Post by maudefindlay on Apr 2, 2021 11:37:37 GMT -5
San Francisco with a Napa visit. DH and I ended up being the only 2 people on our Napa tour several years ago and got to call the shots on how many vineyards we visited and how long we stayed. It was basically a chauffeured day.
San Francisco with day trip to Napa/Sonoma Santa Cruz Memphis Boston with easy trips to Portland and/or Portsmouth Charleston with a day trip or two to the beach (All cities I have explored alone)
I have not done Seattle or Portland OR, both of which I would like to do.
I THINK you are in the Twin cities, yeah? I love visiting there, as well, bit if you live there, not so exciting
If it is allowed, I LOVE Toronto. It is my favorite city in the world. LOVE it. You could also do Montreal if travel to Canada is allowed and also explore Burlington, VT (not much of a city, but a lovely place in August).
Another suggestion for Memphis. I haven't actually been, but have heard such great things about it. I was supposed to go for a conference last year. Stupid covid.
Post by BicycleBride on Apr 2, 2021 12:10:59 GMT -5
I don’t know if this is your kind of thing but my H and I did a train trip that included a leg from San Francisco to Seattle and it was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I’m a quiet person who likes looking at scenery so I would have really enjoyed that trip by myself but I’m also obsessed with trains so YMMV. I also particularly enjoyed the leg of the trip up through the mountains from Denver. The train goes places no where near roads so you get some really unique views. Make sure you get a sleeper compartment but be aware that the sleepers are pretty old so the accommodations aren’t that great. But it was a really unique experience and I’m really glad we did it!
We lucked out with SF weather when we went in 2012. We went late July and it was sunny and 70s every day. I was prepared for cold and foggy.
We did a day trip to Sausalito (we biked it but there is also a ferry) and that was a really cute town too. We also drove down Highway 1 to Carmel and Big Sur. I loved both of those places so much. Currently part of the highway by Big Sur is in the ocean though.
I’m not a hiker/camper. I’m mostly interested in unusual museums, excellent food, old cemeteries, botanical gardens, easy/low traffic/can walk anywhere, wacky landmarks, live music and a “neighborhood” feel so that might not be your criteria.
These really fit the bill:
Birmingham Al
Louisville KY was nice but the city proper was pretty dead at night. Even the restaurants closed early so that was a little odd. Had a great time during the day though! I like more nightlife when traveling alone, personally.
Richmond VA
Monterey CA I flew into the regional airport there and stayed at a hotel on the ocean. More relaxing than the other places.
I’ve done Charlotte NC and it was fine but really spread out. I don’t think they have zoning laws and it shows.
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I didn’t love Seattle. Multiple people were pretty racist and/or weird about the “homeless” on several separate occasions during my short trip. People were very defensive/nasty when I’d ask them to “clarify” what they meant. It was pretty and easy to navigate but I was glad I hadn’t booked any extra time there and am in no hurry to go back TBH.
New England road trip!! We did one about 10 days long, stopped in Boston, Portland, and Bar Harbor- it was the best of all the different things, city museums, awesome restaurants, and amazing hikes/adventures.
Post by wanderingback on Apr 2, 2021 15:46:12 GMT -5
Thanks all for the suggestions! Really appreciate it. I think I'm going to look into New England options or Pacific Northwest first. I forgot to mention I've been to Napa the past couple years as well and I'm sure I'll go back eventually but I'll take that off the list, ha.
This is random, but has anyone been to Alaska for vacation?
If you come to SF make it September or October, that's when we have lovely weather. August is called Fogust because it's usually stupid foggy and cold.
I am hypothetically coming to SF the end of October. I'm happy to hear this. It was not that warm in June a decade ago when I was last there. I'm planning on bringing layers and maybe a snowsuit
Thanks all for the suggestions! Really appreciate it. I think I'm going to look into New England options or Pacific Northwest first. I forgot to mention I've been to Napa the past couple years as well and I'm sure I'll go back eventually but I'll take that off the list, ha.
This is random, but has anyone been to Alaska for vacation?
If you decide to go the New England route and hit Acadia I can give you some recs! It’s my favorite place on earth and I love talking about it. Lol
wanderingback to add to the Boston recs, depending on when you go, I would do an overnight on Martha's Vineyard. A 10 day trip could look something like this:
You could do your city to Newport RI for the day or one night ( its cute for the cliff walk, and dinner on the water), Ferry to the Vineyard ( I suggest MV over Nantucket because its less of a "scene") for a night or two. Meneshma sunset, South Beach, dinner in Edgartown. You could do Providence town ( P-town) for a day Then up to Boston for 3-4 days-depending on what you want to do. So much history. Freedom trail, JFK museum, Harvard Square, The North End, Beacon Hill, The Charles River. Head up to Singing Beach for a day trip if you want real beach. Then go do a night or two in Portland, Maine. Fly back to your city. Or you could even do the train to each destination other than the vineyard, which you can get to via ferry. I think Newport's stop is Providence.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
wanderingback I visited Alaska in college on a biodiversity class. It might have been ten days, it was early July. Flew into Fairbanks, took the Alaska Railroad 8 hours south down to Denali NP, and rode a bus into the park (reservations had to be made way in advance). We went to Petersburg, went to the face of a glacier, and camped and went whale watching and kayaking on nearby Kupreanof Island. (I saw the aurora borealis while I was there.) Went to Juneau, saw the Mendenhall glacier, hiked in the Tongass National Forest, took a ferry down to Bellingham, WA, where we did some white water rafting. Flew out of Seattle back to the east coast. We saw tons of habitats and it was the cleanest air I’ve ever breathed. It was fabulous.
If you come to SF make it September or October, that's when we have lovely weather. August is called Fogust because it's usually stupid foggy and cold.
I am hypothetically coming to SF the end of October. I'm happy to hear this. It was not that warm in June a decade ago when I was last there. I'm planning on bringing layers and maybe a snowsuit
Goldengirlz is right that it was hot last August, but also in September and October. June, forget it, although with climate change who knows anymore. Layers are totally key. The temp almost always drops at night even on a hot day.
Have you been to Memphis? I thought it was a great place for a weekend - great food, live music, and history. The National Civil Rights Museum is there, which I thought was excellent and very powerful since it is at the site where MLK was assassinated. I think there are a few other things to see and do there, too, though we weren't there long enough for anything else.
If you want to go north I did love Portland, ME. It was beautiful and there was a ton of good food there, too, so I feel like you could just walk around and look at stuff and eat on your own and be perfectly happy. The only downside might be that it is very white. Not sure if that would bother you but we found it noticeable, even as a couple of white people!
I haven't been to Boston yet but that's high on my list of NE places that I want to go. It's only a couple of hours from Portland so you could probably do both depending on how much time you have.
About 2 months ago I did an airbnb weekend away about 3 hours from where I live and ugh it was so white. Was there for 4 days and didn't see any Black people until the very last day I saw 2 young Black women. It was very unsettling. But yes I recognize traveling in the US often means going in to majority white places, so I'm typically ok with it, definitely makes me look at places differently, and obviously would never live in a place like that.
And this was my same feeling about Boston. Went for a work trip and was shocked at the looks I got. My husband shares a similar experience from a few years back.
I am hypothetically coming to SF the end of October. I'm happy to hear this. It was not that warm in June a decade ago when I was last there. I'm planning on bringing layers and maybe a snowsuit
Goldengirlz is right that it was hot last August, but also in September and October. June, forget it, although with climate change who knows anymore. Layers are totally key. The temp almost always drops at night even on a hot day.
What is hot for SF?
It’s one of my favorite cities in the summer. Last time we went in August the locals kept talking about how hot it was. It was 82. We just laughed and laughed. Would love to go back one day. Truly a great city!
Goldengirlz is right that it was hot last August, but also in September and October. June, forget it, although with climate change who knows anymore. Layers are totally key. The temp almost always drops at night even on a hot day.
What is hot for SF?
It’s one of my favorite cities in the summer. Last time we went in August the locals kept talking about how hot it was. It was 82. We just laughed and laughed. Would love to go back one day. Truly a great city!
A few days of 80-90s is a heatwave but nobody has air conditioning so that makes it feel worse.
About 2 months ago I did an airbnb weekend away about 3 hours from where I live and ugh it was so white. Was there for 4 days and didn't see any Black people until the very last day I saw 2 young Black women. It was very unsettling. But yes I recognize traveling in the US often means going in to majority white places, so I'm typically ok with it, definitely makes me look at places differently, and obviously would never live in a place like that.
And this was my same feeling about Boston. Went for a work trip and was shocked at the looks I got. My husband shares a similar experience from a few years back.
Yes these were my thoughts when Boston kept coming up in this thread. I've actually been to Boston a few times, but just for quick things like a conference for a day, I've never had a huge desire to visit for a vacation. I've definitely heard multiple Black people tell me about racism in Boston specifically.
And this was my same feeling about Boston. Went for a work trip and was shocked at the looks I got. My husband shares a similar experience from a few years back.
Yes these were my thoughts when Boston kept coming up in this thread. I've actually been to Boston a few times, but just for quick things like a conference for a day, I've never had a huge desire to visit for a vacation. I've definitely heard multiple Black people tell me about racism in Boston specifically.
100%. While I love the northeast (and fully recommended it in this thread) it is very fucking white. I imagine it could be challenging in many ways to travel here as a POC, especially alone as a female POC. I think you would be very safe, but depending on what part of New England you are in for the day, you very likely might be the only POC around. Which I can only imagine is wholly unsettling.