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Post by devil-may-care on May 9, 2011 20:25:32 GMT
I know we have a 'Travel Advice' thread, but I thought we might like a thread dedicated to our holidays and vacations. A thread to share our experiences, make recommendations on places to go and things to see. Normally this would be the sort of thread that I would read but not really post on because I so rarely go anywhere. However, and now we come to the real reason for me starting this, I'm going on VACATION!! ;D ;D Okay, it isn't until September, but hey, I'm excited about it now!! Six us of (girls only) are going to Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia for five days!! ;D Dragon*Con is the biggest SciFi/Fantasy convention in the US. Everything from radio, television and movies to books, comics and graphic novels to music, artwork and sword fighting is represented. If is has anything to do with the SciFi/Fantasy genre, then it's there! Here is the link to the official Dragon*Con website: dragoncon.org/This is where we'll be staying: www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?language=en_US&propertyID=1144Can't wait!! ;D ;D |
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Post by antonia on May 9, 2011 21:03:37 GMT
My daughter would sell her grandma for an experiance like that.She is a massive Marvel comic fan into the Xmen and Iron man.Last birthday she spent over £100 on Xmen and Iron man things,I figure it's her money she can spend it on what she likes.Have a great time,I'm going to show Safi this link,she'll be chuffed.
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heymysock
Mayhemer
We've got bed cats.
Posts: 73
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Post by heymysock on May 10, 2011 1:07:59 GMT
You lucky duck!
I would love love LOVE to go to Dragon*Con!
My Beloved and I went to the NYC Comic Con last year, and it was awesome! We're definitely going again this year. He's a big Comic Book guy. I think that Dragon*Con would be more to my taste though. I know that at least one of my fav podcasts recorded live there last year. (SGU anyone?)
Since it's in September, mayhaps I can still work something out. Or maybe I'll just wait until next year. Either way, I'd love to hear how you like it! It seems to get bigger and more popular every year.
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Post by devil-may-care on May 10, 2011 18:34:55 GMT
Heymysock, you may want to wait until next year. Three months ago all the local hotels were booked!! People buy their memberships for the next con while at the one going on then! Last year they had something like 40,000 people not counting the staff/organizers, panelists, vendors and so on.  |
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Post by liverbird on May 10, 2011 18:48:09 GMT
Lucky you! I've been to Wolf conventions in the UK and my friend was lucky enough to attend Gate-con a few years ago in Vancouver. I know you'll have a great time!
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Post by jacqui on May 10, 2011 18:52:10 GMT
Wow have a fab time DMC remember we want piccies and lots of them ;D
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Post by devil-may-care on May 10, 2011 19:11:55 GMT
Wow have a fab time DMC remember we want piccies and lots of them ;D My 'to get' list already has a couple extra SD cards on it!! ;D ;D |
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heymysock
Mayhemer
We've got bed cats.
Posts: 73
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Post by heymysock on May 11, 2011 20:54:00 GMT
Heymysock, you may want to wait until next year. Three months ago all the local hotels were booked!! People buy their memberships for the next con while at the one going on then! Last year they had something like 40,000 people not counting the staff/organizers, panelists, vendors and so on. I figured as much. My Beloved and I would both love to hit the San Diego Comic Con but you have the same problem there. Not enough hotels! I had heard there was a lot of people but 40,000?! That's a huge convention! Definitely will plan for next year then.  |
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Post by jacqui on May 16, 2011 12:28:54 GMT
Right, jumping on the band wagon!!! I (or rather my sister on our behalf) has just booked our holiday  We're off to Bangok for 3 nights then Phuket for 10 nights ;D Can't wait, but i'm going to have to...until January 2012 anyway ;D |
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Post by pie on May 16, 2011 13:00:21 GMT
That's so exciting Jacqui!  Have you been there before? I know quite a few people who have been to Phuket, and they absolutely loved it. I'm still busy planning my getaway. Recently been led to something very, very gorgeous...PuffinCam!! ;D visit.shetland.org/puffin-cam-2011Apparently it laid an egg last week. Too bad if it wants any privacy...  |
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Post by lew on May 16, 2011 13:09:41 GMT
Am green with envy, looks like a tent for me  though not in January ;D |
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Post by jacqui on May 16, 2011 13:47:01 GMT
That's so exciting Jacqui! Have you been there before? I know quite a few people who have been to Phuket, and they absolutely loved it. I'm still busy planning my getaway. Recently been led to something very, very gorgeous...PuffinCam!! ;D visit.shetland.org/puffin-cam-2011Apparently it laid an egg last week. Too bad if it wants any privacy... You'll love the Shetland Isles its a very beautiful place ;D |
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Post by devil-may-care on May 19, 2011 20:05:12 GMT
Right, jumping on the band wagon!!! I (or rather my sister on our behalf) has just booked our holiday We're off to Bangok for 3 nights then Phuket for 10 nights ;D Can't wait, but i'm going to have to...until January 2012 anyway ;D Fantastic, Jacqui!! ;D ;D Bangkok, Phuket and Michael McIntyre all in the same year!! ;D ;D |
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Post by jacqui on May 23, 2011 12:17:27 GMT
Right, jumping on the band wagon!!! I (or rather my sister on our behalf) has just booked our holiday We're off to Bangok for 3 nights then Phuket for 10 nights ;D Can't wait, but i'm going to have to...until January 2012 anyway ;D Fantastic, Jacqui!! ;D ;D Bangkok, Phuket and Michael McIntyre all in the same year!! ;D ;D I know!!!!! Shame he can't come too.... it would be bl**dy hilarious!!!!! |
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Post by From Afar on May 23, 2011 13:27:10 GMT
Right, jumping on the band wagon!!! I (or rather my sister on our behalf) has just booked our holiday We're off to Bangok for 3 nights then Phuket for 10 nights ;D Can't wait, but i'm going to have to...until January 2012 anyway ;D Ohhh have a FAB time Jacqui.... well when it comes round anyway Our daughter & new Hubby went to Phuket for their Honeymoon and had a great time. We've just booked our flights for our next holiday - Sri Lanka again (same as last year) for 2 weeks at the end of August / beginning of September. Can't wait. 1st week will be with a group of us and the 2nd week will just be me and MOH, perfect combination ;D 13 weeks and 3 days until we go.... but I'm not counting honestly |
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Post by jacqui on May 23, 2011 14:18:06 GMT
You have a fab time too Afar, sounds like its going to be a very cosy second week  ;D |
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Post by pie on May 23, 2011 23:32:16 GMT
Have a great time Afar! It's exciting counting down to a holiday...not that I am, either...only 12 weeks to go! ;D But that ruddy volcano better not ruin it.  |
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Post by eolise on May 24, 2011 14:23:43 GMT
Have a great time Afar! It's exciting counting down to a holiday...not that I am, either...only 12 weeks to go! ;D But that ruddy volcano better not ruin it. Oh yea, chrickey! That would be really sad, if that Island's volcano is going to ruin it for you!! |
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Post by From Afar on May 24, 2011 14:50:49 GMT
Have a great time Afar! It's exciting counting down to a holiday...not that I am, either...only 12 weeks to go! ;D But that ruddy volcano better not ruin it. I hope you don't suffer with the volcano  Our daughter & Hubby are supposed to be flying back to the UK on Friday for a christening - our daughter is God Mother - so they are fretting slightly And yes Jacqui a very cosy 2nd week to our holiday is planned especially as now the 1st week there will be a group of 15 of us! More and more friends are booking flights to come along! |
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Post by eolise on May 25, 2011 8:09:02 GMT
Dragon*Con is the biggest SciFi/Fantasy convention in the US. Everything from radio, television and movies to books, comics and graphic novels to music, artwork and sword fighting is represented. If is has anything to do with the SciFi/Fantasy genre, then it's there! I envy you! I like such conventions. I used to go to Ring*Con in Germany, which used to be a Lord of the Rings convention, but since there are a lot of fantasy-series and movies these days, they decided to make it a fantasy*Con. Which has stopped me from going to that Con, as I don't like Twilight, Harry Potter and all that. And besides, the hotel where it's being held since a couple of years s*cks: less space, so more crowdy, more noise, less privacy etc.. In April there's this Elf Fantasy Fair in the Netherlands, Europians biggest fantasy fair. I used to go there every year since 2005, but it has become too communistical and... well, it has changed A LOT since '05/'06. So this year was the first year I decided not to go anymore. It's better now these days for those that love workshops and meeting people, but I mostly went for autographs of actors... and the castle of course. haarzuilens.elffantasyfair.eu/index.php/en I also used to go to Dutch Star Con, Utopia and FACTS. Last one is in Belgium. I don't go to any fair or convention anymore these days, because, well, it's all so dramatically changed from what it used to be! And maybe I've changed as well.... I used to love going on vacation with my family (even though it was never perfect: with my bio-father it s*cked, because he was a bad man, in the years after my mum's divorce she was very sick and my last vacations were with my mum's ex-bf and he, well, he was a bad man as well). These days we never go on holiday anymore since... I think I was 15. Main reason is that my mum doesn't like vacations, never liked them really and my brother doesn't like going as well, as he doesn't like swimming and all those vacation-things and he just can't live without his computer; he'd be utter bored after a day. And a vacation all alone won't be that nice I suppose ;D . We used to go to places in my country, the Netherlands or Germany. Always in a bungalow, so no tent-sh*t or camping-sh*t. With my gran I went to Belgium a couple of times: every time about 3 days in a hotel in either Ghent or Brussels. But that's been a while... I think I was 16 when my gran and I went to Belgium for the very last time. These days this family literally does nothing, well, we like cycling and walking, but we never even go a day out to an amusement park, just because we all simply hate that. I, however, would love to visit these countries one day: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Finland, Norway and New Zealand (If I have lost my fear of flying!! Even though I do not even know WHAT it's like to fly.. ). |
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Post by antonia on May 25, 2011 13:47:29 GMT
Every one's holiday plans are making me quite envious.We are going to stop at my mum's in St Just(Cornwall) for a few weeks during the summer hols.We never holiday in Britain (prefaring sun to rain).We might go and see my dad in Spain or my stepdad or friends in Egypt but I'm just going to wait and see.
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Post by devil-may-care on May 25, 2011 14:05:01 GMT
I know what you mean about not taking holidays, Nat. I've not had a proper holiday/vacation in... let me see now... I guess that would have to be my honeymoon over 15 years ago. And then we came home early. Whoever comes home early from their honeymoon??!! When I was still living at home, we would go visit my family in New Hampshire for a week in the summer. We would also go deep sea fishing at Easport, Maine. The most easterly place in the U.S. ;D My mother and I used to go every other summer for two weeks to Evansville, Indiana to visit my father's family and my mother's sister. Cousins galore!!! A nice change from New England. But now, since taking over the family business, we don't have the time nor the money for a proper holiday. That's why this trip to Atlanta is such a big deal for me. MOH is still quite jealous that he's not going. I'll make it up to him somehow! ;D |
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Post by eolise on May 25, 2011 16:15:08 GMT
Oh gee, coming home early from your honeymoon? That's quite something yea..
What family business have you taken over, if I may ask?
I do however have loads of time to go on holiday, but I just can't go and to be honest, since a couple of years I don't care. I'm not capable of adapting to other things than the dayly things I do every day, so it's very difficult for me to adjust to the holiday-life.
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Post by devil-may-care on May 25, 2011 17:40:04 GMT
Oh gee, coming home early from your honeymoon? That's quite something yea.. What family business have you taken over, if I may ask? MOH's grandfather started a home appliance sales and service business in the 1950's. Then his two sons took it over in the late 70's and MOH took over in the late 90's. |
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Post by meimichan on May 25, 2011 18:01:59 GMT
I haven't had a proper holiday since I was 18 and my parents were paying for it. MOH and I were planning a week-long stay in Maine several years ago(he's got family in Augusta, and I've never been to New England), but it fell through for one reason or another...think a car needed some massive repairs. But we're taking a three-day trip to Michigan, leaving tomorrow. It would be five days, but we're spending tomorrow and Monday in the car. Whooohooo, Chicago traffic, yeah! /sarcasm Mostly to visit a lot of family and friends, I particularly want to visit my brother, I haven't seen him in over a year, and to put it mildly, a lot's happened since then. Plus he was in the hospital deathly ill last time I saw him, so an all-around unpleasant experience was had by all. We're staying at my in-laws, so it will be a bit of a pain to roadtrip into Detroit, but not too bad for long various daytrips here and there. Not entirely sure what all we're doing yet. I think I will insist we stop somewhere for middle eastern food. While I'm sure afar gets the really good stuff, metro Detroit's middle eastern food blows away the crap they have in Madison. I kind of want to go to the zoo or the DIA when I'm there. Haven't been to either in years. I am looking forward to the change of scenery too. Plus I've been a bit homesick for southern Michigan, don't think I've been there since 2009. Must clean out camera cards. |
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Post by devil-may-care on May 25, 2011 18:21:04 GMT
Have a great time, meimichan! Good luck in the car. That's always the worst part for me, because I'm usually the one driving. MOH navigates. Actually it works out better that way. He's better with a map, and I don't get flustered in traffic or if we miss a turn! ;D |
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Post by meimichan on May 25, 2011 18:40:40 GMT
We take turns, but MOH usually drives the bulk. I imagine he's going to end up doing most of this trip until we stop for dinner, (Kalamazoo's our usual food stop, I lived there for 2 years and they've got some good restaurants) then it'll probably be my turn.
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Post by eolise on May 25, 2011 19:55:03 GMT
Oh gee, coming home early from your honeymoon? That's quite something yea.. What family business have you taken over, if I may ask? MOH's grandfather started a home appliance sales and service business in the 1950's. Then his two sons took it over in the late 70's and MOH took over in the late 90's. Oh wow, that's quite interesting!! Hope you'll have a great time, Meimichan! |
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Post by devil-may-care on Jun 17, 2011 19:06:00 GMT
Jacqui, I saw this photo on Ross Noble's Twitter and thought of you! Perhaps this resort also caters to cats and snakes. Read the last line carefully! ;D  |
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Post by aeromanda on Jun 18, 2011 11:51:58 GMT
Mice?!  |
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I love a man who can handle a gun 
Have you been there before? I know quite a few people who have been to Phuket, and they absolutely loved it.
though not in January ;D
;D
Our daughter & Hubby are supposed to be flying back to the UK on Friday for a christening - our daughter is God Mother - so they are fretting slightly 
