On my summer vacation, I did / will do / am doing:
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Music Festifals (Score:3)
Visiting a few music festifals is my holiday this year....
Re:Music Festifals (Score:5, Funny)
Me too! I've done three already, except mine are spelled with a "V".
Re:Music Festifals (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Music Festifals (Score:3)
What are vestifals like?
A lot like this [geekologie.com]. Don't knock it till you've tried it -- vest people know how to get totally off the chain!
Summer? What's that, you insensitive clod! (Score:2)
That's the response from much of northern Europe, which has been experiencing the opposite of the hot dry weather of the eastern USA and the Mediterranean region. Cursed jet stream is stuck too far south, bringing a procession of cool wet low pressure areas over us in the north.
Oh, I voted for low key travel, as we visited family in another wet country on one of our vacations. The other vacation was spent partly at our cottage, and partly at home. Mostly just watching the rain, and mowing the lawn whenever the rain stopped.
Depends on your perspective (Score:2)
I'm going to Italy for two weeks. I'm looking forward to it and I think that it will be great fun, but it doesn't seems that exciting to me. But if you're from outside of Europe I guess going to Italy pretty spectacular.
Re:Depends on your perspective (Score:2)
I'm going to Italy for two weeks. I'm looking forward to it and I think that it will be great fun, but it doesn't seems that exciting to me. But if you're from outside of Europe I guess going to Italy pretty spectacular.
But if you're from within Europe, "vacation" should be plural :-D
I've been super-disorganised and only had two so far this summer^Wyear -- in both cases, a weekend music festival in another country + the rest of the week looking round that country. There's a third festival in a couple of weeks, but I've not yet planned to do much after it (it's just the other end of England though). I've got a week's holiday in China planned, since I'm going there for work in the Autumn. And that still leaves two weeks for around New Year :D :D
Re:Depends on your perspective (Score:2)
Going to Italy seems pretty low key regardless. It's not really that spectacular. It's not like you are crossing most of the known universe and meeting some great historical figure like Kublai Khan.
Re:Depends on your perspective (Score:2)
But if you're from outside of Europe I guess going to Italy pretty spectacular.
For a few reasons, at least from my perspective. I live in Northeastern US, so everything in reasonable driving distance is relatively the same culturally speaking. Granted there will be differences from place to place, but the cultural difference between say New York and Boston isn't all that big from a global perspective. All the stuff I can reach with my car is going to be predominantly English speaking. Plus, the really really old historical sites around here max out around the 400 year mark.
Now Italy... I need to cross a gigantic pile of water to get there which is kind of neat by itself. It's much more different culturally and linguistically than anything nearby (granted, not as much as say Japan, but still), and if I'm historically minded there's 2000+ year old stuff to check out.
Re:Depends on your perspective (Score:2)
Now going to New York or Boston, *that's* pretty spectacular in my mind.
Re:Depends on your perspective (Score:3)
Exotic is a matter of perspective :)
Re:Depends on your perspective (Score:2)
Re:Depends on your perspective (Score:3)
Speaking as someone who currently works in Manhattan, what traffic lights?
Re:Depends on your perspective (Score:5, Funny)
Work. (Score:3)
Re:Work. (Score:2)
Vacation (Score:5, Insightful)
What is this 'vacation' of which you speak?
Re:Vacation (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Vacation (Score:2, Flamebait)
America is so productive that Americans need to take a few weeks to months off every year to give the rest of the world a chance to catch up.
Taking Fridays Off If We Ever Get Summer (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been at a large traditional US company long enough to have almost as much vacation as a young European, but given the costs of travel, the hostility of US air travel, and the uncertainties of the economy I don't actually want to spend it all on the road. So for the last few years my plan has been to take Fridays off all summer and go surfing or biking or build stuff at Techshop or see local attractions (San Francisco area's full of them.)
Unfortunately this year the weather hasn't really cooperated - we've had good weather or hot spells during the middle of the week when work is busy, and lousy weather on weekends. Or there's been good weather inland and no surf at all, and the beach I usually go to has been closed for weeks due to bacteria :-) But we've gotten in a few nearby trips to watch the eclipse and the transit of Venus, and I'll go visit family over the holidays when the weather is bad here anyway.
Re:Vacation (Score:3)
Re:Vacation (Score:2)
What is this 'vacation' of which you speak?
Indeed. June to August is work, work work! I get to goof off in late November for a few days and then around the end of the year.
Re:Vacation (Score:2)
Re:Vacation (Score:2)
Where I live, it's something that might happen in December/January. Today's forecast for Melbourne (Aust) includes rain, hail and possible snow in the surrounding ranges.
Performing in a Drum & Bugle Corps (Score:2)
Re:Performing in a Drum & Bugle Corps (Score:2)
I have a friend who used to run a local drum core, I've seen a few of their shows when they're in town and I'm consistently impressed with them, and the teams they were competing against... the cores do some simply amazing stuff out there, and yet the whole experience seems to be either underrated or not taken seriously by many people, they've either never heard of it or act like it's some sort of a side attraction to the main event.
Hunting trip... (Score:3, Interesting)
Although I'll probably get flamed by a bunch of people who have no actual hunting experience, it is a great way time with family and nature. I don't do big trips to foreign lands, but am lucky enough to be able to travel a couple of hours in various directions and enjoy a wide range of hunting opportunities including big game(deer, black bear, moose), small game, upland birds, etc..
I selected "low-key adventure" for the bear hunting trip, that will consist of a large amount atv riding and trail cam viewing, some general maintenance projects around the cabin, a little fishing, and hopefully successfully assisting the DNR with the only finacially viable bear population management strategy available.
Any other hunters on slashdot?
Re:Hunting trip... (Score:3)
I used to hunt and I don't mind hunting/hunters. I'm not a fan of hunting purely for sport though. If you eat what you kill, don't trespass on private property, and treat the land, your weapon and your prey with respect then I think it's fine. No one who eats meat has a good reason to get indignant with a hunter if they follow those rules (IMHO).
I will be taking 2 shorter vacations this fall. They both involve the outdoors but there won't be any hunting -- well, I'll do some fishing but that's generally not considered hunting.
I'm going out to Colorado to hike a few 14ers. Then a while after that I will head up to the boundary waters in Minnesota and portage up into Canada. Hopefully do a little fishing but mainly I will be camping and canoeing. I'd like to do some back country camping this winter too, we'll see.
I don't suppose any of that sounds like a vacation to some of you. ;) It's hard to beat being surrounded by all of that natural beauty though. It can be hard work, but the scenery and solitude is always worth it and I can always use the exercise.
Re:Hunting trip... (Score:5, Interesting)
One of the areas that I hunt by Lake Mille Lacs (county land) has about 10 people that hunt it and last year a new person started hunting there who is one of the problem hunters. It is public land so it is to be expected. There is a larger group (6 or 7) that hunt the north end of the property and my group (2 or 3) that hunts on the south end and we basically stay out of each others way. The new problem hunter decided to set up a little north (200 yards) of where my uncle usually hunts and all we heard was shooting, and it wasn't the one nice shot but a bunch of shots one right after the other. After a couple of days the noise stopped and I went to see if I could find this hot spot. I did find it and it was a hot spot simply because the ass hole was baiting with piles of corn and apples, illegal in Minnesota. He had put up a permanent post frame stand (not allowed on public land in this county), there were empty beer cans and food wrappers everywhere as well as 6 empty 50 lbs sacks of corn up in the stand. The worst was that there were 5 gut piles there so at least 3 of the deer were poached but it wouldn't surprise me if all 5 were. I called the DNR and they came out and took a look but as the hunter wasn't around there wasn't anything they could really do other than keep an eye on the site. I asked if I could tear down the stand and was told that it was abandoned property and I was free to do with it as I pleased. I cleaned up the area and on the last afternoon of the season thoroughly disassembled that stand and left a pile of cut and split lumber. I think I was most pissed because had the bad hunter not been there I possibly could have gotten a second deer as well as my uncle also possibly getting a second one. Yes they do get eaten, and I generally prefer a nice fat young doe to the big old tough buck for this reason.
Bad hunters piss me off especially since I follow all of the rules and don't take questionable shots. Because of this I have not gotten deer several times as I had a really poor shot, or was waiting for legal hours. I didn't take a shot once even though it was only 10 minutes before legal hours and a car drove by and spooked the deer I had my sights trained on, and another time I all I could see was deer snout and deer butt with the rest obscured by trees. I probably could have taken the shot in both cases, gotten the deer, and gotten away with it but I choose not to. When I am out hunting you wouldn't know I was there except for the blaze orange sitting up in the tree and once I am gone you would only find foot prints in the mud. I police up my trash if I drop something and pick up my casing. I am amazed by the amount of trash I find out in the woods, especially along the road, my uncle and I are always hauling it out a bunch of it when ever we go out hunting.
Re:Hunting trip... (Score:2)
August 1 is the start of Illinois' squirrel season. You can say what you want about me being a hillbilly, but they taste quite good baked in a garlic butter brown sugar glaze, and hunting those little things is the most fun you can have when it's hot out. (I say hot out, because rabbit hunting is better, but it has to be really freaking cold for that).
I spend most of my summer either practicing with my bow (for deer later), or target shooting with a .22, and counting down the days until August 1. The only reason that I'm looking forward to having kids is to get to go squirrel hunting with a little version of me.
Re:Hunting trip... (Score:2)
Re:Hunting trip... (Score:2)
For more exotic tastes - the glaze is 1 stick of butter, 4 minced garlic cloves and 1 cup of brown sugar. This recipe makes 1 squirrel, increase the butter and brown sugar accordingly to increase the number of squirrels. The garlic, though, you should add half as much more for each squirrel, so 4 cloves for one squirrel becomes 10 for two squirrels.
To start, Preheat the oven to 350. Then, put the squirrel pieces (quarters) into a stone baking dish - this crisps it and keeps the happy squirrel juices in. Melt the butter and garlic in a pan on low heat - stir a lot, and I mean a lot. Stir in the brown sugar and cook on high heat or medium heat (whichever doesn't scorch). Stir them together until the ingredients start to combine (6 or 7 minutes), at which point you need to shut off the heat and stir the crap out of it. The brown sugar may be granular still, but that's not big deal, it should blend better when you bake it. Pour the garlic/butter/sugar mixture onto the COLD squirrel. It should congeal slightly. DO NOT TOUCH IT OR SPREAD IT AROUND. It will spread out on its own, if you monkey with it, it'll fall off and you'll have soup.
Bake it for an hour or so, or until it's 160 degrees internally.
Honestly, any good glaze for chicken works on squirrel. The trick for squirrel to remove the gaminess, is to get a clean kill (head or heart), skin it/clean it before it gets cold on the outside, and SOAK THE PISS out of that thing. Soak squirrels in salt (light salt) water for at least 24 hours, clean the water and replace it with new salt water for another 24 hours before eating them. That is the most important step - and also applies to most small game and frogs.
Also, if you want to freeze it for long-term storage (2-3 year storage) fill a zip-lock bag with salt-water and freeze it as a hunk.
Re:Hunting trip... (Score:2)
Re:Hunting trip... (Score:4, Funny)
Any other hunters on slashdot?
I don't hunt but I once heard about a guy whose password was hunter2.
Vacations vs Unemployed (Score:3, Informative)
I think that's where a lot of resentment comes from with the long-term unemployed. I really think folks have in the back of their mind that the unemployed are taking benefits and having the time of their lives on the taxpayer and former employer's dime.
Nothing could be further could be from the truth.
First, there is no money to do those cool things. Sitting in front of the TV or computer gets old in about 3 days.
Then there is the shame of being unemployed. Everyone looks at you like there's something wrong with you. Everyone - especially if you were a software developer.
And to head off how folks "know" someone who is having the time of their life being long-term unemployed, I can tell you that they're just saying that to save face - with you and maybe with themselves. Because when enough people start implying or even explicitly saying that there is something wrong with you, you start to wonder. And then the despair sets in. To say, "I am having a really hard time getting a job." is almost like telling folks you're a drunk. But to say, "Hell yeah! I'm gonna ride the unemployment till it runs out!" with an attitude of sticking it the man, at least from my point of view sounds better than "I can't get a job no matter how hard I try." It's trying to fake that you're in control or give the appearance that you're in control.
When decent hard working educated people can't get jobs, something is really fucked up.
Oh, and all that bullshit that it's only folks with "worthless" degrees are having a hard time, well it's bullshit. I know quite a few folks with CS, engineering, nursing and other "marketable" degrees that are having horrible times getting work.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's something wrong with all of them. IF that were true, then WTF is going on with society?
Actually what gets me is when my fellow peons take the sides of the folks who are causing all this. The folks who parrot the talking points of Wall Streeters and ex-Wall Street money guy Presidential candidates; and in the meantime, the folks they are defending are sticking it up their ass, too. Depending the your abuser. When I see some small business guy talk as if he's one of the billionaire owner class, I chuckle.
Years ago, I was at a party with some Marine F-18 pilots and some were flight instructors. There was this C-172 pilot/instructor who was standing around and talking "shop" with the Marine Jet Fighter pilots. The Marines were really nice and polite, but they looked bored and they had this look of "WTF is this guy?!"
You small business owners who talk like you're part of the billionaire class remind of the C-172 pilot trying to be part of the jet fighter crowd. If you and your little puny business got in the way those billionaires, they'd have one of their "wage slaves" crush you like a little bug and there wouldn't be a damn thing you could do about it. They'll bury you in legal fees.
Going to cry myself to sleep, again.
Low-key trip to Greece (Score:2)
Geek Motorhome (Score:2)
Time again for a Sabbatical. 8 weeks of time off paid. In a nutshell. A little off grid living in a Motorhome with a few Geek Upgrades. Mainly Solar, Inverter, Flatscreen, Network (Sat dish Wifi extension), rear view camera, etc.
Destination Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon.
Re:Geek Motorhome (Score:2)
A decent motorhome is always nice -- I plan to get a decent short class C [1] fairly soon. Once I do, I plan to do the solar panel upgrades, as well as a portable wind tower (something I can locate a little bit away from the rig for the best wind, but still get 400-600 watts from it... good enough to keep a battery bank charged when doing light inverter use.) I have a decent generator, but even the most quiet models are quite noticeable in an area where nobody else is around.
I have a travel trailer which is what I use on days off. The ironic thing is that a nearby state park that was totally destroyed during a forest fire about eleven months ago is rebuilt, has full hookups, but tends to be empty because of that fact. So, it doesn't hurt to head there, kick back, and get caught up on some reading between hiking around.
[1]: For what I'm doing, a class C may not be the most stylish rig with the cabover, but the price is right, and the quality of modern ones that have a fiberglass roof and end caps is decent. Finding a good size is hard, because a class B can get cramped when stuck in side during inclement weather, versus a larger rig that can't fit into spots in an older state park. So, a 22-25 foot long C is a good compromise.
Re:Geek Motorhome (Score:2)
So far, most US rigs don't have what the European caravans and Aussie campers have. However, if one is looking for something small, but self-contained, I'd probably point at what Sportsmobile offers. That, or a class B seller like Airstream, LTV, or Roadtrek.
If one is wanting off the beaten path, and the low ground clearance of the Mercedes Sprinter chassis is fine, then that is a good way to go, as the smaller RVs can get 20+ MPG. For more gnarly terrain, a Sportsmobile can go some insane places. Of course, there are the Tiger Motorhomes which can go up to almost $200,000 in price, but can handle almost anything thrown at them.
"Summer vacation"? (Score:2)
Are we all students again? Some of us don't really get all summer off. I did start the summer with a week in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. Otherwise, it's been the normal 9-5! Next vacation, not until Fall.
eponymous (Score:2)
Hacker tourism, of course. I'll visit places and events of a technological nature.
I donated a Kidney! (Score:2)
I'd recommend everyone donate a kidney if healthy enough.
And, no, I didn't wake up in a tub of ice. I did it willingly.
Re:I donated a Kidney! (Score:5, Funny)
It was so much fun, you can't wait to do it again next year! Oh, wait...
Re:I donated a Kidney! (Score:2)
Drudge work (Score:2)
vegas and nyc (Score:2)
living the life...a trip to vegas and a trip to nyc...but I plan to be pretty laid back in both locations.
Vietnam (Score:5, Interesting)
My wife and I took a cue from Top Gear and rode motorbikes across Vietnam a few months ago - 1100 miles from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. It definitely ranks in the top 10 list of scariest / harrowing / adventurous things we've done.
It's healthy to step away from the keyboard for extended periods of time. We've had lots of conversations with people about the American fascination with work. So many people here in the US say things like, "but I can't go on vacation because I don't have enough time off". Bullshit. How many people have actually asked their employer for more time off than they get for a paid vacation? I'd encourage anyone wishing they could go on a long trip to just do it - ask your boss for extra time off, see if he'll be flexible letting you work weekends before and after to make up for paid time off. Or, worst case scenario, see what they think of letting you take unpaid time off.
Re:Vietnam (Score:3)
Well, its interesting that you mention unpaid time off. I get two weeks, but I can take unpaid leave if I want. Problem is balancing that 'want' with the 'want' of paying all of my bills. A lot of people don't have the financial elbow room to take unpaid leave. Not to mention the realistic fear (esp in this economy, etc, etc) that if you take extra vacation you are simply showing your employer that he can live without you.
The motorbike trip sounds awesome. Was language a barrier? How did you plan the trip? (Ahead of time? Seat of pants?)
Re:Vietnam (Score:3)
Language wasn't too much of a barrier. In the larger cities and tourist towns, English is spoken all over the place. Out in the countryside and some of the regular towns, there's little English spoken. However, if you're good with charades, you can usually get by. It helps to be able to count up to say, 100 (which is easy to learn.) They use a Latin alphabet, so you can read everything everywhere.
Langauge is definitely interesting there. Like a lot of southeast Asia, English is seen as a ticket to a great paying job. It's just about comparable to how we view a college education in the US. There is a large gap in wages between English and non-English speakers.
As far as planning goes, we did a fair amount, which involves a lot of reading of the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forums (people like to hate on Lonely Planet, but their forums are a great resource.) In the end, this is what we did:
1. Figured out exactly what we were going to do with regards to motorcycles. We decided to purchase them rather than rent them and decided getting a license probably wasn't going to happen so we wouldn't waste our time with it. We hoped to buy the motorbikes off either a local dealer or fellow traveler, but we had a backup plan of a shop in Hanoi. We ended up buying them from guy who owned a small shop we discovered just by walking around.
2. As far as time goes, we budgeted three weeks for Vietnam, but our actual trip was almost six weeks long (we went to Cambodia, Laos and a bit of Thailand afterwards). So we had some leeway. We also had a backup plan, similar to the Top Gear episode, where if we needed to move quickly, we would load the bikes on the train. In the end, we stayed an extra 4 days or so in Vietnam and made that up later with a flight to avoid some long overland travel.
3. We had a few spots we wanted to go to on the way between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, but we were also flexible with the actual plan. In the end, we went to most of those places, but we also added a lot of other along the way and the route we ended up going was quite a bit different than what we had planned on.
All in all, it was fantastic - the best vacation we've ever gone on, and we've had some pretty crazy ones.
Re:Vietnam (Score:2)
How much did you pay for the bikes? And did you sold them after the trip?
Re:Vietnam (Score:2)
I've never been able to use my paid time off. Who could seriously take a month or more off work?
I'm almost required to use all 31 days of my annual leave. It's not a contractual requirement, but I can't imagine anyone not using all of them, and my manager would strongly encourage anyone who hasn't taken a holiday in a while to take one.
(It being August, the office was *very* quiet. Especially as people have taken time off to see the Olympics. 4 out of 9 of us were in today, but it was only 2 yesterday.)
I think it's unlikely the American economy would suffer if you had a sensible amount of vacation (and who cares if it does anyway?). I think I always work better after a week away, or even just a long weekend.
Alternative for the "insensitive clod" option (Score:2)
Salaried drudgery, with no end in sight (Score:2)
Missing Option: Boss screwed me over (Score:2)
Hobby - Ham Radio (Score:2)
I'm spending time with my hobby. Find me on the 10 Meter band, usually around 28.450-USB or 29.000-AM. I'll have a microphone in one hand, and a "cold 807" in the other.
Summer Camp (a.k.a. Spectacular Adventure) (Score:2)
Amusing timing on this question, as I just got back from running two weeks of summer camp for a Boy Scout troop(*) I volunteer for. 60+ people, 15 days. I slept for about 20 hours when I got home Sunday night.
Backstory: A couple years ago, we took a hard look at the fact that we were taking 30 kids to camp each summer at the cost of $350+ a head, when we were spending less than that to run basic program the rest of the year. Scout camps are cheap compared to most other summer camps, but still, $350/person can buy a lot of camping if you spend it yourself instead of on some pre-packaged experience where you're mainly paying the stipends of camp counselors. So we decided we'd go somewhere fun (picked a river valley in the northeastern US with boating/rock climbing/biking/hiking options), and run about half the daily activities in in-house with adult volunteers (whom we can also pay for), and contract out the other half to a local guide service. Much better experience for the kids. We actually had kids break down in tears this year because they were anti-homesick (they didn't want to go home!)
Lots of people ask why I spend so much personal time and money on what (on the surface) amounts to a horrible vacation (chaotic, lack of sleep, busy all day). And it's true, if your ideal vacation is lying on a beach somewhere for a week, it's not for you. But frankly, "going to the beach" was every family trip since I can remember until I went away to college, and I just can't stand it anymore. When I go away on vacation, I want to do something other than bake in the sun every day and different from what I do in an office the rest of the year.
*(In case anyone asks: I find the most of the behavior of the BSA organization as a whole to be embarrassing/despicable, but most of the time we simply ignore them and they ignore us.)
Drudge work (paid) is closest option (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Drudge work (paid) is closest option (Score:2)
Where's the +1,000 "Im with you man." option? Same boat.
Re:Drudge work (paid) is closest option (Score:2)
Provided you are skilled you might want to look at moving to Australia. We are not in recession, have a minimum wage and free basic healthcare. And 20 days paid vacation.
Due in no small part to our mining boom we are actually importing temporary workers to fill jobs. I have a nephew working on the mines as a deisel fitter. $180k about to go up to over $200k if he resigns. He is under 30. Now the conditions are far from pretty, but not a bad port in a storm.
I'm unemployed you insensitive clod (Score:2)
I have been on "vacation" for three months already. Lucky there is rowing and fishing to stop me from going insane (and starving to death).
Auto racing (Score:2)
Re:Auto racing (Score:2)
So far I've competed in one of these races: http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/ [24hoursoflemons.com]
Forgive me for not following a link on /. with "lemon" in it.
Even if you had a party and won a cup...
Banding baby turkey vultures! (Score:2)
If you think bird watching is boring, then look into bird banding. Anyone can do it if you get licensed, which just requires meeting the right people and getting a recommendation. This summer we're doing turkey vultures, which are vile, dirty, awful little creatures - but that doesn't make it less fun. They like to live in old barns.
Other summers it's been red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons, golden eagles, or even the lowly magpie. My father and I go out with a small team in rural Saskatchewan, armed with a map that we've marked up based on reports from local farmers, and go looking for nests. Depending on the bird, this can involve climbing a tree, rappelling over a cliff, or wading through a wetland. In the end, it's all about handling the little birds - as their justifiably angry parents hoot, squawk, or dive-bomb from above - and putting on a small metal band. In all our years, we've only had one chick die, which we truly regretted.
Anyone who finds a bird with a band can send the band along to the US Fish and Wildlife service, and that data can get used by the actual scientists studying migration patterns, life expectancies, and other such things. As for us, we're just in it for the adventure.
That's what you meant by vacation, right?
Re:Banding baby turkey vultures! (Score:3)
So you're saying it was a half-hearted comment?
Re:Banding baby turkey vultures! (Score:2)
I realize you're kidding - but what a common misconception! The cliffs and coolies on the South Saskatchewan are pretty significant. That river has eaten its way down deep below the prairie over the course of its life.
Not that they're anything to get excited about for real rock climbers, of course.
Staycation (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Staycation (Score:2)
My husband and I usually go away each year for our anniversary (which also aligns with our back-to-back birthdays). This year we've decided to book into a luxury hotel in the city where we live, do a few good restaurants, the art galleries, museums, zoo, etc... that we normally can't find time to do in our weekly schedule.
Re:Staycation (Score:2)
home is where the list of unfinished chores is (laundry to be folded, stuff to be put away, dishes to be washed, etc...).
I don't understand (Score:2)
What I'm doing. (Score:2)
It will suck but with benefits. Lot's of art show's,.
July is vacation (Score:2)
Re:July is vacation (Score:2)
It is the same for all of Scandinavia and probably a good deal of Northern Europe. I guess vacation is in July in the North (when it is hot), and in August in the South (when it is not TOO hot) - though admittedly Fins seem a bit more extreme in their singleminded choice of the exact same holiday weeks. It is like a large plague wiped out entire cities, and Finland for a few weeks become a post-apocalyptic wasteland - unlikely the rest of the year when it pre-apocalyptic wasteland.
Typically American answer?? (Score:2)
What summer vacation you insensitive clod?! I'm too busy working.
What is this summer vacation thing that you speak? (Score:2)
After essentially three years of unemployment I am now working two jobs with no benefits. (hence, no vacation time)
Every vacation I've ever done whether employed or not has been done during the time of Northern Hemisphere summer. By design. When it is fun to play near home, I play near home. When the weather is cold and obnoxious, that's the time to fly away for an adventure in the tropics. Unless you are stuck working around the school schedules of the spawn or just can't wrap your head around the idea of traveling to a different latitude I don't see why anyone would make summer their first choice for a vacation.
Iceland, Scotland, Ireland, Colorado Trail (Score:2)
A week hiking on the Colorado Trail. :-)
Five days in Iceland (Reykjavik area), including a trip down an extinct volcano core (http://www.insidethevolcano.com/).
A coupla days in and around Edinburgh, Scotland.
Several days hiking on Ireland's Beara Peninsula.
A week-long family reunion in Doolin, County Clare, Ireland. (My family).
24 hours in Boston, Massachusetts, reunion with old friends.
A week-long family reunion in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (My wife's family).
I checked the "spectacular" box.
(I don't usually get that much time off work, this took some special arrangements!)
Unplugging and de-stressing (Score:2)
I spent a week camping with my wife and son on the shores of Lake Tahoe, out of range of any cell towers. My iPhone was a GPS receiver, star chart, and camera only. No phone, no email, no texts or tweets or even news.
At one point, I did have to return to civilization for more ice, firewood and beer, and made the mistake of leaving my phone on. And my boss happened to call at that very time.
"What is the status of your project? Is it ready to ship? What still needs to be done?" he asked. (It was a demo unit for exhibition at a trade show.)
"I left a detailed note on the cart, with a complete to-do list, and all the necessary parts needed to button it up, and prepared the paperwork you need to close the work orders. It's complete except for any cosmetic changes you wish to make. I told Engineering and QA to be ready for your requests. Hello? Hello? I think I'm losing you..." [press end call].
Even though I had done everything he asked before I left, the stress of having to think about work made my stomach knot for the next two hours. And I realized then that I live with that knot constantly. Except when I can get away, completely.
It's not until you return that you notice the actual physiological effects of that kind of stress.
Driving back to LA from Tahoe, I wanted to keep driving and not stop until I got to Cabo. Or at least Lareto.
Re:Unplugging and de-stressing (Score:2)
For a minute there I thought you said Lake Taupo [wikipedia.org]. We spent New Years Eve there a few years back, the worst sunburn I've had in well over a decade.
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Work (Score:2)
We are not all children who fuck about all summer
Jumping Out of Airplanes! (Score:2)
Burning Man! (Score:2)
What could be more relaxing?
"Adventure" is what I'm doing right now! (Score:2)
Reading Slashdot counts as "adventurous," right?
Nuts to all that dangerous rock-climbing and hiking stuff...!
Spectacular River Cruise (Score:2)
My wife and I spent a day flying from Los Angeles to Budapest with a change of planes in Frankfurt (exceeded as the worst airport only by Kona). We then spent 15 days cruising up the Danube to the Main Canal and Main River then down the Rhine to Amsterdam, where we spent 2 extra days. Every day, the boat stopped for a tour of a local city (included in the cost of the cruise). We attended two concerts (one in Vienna) and visited three art museums. We saw many, many castles, cathedrals, and palaces. This vacation exceeded all expectations.
We are both retired. We exhausted last year's travel budget, this year's travel budget, and part of next year's travel budget. But then our goal was to spend our children's inheritance.
I took more than 1,100 photos but have edited less than 100 so far.
Missing option: obligatory trip to visit relatives (Score:2)
One trip for my mother-in-law's 80th birthday and another trip to see my mother (97 and in a nursing home). The second trip will be pretty melancholoy since I'll be working with my brother to get the house we grew up in ready to sell.
Cheers,
Dave
All of the above (Score:2)
San Diego
Lap of Lake Michigan
Italy
Seattle
Florida
Photography
Computers
Sports cars
Sporting events
Bicycling
Hiking
Standard work
Work for friends and family
Visited snowy mountains in the Cascade range - that count for "Winter"?
Watching stars this weekend (Score:2)
Scooter road trip (Score:2)
Each of the past four summers I've taken a week-long road trip around the state of Michigan on my 50cc Genuine scooter (max speed 40mph), camping every night at state/national parks/forests. So far I've ridden the entire Michigan/Lake Michigan and Michigan/Lake Huron coastlines, crossed the Mackinac Bridge twice, visited every county in the Lower Peninsula, and all but 8 in the Upper Peninsula (planned for next year). It's inexpensive (I spent $50 on gas this year), and I get to really experience the territory I travel through (which you don't get on expressways at 70mph). I call this mode of travel "MI way". [toddverbeek.com]
I love my job (Score:2)
Spectacularly Expensive Travel (Score:2)
Gaming! (Score:2)
Road trip on the 14th to Indianapolis to attend GenCon. Then ride my bike back through Oklahoma to visit family before tooling around New Mexico and western Colorado to then return home.
Back in May/June, I took three weeks to ride to California (Monterey then to San Diego) to visit family then to Amarillo Texas before side tripping back to Denver and flying to Florida (Naples) for a family wedding.
Heck, in September I'll have been at work for 5 years which kicks in an extra week of vacation for next year :D
[John]
Taking a junket (Score:2)
Missing Option: Taking care of my kids. (Score:2)
So I wouldn't classify it as drudgework (although it is work). My wife found summer work, so I am handing the 3 kids and house.
I'm doing a poor job as my wife still cleans when she gets home.
Who gets to take vacation? (Score:2)
The economy sucks, so I work 7 days a week when possible, and have not had a vacation in over 8 years. For those out there worried about money, VACATION isn't a time when you can actually enjoy yourself because you don't go away for a vacation.
Not in school... (Score:2)
My holiday (Score:2)
Two festivals (to babysit an Arduino-based art project I did with three non-techie photogs/designers) and after that I'll take the plane to Dublin, the bus to Galway, rent a bike and explore the Irish west coast for two weeks. On my own.
Motorcycle adventures and camping (Score:2)
My dad and a mutual friend spent two weeks on motorcycles, touring the Southwest states. We have "adventure touring" bikes (I hate that description) and looked for back roads, dirt roads and out of the way spots. We camped every night, and every day was hundreds of miles of really fun riding. We'd pull into camp in the early afternoon, and have time to do some short hikes, or grab a cold beer and BS in the shade.
My dad is 74, and still rides fast and goes camping. I hope I'm in that good of shape in 30 years.
Grand Canyon (Score:2)
Spectacular adventure for me. It wasn't quite summer yet but in March and April I spent 23 days rowing my whitewater raft 270 miles through the Grand Canyon. It was epic!
Back to the... past... (Score:2)
Re:Branson (Score:2)
I'm sorry.
(That's almost the homestead and the last place I would want to spend a summer vacation)
Re:I plan on doing.. (Score:2)
...R/C forklift from think geek to bring me my beers.
That's so 2011. A radio controlled replica of the Curiosity skycrane bringing you beer? That's a vacation.
Re:Weddings (Score:2, Funny)
When's the funeral?