Josiah and Lauren Part 9: Where Are They Honeymooning?

[HarleyQuinn]

I don't often travel alone but I know a few people who do. They like to jump on those guided excursions because it's a nice way to meet other people. If I'm alone, it's mostly because I've gone somewhere for work and just do the sightseeing part on my own. 

I like having someone with me to saddle with map duty when driving because I hate maps. 

[Rachel333]

My biggest travel goal is to go to Antarctica. It's the only continent I haven't visited yet. I also want to go to Iceland again and drive around the entire country as well as go to Greenland. After that the list of places I'd like to visit would be far too long to list! There is almost nowhere I wouldn't go if given the chance.

[candygirl200413]

So I traveled by myself to visit my friend in Oregon and I realized I don't actually like it, I think I'm one of those people that would prefer a companion. 

My undergrad gift was a trip to Taiwan so I'm hoping to do France for the Women's World Cup next year as my grad school gift *fingers crossed*!

[GeoBQn]

@Rachel333 Antarctica is also on my husband's bucket list.  Penguins are his favorite animals, and I think he has a fantasy that one of them will just follow us home.

[Gobbles]

Oh, travel?

We are a very boring family and like to go to the same places every year. As a typical German I go to Mallorca every year. A lovely island if you ignore the two little areas with drunk German (Arenal) or British (Magaluf) tourists. I go there in the months without tons of tourists and I really love being there alone. Second destination is the island of Hvar in Croatia. My Dad was there when he was my age and younger and since a few years we go there to the same family he went to year and years ago. They have lived in Germany and went back to Croatia. Austria is also one of our go-to destinations. And Bavaria.

I went to Copenhagen, Denmark to visit a friend a few years ago and I loved it. I'm not into countries far away, I like to be near home and in Europe. On my lists are countries like Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden or Norway. I would have loved to go to England, but since the whole Brexit thing started I lost the interest. I like not having to get different currency in most European countries. And of course travel without the need to special passports or visas. 

[JoytotheWorld]

18 hours ago, xlurker said:

Haven't been in years, but it was a cool day trip for us (from Jersey)  If you want to do G-burg too its a bit of a drive from there-but worth it in my opinion.  Lurkerling 1 went to college there, so I've been a few times--do the battlefield.  They have both guided and unguided, and do a ghost tour when you are there!

I’m a G’burg grad!

[nausicaa]

16 hours ago, Illmarryyoujana said:

I’m from central VA and all summer long I see families talk about the different beaches of OBX like they’re the best things on earth. I did enjoy my summers there as a teenager, but I couldn’t imagine taking the same week long vacation every summer for 20-40 years. But people really do seem to find happiness there, so I suppose we’re all different. 

I used to be this way and always traveled to foreign countries with a long itinerary. 

Now? After working so much, a relaxing vacation where I can just swim and read on the beach every day is really nice and actually feels like a vacation. Also, preparing for those long foreign trips is so much freaking work and can be so stressful. Especially since I don't like to use a tour group.

Living in VA, a week at Wilmington Beach means no layovers to worry about, a simple packing list, no tickets to buy ahead or reservations to make, no cultural or language barriers I need to prepare for, and lots of reading I can catch up on. I imagine the work of preparing for a big foreign trip with little kids is 10x the trouble. And when I return from my beach trip,  I actually feel refreshed. 

I'm not saying I could do this for 20 years (I would like to see Vienna or Tunisia sometime when I save the money), but the past few years have been nice. 

[nausicaa]

3 hours ago, bashfulpixie said:

People who travel - do any of you do your traveling alone? Most of my friends don’t have the either means or the paid leave to travel and I’m currently single. Which means if I don’t do something alone, I don’t do it at all. 

Solo traveler here. (Who kind of hates tour groups. Why would I choose to join a bunch of people I don't know and haven't vetted and statistically will include at least one demanding asshole? It's great if other people like them; the appeal is just lost on me.) I travel both domestically and internationally alone and really enjoy it.

Just have to put my endorsement of solo travel in here for anyone hesitating to take that dream trip because they don't have anyone to go with them. You get to do everything you want to do, eat where you want to eat, all on your schedule. And as a woman, I've found most places are way safer than are generally represented.

 

@nastyhobbitses I'm a woman who traveled through Syria, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, and Turkey alone with no problems other than your average awkward situations that everyone experiences. You definitely don't need to speak Arabic for Egypt, though a few words may come in handy. My understanding is that Morocco and Tunisia are even more tourism-focused and most people will speak English, or at least French. 

My only "bad" stories are from Uzbekistan but that is more because of some cultural and political issues that arose from a lack of tourists and because I look Russian.

Just use common sense, realize everyone isn't your friend (especially the guy inviting you back to his house for "tea"), expect a few awkward questions, learn some about the culture and dress accordingly, and you should be fine. 

[justmy2cents]

3 hours ago, bashfulpixie said:

People who travel - do any of you do your traveling alone? Most of my friends don’t have the either means or the paid leave to travel and I’m currently single. Which means if I don’t do something alone, I don’t do it at all. 

I've gonna on 2 singles group vacations. I didn't know anyone in either group and ended up making lifelong friends. First one was to Eastern Europe. There were 50 of us. A little too big. The next trip was to Costa Rica. About 25 of us. I f you want to meet some people it's not a bad way to go.

[Rachel333]

I've traveled both by myself and with others. I enjoy both, and have even had good experiences with tour groups! My aunt is a single woman and I know she has done several trips with a women's-only tour group and raved about the experience.

One place I wasn't expecting to enjoy so much was Denmark. I really only went there because I was in France already, knew I wanted to go to Iceland, and had a couple options for which city to fly out of so I picked semi randomly (I'm sure there would be more options now). I spent a couple days in Copenhagen and absolutely loved it. It was all very pleasant and clean and the people seemed remarkably nice. I would love to go back and see more of the country.

[Million Children For Jesus]

4 hours ago, bashfulpixie said:

People who travel - do any of you do your traveling alone? Most of my friends don’t have the either means or the paid leave to travel and I’m currently single. Which means if I don’t do something alone, I don’t do it at all. 

I almost exclusively travel alone, and all of my friends have far more money and time off than I have. After decades of having my sister and my exes ruin vacations for me, I decided to travel alone, and that has turned out to be an excellent decision. Every time I accept an invitation to travel with someone, I end up regretting it. Sometimes, it ruins friendships. The only people I enjoy traveling with are my children because our interests and travel styles are the same, which is apparently something that is extremely difficult to find. 

ETA: I’m also single 

[SapphireSlytherin]

I love traveling alone - as others said, everything is on my OWN schedule. 

I've also found that if a friendly couple offers to let you sit with them so you don't have to dine "all alone, poor thing," you absolutely SHOULD take them up on it. I've had some incredible conversations and met some pretty decent people this way.

Biggest thing? I'm an introvert - HIGH on the introvert chart - so this sort of sight-seeing/touristing is great because I can be ALONE while in a bustling city. I'm not having to be "on" all the time. 

[BachelorToTheRapture]

Before I travel with someone I make sure that it's okay if we occasionally separate to do different things. I like having someone to travel with, but also need my independence, particularly if there's stuff I really want to do. When I have travelled alone I've generally enjoyed it, but it gets lonely after a couple days for me not having someone to talk to

[Rachel333]

2 minutes ago, BachelorToTheRapture said:

When I have travelled alone I've generally enjoyed it, but it gets lonely after a couple days for me not having someone to talk to

Yeah, as much as I enjoy being on my own, it is nice to be able to share the experience with someone else. I'm also less likely to go to sit down restaurants on my own. I think my ideal situation would be travelling with other but still being able to sometimes split up and go off on my own.

[KeshetParparNesicha]

I've been to Israel, and 20 U.S. states (I'm American). I feel weird touring internationally when I haven't even seen all of my own country yet.

[SongRed7]

On 7/5/2018 at 4:00 PM, VelociRapture said:

3. Sesame Place. It’s apparently a good theme park for toddlers. And since it’s located in Pennsylvania we’d possibly be able to visit Amish Country and Gettysburg (one of my ancestors fought there fir the Union, so it’d be cool to show my kids.)

I live in southern NJ near all of these places (Philadelphia suburbs). Sesame Place is a great theme park for the younger set.  Even good for school age kids -- as they have some bigger water rides and roller coasters, but nothing too extreme.   It's pretty clean, too...although I haven't been there in a few years.

Amish Country (Lancaster County, PA) is about 1.5-2 hours from Sesame Place (depending on the route you take and traffic) and Gettysburg is a good 2.5-3 hour trip from there.   All are worth the trip.   We spend a lot of time in Lancaster because my son goes to school there and Gettyburg is one of my favorite places of all time.

Enjoy!

 

[Carm_88]

I just got back a vacation. I was in Nova Scotia for my best friend's wedding. We saw a lot of the Southern Shore, but really not much else. Halifax and the Lunenburg areas are absolutely gorgeous. I could spend ages there and I will be back to see more. I want to do PEI, I got a lot of Anne of Green Gables comments, and Asian tourists kinda thought I was cosplaying. No, this is how I look. 

Short Term: 

August 2018: I'm being a tourist at home and go to Fogo, Twilingate, Morton's Harbour, Terra Nova National Park, and other parts on that section of the province. I'm slowly crossing more and more off my Newfoundland list of travel destinations. 

Long Term: 

Europe! Europe! Europe! 

The UK

Cruise in 2020 (For my other best friend's 10 year anniversary?!) 

The other Canadian provinces! 

Past 2020

The US maybe?*

*I'm that Canadian, until Trump stops being an orange dildo, I hesitate on going to the US. 

 

[nausicaa]

2 hours ago, Rachel333 said:

 I'm also less likely to go to sit down restaurants on my own. 

If you bring a notebook they think you're a restaurant reviewer and you get really, really good service. 

[nausicaa]

2 hours ago, Million Children For Jesus said:

After decades of having my sister and my exes ruin vacations for me

This is what I'm afraid of. Especially for a really expensive foreign trip. If I save up thousands of dollars to finally do Vienna on my one week off a year, I can't risk having the experience ruined by someone else. Also,I really want to fit in all the things I want to do--which are weird to most people. (For instance, I'd like to attend a white tie event and visit Mayerling. Not really interested in the food or the Mozart museum.) 

I guess I'm so used to being on my own, I've lost touch with other people's preferences and lower tolerance for solitude. I'm always taken aback when someone with a good income says "I've wanted to go to Australia for years, but no one will go with me." Well, go! Life is short. I'm way too selfish to let lack of a companion stop me from doing something I really want to do. (Maybe the selfishness is why I'm still single, but I digress.)

[louisa05]

2 hours ago, KeshetParparNesicha said:

I've been to Israel, and 20 U.S. states (I'm American). I feel weird touring internationally when I haven't even seen all of my own country yet.

Sixteen years ago, my friend and I were talking with a Scottish woman on a train from London to York. She asked what Nebraska is like. My friend said, "it's just flat farmland". I was kind of surprised by that as it is not correct (it is the assumption of most people who have never been here, but not true). So I said, no, there's the Sandhills, and the Pine Ridge that is certainly not flat. And my friend announced she's never been more than about 90 miles west of Lincoln. So we saved for a year to go to a foreign country and she'd barely seen her own state. 

BTW, the far western part of Nebraska is not flat. Not the Rocky Moutains, but it's still not flat. And it is ranch land, not farm land. 

[xlurker]

4 hours ago, JoytotheWorld said:

I’m a G’burg grad!

Yay you!  My Lurkerling graduated in '13.  It was her first choice school and you couldn't have seen a happier girl than when she opened her big envelope 

 

[Sky with diamonds]

2 hours ago, Carm_88 said:

I just got back a vacation. I was in Nova Scotia for my best friend's wedding. We saw a lot of the Southern Shore, but really not much else. Halifax and the Lunenburg areas are absolutely gorgeous. I could spend ages there and I will be back to see more. I want to do PEI, I got a lot of Anne of Green Gables comments, and Asian tourists kinda thought I was cosplaying. No, this is how I look. 

Short Term: 

August 2018: I'm being a tourist at home and go to Fogo, Twilingate, Morton's Harbour, Terra Nova National Park, and other parts on that section of the province. I'm slowly crossing more and more off my Newfoundland list of travel destinations. 

Long Term: 

Europe! Europe! Europe! 

The UK

Cruise in 2020 (For my other best friend's 10 year anniversary?!) 

The other Canadian provinces! 

Past 2020

The US maybe?*

*I'm that Canadian, until Trump stops being an orange dildo, I hesitate on going to the US. 

 

As a fellow Newfoundlandlander, I love that you will see more of the province. Some places on your list is also on mine. Have you thought about the South Coast? Beautiful area there, the beach close to my hometown is trying to attract tourists, and it's working. 

Enjoy your travels. 

[nvmbr02]

8 hours ago, bashfulpixie said:

People who travel - do any of you do your traveling alone? Most of my friends don’t have the either means or the paid leave to travel and I’m currently single. Which means if I don’t do something alone, I don’t do it at all. 

I haven't traveled alone, mostly since I don't have a chance to travel much without least my children. My older two are older now, but the first half of our Japan trip it will be just me and the kids. Dh is joining us later and then my MIL is coming for the last few days. Then I take the kids home and my MIL is staying with Dh for another 2-3 days. It is just how our work and school schedules worked for this trip.

I would travel alone but ti does depend on the type of trip I was planning. Like, I wouldn't feel comfortable going out to the middle of no where alone or out on a trip I would mostly be hiking. But I would do a trip to a urban area or a cruise vacation by myself. My aunt used to travel alone all the time and I know she really enjoyed it. 

[Carm_88]

3 minutes ago, Sky with diamonds said:

As a fellow Newfoundlandlander, I love that you will see more of the province. Some places on your list is also on mine. Have you thought about the South Coast? Beautiful area there, the beach close to my hometown is trying to attract tourists, and it's working. 

Enjoy your travels. 

Depends on what part of the South Coast. My Mom is from the Burin Pennisula, so I've seen a lot of there. We used to go every summer for a while when my grandmother was still alive and before we had a lot to do in the summer. I can't say I've seen it all, but I have seen a lot! 

[nvmbr02]

3 hours ago, KeshetParparNesicha said:

I've been to Israel, and 20 U.S. states (I'm American). I feel weird touring internationally when I haven't even seen all of my own country yet.

And the US is beautiful! I started traveling internationally long before I had seen much of the US, aside from the northeast and the western states. But I do like ti mix things up a bit. I have been to all the different regions but I haven't been to all the states. So far I have been to 30 states and 3 territories. So it will take awhile to get to it all. I think our country count is at 24.