Joy and Austin: Pikes Peak or Bust?

[Chewing Gum]

32 minutes ago, adidas said:

I was going to guess New Zealand. I'm happy they went abroad too!

Neh, Jinger went there. Switzerland is about as outdoorsy as you can get. 

[subsaharanafrica]

1 hour ago, MadeItOut said:

What we get told is:

* Only about 10% of Americans have a passport

* About 5% of Americans ever travel abroad

* Roughly 3% of Americans never travel outside their home State.

I'd be willing to bet those figures are civilian only, but still, it seems odd. Though of course there's the question of scale, which living in a place you can cover tip to tail in 7.5hrs, or across in 4.5hrs, is really difficult to imagine. Someone did once tell me that there's a state that would comfortably fit 15 Irelands into it. 

I don't know about the last stat but the first two are way off. According to the State Department just under half of all Americans have a currently valid passport. IIRC back before they changed the rules to require a passport for travel to Canada and Mexico that number was somewhere between 20 and 25%. 

According to these numbers 20% of the American population traveled abroad within the last year alone.

As for the last point, I once figured out that Texas has something like 10,000 more square kilometers than the U.K. and Austria combined. It's also 50,000 sq km larger than France. 

[nst]

1 hour ago, Chewing Gum said:

Neh, Jinger went there. Switzerland is about as outdoorsy as you can get. 

not only that - my parents met at the bottom of the Matterhorn in Zermat. So I am shocked 

Shocked 

[mpheels]

2 hours ago, bal maiden said:

I think lots of Americans don't travel abroad, but when your country essentially covers an entire continent, how much need do you have to do so? You can't go skiing in the UK (well, barely), so British people travel to France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria etc. In the US you have lots of skiing options all within the borders. You want to see geysers and you like in the UK? You go to Iceland. Americans just need to go to Yellowstone. You want to visit a desert or swim in warm seas from the UK? You have to travel abroad; Americans can go to numerous deserts and numerous places with warm waters within their own borders. And so on. I'm not saying there's not value to travelling abroad and cultural tourism, etc., but I think it's often hard for Europeans to appreciate the scale and diversity of the USA in terms of climate, landscape etc. Plus, of course, you can in theory drive to most of the USA, whereas to go to Europe or Asia etc you have to fly. 

This is great explanation of US reasons for (not) traveling abroad. To add more perspective, I wonder how many EU citizens have only traveled abroad within the EU? Travel within the EU is somewhat analogous to travel within the US. 

Eurostar from London to Paris is comparable to Amtrak from Washington DC to Philadelphia, both in terms of travel time and cost. For the European, that's technically visiting another country. For the American, it means cross through several states within the same country.

[SapphireSlytherin]

12 hours ago, zygote373 said:

have a theory that the east/west jetlag problem depends on whether you're a morning person or a night owl.

Makes sense! Definitely a morning person here. 

 

6 hours ago, Cheetah said:

 

*jet lag - is worse coming home than going on vacay, regardless of direction.  Use benadryl.  Take a nap, but set your alarm for no more than 2 hours.

 

Nope. Not for me. I get jet lag going west on vacations. 

 

2 hours ago, bal maiden said:

I think lots of Americans don't travel abroad, but when your country essentially covers an entire continent, how much need do you have to do so? You can't go skiing in the UK (well, barely), so British people travel to France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria etc. In the US you have lots of skiing options all within the borders. You want to see geysers and you like in the UK? You go to Iceland. Americans just need to go to Yellowstone. You want to visit a desert or swim in warm seas from the UK? You have to travel abroad; Americans can go to numerous deserts and numerous places with warm waters within their own borders. And so on. I'm not saying there's not value to travelling abroad and cultural tourism, etc., but I think it's often hard for Europeans to appreciate the scale and diversity of the USA in terms of climate, landscape etc. Plus, of course, you can in theory drive to most of the USA, whereas to go to Europe or Asia etc you have to fly. 

The main reasons most Americans (IMO) don't travel outside the country are:

1:  Cost. Going from the USA to Europe can easily cost more than $1,200/ticket, depending on where you're flying from. 

2:  Exchange rates for currency. 

3:  No passport and can't afford it. (The money struggle is real for so many people.)

4:  Fear. Fear of the unknown, terrorists, change, etc. 

5:  They believe America is the best there is, and nothing could be better than where they are right now. They don't care a rat's ass about culture and expanding their limited world view. 

[itqitc]

I travel internationally extensively for work, I think I have mastered being a blender vs my normal American self; since Trump was elected I say I am from Canada so I don't have to talk about his presidency.  Quite frankly the rudest tourists I encounter in the US or abroad tend to be from China.  

As for US/Mexico/Canada travel you need a US passport card to enter, slightly different then a passport and cheaper. I got both when I renewed my passport, but you can apply for the card only if you wanted. 

I am happy they are traveling internationally, she looks exhausted but happy to me.  He clearly adores her, I hope that adoration remains throughout their life together. 

[HarleyQuinn]

2 minutes ago, itqitc said:

 

As for US/Mexico/Canada travel you need a US passport card to enter, slightly different then a passport and cheaper. I got both when I renewed my passport, but you can apply for the card only if you wanted. 

 

I love to travel, but I never recommend buying the passport card to anyone. Even though it's cheaper and meant for driving, I've seen enough people get turned away at airports because they think they can fly with it. Just get the book so you're safe.  

[faraway]

They're in Switzerland? 

I live here, where do I go to see J&A in their natural touristy habitat? 

I know everyone has different ideas about honeymoons, but Switzerland is really not what I would call a honeymoon location. Joy said it was Austin's wish, so I guess they probably know they will not be traveling much in the near future with a gazillion kids in line so it was one chance to see a place he wanted to visit. 

[SapphireSlytherin]

1 minute ago, faraway said:

Austin's wish,

He probably wanted to see "real mountains" and vaguely remembers hearing about the "Swiss Alps" when he was in "school" so....

[itqitc]

21 minutes ago, HarleyQuinn said:

I love to travel, but I never recommend buying the passport card to anyone. Even though it's cheaper and meant for driving, I've seen enough people get turned away at airports because they think they can fly with it. Just get the book so you're safe.  

Agree, I only ever use mine to show TSA as I go through pre-check.  

[The Wanderer]

7 hours ago, subsaharanafrica said:

For the first time in the five years since we moved I find myself wishing I still lived in Geneva. It's gorgeous this time of year. 

Good thing TLC is paying though. There are only a handful of places you can eat for less than $100 USD a meal. 

That is so true! I went to Europe a few years ago (including Switzerland). Even though the USD was closer to the Swiss Fr than the Euro or Pound at the time, everything was much more expensive in Switzerland than anywhere else I had been, although the scenery was absolutely beautiful.

[VelociRapture]

My siblings and I traveled to France and Italy as teenagers with our grandparents. We had a great time in both countries and we loved the food. We did enjoy Italy more though - my brother got separated from us at one Church in Paris and the woman selling tickets refused to help him at all. He wound up sitting on the steps outside, crying, and scared because he was a 12 year-old in a foreign country. I still passionately hate that woman. And I'm really loathe to admit it, but it did negatively color my view of Parisians a bit.

(Sorry guys! Your city is beautiful and the food is to die for! I'd love to return one day and have my negative experience completely erased. Not happening anytime soon because we're hoping to buy a bigger place in he next few years and we have a small baby who wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the beauty that is France yet.)

Honeymoon - originally we talked about going to the Florida Keys because it'd be less expensive than traveling internationally. But husband had never been outside the country before and really wanted to go somewhere warm. So we worked with a woman I've known since I was a kid who works as a travel agent. She got us a good deal on a trip to Barbados. Not a trip I would consider a true international experience because most of it was spent on the resort (mainly drinking on the beach and shoving food in our mouths) - but we went snorkeling with turtles on a party boat run by locals and we were surrounded by Brits the whole time. And the food was fantastic. 

Maybe I can convince husband we should do an international trip for our 15th anniversary. Velocibaby will be around 13 at that point and a second baby (hopefully) will be between 7 and 11. Good ages to experience another culture.

[subsaharanafrica]

@VelociRapture Do it do it! And FWIW a resort in Barbados definitely counts. That sounds like a fantastic honeymoon.

I had finally talked the husband into going trekking to see the mountain gorillas in Rwanda for our 10th anniversary. Then they raised the price of permits to $1,500 a person overnight and did away with the East African resident discount and it turns out I just don't want to see gorillas that badly.

I'm currently soliciting ideas for back up plans if anyone has any. 

[OyToTheVey]

A side note: As a New Yorker, I can pretty much spot a transplant from a mile away. Native NYers behave differently. My friends and I sometimes play a game and then ask where the person is from. The spotting thing works both way. A tourist is always obvious.  

[faraway]

I have decided that I need to do more international travel before settling down and possibly having children, which is probably in the not too far future. Packing everyone into the car and driving to France/Italy is a great option for families and flights to other European countries are fairly affordable, so now I want to go to the harder-to-get-to places.

I have been to Canada and the US several times but I would love to see more, maybe we'll go to South Africa this winter, I'd love to go on Safari. Also I would love to see Australia within the next 2 years. 

[OyToTheVey]

4 minutes ago, faraway said:

 

 I'd love to go on Safari. 

This is my ultimate goal in life. But it's so expensive. Plus I'm paranoid so I'd only go on the highest recommended one because it's a safari lol

[Italiangirl]

I just travel around Europe with school parents and alone. It has been all good travel and if some og you want s to come to Florence i have a big house 250 sqare meters and 10 beds i will be very happy to have you here and show you the city  

[VineHeart137]

@Italiangirl That's a generous offer! Italy and Spain are the two places I most want to visit. Hopefully I can make it there soon!

[HarleyQuinn]

I was only in Switzerland briefly but I thought it looked gorgeous. However if they wanted to go hiking in a European country, I'm surprised they didn't go with Iceland. 

[bal maiden]

2 hours ago, mpheels said:

This is great explanation of US reasons for (not) traveling abroad. To add more perspective, I wonder how many EU citizens have only traveled abroad within the EU? Travel within the EU is somewhat analogous to travel within the US. 

Thanks  honestly, it took me (European) living in the US for me to really 'get' how big the country is, even though my American spouse would explain it to me. When we moved from San Diego to Silicon Valley, my European friends all thought, based on looking at the map of CA, that we were moving an hour or so away, and were pretty shocked when we explained it's a 10 hour drive! 10 hours pretty much gets you to the other end of the U.K., traffic permitting. The Netherlands is about 3 hours end to end...

[OyToTheVey]

21 minutes ago, bal maiden said:

10 hours pretty much gets you to the other end of the U.K., traffic permitting. The Netherlands is about 3 hours end to end...

I have UK friends that bitch about driving 2 hours to a different city. If I drive for 2 hours, I might still be in Brooklyn. A lot of people don't understand the distances. But as you said, you have to actually be here to see it. Some states like Cali and Texas it'd take all day just to drive from one end to another. And if there's traffic that's a 2 day trip. 

I drove with my uncle from Berlin, where he lives, to Karlovy Vary in Czech and it took about 4-5 hours. In 4-5 hours I'm in Boston. 

[ihaveanexamintwodays]

8 minutes ago, OyToTheVey said:

I have UK friends that bitch about driving 2 hours to a different city. If I drive for 2 hours, I might still be in Brooklyn. A lot of people don't understand the distances. But as you said, you have to actually be here to see it. Some states like Cali and Texas it'd take all day just to drive from one end to another. And if there's traffic that's a 2 day trip. 

I drove with my uncle from Berlin, where he lives, to Karlovy Vary in Czech and it took about 4-5 hours. In 4-5 hours I'm in Boston. 

Yes! as someone who's ridden from Texas-California and Texas-Arizona (i've never had to make the drive, but i have done both riding buses for school trips...lol) it is longggggg. Meanwhile 6hours max in a van gets you to a different European country (also done this on a family vacation). It is quite the bizarre contrast, when i think about it haha

[sparklymagie]

When I traveled in Europe, I would be asked where in the US I was from.  I'd tell them North Carolina and very often got asked some variation of "Is that near New York/Los Angeles/Florida/Chicago/ other major locations that are in no way close in NC?" I realized that many of them really thought the places were close by and had no real concept of just how big the US is.  

Conversely, it always surprised me how comparatively easy and quickly I could get to where I wanted to go over the.  When I think of having to go to the other side of the country or to a different country, I just naturally assumed it'd take forever.  

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

6 hours ago, MadeItOut said:

* Roughly 3% of Americans never travel outside their home State.

I would have said that was doesn't happen, I'm in the Midwest and everyone almost has been to at least the bordering states, but I meet a woman about 10 years ago who at the age of 48 left the state for the 1st time, in face she had never even been more than 50 miles from where she was born in her life. I couldn't believe that. Iowa isn't a HUGE state like, AK, TX or CA you can drive west to east in 5 hours and north to south in 4 where in some parts of Texas you can drive for 10 yours and still be in TX. 

[bella8050]

7 hours ago, bal maiden said:

I think lots of Americans don't travel abroad, but when your country essentially covers an entire continent, how much need do you have to do so? You can't go skiing in the UK (well, barely), so British people travel to France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria etc. In the US you have lots of skiing options all within the borders. You want to see geysers and you like in the UK? You go to Iceland. Americans just need to go to Yellowstone. You want to visit a desert or swim in warm seas from the UK? You have to travel abroad; Americans can go to numerous deserts and numerous places with warm waters within their own borders. And so on. I'm not saying there's not value to travelling abroad and cultural tourism, etc., but I think it's often hard for Europeans to appreciate the scale and diversity of the USA in terms of climate, landscape etc. Plus, of course, you can in theory drive to most of the USA, whereas to go to Europe or Asia etc you have to fly. 

I think that is true. For myself having never left North America the number one factor is cost. I would love to go to Europe, especially Italy because that is where much of my family is from and still have some distant relatives that I could get in touch with and see things like the house my grandfather grew up in. However too many real life issues have gotten in the way and it's just not something doable for me.  I think it's wonderful and amazing that in other parts of the world the only thing seperating you from another country is a train ride. I have resolved more than ever this year that I will travel someday. Until then I will just have to keep watching The Amazing Race and keep dreaming of places.