Summer Vacations

[MarkBarbieri]

How was, is, or will you summer vacation be?

We started ours yesterday. We're on the road to Chicago. We'll be there until Wednesday. Then I fly home and my wife and kids go to Michigan for a couple of weeks. They'll visit my wife's mother, grandmother, aunts, uncles, sister, and friend. After that, they'll drive to Denver and I'll fly there and meet them. From there, we'll stop off in Estes Park to pick up my parents. We'll drive up to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone for a week. Then we'll go back to Estes and spend a few days at Rocky Mountain National Park. Finally, after 5 weeks on the road, we'll head home.

We're keeping the costs down by staying with relatives, tent camping, and letting my company get the hotel in Chicago (I'm there for a conference). Gas prices are high, but it's still cheaper than flying somewhere.

It's a lot of time in the car, so we have added lot's of distractions for the kids. They each have a DS with new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games. They also have their own headrest monitors tied into a central switch so they can watch DVDs, watch about 300 hours of stuff on a DVR, or play games on the Wii. They also have mp3 players. Finally, they also have some books for good old fashion reading and puzzles. Car rides are a lot different from when I was a kid.

 

[jfulcer]

That's awesome. Wii in the car. Never thought of that. Where do you put the sensor bar? And only 300 hours of DVR - don't you think that you need more?

I remember trips with my parents - driving from Nebraska to here in Wisconsin. I think 'fighting with your 2 brothers' was the best thing we had to do. heh

You shoulda mentioned something earlier - we could have gotten a DIS meet going in Chicago. We don't need much of a reason to get together here in the Midwest. "Oh, Mark's coming in? Let's have a meet!"

 

[pointandshoot]

I would also like to know how and where you mounted the sensor bar for the Wii. I am thinking you are using a classic controller plugged into the console. I have this vision of a Wiimote slamming into the windshield from the backseat during a heated game of Super Smash Brothers.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

For the sensor bar, I used a pair of wireless sensor bars. I put each of them between the headrest (which has the screen) and the seatback. They are held in place by the straps of our seatback organizers. They are too wide, so the kids have to hold the wiimotes pretty far back. When I get home, I'm going to fabricate adjustable width sensor bars to replace them. Fortunately they don't have to much in the games they've been playing (Mario Kart and Kirby Air Ride). For GC games, they used there old wireless GC remotes.

As for the DVR, 300 hours is obviously more than they'll watch, but it gives them a bigger selection from which to choose. On the way up, they watched Pokemon Orange Island, Tom and Jerry Tales, and Curious George. Most of the stuff on the DVR comes from DVD rips, but I also recorded some Beakman's World and Junkyard wars. For those, I brought them into my computer so that I could edit out the commercials and then put them back on the DVR.

We survived the first leg and are in Chicago now. I think they are going to a pier tomorrow and the MOSI on Tuesday.

 

[Steve's Girl]

We survived the first leg and are in Chicago now. I think they are going to a pier tomorrow and the MOSI on Tuesday.

Hey! You're in my neck of the woods now. Sure you don't want to do a studio lighting session in my family room? I could use a little (OK, a lot) of help with that.

We're about 70 miles from Chicago in SW Michigan. Hope your family enjoys their time in Michigan. For the most part, summers in Michigan are pretty hard to beat. Now, January is a different story.

 

[klmall]

Hey Mark - As my siggy shows this time next week I'll be in Colorado, packed and ready to raft on the Arkansas for 5 days. The snowfall was the highest in 11 years so the water is still chilly but is running great and I can't wait!

We (11 adult and boy Scouts) are flying from BWI to Denver, driving down to Great Sands National Park for a day and then rafting. Our second week is Royal Gorge, Pikes Peak, camping at the US Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods and then Rocky Mountain National Park for hiking and sightseeing. The finale is a Rockies game at Coors Field.

Mark - Your trip sounds wonderful and ambitious! DH and I took our 14 year old out west for three weeks during the summer of 2000 and it was a trip to remember! I am so glad we did it before he got busy with high school. We saw the Grand Canyon, Pikes Peak, the Rockies, Great Salt Lake, Tahoe, the Pacific, Monterey and Disneyland OF COURSE!

DH doesn't camp but I do....it is the best way to see the land!

Have wonderful trips everyone!

 

[MontanaZoo]

No current plans. Already had a week in the mountains. I don't know if you have ever been to Yellowstone before but if you want any advice on locations for animals etc, just ask

I will tell you there's two lakes about hmm half hour or so outside of West Yellowstone, easy drive that are national wildlife refuges and look like this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliez_pics/340345402/

They're great for swimming etc too since they are spring fed and are a lot warmer than most lakes around there. Have natural salts since they are basically evaporation basins that make it more buoyable too (and hold the Montana record for biggest brown trout). Water is so crystal clear that I almost got a photo of a boat out on the lake in early morning that looks like it was floating on air and not water.

 

[My2Girls66]

No summer vacations. DH can't take time off during the summer. We do day trips on our days off. Hiking, canoeing, mom and dad's in Ct, maybe 1 overnight trip to the Cape to see my sister. I just got my dive cert. today so hopefully I'll be able to do a few dives. Yellowstone and Grand Tetons are high on my list of places to visit. We wanted to go this past April for the kids vacation but a lot of Yellowstone isn't open that time of year. So that trip will have to wait Can't wait to see your photos! Enjoy and have a safe trip

 

[Dismom+two]

DH and I are heading to Foxwoods, CT for a few hours later today and overnight.....does that count for summer vacation? We are not going anywhere really...days trips that's about it.

 

[pixie dust 112]

We spent a very relaxing week in Cape Cod June 28 through July 5, followed by an unexpected couple of days in Lake Placid the 6th and 7th.

We go to Wahsington DC August 8 through August 12 for a long weekend.

 

[Suburbanmom]

I've spent 7 weeks at Lake Erie. My DH works from home, so we figured that he can work from ANY home and moved into the in-laws lake house for as long as they'll let us stay. Turns out....they'll let us stay a loonnngg time!

We are going back home this weekend, however. Football and Cross-Country practices are starting for the the kids. Maybe we'll make another long weekend trip, but school starts on August 19th, so that will cut into the fun.

 

[Amy]

We spent a week in June in Virginia - Skyline Drive/Shenandoah National Park, Williamsburg and Busch Gardens. That's it for us this year. DS18 heads off to college next month, and who knows what that'll do to our budget! I think I've got a pretty good handle on things, but he's our oldest and I'm sure I forgot something.....

 

[boBQuincy]

We flew into Orlando last weekend and (gasp) did NOT go to WDW but headed to North Florida for a wedding. On the way we stopped at Blue Spring state park and Ponte Vedra beach.

Blue Spring

Ponte Vedra Beach

 

[MontanaZoo]

Here's a couple from my trip.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliez_pics/2605331540/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliez_pics/2604653227/

 

[Mick00]

I start my Summer vacation in 6 weeks and cant wait. We are headin to WDW for 3 weeks on the 30th August and staying in Pop cwntury for the first two weeks, then we are stayin in AKL for the final week until the 20th September. Have to get me some more games for my DS to keep me going on the 9 hour flight (maybe more) from Ireland. Then might take a few weekend trips around Ireland over the next few weeks depending on if I have to work the weekends or not.

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

Today is my first day back from vacation. I am glad to be back at work as I really need the rest.

We too took the car route this year. I would love to say we went somewhere cool and fun but in actuality it was more a trip of necessity. It was my parents 50th anniversary and my grandmother's 90th birthday so we went to visit them in what I think of as rural Idaho. They keep telling me they live in the second largest city in Idaho but to me if you can put the whole population of the town inside Chase Field and barely be classified as a sell-out then that is small.

It was a 15 hour drive from Chandler to Idaho so we had plenty of "quality time" in the car. The kids had DVDs to watch and each of them had their iPods. We also set up the XBox360 to play (we packed the Wii for when we got to Idaho but I didn't have time to deal with the sensor bar thing). I also set up a small power station and the kids took their laptops. They passed around my cellular modem when they needed Internet access. Of course much of the drive to Idaho was beyond the cell network so that wasn't as useful as when we went to California.

I was able to get a few pictures in of non-family events and I need to post some of them online when I finally get unpacked (and the Diamondbacks are on the road). I was in Idaho during the release of the iPhone. It was interesting to see that small town folk get just as excited about cool devices as those in larger metropolitan areas. There were people who actually camped out for over a day for a cell phone (and no I was not one of them). Overall the trip went pretty well.

 

[YEKCIM]

We opted for a little different vacation this year. Summer usually finds us headed south, to the beach and, not uncommonly, to Mickey's World, for a few days.

This year, we loaded up the family 38 MPG Accord and headed up I-81 to The Peaks of Otter Lodge, which is just north of Roanoke, VA, on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We spent two days at Peaks, and took in the D-Day Memorial in nearby Bedford, the restored Johnson Farm, Natural Bridge, and took a harrowing (to Mrs Y, anyway) bus ride to the top of Sharp Top, one of the peaks from which the area gets its name.

From there, we drove down the Parkway to Bluffs Lodge, also on the Parkway, just south of the VA/NC state line. Two more days of hiking and shutterbugging, then on down the Parkway to the Pisgah Inn, on the Parkway, just south of Asheville a few miles.

The mountain laurel, flame azalea, and rhododendron were all in bloom and there were butterflies everywhere. It was a nice change of pace from the heat and humidity of central AL, and we want to go back again already.

Here is one of my favorite shots from the week:

Here are the rest of the KEEPERS.

Hoping to make it back to see Mickey in November...

~YEKCIM

 

[fitzperry]

The kids and I spent a week on Lake Michigan earlier this summer and the whole family is currently enjoying a month in and around Park City, Utah. We also have all the accoutrements to entertain the kids (we left the Wii behind though!), but I'm pleased to report that in the three days it took us to drive here, they only watched 3 or 4 movies. However, the back seat of my vehicle is still plastered with pictures they drew and taped up all over the place. I shouldn't brag though, as we just gave our eldest an iPod for her birthday and I think it may have to be surgically removed.

We took a weekend trip down to Arches and Canyonlands in Moab, Utah. I was so looking forward to the photographic opportunities there, but unfortunately one of the kids wasn't feeling well, so we spent very little time in the parks and none at all when the light was decent. Oh well, maybe next time!

Here are a few photos, converted to jpg on my uncalibrated laptop, so don't judge too harshly

 

[MarkBarbieri]

No current plans. Already had a week in the mountains. I don't know if you have ever been to Yellowstone before but if you want any advice on locations for animals etc, just ask

We were there on our honeymoon, about 15 years ago. Now that I think about it, we'll be there on our 15th anniversary. Maybe I'll surprise my wife and remember it this year...we completely forgot our 10th.

I've got several guide books and videos (including one each on photography), but any extra advice would be appreciated.

 

[MontanaZoo]

Where are you staying in the park?

Basically the park is a big figure 8. A lot of times recently the upper east side of the eight between Roosevelt and Canyon has been closed to construction but when I went through last fall it was open.

The people will be hanging out on the west side of figure eight where most of the geysers are. Last Labor Day, I was looking specifically for animals so we went out before dawn every day to get in position, and went back to our hotel after dusk. For elk, Mammoth is excellent since they have a resident herd there. They are usually out around dusk. Going south from Mammoth, we came across some gigantic bull elk with huge racks, and also the biggest elk jam I have ever seen. It literally went from the Madison junction up to Mammoth, southbound traffic did not move at all, luckily that was later in the day and we were headed northbound.

The wolf packs usually hang out in Hayden and the Lamar valley. The Lamar valley is a great place to watch for wolves/coyotes etc and other wildlife since there are usually no people (it is not on the 8 and goes from Roosevelt in the upper northeast corner to Cooke City which is the northeast gate). We saw wolf biologists there as well. Wolves actually aren't hard to spot, just look for a big pack of people with spotting scopes in those two valleys. They get there before the packs arrive.

Hayden valley is also bison central and you can see the bison swimming back and forth across the river during the day. And the tourists who seem to want to die going right up to them.

There is one book that lists specific times to hit all the waterfalls, but generally, other than the upper and lower falls of the yellowstone, we always seem to hit them in shadow.

The view from Yellowstone Lake Lodge is probably one of the best views of the lake. We also spent time at Seagull drive further south which is by the marina for the lake. Last Labor Day weekend was the first time I've EVER seen river otters in the wild and that was where they were.

You'll see bear jams way before you'll see the bears unless you're incredibly lucky. I've seen more grizzlies on the madison side of the park headed out towards West Yellowstone (West Yellowstone also has a Grizzly Discovery center with resident Kodiaks, grizzlies and a wolf pack). I've seen black bears several times in the last few summers on the east side of the park towards Roosevelt and the pass. Last Labor Day weekend there was a cinnamon colored black bear sow with her cubs right across from the rest stop area at the top of the pass.

If you haven't been to the Old Faithful area in a while, it's totally different, tons more buildings and parking lots. Not really photo friendly at all (and way too touristy). It would probably be better first thing in the morning.

We also like to hit the rest stops along the firehole river and it's a great place to take photos while wading. We have seen foxes alongside the river. We actually got trapped in one spot as a bison herd moved through the rest stop.

There is a loop south of Madison that goes along the firehole river that we had never been on before even though I lived in Bozeman for 10 years and Montana my whole life. Once you go past the falls, there's apparently a really popular swimming area, people go down rickety looking stairs down cliffs and there's big swimming holes. I'd never heard about it before even in my college days when we went hotpotting but it looked very popular.