Here's the premise.
Not that I'm thinking about anything specific, but having done some planned vacations earlier in life, and later, others with the wife and kids, it's always been a thought (although not what I'd call a dream) to just go ... and not worry about the particulars.
My son is now 20 and we're pretty close. Whenever he and I do anything (trips to games, etc.) we have the best time.
So ...
I haven't been to Scotland. Would really love to. Here's the thing, though. I'm not really a "touristy" kind of guy. I see pictures of folks on cruises and tours and taking pics from Day 1, Day 2 etc etc ... and what I'd really like to do is just go to a small place in Scotland ... find a great old pub, get some food and brews and just hang. Spend a few days hanging with locals, meeting people, seeing what trouble we could get into, then move on for another day or two, and on and on.
Anybody every just headed out, and let things happen as they would?
I have some general things I'd like to do, and I research where I'm going so I have a sense of place, but the last thing I want to be on vacation is beholden to a tight schedule.
Generally speaking, I'll have a few activities I'd like to accomplish, some restaurants or bars I'd like to try (or certain food/drink regardless of venue) and play the rest by ear. Some people I've gone away with have a hard time traveling without plans or regimentation so it's not always possible to be as freewheeling as I'd prefer.
Sometimes a little flexibility can go a very long way.
If you have your heart set on doing things at a particular time, under certain conditions, and it doesn't work out the way you envisioned, it's easy to get stressed out about it.
In my mind, travel should be about DE-stressing, so it is always advisable to take opportunities to elevate your blood pressure out of the equation.
There was always one old guy/couple in every hostel I went to (without age restrictions).
I have some general things I'd like to do, and I research where I'm going so I have a sense of place, but the last thing I want to be on vacation is beholden to a tight schedule.
Generally speaking, I'll have a few activities I'd like to accomplish, some restaurants or bars I'd like to try (or certain food/drink regardless of venue) and play the rest by ear. Some people I've gone away with have a hard time traveling without plans or regimentation so it's not always possible to be as freewheeling as I'd prefer.
Sometimes a little flexibility can go a very long way.
Nice, nice.
Yeah, my wife is a planner. I've done a few of our family getaways without detailed itineraries, and she gets highly stressed, which, of course, doesn't make for any fun, so I kinda stopped trying that after a couple times.
For me and the kids, though, we've always done the "get in the car and drive" mini-adventure, ever since they were very little. They still talk about those days, and marvel at how close things are that they used to think were forever away. lol
My son, especially the last few years, as soon as I say, "Hey, you wanna ..." he's responding with, "Just you and me? Dude, yeah, whatever you wanna do, I'm down."
In the fall we got a hotel in Chinatown, Queens. Just walked all over at night, ate in great restaurants where we were the only white people - it was really fun. Like we weren't in the states. lol Took the 7 to the stadium a couple days ... never a real plan outside of of the ballgames' start times.
That's the idea.
That being said I almost slept in the train station a few times because I had no reservations in high season.
Lucked out in Rome and Florence after being turned down multiple times.
My next two backpacking trips I booked every hostel in advance (always picking the highest rated) and those were superior trips. Hostels in general have VERY lenient cancellation policies (24 hour notice) and/or no payment required in advanced so it's easy to stay "spur of the moment." There are so many low cost fares for trains and flights that the sunk cost is low if you really want to change last second.
I highly recommend it. These days, it's so easy to do.
BTW didn't see a lot of people wearing Giants gear!!
I suspect this is the sort of thing that is much more suited to kids than to older folks. I realized recently how spoiled I have become when I tried to stay in a dorm room for my college reunion. It sucked.
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I mean Beez is old, but hell it's not like he's Dorgan....jeez
One or two trips to FL, we picked a destination city to fly into and then home from, rented a car and then just drove.
That sounds like code for raping and pillaging and sacking villages ... be careful Beez - they don't do that kind of stuff over there as much as they used to in the Dark Ages .... They have laws now.
Who is going to finance this invasion of Europe? You are going to need a small army at least. I think it was Hannibal who used elephants ...
Back then it was easier. The rulers taxed the people and marched on with the money they raised.
Possibilities -
1. Garage Sale.
2. "Go fund Me" account
3. Bake sale (but, only if you are really close and need just a little more to get you over the top).
Good luck and have a great time.
Certain people are this way. To each their own. And not all vacations lend themselves to preplanning everything.
I remember traveling down a 4 lane hwy in Vermont that turned into a 2 lane hwy and eventually turned into a dirt road. Time to get the map out and figure out a better route. It was always an adventure and great fun.
I was in Paris last month for a week and it was really expensive, so I just played around and discovered Riga had 4 star hotels for under a hundred bucks a night. Flew there for a week and had the time of my life. Then a $34 flight to Stockholm, where I found an apt a twenty minute train ride outside the city that saved me a ton of money.
If you are not someone who has to hit all the big sights. then I would definitely recommend remaining flexible.