FadeToBlack&Gold
Kettle Medallion
I've been to Vegas a couple times before, so I know there's other stuff to do. However gambling is a big part of the culture there and you can't really escape it, even at McCarran.
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Travel 4: All Around the World Same Song
- Thread starter St. Clown
- Start date
I've been to Vegas a couple times before, so I know there's other stuff to do. However gambling is a big part of the culture there and you can't really escape it, even at McCarran.
mookie1995
there's a good buck in that racket.
Girl doesn’t gamble, but we have been together a couple times. We eat and see shows. She will indulge me sitting in a sports book on a Sunday and watching nfl. She will get as excited as anyone else with the crowd, which is better than being in a stadium on Sunday.
FadeToBlack&Gold
Kettle Medallion
At any rate, I just booked the Vegas flights as all the warm-ish destinations are getting outrageously expensive, so that's where we're going. New Orleans will be there next year (assuming another Katrina doesn't roll through). TBH, I am kind of annoyed that it took this long for her to make up her mind, particularly for a trip that was her idea and that she wanted to plan together. Her lack of action cost us some extra $$$, but it's also sort of my fault for 1) Not expressly communicating that fares were going up and we needed to make a choice, and 2) Knowing that she's not much of a planner. I think going forward we will just set the expectation that, as the experienced traveler, I am the travel agent and will prepare a few different itineraries for her to pick from, and give her a deadline that is, at most, 6-8 weeks in advance.
RaceBoarder
Waiting for the Snow to fly...
Isn't the "Planners Paradox" a lovely thing? Lol...
Handyman
Hug someone you care about...
I was supposed to do New Years in Vegas...still ticked that got nixed. I love Vegas whether gambling or not. Hell rent a car and go to Red Rock Canyon its friggin gorgeous!
San Fran was nice but way too expensive and honestly, outside of a few touristy things, pretty boring. The Wharf is cool, Chinatown is fun, Haight Ashbury was a must and beyond that...meh. A lot of the same stuff you find everywhere only half the day the weather is mediocre and everything costs 20% more than it needs to. Next time I go I will spend almost no time there (except dinner near the Wharf cause...duh) and will check out other places around like Berkley. Wine Country wails though.
New Orleans may be a [bleep]hole but it also has charm and is way less homogenized. I love it and the people are great. Lower Garden District is way better than anything San Fran has to offer and the WWII Museum is outstanding.
In truth though every city can be called "overrated" or be beloved. I found San Diego rather overrated but I would still go back there. There is always something in every city to enjoy...except maybe in NoDak ;^)
FadeToBlack&Gold
Kettle Medallion
I've been to San Francisco and while Chinatown is worth a stop, it is not a city for lightweights. After dark there was open drug use, aggressive hookers, people with the heebie jeebies waiting outside of the methadone clinics, and it was basically everything you've heard about NYC in the 80s. The stuff that rural Republican voters think is every city in the US.
Deutsche Gopher Fan
Registered User
People need to discover the other areas in northern CA. Give me San Luis Obispo or Avila beach any day over anything near the city limits of SF.
I love Vegas and I'm absolutely not a gambler. I'll spend a few hours at some tables throughout the week I'll spend there at most.
There's so much to do there. And it's perfectly centrally located to a number of amazing state/federal parks if you want to make day trips to Death Valley, Zion, Bryce, Hoover Dam... even the Grand Canyon.
There's so much to do there. And it's perfectly centrally located to a number of amazing state/federal parks if you want to make day trips to Death Valley, Zion, Bryce, Hoover Dam... even the Grand Canyon.
I love visiting San Francisco on work-trips, but it's really getting killed by wealth inequality. I read one article that showed significant observable impact on housing prices in San Francisco every time one of the "app companies" (Twitter, Square, Air B&B, etc) went public. A lot of these companies that are based on a single phone app are based right in San Francisco instead of Silicon Valley. I mean, there was crazy inequality before the app economy, but now it's an order of magnitude worse. Now it's like everyone is either wealthy or living on the fringe. Last time I was there for a work trip to the Apple World Wide Developer's Conference, which was quite a while ago now, I was in a $600/night hotel room. If I walked for a block or two in one direction from my hotel I could shop at a Tiffany's. If I walked a block the other direction, I could be in a sketchy liquor store on the border of the Tenderloin. I walked over to buy a six pack to stock up my hotel fridge, and a dude decided to whip his dick out and piss on the sidewalk right in front of me on broad daylight. I met some interesting characters hanging out at the bar at the Gold Dust Lounge on Powell St, during various work trips, but sadly I believe that bar is no more.
back from an excellent trip from the Southern California Desert (Death Valley National Park and Joshua Tree National Park).
I had two trips canceled early in the pandemic, including one international trip, and I've avoided flying until now. I wore a KN95 on the plane, and I'm vaccinated (but was unable to get my booster before leaving) but I'm still not super excited to be crammed in there with a bunch of other people. There was one woman that was not very good about mask compliance, and I'm somewhat surprised the flight attendants didn't get more aggressive with her (she was walking around the plane with her mask off, and I believe they had to remind her to put her mask on when she was boarding, and again a few times before take off).
I had two trips canceled early in the pandemic, including one international trip, and I've avoided flying until now. I wore a KN95 on the plane, and I'm vaccinated (but was unable to get my booster before leaving) but I'm still not super excited to be crammed in there with a bunch of other people. There was one woman that was not very good about mask compliance, and I'm somewhat surprised the flight attendants didn't get more aggressive with her (she was walking around the plane with her mask off, and I believe they had to remind her to put her mask on when she was boarding, and again a few times before take off).
theprofromdover
The Original Dope Detector
Leaving tomorrow for 10 days on Kauai.
How did you like Death Valley? How much time did you spend there? I spent an afternoon driving around in 2017ish, and I loved it and can't wait to go back.
cF[Authentic]
southpaw
Follow-up question... how did you like Joshua Tree?
I've been to both and was amazed at DV but underwhelmed by JT. The latter partly because it's a long, boring drive that's out of the way when also doing DV, Sequoia, King's Canyon, and Yosemite.
Spent 3 days/ nights in DV and I could have done a week. It's surprisingly versatile. Of course, you have Badwater Basin, but there are also waterfalls, great hikes up mountains on the west side, and a lot of variety. I highly recommend it, especially in the shoulder seasons.
cF[Authentic said:
I visited in February - so the valley floor was only just starting its spring bloom. I'm from New England, so our geography is ... trees. Hills, swamps, marshes, some mountains, ocean... and more trees. And DV may as well be the surface of Mars to me. It was wild.
I want to spend a night in the hotel inside. It seemed perversely out of place. We didn't get to the north half at all - came in the middle (the road where that ghost town Rhyolite is) and exited south. Only spend 3-4 hours there.
FadeToBlack&Gold
Kettle Medallion
My last trip there, after stuffing myself stupid at The House of Prime (don't order the King Henry VIII cut if you've got an upcoming cardiology appointment), I was at a bar where I had to explain to a fellow patron with a thick Scottish accent what the word "misogyny" meant (in the context of a CNN headline on The Former Guy, naturally). Walking back to my hotel at midnight, I crossed the street a few times to dodge the druggies and got propositioned by at least three hookers. In hindsight, it didn't help that I was dressed like I had a wad of money.
Otherwise, you'll see the usual big city scams. The charity pimps who try to get you to sign up for monthly donations, the JW proselytizers, etc.
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FadeToBlack&Gold
Kettle Medallion
Nice! I still need to get to both of those parks.
loved Death Valley, I was there a couple days. Hit the major spots: walked a few miles through the Mesquite Dunes (and pretended I was on Tatooine), hiked through the Golden Canyon, saw Artists Palette, went and explored an old gold mine, saw the Borax Works, the Badwater Salt Flats, drove through 20 Mule Team Canyon, drove to Dante's View, etc. I have a friend in the NPS that just got transferred to Death Valley a week or so ago and I want to go back and do a backcountry trip with him (probably driving on some of the 4x4 roads and do some backcountry camping / explore some off the beaten path areas by foot).
In Joshua Tree we went rock climbing, went on some short hikes, and pretty much drove on all the paved roads and saw the major roadside stuff. If I ever go back it will be for a backcountry backpacking trip. There are tons of rock climbing routes in the park, but the day hikes are a bit limited (I live next to Acadia National Park, which despite being much smaller, has tons of options for day hikes).
cF[Authentic said:
I think for a casual park person, Joshua Tree can be experienced in a day. It's definitely not my favorite park. We were there three days, but really only spent one full day in the park and then some partial days. First day we drove around the park and did several short hikes/ did some roadside exploring, drove to all the scenic lookouts, etc and were pretty much there all day. Second day we went rock climbing in the morning, and then went back to the cabin and used the hot tub and hung out for the afternoon. Thanksgiving day we went back in the morning and did another short ~2 mile hike, went to the cactus grove, and drove through the park to the Cottonwood visitors center. I was there during a busy holiday week, and everything was pretty busy. We skipped a couple stops because of lack of parking. If I ever go back, it would be to get a backcountry permit and go on backcountry backpacking trip.
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dxmnkd316
Lucia Apologist
I’ll never forget one encounter in San Fran my only time there which was in college. Was with a guy who lived there years prior. We were walking back to the hotel at like 9 maybe. Darkish out. We started walking up a street and he aggressively hailed a cab as it passed by.
I wasnt sure what the fuck was going on because we were walking distance from the hotel and didn’t really want to spend the cash. We get in and he says, “just get us to [the street two blocks up]. Here’s a $20.”
now im kinda freaked out. We get out and says we narrowly dodged getting mugged or worse by the guys up the street I didn’t even notice. They had split up and half crossed the street to our side and started walking towards us.
I wasnt sure what the fuck was going on because we were walking distance from the hotel and didn’t really want to spend the cash. We get in and he says, “just get us to [the street two blocks up]. Here’s a $20.”
now im kinda freaked out. We get out and says we narrowly dodged getting mugged or worse by the guys up the street I didn’t even notice. They had split up and half crossed the street to our side and started walking towards us.