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Post by mirrororchid on Jun 1, 2023 6:04:35 GMT -5
The MirrorOrchid household is no longer financially struggling the way it was for fifteen years straight.
With that, travel becomes a possibility and I'm exploring teh checkboxes on Mrs. MirrorOrchid's bucket list.
With that, I'm looking for modestly priced (subjective term) amusements in a number of locations.
Anyone with experience traveling is asked to share their discoveries.
The cheaper they are, the more we can do.
I am seeking bargain experiences, accommodations, and dining options in:
Sacramento, CA
San Francisco, CA (Berkeley, Oakland)
Grand Sequoia Forest (tunnel trees?)
Venice Beach, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Rapid City, SD (Mount Rushmore)
Denver, CO
Phoenix & Flagstaff, AZ (Grand Canyon, Antelope and Secret Canyons (slot canyons)
Myrtle Beach, SC
Cumberland and Frostburg, MD (longshot, I know)
Buffalo, NY (Niagara Falls, Canada)
Maine (coastal, primarily)
Pittsburgh, PA
Dubuque, IA
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
Know any overlooked gems?
No idea if we can get to them all, but good suggestions may prioritize them.
Also, anyone feel free to ask for your own destinations.
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Post by jim44444 on Jun 1, 2023 14:33:59 GMT -5
That is a good list of vacation spots until you got to Dubuque, Pittsburgh and Minneapolis. Those seemed a bit odd.
If you like hiking then Grand Canyon and Sedona, AZ are good choices but not cheap.
The Canadian side of Niagara Falls is great. The New York side is OK.
As for Frostburg PA I have only been there for a lunch stop on the GAP trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland. It seemed like a cool place.
How about Gatlinburg and the Smokey Mountains National Park? There is the normal park stuff and a huge tourist industry surrounding the park. Many craft shops and entertainment venues.
If you want laid back and lazy then the Florida Keys are it. Plus great food, fresh fish.
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Post by mirrororchid on Jun 1, 2023 20:31:34 GMT -5
Been to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. Recommended! It's so much more than Dollywood. We were ill prepared. Went to the Cherokee museum, other side of the smokies. Took in the scenery on the way. One afternoon, we sat down in the streams that run down the smokies. Dollywood is a very good amusement park if you enjoy them. We liked Wonderworks and their dinner show "Hoot n' Holler" Probably showing something else by now. There are mountainside one car rollercoasters I would have liked to try but we hadn't made time. A huge multi-level go-cart track the size of a parking garage. ToyBox mini golf would've been fun. We also went to the Ripley's aquarium. We didn't have time to do it justice. Go to HillBilly's in Wears Valley nearby for cinnamon biscuits. Like cinnamon rolls, but crumbly and flaky instead. A very good twist on an old breakfast favorite. Stayed at Econolodge Riverside. An affordable option, and indeed riverside for some pleasant quiet time. Bullfish Grill across the way was our first taste of Friend Green Tomatoes. We approved. Buses criss-cross the area: cityofpigeonforge.com/routes-and-schedules.aspxShuttles go to and from Dollywood. Stops are near the Econolodge
Pittsburgh is near Shanksville, PA. The Mrs. and I plan to pay our respects there. We've been to the twin towers. Thus, we could make a proper weekend out of it if we had some tips about Pitt.
Minneapolis has cheap flights to Mt. Rushmore. Kill two birds.
We slept at Richard's House bed and breakfast in Dubuque the night before we rode a paddleboat up the Mississippi to Prairie du Chien, WI, where we learned later was the home of the original onion burger. Richard's house was a surprisingly affordable place to stay and the highlight or the trip. We stayed in their library suite. The breakfast was unbelievable. Buildings in Dubuque were festooned with murals my wife wants to take time to see again one day, then stay at Richard's House again. For those interested, to the south, you find LeClaire, Iowa. Hometown of Wild Bill Cody and host of the Wild Bill Cody museum. The Riverview Roadhouse is a classic dive bar where you can sit out back with a beverage of choice and...view the river. As advertised. Coin-op pool table passes a bit more time before or after. Paddleboats depart from LeClaire and end up in Dubuque, thus the reason to be in these lesser known locales.
My wife has been to the Florida Keys twice and would agree with your taste of venues. She enjoyed staying at the Mermaid and Alligator. The Keys, let it be known, are not a bargain destination. I've tried. There doesn't seem much way to cut costs there. I just checked. now that it's June, you can stay there at under $100 a night, because its' hot and sticky now. January/February? Forget it! |
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Post by lessingham on Jun 3, 2023 4:48:20 GMT -5
Had an amazing holiday driving down the Oregon coast. Seattle and Portland were awful places. But wow,that coast. Inland, Crater lake blew us away and Sun River resort was a winner. Hood river and the mountains were breath taking.
You can tick off film locations, Goonies and The Shining.
I found Maine weird. It is huge for one thing. The Maine folk are the most reserved Americans I have ever met, but soon warm. The Boothbay area was a winner for us.
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Post by isthisit on Jun 4, 2023 18:45:22 GMT -5
I recently visited Phoenix and Sedona and thought both were amazing. The Bay Area/SF is my favourite, maybe with Lake Tahoe in winter. Outside of the US (slightly) Lake Louise and Banff are also stunning when snowy.
I wondered why your list was confined to the US. Check out Scotland, it is over looked more then it should be. The Western Isles & Hebrides are breathtaking.
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Post by mirrororchid on Jun 5, 2023 4:40:09 GMT -5
I recently visited Phoenix and Sedona and thought both were amazing. The Bay Area/SF is my favourite, maybe with Lake Tahoe in winter. Outside of the US (slightly) Lake Louise and Banff are also stunning when snowy. I wondered why your list was confined to the US. Check out Scotland, it is over looked more then it should be. The Western Isles & Hebrides are breathtaking. The list is my wife's. They are places she'd like to go before she dies, but more practically, before she's largely immobile. Her knees are garbage. If we get these done in the next decade, maybe we'll consider overseas. And Niagara Falls is, technically, not the US. Okay, it kind of is, I guess.
jim44444Can you tell us which place had "great food, fresh fish"? How was the Gap Trail? Recommend it? Or nothing special? Was the lunch stop noteworthy? If so, do you remember where it was? |
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Post by jim44444 on Jun 6, 2023 5:57:04 GMT -5
jim44444Can you tell us which place had "great food, fresh fish"? How was the Gap Trail? Recommend it? Or nothing special? Was the lunch stop noteworthy? If so, do you remember where it was? I have yet to find a bad restaurant in Key West ( we do not patronize the chains). Mangia, Mangia has great Italian dishes. Camila's has fantastic American dishes and the best fish is what we caught and had cooked at Hurricane Hole Marina. Hog Fish Grill is an experience with the bonus of a great hogfish sandwich. Further up the keys in Islamaroda is Loralie's with excellent fish dinners. As for the GAP trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland it is a premier trail. The Pittsburgh end is typical urban trail, paved and busy. But after 4 hours it transitions into a rural trail with all the expected scenery and peace. It is a gentle uphill slope to the Eastern continental divide just west of Frostburg. At Frostburg we ate lunch at a small place that used to sell tombstones. Nothing fancy but the soup and salad was perfect for a cold day. During the summer there is a steam train that runs between Cumberland and Frostburg. Also at Frostburg are pedal cars that run on the track but I do not know the specifics of the tour. |
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Post by mirrororchid on Jun 6, 2023 20:51:24 GMT -5
During the summer there is a steam train that runs between Cumberland and Frostburg. Also at Frostburg are pedal cars that run on the track but I do not know the specifics of the tour. Thanks for fleshing your recommendations out. Thanks for the pedal car tip. Could this be it? tracksandyaks.com/all-activities/Also offering $30 tubing ride.
The steam train I knew about, and planned to take the Mrs. on one, someday. It was a chief reason Cumberland was on the travel list. wmsr.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgNGT9ISw_wIVJ_3jBx3TdQgbEAAYASAAEgKsIvD_BwE |
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Post by jim44444 on Jun 9, 2023 15:29:57 GMT -5
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Post by mirrororchid on Jun 16, 2023 6:15:26 GMT -5
Thanks for the addition. I'm getting a compiled list together to post on the first entry along with the Requests to report back if you visit any of the recommendations that we haven't actually visited yet. (coming soon) |
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muzack
Junior Member
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Post by muzack on Jun 16, 2023 23:47:53 GMT -5
Nubble Lighthouse in Maine - Free park and you can spend hours watching the waves crash into the rocks. Waves like the type they always paint in old oil paintings.
My favorite Phoenix trip
Day 1: Rental car to Mesa -> Tortilla Flats -> Dirt Hwy 68 through Tonto Forest to Roosevelt Dam -> North through Apache Reservation to Holbrook AZ. Stop at the cliff dwellings or where you see Native Americans fishing along the river, etc.Get a hotel along old route 66 and eat at a classic diner.
Day 2: Drive through Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. Drive along Hwy 87/260 to camp Verde then interstate back to Phoenix.
Scenic all the way and you will hit terrain from pretty much every western movie of the 20th century. Saguaro cactus, flat desert, scrub brush, rivers and pines, you name it. Keep the radio on reservation station for full effect.
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Post by northstarmom on Jun 17, 2023 9:20:36 GMT -5
I thought Myrtle Beach was tacky, but I think the same of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinberg, so our tastes may be different.
I was in San Francisco in November. People had warned me that it had become dangerous and filled with homeless, but I didn't believe that until I went there. They were right.
I suggest adding Toronto to your Buffalo/Niagra Falls idea, and if you like wine, go to the wineries near the Canadian side.
Mount Rushmore is impressive, but it way out of the way of most other interesting places. You look at it. You say, "Wow." And then there's nothing else to do.
Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, Sedona can be great to see and can be done in one trip if you drive
Seattle is not on your list, but just in case -- It is beautiful but so expensive that when I was in NYC last week, 2 weeks after being in Seattle I thought NYC was cheap!!!!!
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Post by lessingham on Jun 18, 2023 3:11:41 GMT -5
I did not "get" Seattle. I could not get past the homeless everywhere. As had been said of many places, the best view of it was in the rear view mirror.
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Post by worksforme2 on Jun 18, 2023 19:31:53 GMT -5
Mirrorcrchid,.... I suggest the Asheville area. The Billtmore House is worth an entire day. Really good wine, and meals used to be reasonably priced last time i was there. In addition there are numerous waterfalls in the area, any # of wineries. About an hr away is Linville falls an caverns. There is white water raftong if you go for that also at Ashville. Minor league baseball can be found in Ashville, Hickory and Charlotte. About 2 hrs from Asheville to Charlotte for the US kiack training facility that also has a short zip line.
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Post by mirrororchid on Jun 19, 2023 6:24:57 GMT -5
Nubble Lighthouse in Maine - Free park and you can spend hours watching the waves crash into the rocks. Waves like the type they always paint in old oil paintings. My favorite Phoenix trip Day 1: Rental car to Mesa -> Tortilla Flats -> Dirt Hwy 68 through Tonto Forest to Roosevelt Dam -> North through Apache Reservation to Holbrook AZ. Stop at the cliff dwellings or where you see Native Americans fishing along the river, etc.Get a hotel along old route 66 and eat at a classic diner. Day 2: Drive through Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. Drive along Hwy 87/260 to camp Verde then interstate back to Phoenix. Scenic all the way and you will hit terrain from pretty much every western movie of the 20th century. Saguaro cactus, flat desert, scrub brush, rivers and pines, you name it. Keep the radio on reservation station for full effect. Wow. What a terrific start to an itinerary! Any specific diner you enjoyed? |
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