MetaHolidayPlans 🏖️🌊🏝️🗻⛺ June 14, 2019 7:32 AM   Subscribe

Nearing the end of another week, let's talk about something else that is not related to politics. Tell me about your upcoming plans. Are you planning a vacation? Heading out on a road-trip? Camping, hiking, laying on the beach? Any festivals or concerts you're looking forward to? Maybe it's a stay-cation and you're exploring something local or maybe it's a trip to the other side of the world? Are you soloing it or maybe you have a family, friend, or loved one accompanying you? Or maybe you're just working and doing your day to day thing. Either way, feel free to share your upcoming holiday plans. As always, be kind to yourself and to others. Cheers.
posted by Fizz to MetaFilter-Related at 7:32 AM (62 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite

I’m looking forward to seeing my mother in the relatively near future. For some reason, scheduling has been a real pain, and it’s been a while since we were just able to hang out and talk.
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:39 AM on June 14, 2019 [4 favorites]


I’m on a sunny lounge chair next to a pool in menorca right now. With a pitcher of sangria. Can’t complain.
posted by iamkimiam at 7:39 AM on June 14, 2019 [9 favorites]


We're planning a road-trip to visit some family later on next month. It'll be very nice to get away from work and just have some time to decompress. I enjoy road-trips. There's something very calming about long drives once you're away from the city.
posted by Fizz at 7:49 AM on June 14, 2019 [4 favorites]


After a lot of sweat and anxiety and negotiation, I booked a vacation in the country over the Fourth of July holiday! No parents! My closest friends! A beautiful house and garden! Room arrangement that won't make my husband anxious! Bathtubs so my kid won't freak out about showers! Rural space and proximity to water for one friend! Transportation for the other friend who has a kid! A separate playroom for the kids, along with space to play outdoors, and if it rains, the local town used to be a big railroad town, and there is a train museum!

There's a grill, so we can make hot dogs and hamburgers on the day of if the weather cooperates. On Friday, I'm going to make this vegetarian lasagna and this meat one, and There Will Be Good Cinnamon Buns for breakfast on Saturday.

I'm so excited to do some cooking and spend some time with my friends and husband and kid!!!!!
posted by joyceanmachine at 7:57 AM on June 14, 2019 [6 favorites]


Looking forward to going to the Berkshires for a few days. Seeing some folks. I could not need it more. I have been having a lot of trouble with my OCD recently. Shaking up the routine makes that worse for some people, but in my case, it will almost certainly help.

Apparently there's a good swimming spot nearby. I love swimming in fresh water in New England. It's alligator-free, and although I'm sure some places have leeches, I have not encountered them.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:58 AM on June 14, 2019 [4 favorites]


My son is currently in Europe with his high school German class. My daughter will be at camp for 2 weeks in July. When everyone finally comes home for the summer in August, we will all spend a long weekend at Cedar Point together. In between all the to-ing and fro-ing we will be occasionally enjoying Grandma's pool. Its shaping up to be a fine summer already.
posted by Chrischris at 8:01 AM on June 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


I only recently remembered that since July 4 falls on a Thursday this year, we get July 5 as a holiday as well. So I decided to take the whole week off - 9 straight days off for the price of 3 vacation days! And no one in the club has reserved the planes yet (amazingly, for a holiday week), so I'll probably take a quick trip somewhere.

We're also planning a vacation to Islay and Glasgow in September. It was going to be a big friend vacation, but it looks like everyone is bailing so it'll just be the two of us. Nothing firmed up yet, but we'll probably spend most of the time biking around and drinking like most of our vacations.
posted by backseatpilot at 8:06 AM on June 14, 2019 [5 favorites]


I've recently moved to a place which is relatively near Liverpool, where I've never been. I'm planning a weekend up there soon to explore and to see the Keith Haring exhibition at Tate Liverpool.
posted by Balthamos at 8:07 AM on June 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


I am 51 weeks away from being 100% debt free, so I have put traveling on hold for a bit.

But next year....well, next year starts with a New Orleans trip in February (when your 50th birthday is the same day as Mardi Gras the party pretty much plans itself).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:08 AM on June 14, 2019 [17 favorites]


Congrats on your forthcoming freedom!

We went on our road trip right after school ended, heading out to Louisiana for a week to hang out with family. It was a lot of fun (if you have kids and are in or around Baton Rouge, check out the Knock Knock Museum, which is not so much a museum as it is an awesome, multi-story activity space for kids of all ages), but we're happy to be back home, leaving the humidity behind us. It was weird to stand in snow in late May, and then a week later, be in the land of mossy street signs.

My wife and I are heading out to California for a weekend in July, for a brief family get-together.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:12 AM on June 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


And our kids are at the age when we can talk to them about what we want to do for our next road trip, which may include more stopping at random points of interest along the way, instead of trying to have longer, quiet drives so the younger one will nap for a bit. I am excited.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:13 AM on June 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


Also, forgot to mention that we've already had some holiday type adventures, just a few weeks ago. We went to the local art museum and managed to see some beautiful paintings and art-installations. I always forget how calming and restorative a visit to the local museum can be for my soul. Definitely plan on going back soon.
posted by Fizz at 8:13 AM on June 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


My husband and I just got back from Los Angeles (visiting my brother and my new baby nephew - two months old and now a smiley potato), and was in NYC over memorial day (for a wedding, plus visiting family and friends), so I'm kind of glad that we're staying in town for a while. I've been in perpetual need of a nap for a month. There's a chance that I might be going to Duluth in August with some friends, but nothing concrete yet.

In October, my husband and I are planning on taking a vacation that doesn't involve visiting anyone I know - the last time we did this was Duluth for a weekend in 2013. PTO tends to run short, and all of our friends and family are spread out, so whenever we go anywhere, we tend to spend the entire time cramming in visiting with as many people as possible (and, NGL, I'm feeling a little guilty for not having made it to Chicago for a year and PR in nearly four). We're still deciding on a destination, but Montreal, Vancouver, and New Orleans are front runners.
posted by dinty_moore at 8:19 AM on June 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


I'm flying out this weekend to go apartment hunting in the city where I'll be attending graduate school this fall. I'm hoping I can get something pinned down, but I'm a little concerned I've left it a little late. Plus there's this overwhelming urge to find The Cheapest Place Possible competing with my desire to not live in a place infested with roaches (mentioned in a number of reviews, alas). It doesn't help that all of my relatives make waaaayyyy more money than I do now or ever will, and they have Thoughts about places I should live.
posted by Mouse Army at 8:29 AM on June 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm apparently flying to San Francisco next week for a job interview, which isn't exactly a vacation, but on the other hand it's the closest thing I've had in two years, and I'm stressed and terrified but also incredibly excited. I know there's a ton of very problematic things about the SF tech community, but there's a lot of stuff going on with my life right now that this would help with. I just have to figure out how to both get some kind of feel for the city AND get some prep time so that everybody there thinks I'm super cool and that they definitely need to give me large sums of money. Large, student-loan-balance-decreasing sums of money.
posted by Sequence at 8:37 AM on June 14, 2019 [5 favorites]


We're doing our first vacation-vacation (i.e., not just going home to visit relatives) with our 6 month old next week! I'm running a race in a pretty location not too far away, so we've rented a house, and the whole family's coming up.

It should be fun, but we're going to have to exercise some restraint with my parents who very much want to Do Things and Have Plans. Which, I'm also very type A and want to Do Things and Have Plans, but have readjusted to planning around nap times and life with a baby. So we're going to have to practice saying "We think we're just going to chill here this afternoon, but you go ahead!".
posted by damayanti at 8:51 AM on June 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


My partner and I are flying out to Colorado Springs in a couple of weeks to spend the weekend hanging out with some friends, hitting them with padded sticks, and going to the Ren Faire. Good times, man, good times.

Next month is the yearly California Extreme arcade game convention which I am SUPER excited for, and August has Silicon Valley Comic Con, where we're going to get to get our picture taken with Jason Momoa and Morena Baccarin. Also in August is the tiny, one-weekend San Jose Ren Faire, and the group I LARP with will have a booth teaching people how to safely hit each other with padded sticks.
posted by hanov3r at 8:52 AM on June 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


Sequence, I've got my fingers crossed for you. I'm in the South Bay but know lots of folks up in SF, if you need some pointers or background about anything.
posted by hanov3r at 8:54 AM on June 14, 2019


I'm looking forward to a weekend Metafilter group campout weekend this fall, at a place about an hour outside of town that's one of my favorite campgrounds just for its spectacular view.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:05 AM on June 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


Oh, and also, I recently had a conversation with my stepson that I hadn't been in touch with for quite a few years (all sorts of boring reasons, none of them animosity or deliberate estrangement); he recently moved to New Orleans with his new wife. He contacted me last night to tell me he was going to see Weird Al in concert and thank me for introducing him to Al's music when he was young. So that was nice.

Anyway, during our conversation he said that I and his brother (my son) really need to plan a visit there - and I quote - "when it cools off and we'll eat thru the city". I plan to take him up on that, oh yes indeed.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:11 AM on June 14, 2019 [5 favorites]


weekend Metafilter group campout weekend

Did I mention it was going to be on a weekend? *sigh*
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:11 AM on June 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


I don't have any personal travel coming up, but I have three or four nights at the Staten Island Yankees planned for this summer (or Staten Island Pizza Rats if you prefer.)
posted by Jahaza at 9:43 AM on June 14, 2019


I am very excited that the kids are getting older and are getting to be excellent travel companions. We are going on our annual trip to France (visiting grandparents) and will take almost two weeks to tool around northern Italy. I've been teaching myself Italian with a podcast and am doing quite well at it if I do say so myself! Abbiamo in Italia per le vacanze. Vuorei mangiare tutti i gelati e prendere le bambini a Venezia per la prima volte.
posted by Liesl at 9:47 AM on June 14, 2019


Just a few weekend jaunts planned for this summer: the MeFi20 bash at Jessamyn's place in southern MA, down to Norwalk CT the following weekend to see my in-laws, and a trip to Maine to see my mother in mid-August. Over Labor Day weekend we will be delivering our daughter to college for the first time, and that will probably be A Big Deal.
posted by briank at 10:32 AM on June 14, 2019


A friend and I are planning an overnight trip to see the Mekons, since the closest they're playing to us is four hours away. Neither of us have ever seen the Mekons play live, so we are both quite excited!
posted by bile and syntax at 10:48 AM on June 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


The Mekons put on a great show and are the nicest people. Have a fantastic time!
posted by soundguy99 at 11:28 AM on June 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm up in Canada this summer, and even though I'm working remotely it still feels like a vacation (getting away from SF has been reeallly nice and very needed). I just swam in the lake for the first time this season. Chilly but refreshing!

My neighbor has been giving me masses of rhubarb from her garden, so I'm making crisps and cobblers at an astonishing rate. And I've hooked everyone on good traditional English pouring custard as a topping.

The elderflowers are blooming, and I'm making St Germain with some and elderflower syrup with the rest. I've already made a lilac liqueur and I think the two will make a very nice cocktail with some fizzy water and a lemon slice.
posted by ananci at 11:33 AM on June 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


Jeopardy has put a ban on other non-compulsory travel for a while - gotta spend money to win money? But there are music day trips in store for me this summer, so I will see other bits of Ontario, which will be super sweet. Gotta sing, and gotta see a real real cute guitarist.
posted by wellred at 11:41 AM on June 14, 2019


One more week of what has been a hectic six months, where I will* finish all the stuff that has been piling up, and then I will get the train from Cornwall to London to Lille and on to Valenciennes to watch what will hopefully be England in the WWC round of 16, then train to Reims the next morning in time to see what will hopefully be the USA, then a bit of sightseeing there before the train to Basel to pick up a car and drive to Lake Constance for 4 days ahead of 6 weeks in the Swiss Alps. Written down like that it sounds pretty busy for a relaxo-holiday doesn't it? Wait till you see how much exercise my mouth gets complaining about the cost of dinner in Switzerland. Looking forward to swanning about in warm alpine lakes and cursing the low cloud the day we go up Mount Pilatus. If we are feeling up to it we might* even look to electrobike around Lake Lucern.

*might
posted by biffa at 11:48 AM on June 14, 2019


It's a summer of close-to-home trips this year. We're going to Michigan's UP to check out the Soo Locks at the end of the month; I'm going camping with a friend the following weekend; we have three trips to see the Twins play on the road this year (Milwaukee, Kansas City, and maayyyybeee Chicago but we're not sure). We have a few other camping weekends on the docket, and we still haven't decided where we are going to go/what we are going to do for our annual Honeymoon Trip at the beginning of September. It'll most likely be something outdoorsy and drive-able: last year it was the Black Hills, before that it was southern Utah, before that it was the UP of Michigan, and before that it was Itasca in MN. Five years coming up!!

The most exciting trip for me is coming up next month. I'm doing a week-long work study at a folk school in July, so that I can take a free class there in mid-October. I have more time than money right now so this is a really excellent way to get to attend what is normally a way-too-expensive class. Plus, I can camp onsite for free during the work study. Herr Duck will be joining me for the class in October, we are staying at a B&B because it'll probably be below freezing at night and we are winter camping wimps.
posted by Gray Duck at 12:03 PM on June 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


We have a lot of travel planned this summer. Next year one of us might be pregnant, so we're cramming a lot in this summer.

First up is a trip to Italy (my first time) - a week with my MIL in Bologna (with assorted day-trips) and then a week in the Val d'Orcia area of Tuscany (taking her along). So excited, especially since my MIL has been so kind as to offer to do days of babysitting our toddler so we can go on gastronomic tours and day trips to Florence.

Then we have a camping weekend in New Hampshire with good friends and their toddler daughter. We've had great fun with them on previous trips together but this will be our first two-night trip (also our first camping experience with our toddler - wish us luck!).

We'll be visiting some friends in New York the last weekend of August and also going to the US Open - really excited about this one because my cousin is doing really well in professional tennis and should (fingers crossed) qualify for the Main Draw.

In the Fall, I'll be visiting my parents in my home city in India for two weeks, and hopefully do some kind of side trip as part of that. Not looking forward to 20 hours of airplane time with a toddler but it should all be worth it in the end.

Phew! That seems like a lot, writing it all down, but I think we're going to have a blast.
posted by peacheater at 12:06 PM on June 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


Andiamo, dammit. Andiamo in Italia.
posted by Liesl at 1:08 PM on June 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


Alas, only day trips for us this summer. After 6 years of life with our kid who has a rare disease, we still haven’t figured out how to follow his protein-restricted diet on the road without totally stressing out. At home we can weigh ingredients and figure out protein counts, but restaurant meals are a struggle (how much protein is in this dish, and how much will he actually eat?), and at this point the stress isn’t worth it. Hauling around refrigerated medication sucks, too.

We’re planning on a day trip to Duluth to ride a steam train to Two Harbors, and then maybe a trip to my friend’s farm. Our needy cat will be happy to have us around all the time.

Also, my urban child saw a picture of a family camping in a state park advertisement, and said, “I want to do that.” I explained to him what camping really is: you sleep in the tent next to your parents in a sleeping bag on a questionable air mattress all night long, you cook all your meals from food you keep in coolers because you don’t have electricity or a refrigerator, you might not be able to bathe because the bathrooms might be just outhouses, etc. He was horrified.
posted by Maarika at 1:35 PM on June 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


I don't have any money, but I'd really like to take a trip back west. I have friends in a few states, and my modest dream vacation would be to visit them all. I feel much more like myself on that side of the country, and it would be nice to see old friends. Of course, anything above $0 is outside my budget, given that I have a negative income.

More realistically, I may be housesitting for someone soon, which would be kind of a mini-vacation for free. Plus, it'll be biking distance to some good places, so that alone will be worth it. It's all coming together last-minute, though, so I have no idea if it will actually happen.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 1:35 PM on June 14, 2019


I am going to Alaska on a one-way cruise in August! By myself! I am so hyped. I have never been to Alaska, and bowties spouse hates even the idea of coldness, so it will be my first time on a solo cruise as well. I got really into musher Twitter and the Arctic after MeFi turned me on to Blair Braverman, so I am super excited to go to a summer cart-sledding place and pet all the puppies. And I'm going on Princess, which seems...fine (Disney 4 lyfe) but they seem to put a heavy emphasis on naturalists and education in their Alaska programming, so that's cool!

The only thing I'm waffling on is whether to schedule a helicopter tour to a glacier. It's really expensive, and the accidents have made me a little leery of small plane flightseeing in places prone to bad weather. But even if I don't, this trip will be epic.
posted by bowtiesarecool at 3:55 PM on June 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


We live on a lake in Maine, and my husband has the week of 4th of July scheduled as vacation time, which I'm hoping he will still be able to take, after his recent illness. He's doing okay, after trying to go back to work Monday, he needed another week off, and is now in good spirits and ready to try again this coming Monday. As the doctor said, sick leave does not equal vacation time, and I hope that will be true (he has a really great workplace, they have a good rep for caring about their employees). Since he was on short-term disability, am keeping my fingers crossed that he will be able to take at least some of those days off with his PTO (paid-time-off, which can count as vacation or sick days now, they don't separate them at most companies nowadats, but short-term disability is different, so IDK).

Things we want to do:

- Head out to the Western mountains, and stop at the tourmaline picking place, then grab a sandwich and eat it at Snow Falls Gorge, on the Little Androscoggin River.

- Visit his brother and sister in Ellsworth and have lunch, for an early birthday celebration with his sister, whose birthday is mid-July. I love his sister so much, and am excited that I will finally get to meet his brother's new girlfriend, she sounds like a very cool person.

- Sit around the lake and grill, listen to the loons (video from a previous lake house we lived in, turn down your volume), and hear the local eagles cheeping up above. Eagles sound like regular birds (at about 38 seconds on this video, super loud at the beginning), but they are REALLY loud compared to your local songbirds. I heard them the other night, when I was minding the grill for homemade pizzas cooked on my cast iron griddle.

Most of all, I want to relax with my husband, when he is doing well, and enjoy each other's company. I wouldn't be averse to having company one or two days that week, if any local Mainers want to stop by. I always make more than enough food, so that won't be a problem. Just enjoying the view right now, after a cold and damp morning, it's going to be sunny and 77 tomorrow.

So very cold and dark and isolated in the winter, am ready to spring forth and enjoy the summer. Getting my own health issues taken care of, have lost a few pounds, blood sugar going down, had a great doctor's visit today, I'm doing all the right things with my carb counting. But I still love to cook for other people, if others want to stop on by, drop me a MeMail. We are 30 minutes from I-95 in Augusta.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 4:18 PM on June 14, 2019 [4 favorites]


This weekend we celebrate Father's Day with two of my favorite things, the beach and baseball. Forecast for tomorrow is 84 and sunny so we are spending it at the beach, and then Sunday we are going to the local minor league game. I'll be in Boston for work at the end of June, however I have lots of family in Boston so I'm sticking around after the conference for a night for a family party. Also going to catch a game at Fenway while in town.

I've got a guys weekend away camping trip on the calendar in July. And I hope to work in at least one weekend camping trip with my wife. Plus they'll be multiple day trips to the beach as it's only 90 minutes away.

Labor Day weekend is my annual camping trip with my brother - this year to Asheville.

I did have a week in Vegas planned for Oct., but my wife is losing her job at the end of the month so that may be in jeopardy depending on how quickly she can get back to work, and if she can negotiate a week off in October.

I'm digging this empty nester thing. We can just make plans and do stuff.
posted by COD at 4:50 PM on June 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


At twilight, I learned that my plan for tomorrow is figuring out how the heck the bonus cat is getting up on the roof. I have no idea how that cat got up to the top of my roof, or why.
posted by Ruki at 6:23 PM on June 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


It's work but it's kind of like a vacation: I'm going to Pilchuck Glass School next month!
posted by moonmilk at 6:43 PM on June 14, 2019


No vacation for me as I am saving up to move apartments this year. Still in the early stages but I’m starting to collect boxes and piling up stuff to get rid of. I don’t consider myself to be a clutterbug but it is going to be a “have friends help pack a u-haul” thing and I’m sure they would prefer not to have to move two vintage sewing machines AND all of my cat-scratched furniture.

Don’t tell the cat his favorite chair isn’t coming.
posted by janepanic at 7:34 PM on June 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


rednikki and I have been nomads since the beginning of 2018. After being overseas for most of tour time since then we recently began a big road trip up the coast from Los Angeles with a week in Berkeley, several days moseying up through the redwoods, and now we're just wrapping up a two-week stay in Ashland, OR. (Crater Lake is astonishing btw). Next we stop in Portland for a few days, then a month or so in the greater Seattle area (part in Redmond, part on the north side of the U District).

From there we'll drive up through Vancouver to Prince George, then over to Edmonton for a few weeks, then on to a few weeks in Toronto. After that we'll head down to Cape Cod to store the car. rednikki will stay there for a few days and then head to Rennes, France while I go back to LA for a second run of Thelma & Leweeze: The Musical. After that I'll catch up with her in Rennes, where we'll be until mid-October. After that, who knows? We'll eventually settle down again, but for now we have a good thing going so we'll see where it takes us.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 8:29 PM on June 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


No real travel plans, because SUMMER IN THE PNW IS THE BEST AND WHY WOULD YOU EVER LEAVE?! But I’m doing an executive masters program that allows you to work full time but instead of working full time I’m doing a completely awesome interesting grant supported project that fills about 4 hours a week. So, a little school, and a little work and lots of free time in the Best Place with the best weather.

My kids are 7 and 10 and I decided I just fucking hate how the rat race made me miss their childhood so instead of signing them up for boring and expensive day camp and child care, it’s going to be a summer of Dad Camp! And my nieces are visiting for two weeks of Uncle Slarty Camp! And neighbor kids are coming along to to Cool Neighbor-Dad Camp!

Day trips to Golden Gardens and Jetty Island and Woodland Park Zoo! Taking the light rail to Mariners and Sounders games! Fishing! Canoeing! Camping! Entire days escaping the heat in the basement playing video games!

I want this so bad before they get to be too cool to hang with their old man.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 11:24 PM on June 14, 2019 [8 favorites]


I am doing a whirlwind trip to DC this weekend, which involved driving to the nearest semi-big city, staying in an airport motel, and getting up at 3:45 to catch a 5:30 direct flight. (There is one direct flight a day, and it is at 5:30 AM.) This is probably totally ill-advised, but I’m excited about taking a break from my real life, which is sort of hectic and irritating right now.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:05 AM on June 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


This year is a Big Birthday Year for basically everyone I know (nearly all of my school & university cohort is turning 30 this year, and it was also my mother's 60th back in February) so I've already done a decent amount of vacationing on these grounds.

We had a long weekend in a cottage in Dorset with this adorable idiot back in February, then in March I went to Dublin with some university friends and had a great time. Then in early May we went to Rhodes for a week, which was lovely.

This past weekend I spent in Scotland, first outside of Glasgow for a dear friend's 30th (still recovering from nearly 20 midge bites, half of which are on my face) and then in Edinburgh staying with another friend.

Overall the theme of this year seems to be reconnecting with old friends and having a wonderful time - gone is the insecurity of our early 20s, and now increasingly everyone is like "I was so fucked up and then I did so much therapy, LET'S TALK ABOUT IT" which is so liberating and refreshing after ~25 years of feeling like I had to keep everything that was wrong with me and the steps I was taking to deal with it crammed down on the inside like some kind of dirty shameful secret.

I'm having a party in July for my own 30th (I share a birthday with MetaFilter!), which I'm looking forward to, and we have a week booked in August to go to Devon (but that's more visiting family than a vacation-vacation; my mother wants us to help clear out her garage). After that I am through with vacations until 2020 as I'll be running low on both vacation cash and PTO. But there will still be parties to go to after that, just (hopefully) not overnighters.
posted by terretu at 3:06 AM on June 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


I am currently on vacation in Japan! Spouse recently finished a degree, and the kid finished middle school, so we have a few things to celebrate. Yesterday we did an anime pilgrimage to see the sights related to a volleyball manga/anime series that my kid loves (spouse and I enjoy it as well) and it was successful beyond our wildest dreams. In a couple of days, we're heading up to Hokkaido , where we plan to eat all the things and see the sights.
posted by mogget at 4:23 AM on June 15, 2019 [3 favorites]


My birthday was yesterday, so Dr Bored for Science and I went out to dinner at Alden and Harlow in Harvard Square (which is where we got married in 2016) and had a spectacular meal. We haven't managed to plan any sort of vacation this summer, which isn't great, but we'll probably do something short and relaxing in New England.

The plan for today is to go for a bit of a walk in Cambridge since the weather is going to be nice, and then go out to dinner with my parents and brothers this evening (since today is my parents' 40th wedding anniversary). Amusingly, we're going to Waypoint (Alden and Harlow's sister restaurant).
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 7:17 AM on June 15, 2019


My supervisor leaves for the field in TWO WEEKS and then it will be very much like a vacation! I'm off crutches now!

I don't have any particularly vacation relaxing plans so far. My mom and I took a day trip to New York on Wednesday to see a matinee performance of Tootsie, which was fun. My cousin is graduating from Naval Officer Training School in August, and I have a conference in Madison to attend, also in August. My boyfriend was supposed to be heading home to India for his father's birthday, ALSO in August, but that trip was delayed for Visa things.

BUT they just announced that the Indian cricket team will be playing the West Indies in early August outside of Fort Lauderdale, so I'm scheming about making that happen. Although... I suspect Fort Lauderdale in August is fairly icky.
posted by ChuraChura at 7:21 AM on June 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


No big vacation plans this year, I was outvoted. We have a road trip planned to visit Niagara Falls (to satisfy a desire by Boy theBRKP to see the Falls). We plan to visit to Hershey Park and spend a couple of days with some of my family on that same road trip.

Then the boy goes to "Grandparent camp" for a week, I head to Chicago to see a dear friend and Mr. theBRKP gets the house to himself for a week.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 7:48 AM on June 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


Peacheater, I’m in the Val d’Orcia with toddler and MIL (& assorted other relations) right now - MeMail if you want any kid-related pointers. Monticchiello has a wine bar that opens onto a grassy, fenced-in playground...I may never leave.
posted by scyllary at 9:55 AM on June 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


Inexplicably, a Hollywood costume exhibit’s sole non-USA location is in the Waikato. I am still scratching my head as to why this isn’t in Auckland or Wellington . . .

So we’re going to take a day trip to Hamilton, check out the show, and ramble around till our early evening flight home. We’ve just returned from our annual (well, every 18 months) big holiday, so this little jaunt is a nice gift indeed.
posted by lemon_icing at 1:22 PM on June 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm really stressed about money - unemployed for five out of the last six years - and don't have any traveling companions. I am mightily looking forward to the MeFi campout because the last one was so much fun.
posted by bendy at 2:19 PM on June 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


My sister and I have a couple of free tickets to Kennywood that they gave us in compensation for closing early due to rain when we were there last fall. We're trying to figure out when to use them, and if it makes sense right now to spend the travel money even with free passes.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:02 PM on June 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


Taking part in my in laws' annual Father's Day vacation, which involves having 16 people in a rented beach house for an entire week. Everyone takes turns cooking dinner each night, so my wife and I are planning a gigantic salad bar for our night.

Since my wife's birthday falls on that week, we go out to dinner at a local Steakhouse that night for dinner and drinks. It's the only time the whole week you'll see me in something other than swim trunks and flip flops 😎

It also gives me plenty of time to catch up on my reading list for the year. Good times all around. ☀️
posted by Roger Pittman at 3:40 PM on June 15, 2019


I just got back from spending a month in Europe! I left May 1st and spent a week in London, then my parents and sister flew out and we all met up in Amsterdam and went to Copenhagen for a few days afterwards. The weather was perfect for the most part, and we got pretty lucky with food for the most part. I planned the whole trip (with everyone's blessing) because I am a control freak who does way too much research and everything worked out according to plan and I wasn't nearly as stressed out as I would have been! My sister and I spent another week in Norway, which was AMAZING and gorgeous and full of waterfalls and brown cheese and creepy troll dolls. Then after she flew home I went to Scotland. Where it rained every day. But it was pretty and Inverness had surprisingly great vegetarian food.

Two days after I got back I spent a week in Flagstaff, Arizona, where I lived for ten years, and I got to see a lot of my friends and hit up my old haunts. I even went for a few hikes and enjoyed the nice Flagstaff June weather.

Now I'm back in the PNW for the summer, except for a long weekend trip to San Francisco in July. It's beautiful here and I've been taking the dogs to the beach and going to all the breweries and today we went strawberry picking! Got 16 pounds! I'm going to go forage some rose petals and make strawberry rose petal jam, and my neighbor grew me rhubarb this spring so I shall make him strawberry rhubarb jam.

In a few weeks the raspberries will be ripe, and we'll go east of the Cascades and pick cherries, and then blackberries and huckleberries and blueberries... my summers here mainly revolve around hiking, jam, and beaches and it's lovely.
posted by mollywas at 5:39 PM on June 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


2 weeks in a cabin in the mountains of NC. Where the last time I was there had very spotty cell phone coverage, and I am going there in less than a week.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 8:22 PM on June 15, 2019


We’re midway through a two-week vacation in Italy. I’m joined by my 21-year old daughter, who just completed her final semester as an undergrad in a study abroad program at the University of Urbino. She met me in Milan, where we stayed next door to the awesome Bosco Verticale, then took the train to Riomaggiore and spent three days traveling around the Cinque Terre and Portovenere, which were super crowded, but still beautiful (especially PV). We then spent two nights in lovely Lucca. We had been traveling by train, but at that point we rented a Fiat and have since been driving around Tuscany. Driving in Italy is a little scary (narrow windy roads, fast drivers, and the car has a stick shift, which I haven’t driven in 20 years) but I’M LOVING IT. We’re now staying at an Agriturismo between Florence and Siena with a pool and plenty of chianti. Today we have tickets to the Boboli Gardens and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, but we haven’t been able to get tickets to see David. Monday and Tuesday we cruise around Tuscany a little more before taking the train to Rome for our last three days in Italy.

In re-reading this, it sounds like I’m bragging – and maybe I am – but this trip is a super big deal for me. I’ve never left the US and vacations are usually linked to weddings or, worse, the passing of a relative. This trip started as a dream when my daughter decided on Urbino and the main reason I can enjoy this trip without financial worries is that my Italian father, who died last summer, left me a small sum of money. So I’m thinking of him often, especially today, and thanking him for making this trip a reality.
posted by kbar1 at 11:40 PM on June 15, 2019 [3 favorites]


I had plans that had been in place for months to make a grand tour visit back to Virginia. I was going to see my sister and niece and nephew because my mom and other sister were going to drive across the state for the nephew's graduation. Spend the weekend and drive back. Then I was going to see my aunts from the other side of the family and spend time with my mom and go shoot my family heirloom gun for the first time in forever. I was going to dig up that picture from Space Camp of 13yr old me packed into a space suite (technically an Air Force high altitude suit but who can tell the difference). It was going to be the first time in maybe 10 years that I've been back and been able to see everybody on my list.

It fell through and I'm terribly graar. First flight canceled after I arrived at the airport at 3 am before shuttle services run without prior reservation. Had to fight my way back home through grit which involved some lucky knowledge and a mile walk and a bus ride.

Second flight also canceled while I was in the shuttle being driven by the same driver that had taken me the day before. We had had a nice chat and then almost at the airport an exasperated FUCK comes out of my mouth. Luckily his next round of pickups started close enough to my place that he could squeeze me in without being overly late. Good peep did me a solid.

The third flight they re-booked my on was going to be too late to make the drive in time for graduation and I didn't want to interfere with mom and sis completing their trip.

I was sorta planning to just get another flight and do the second half of the trip. But I'm saying fuckit and I'll just try again in a couple of months. I'm too graar and stressed to do a last-minute dash. Better to wait and go when I won't be miserable the whole time. Half of them will understand, mom is going to be distraught. I'm waiting for them all to finish the happy bits of their adventure.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:32 PM on June 16, 2019


Any festivals or concerts you're looking forward to?

I'm going to Garma! I'm going to Garma! I'm going to Garma! she squeals, jumping up and down while Treaty plays in the background.
posted by Thella at 1:10 AM on June 17, 2019


Most of our travel this year is wedding-related or adjacent (including bachelor/ette parties etc), but my partner and I just got back from our us-only-time vacation to Acadia and WOW. Saturday, we did a loop up and down Cadillac Mountain, took a nap, then did Beehive the hard way, which is four or five hundred feet up bare rock face, climbing from ledge to ledge with the help of iron rungs they've installed. Thrilling, and terrifying.

Then Sunday morning we popped into Bar Harbor on our way out to visit the Abbe Museum, which is super awesome and committed to the decolonization of their work presenting the history of the peoples whose land they are present on.
posted by solotoro at 10:07 AM on June 17, 2019


I suspect Fort Lauderdale in August is fairly icky.

Your suspicions would be largely correct, I'm sorry to say. It's humid and hot and rains almost every afternoon. It's also hurricane season, although the worst ones have been in September and October lately.

We're not traveling much this year, which makes me a lot sad. We did a long weekend back in February to catch Hamilton in Orlando, but I think that's it for the year, mostly because of the beau's lack of vacation available. I had been trying to convince the beau to take another long weekend over July 4th, but we just found out his brother's thesis defense is July 5, so that's been nixed. Maybe for Labor Day or later in October if the hurricane season is looking less fraught this year.

The beau's family wants him to visit them in Indiana, and my parents want to take a trip with us, probably a cruise. I'll be honest, neither option excites me terribly -- I want to visit friends in Atlanta or finally make it up to New England and/or NYC, but that's probably going to have to wait until 2021? Oh, I don't like to think about that.

I might have to take a couple of personal days and travel solo to scratch the itch. Too bad the idea of figuring out what to do on my own leaves me slightly overwhelmed.
posted by PearlRose at 10:40 AM on June 17, 2019 [1 favorite]


We're headed to the coast this weekend to scatter my father in law. As long as no one gets eaten by any swamp things, I'll be happy.

Otherwise, we don't have any big travel on the schedule for the summer yet; we'd been putting off making any plans because of FIL, and we normally go out and see her GF and GF's family in the summer and instead, GF is coming her for the Scattering. We normally do a cabin trip with friends that failed to coalesce this year. We were supposed to take my dad to DC this summer and he never picked a date. Etc. (We have done a couple of concert related overnights this year, including a DJ set that was totally worth driving to Atlanta for.)

It's a weird summer, and if we stick close to home this summer, that will be all right. But our second fifth wedding anniversary is in August (we did the legal in May 2014 and the family in August 2014) and I might try to see if we can't schedule a weekend somewhere for that.
posted by joycehealy at 7:30 PM on June 19, 2019


Coming to the end of my two week jaunt. It was 6 days in Switzerland not 6 weeks. The footie in France was fun, we even considered going back for more, but that turned out disappointingly anyway. Meersburg in Germany was lovely, a delightful old town and pretty much German tourists only for some reason. Really liked it, lots of traditional German buildings and places to eat, plus lake constance gorgeous in raw sunlight and at sunset. Things had to be fairly gentle given the high temps (we were originally planning cycling in Denmark, not been above 19C) but we have got some trips in this week with our rail passes and lines/cable cars everywhere. Didn't get round to going into Lucerne till today, it's pretty but rammed, mountain tops have worked out better and much less hiking than you might think.
posted by biffa at 3:23 PM on July 4, 2019


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