BIG green heron). Then it became the Green-backed Heron (its back is actually sorta blue, the wings are sorta green...sometimes). Currently, it's back to Green Heron in most bird books, but you'll hear it called just about anything.

We really do understand about the bison (plains and woods) Yellowstone rangers (as well as Xanterra employees) were very clear!!!!It just seemed so comical when we went to Grand Teton where I don't think a single ranger (granted, we only came across 3-4 rangers there) referred to them as bison, but as buffalo!

We saw so many bison, on and off the road. Occasionally there would be one walking down the middle of the road. We just stopped and prayed it would ignore us and simply pass by. There was a lone male who liked to walk through the cabin area at Canyonland. It was just a most wonderful vacation.

We've seen a Little Green Heron in the Everglades once or twice.

Bobbi


PS. tidefan, haven't been to those places in the Canadian Rockies, but if you have some time in Vancouver BC, there's a wonderful museum at the University of BC. I have never seen a more beautiful explanation of First Peoples.

 

[dpuck1998]

We take trips to Chicago several times a year (only 3 hours away). We have a trip to do the "other" Florida at Christmas. We have been to Hershey, Washington DC (my second favorite behind Disney), Vegas and Hawaii. We love to hit Disney once a year or so, but we love exploring other places just as much.

 

[OneMoreTry]

We go to Yellowstone and Cheyenne, Wyoming during Frontier Days and recently, lots of trips to Rocky Mountain National Park as we have just bought a couple acres of horse property outside of it for an eventual log home and we are already so homesick for it!

Is your property in Grand County? That's the other spot that competes for my affection. I've been to lots of places in the Rockies over the years, but for some reason I like Grand County. I've grown comfortable with Winter Park for skiing and we now have a condo there. I would dearly love a place further north. I haven't seen the western part of the county But I don't think DW is interested.

It's sad to see what's happening to all the trees. Is your property affected?

I am torn between knowing whether I would want to retire in CO or FL, which is where I greww up.

 

[skylynx]

Hi, OneMoreTry

Our land is actually in Larimer County...we are just outside Estes Park-off of Rte 34 (Loveland exit off I-25). So far our mountain neighborhood has very limited pine beetle damage, but next spring we will definitely be taking preventative measures and spray. There's arguments about the efficacy of spraying, but I can't just sit by and do nothing and let those miserable bugs ruin our beautiful Ponderosa pines. With full southern exposure, we need that shade!

 

[OneMoreTry]

.... There's arguments about the efficacy of spraying, but I can't just sit by and do nothing and let those miserable bugs ruin our beautiful Ponderosa pines. With full southern exposure, we need that shade!

I didn't realize they would kill Ponderosa PInes. I thought it was specifically lodgepole pines.
I don't blame you for spraying. THey say drought and overgrowth/crowding are the real culprits that weakened the trees. (The pine beetles have been around for centuries.) Maybe your trees will be spared.

 

[swainrph]

We love Bermuda

 

[eva]

In the past, before we became empty-nesters, I taught high school and we would take the kids on two vacations a year. We would go every year right after school to WDW and the beach for two weeks. Then later in the summer we would go somewhere new like Colorado or out east to DC, etc. But now that I am working in the business world, I only get a few weeks of vacation a year. Now we have to be choosier on where we go. We love WDW, but want to see other places too. But we have been sticking with Disney by cruising with them and taking tours through ABD. I don't have as much time to plan every aspect of our trips anymore and Disney really knows how to do all the planning and take good care of you. We just got back from the Viva Italia tour with ABD. Next year it is WDW and a DCL cruise. Then in 2010 we are taking the DCL Baltic cruise. So we are really mixing up our destinations, but they are all through Disney.

Has anyone done an Adventure's By Disney with just adults? Is it something I should consider? They seem to be kids oriented.
TIA

ABD offers many tours that are for adults only. Just look at the schedule online to see what's available. Our Viva Italia tour was not adults only, but there were only 4 children on the tour. To be honest, we hardly knew there were children on the tour at all. The tour was very adult oriented to me. We walked our feet off seeing all the sights, ate at lovely restaurants, went to wine tastings, and still had plenty of free time to do what we wanted on our own.

 

[ead79]

I don't get a bunch of vacation time since I'm relatively new at my job, so most of our time gets used up with WDW trips. But our other favorite places to go are Washington, DC and Morehead City, NC. I do get to go on work trips to Orange Beach, AL, and Destin, FL, each year--they are really pretty beaches. When we have more time, I'd love to visit NYC, Boston, and Philadelphia.

 

[southtexasmom]

Other than visiting family that lives 12 hours from us we have only been to WDW every year for the last 5 years but next summer we have a family reunion trip planned for Branson so we are visiting Mickey and gang in January instead of the summer.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN or North Carolina; Hilton Head, SC; Destin/Panama City, FL

 

[Deb & Bill]

When we go to WDW, we also like to hit the beach at Marco Island.

When we lived in Montana, we went to Yellowstone quite often. And we've done Glacier National Park a few times. Our best Yellowstone trip was in January when most of the park is closed and the only way to get around is by snowmobile or snowcoach. We had elk grazing in the snow for grass right outside our window at Mammoth Hot Springs and wandered around the Old Faithful geyer basin where bison were warming near the geyers. It was -26 during the day and about -45 during the night time. With multiple feet of snow all around. Our son wasn't born yet, so we'd like to take him back for that some time.