Oh dear. Sharon, I'm going to show your explanation to Elery because I don't believe he would enjoy one single thing about that other than having the bread delivered and preparing dinner.

He doesn't like farming, wouldn't like to be awakened at 5 am for any purpose. He doesn't care about pools, but he also doesn't care about driving around and exploring.

He would wonder why the heck they didn't just put screens in the windows to keep the bugs out and he definitely wants air conditioning if it's over 70F.

I'm assuming, given those facts, that we would fly into Rome, find an air conditioned hotel and come home a week later.

Annie

Rome is fabulous, the "Vatican, the Coliseum, the Forum......walk to you Drop!

You may get an air conditioned room but no way a Pool!

Maybe he would be better on the Almafi coast........lots of hotels with pools and such......or better yet save the money and go to a Carribean Island.

He wouldn't care at all about pools, in fact he doesn't really like them, but he definitely wants air conditioning. He doesn't want to walk around too much either, I walked him around Chicago and he says that from now on we'll be taking cabs from Union Station, thanks. (grin)

He's been to the Carribean, I think St. Thomas. He said it was beautiful but that I wouldn't like it, he's probably right.

So, we'll go to the Almafi coast or somewhere like Rome and he'll drink wine and relax in the air conditioning for a week and I'll be bored out of my mind and wish I were home and he'll tell me I need to learn to relax, LOL.

Annie

I read your description to Elery. He's changed his mind, he no longer wants to go to Italy. And, of course, he was originally thinking he wanted to go to Sicily, the hotter south of the country.

I suggested that we go in February or March, when the temperatures were far cooler and we'd have the double bonus of it being less crowded.

He says the real problem is that there is absolutely no way he is EVER staying at a B&B or with someone else he doesn't know, he wants his own private space. And he wants it to be cool, LOL.

I did mention that I think you can rent an apartment for a week...

Annie

Annie, no way I would stay in a B and B type accommodation either. Just not my thing. Where we stayed we each had our own fully contained cottage. There are all kinds of accommodations that are small apt, cottages, small inns and small European style hotels, you just don't see large American style hotels except in the bigger cities or on the coast.

Anyhow, I sound like I'm trying to convince you and I'm not. Vacations are meant to enjoy whatever it is you enjoy not what someone else enjoys. Must be tough when a couple has different ideas of what they enjoy......

Okay, Annie, I think the answer is for me to go with you and leave Elery at home with the AC and a cool beer.

I've never stayed in a B&B and don't want to. I'd rather stay at the local chain hotel where I don't have to say anything to anyone else who is staying there. I just like my own space to do my own thing. I am out and about during the day. I don't want to eat breakfast with strangers, and I sure don't want to share a bathroom. My requirements are my own bathroom and a coffee maker in the room.

When I was working I enjoyed a do-nothing vacation. I rented a cute cottage on Cape Cod, sat on the deck and looked out at the water. I did a little exploring or went to sit on the beach. It was so wonderful to unwind from a stressful job.

Now that I am not working and can sit around all day if I choose, I want a vacation that is more stimulating.

My trip to Paris was wonderful. We had our own little apartment where we had breakfast before heading out. We spent the day walking all over the city in all the neighborhoods. Sometimes we ate in restaurants at night and some nights we ate in the apt. We'd walk down to the Seine in the evening to just soak it all in. That has become my idea of a great vacation!

Annie, let me know when you are ready to go to Italy! We'll send postcards to Elery.

OK, so you can have your own space, that's good. I don't suppose there is any air conditioning? Or at least a fan?

Pam, the "do nothing" vacation would make me completely nuts in less than two days. I just can't do that. The Paris vacation sounds like something I'd like a lot, except it would have to be somewhere else, I've never wanted to go to France. Ireland, now, I'd go there!

Annie

Okay, Ireland it is. When?

You would like Paris. The food is wonderful as are the food markets. We could stuff our faces with french pastries. Some places have AC. We were there exactly a year ago and temps were in the 50's and 60's. I would not go in summer. I can't stand heat and humidity or crowds.

There, Pam, that's Elery. No heat, no humdity and no crowds. No sharing a bathroom with anyone else and no community meals where your tablemates are people you don't know and are chosen for you by someone else. That's what he hated about cruises and he refused to eat at any of the sit down dinners with people he didn't know.

Walking around a lot would be an issue, though. Elery has arthritis in one hip that's been giving him a lot of problems and his doctor has already recommended hip replacement. Since he's only 60, he doesn't want to do that yet, but a lot of walking is problematic. I can walk for miles, for days, but he really can't.

Maybe we could rent motor scooters, now THAT would be fun!

Annie

I have the perfect solution. A week at the cottage.

Not to hot, lovely cool evenings, no crowds, leisurely evening boat cruises with a glass of wine, or two. Fishing if you are so inclined, lots of god food and a private cabin of your own so you don't have to have breakfast with Us! lol

Fishing AND "god" food? LOL Not that your cooking isn't amazing and delicious...

Don't tempt me, I'm retired now you know. Poor Elery, though, he's not and he's working the next three weeks without a day off, covering other people's vacations.

You aren't having a big party at the cabin and that's where all those vacationing people are?

Food of the gods reminds me, red peppers were on sale 2/$1 and I've got to send you an email about that red pepper soup of yours. Do you freeze that? I remember you talking about bushels of peppers...

annie

I've stayed at wonderful B&Bs. Ones where there was a separate entrance to your room, no shared bathrooms, and the breakfasts were some of the best food I've had anywhere. I like them because they are cozier and you get breakfast and often an afternoon snack/happy hour. So you have eating taken care of before you head out for hiking or what have you.

In Sedona, the B&B accommodated dogs - there were rooms for dog people. Since dogs are not legally allowed in dining rooms, they had a separate area next to the main dining room for those with dogs, and the doggies got scrambled eggs next to your table. I'll have to post a picture I got of two standard poodles eating next to our table.

You see a lot more people in a regular hotel or motel than any of the B&Bs I've stayed in. So there, I did my part to repair the reputation of those places, LOL.

Annie, sounds like Elery would like cruises?

Gina, Elery went on a cruise before he met me. He hated it, said it was crowded, there were too many people. The cruise line had assigned seating for meals and they moved you around so you were never with anyone you knew or had met at a prior meal, he hated it so much that he ate all his meals at the buffets and snack bars.

there was always a crew member trying to get him involved in some activity or another that he had no interest in and wouldn't let him just sit and drink his wine and read his book, he had to be DOING something, LOL.

Plus, he got seasick. (grin) Sorry, that's not funny.

As for B&Bs, I stayed at one. Once. It had a bathroom that had to be shared with three other rooms, breakfast was not very good coffee and mediocre muffins that were not nearly as good as the local bakery. The bed was horrible, but I might be biased on that because I still have a waterbed and find "real" beds to be uncomfortable anyway. No telephone and no television in the rooms because you were supposed to be mingling with the other guests in the living room where the television was located. Yeah, it's always a good idea to have one remote control and three men, LOL. No pets, no smoking, no children, no alcohol, front door locks at 11 pm, if you aren't back by then, you don't get in.

That was the first and last time I tried a B&B, maybe other people had the same experience and so they are getting better?

Annie

I guess many B&Bs are just large homes. The ones I stayed in were not those kind. I always research and look at photos online before deciding.

I could not do a cruise. I have friends who love them but I think I would be like Elery and think they were hellish.

I've stayed in B&Bs with a shared bathroom. Just a few times. Eh. One was a historic hotel in Sonoma with a double bed (ex is 6'-3", boy that was comfy) and an equally historic bathroom down the hall. The others were large, lovely Victorian homes owned by slightly harried women with good breakfast recipes. I learned that I prefer my own bathroom and more privacy.

Cruises have never been appealing to me, at least not on one of those boats that accommodate thousands, have their own golf course and occasionally sink. My good friend goes on fabulous cruises that are like being on a floating Four Seasons. that I could take.

OT: Barnmom -- I notice that you are "missing." I don't have an email for you. What's going on?

I've stayed at B&Bs and liked them better than the hotels where I've stayed. The last one was just outside Sequoia National Park, and we stayed there because we had decided that we would never stay in a tent there again - way too many bears, and I got chased by one the very first night. That was 10 years ago, however, and I think my camping days may be over - unless someone else wants to maintain the tent. We used to camp at Death Valley and Anza Borrega, but now I want to stay in hotels when we go back. There is a hotel in Stovepipe Wells that has a great swimming pool, and I thought it would be nice to go there with my sister and BIL - providing he agrees to behave himself.

Lars

Yes, I would prefer a B&B over a tent.

I actually like to camp, although I no longer enjoy sleeping on the ground, I've gotten soft with age, I guess.

Still, in a tent I have my own space which I don't have to share with anyone, and most campgrounds have shower buildings, so there are lots of showers, not one that you have to share with 7 other people.

Nope, I'd rather sleep on the ground in a tent, even with bears, rather than go to a B&B unless they have changed a LOT.

Annie

Oh my....equating all B and Bs' with a place where you have to share a bathroom and be chatty with other guests is just odd.
While I don't seek out B and B's...in this small midwestern town there are several B and B's...2 I know have bathrooms for every bedroom...nicer B and B's usually don't have shared bathrooms.
And while I don't know about the breakfast situation, as I have certainly not stayed at either since they are only a mile from my house, one to the East and another to the West, I do know that the dinners are wonderful.
I don't DO tents, unless there is an attached toilet and shower.

My idea of camping is no roomservice.

I remember myfriend saying her idea of camping was staying in a two star hotel.

I only went camping once but I loved it. It was at Yosemite and my body wasn't so creaky back then.

WE have often stayed in B & B's on our travels. Just like hotels and models there are a wide range of B & B's. Can't lump them all together.

The B & B's we have stayed in all have fabulous bedrooms/suites with amazing ensuite bathrooms. No sharing for me. Down feather beds, etc....

Three and four course extravagant breakfasts are the norm. And you can be as social or unsocial as you want. Many of my favourite B & B's served breakfast in the room.

Ann

Other than the one I stayed in, I've only had information about one other locally. There is a B&B less than a mile from the farm, in fact, I can see it from the top of my pasture hill. It was an old farm which was renovated and is owned and operated by two lovely ladies in their 60s, partners both personally and professionally for decades so they have owned businesses before.

That B&B also has shared bathrooms but I'm assuming wonderful food because Dad used to say that they could bake better pumpkin bread than mine. I think that's a vicious lie, but that's what he said.

So, I know of two B&Bs and neither one would give me my own bathroom. As I've mentioned, I've had very little experience with B&Bs. Elery has stayed in half a dozen and hated them all, based on the very same things I experienced. In addition he doesn't eat sweets and doesn't care for pancakes or waffles. He says that he can't get a decent breakfast at any of them, they load up with sweet rolls and waffles, muffins and quick breads and if you're darned lucky you can get a hard boiled egg, so he doesn't care for the food either.

elery stayed at a B&b in Seattle when his brother married the third time and one in New York State when his brother got married the forth time. He stayed in one in Charleston with his ex-wife and one near gulf Shores, Alabama. he stayed in one in California and said they were all pretty much the same, shared bathrooms and sweet breakfasts. Now, i wouldn't mind the sweet breakfast at all. The other thing every single one had in common was that if you weren't up and dressed at a specified time, you didn't get breakfast, you got the leftover muffins and stale coffee. It wouldn't be a problem if 7 other people weren't waiting for that shared shower.

So, I'm glad that all of you have had different experiences with B&Bs than Elery and I have had. I'd blame mine on the fact that they are few and far between here, but Elery lives in a much more "civilized" area and has travelled and has had the same experience as I had. it has, however, been at least 10 years since either of us stayed at a B&B and I realize they are getting far more popular now.

So, do the "new and improved" B&Bs allow pets, usually?

See, this kind of discussion reminds me of one of the reasons I'd rather just stay home. Ugh.

Annie

I just want to make it clear that I am not opposed to trying a B&B again. Now I realize they are not all alike and I'd have to do my homework carefully, there can be no driving around and stopping when it suits me and expecting a certain experience at a B&B.

I might be way off base but suddenly it dawned on me that with all the problems with chain motels and bedbugs, a B&B might be "safer" in that they don't have as big a turnover in guests and the owner may feel more responsible for cleanliness, especially if they live there themselves. Or not?

Annie

the first B and B I ever stayed at was in I think 1956 on Cape Cod with my parents and brother. We had 2 rooms and our own 2 bathrooms. Breakfast was pretty much whatever you wanted.

Another B and B was on the Northern California coast. There were rooms as well as little cabins with their own bath and patio over looking the sea. Breakfast was to order....and every table had a toaster so you could toast your own bread and have it hot.

If by a B and B you are meaning the sort of a place where you knock on the door and ask for a room....then no wonder you hate them.
And a decent B and B is not cheap....

Here is a link that might be useful: B and B near me

I've never stayed at a B&B that the owners lived in. I think that's how B&Bs originated, but they have morphed into something else. More like a boutique hotel - whatever the marketing lingo is.

Hmmm. The one by the farm is also a home for the owners, which I think would be kind of a pain, living with your business 24 hours a day.

Well, there goes my bedbug theory, darn it.

LindaC, no place is cheap any more, even the lowest budget Red Roof Inn and such are $50 a night for just a bed and a bathroom. I don't require anything plush or luxurious or fancy, I'm not going to spend that much time there, just sleeping and getting dressed. I do prefer not to sleep with insects or rodents and Elery requires air conditioning if the temperature is over 70 or he's extremely uncomfortable. I guess I'm confused by "knock on the door and ask for a rooms. Did you mean a place that doesn't require reservations in advance? There are half a dozen B&Bs in Ludington (which I've never stayed in or checked out because it's only an hour and a half from home)". During the off season you can walk into the "office" and get a room, just like you do at a motel without reservations. Or did you mean more like a boarding house, which I didn't think really existed any more?

Annie

B&Bs have the same range of facilities as hotels/motels. Some are crummy & some are wonderful.

Here's where we stayed when DH first interviewed in New Hampshire. We stayed there again for a month when we moved & were looking for a home. It was our standard place to put up guests visiting from out-of-state. We ended up with a home about a mile from the Bedford Village Inn.

You'd be hard pressed to find a nicer place as a home base while in New Hampshire. The food is excellent & the furnishings are all period American antiques. The linens are pure luxury.

You don't have to share bathrooms or eat with a group of strangers to stay at a B&B.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: Bedford Village Inn, Bedford, NH

Both of the B and B's near me are also home to the owners.

If it's a B and B you want you need to choose as carefully as a motel or hotel.....and make reservations!

If you are used to driving until 9:00P.M or so and then looking for a spot to lay your head, no wonder you have had poor experiences.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aerie Glen B and B

In one of my favorite films, Groundhog Day, Bill Murray's spoiled character gets put up in a quaint Victorian B&B, instead of a regular hotel where the staff stays. He has to go down the hall to shower and the hot water is not available all the time, but it's considered a step up from the hotel!
Since I hate crowds, I am sold on B&Bs. Hey, did this thread get hijacked? LOL.

I don't care if it got hijacked. I find this all interesting.

Many, many years ago DH and I went to Austin and the Hill Country area of Texas for a little vacation. I looked in the back of Southern Living Magazine and found a couple of B&B's listed in their travel info section. One was in the historic area near downtown Austin, the other in Fredricksburg. I booked some time in both places. The place in Austin turned out to be a charming victorian house that the owners lived in. Frankly, I don't remember if we shared a bathroom or not. I'm thinking not, or I'd probably remember. Breakfast was served in a group setting, but we both enjoyed visiting with the other guests. It was fun. The food was wonderful, some savory, some sweet. It was quite a spread. We happened to be in walking distance from the original Whole Foods Market. We had never heard of the place before. To demonstrate how long ago this was, I think this was before they branched out, so this was either the only Whole Foods, or maybe the first of a couple in town, but they hadn't expanded past Austin yet. We wandered in and were blown away by the atmosphere. It was totally different from any place we had ever shopped. There was live music being performed - I think it was someone playing a sitar, or some other kind of unusual instrument. We were also able to walk to the happening places in the area. Austin has quite the music scene, so it was quite fun.

The place in Fredricksburg was completely different. It was a cabin, complete with kitchenette, living room, bedroom, and little yard. There was no breakfast served, which made us wonder why it was listed under bed and breakfast places. It was more of a motor lodge type of place. It was nice, but we actually didn't enjoy it as much as Austin. All there is to do in Fredricksburg is shop, which I don't really enjoy. We did it anyway, cause they do have lots of quaint, cute, very expensive gift shops, but it wasn't that fun. I have to say we visited Fredricksburg years later, and enjoyed it more. Yes, the expensive shops are still there, but there are quite a few art galleries now, which DH really enjoys. I do too, but he's an artist so they speak to him more than me.

Anyway, we haven't done the bed and breakfast thing since then - not because we didn't enjoy it, but more due to budget constraints.

Sally

Speaking of Texas Hill Country, this B&B is owned by a very long time friend and her husband. Dana was my 8th grade art teacher. It is lovely. I hope to visit one day.

Eileen

Here is a link that might be useful: Ranchito de Venado

Well, it seems like there is a wide range of B&Bs, certainly. Some lived in by owners, others operated off site.

If I'm going somewhere particular, I make reservations in advance, like a weekend in Chicago or in Ohio to visit Elery's Dad.

However, if I'm on a road trip, I tend to wander about and never know where I'll be or when I'll be there, so no reservations. I do try to stop by 5 or 6 pm and find a room, because sometimes it takes a couple of tries or some travel to get somewhere.

If I were going to stay in one place for a week or longer, I'd rent a cottage or condo, I wouldn't stay in a B&B or hotel. We rented a cottage in Maine and I liked that a lot, and I didn't have to stay with anyone else. Well, except my kids, my mother and my dog, LOL.

I can't think of anywhere I really want to go and stay for a week, though. A couple of days and I'm ready to leave.
Annie

Well, if you don't do museums and you don't do historical sites and you don't like to wander around an old town to see what it's about and you don't like to go sight seeing...I suppose you would get bored in one spot after a week.
My DH and I used to go to Santa Fe for about 5 days for several years. There was never enough time to see all I wanted to see, even after 4 years. There was Bent Street and the several museums and the Cathedral and the Loretto church and the Plaza and the governor's palace and a weaving studio and the National cemetery and Cena Plaza and Santo Domingo and Santa Clara and San d'Ilfonso and Black Canyon, and the Santuario and a place called "doodlets" and and....
Annie I think you need a trip planner and a guide. LOL!
When you are wandering you make an educated guess as to where you will be at 5 PM and make a reservation. Then if at 2 PM it looks like you won't be there, you look at your book and find another place that looks good and see if they have room....if they do then cancel the first room.

Nope, no trip planner. I do not want to do anything that most other people want to do and I sure don't want someone else telling me that I should want to. Elery wants to go and sit, he doesn't want to do anything else, except maybe walk on the beach and go out to eat, so he doesn't need a trip planner either, LOL

I like some museums but others leave me disinterested, so it depends on the museum. I like national parks and outdoors, but not art galleries or crafts shows or flea markets. I refused to go to Pigeon Forge with Elery's sister, she just can't imagine why I don't love t-shirt shops and endless decorative crap. Cathedrals are OK, for about 5 minutes. Dad once spent 5 hours at a museum checking out old tractors and a historic school house. I saw it all in about 20 minutes, LOL. They wouldn't let me stop at the SPAM museum, though.

I don't like tourist traps, amusement parks, endless gardens unless they are mine or belong to someone I know. I always want to work in them, for some reason. I spent a day at Gettysburg, but was done with Devil's Tower in an hour, after I hiked around it, got a rattlesnake basket and played with the prairie dogs.

I spent several hours at the Buffalo Bill Cody museum and a couple of days at Yellowstone, but then I was ready to leave. My attention span isn't long enough to ooh and ahh over stained glass windows and admire the same architectural techniques and designs for more than half an hour or so.

I don't ever want to sit anywhere for longer than an hour, and that includes when I'm eating lunch and there are too many places that I've never been to or seen to spend time anywhere year after year after endless year.

Oh, and I HATE to shop, except for cooking utensils and places like Trader Joe's and Penzey's. I did spend a night in Santa Fe once but didn't find enough to do to stay any longer although the food was good. The pueblos were interesting but I sure didn't have to see all of them! I'd have to look up Black Canyon, I don't know about that.

See, I told you, I don't really like to travel. It's funny, though, I read a study earlier today comparing things that made people happy and it said that a week or more was too "stressful" and that people should take multiple breaks like long weekends, it was more relaxing and more satisfying to people than longer excursions and they ended up being happier for it.

I agree, two or three days I can do. Two or three weeks? Not unless I'm on the move..

Annie

You should have consulted me before you went to Santa Fe...I would have directed you to a pueblo where there was a festival when you were there, and showed you where to find petroglyphs and directed you to Mesa Verde and Canyon de chelle and where to find an Indian guide who would have been delighted to know that you are 1/4 Indian and made a charming Indian type joke, And perhaps showed you how the ancients managed to grow enough to feed them with little more than stone tools.

I find that the deeper you look into something the more interesting it is. When you look at stained glass windows as all just colored glass, right...Booo-ring. But when you find out who designed it and why and the technology of the certain colors as it evolved, then the booo-ring windows become a history lesson.
I have one friend with whom I have visited a fait amount of art museums....and she walks through at a fair pace, looking right and left then finds a bench to wait for me!...I ask how did you like it? And she says "pretty pictures".
On another trip, there was an art history professor....and while the guide was giving her spiel he was pointing out other things.....absolutely fascinating.
I have been through a lot of potentially booo-ring museums...like the Wrestling museum, and the stock car racing museum and the museum of trinkets and small structures made from wooden matches......and in all cases I did find something to pique my interest....just a tiny bit! LOL!

Sorry, LindaC, I don't think if I look at something for 4 hours, it gets any more interesting. Stained glass is beautiful and I'm amazed at the people who can piece together those colors and patterns and make something beautiful. And then I'm over it. I don't really care about the technology or the designer or the other 7 million stained glass windows made by the same designer.

Amanda bought me picture frames for Christmas because I had no pictures of any family members on my wall. The picture frames are leaning against the bedroom wall, still empty and I still don't care. (shrug) I love my family, but I don't need to stare at them for hours.

I saw petroglyphs in New Mexico. It was interesting, now I don't have to go see any more, I've seen some. There was a festival going on when I was at Crazy Horse. The girls bought jewelry, I watched the dancing for about 5 minutes then went to find the map to see how far it was until our next stop because there were just too many people. Ugh.

You see, I don't WANT to spend hours or days doing anything. Even when we went to Maine, I took a detour through Vermont to see the Morgan Horse farm at University of Vermont. You know I have a Morgan horse, I love the breed and the history and the stories, whether true or not. I love the barns and the farms and the animals. I was done in an hour, but I was there at a time when the stables weren't open to the public. If I could have walked through and seen the animals and barns it would have been two hours, and that was pushing Dad's wheelchair. For me, if I've seen it, I've seen it, I don't need to spend hours, days, weeks, immersing myself in anything.

Yeah, I know, if I were a kid today, I'd be on Ritalin. Remember, I haven't watched a movie in at least five years because I cannot sit through an entire movie. One hour, tops, and I've got to go do something.

I do try. I bought opera tickets for Elery, we saw Barber of Seville. He listens to opera and professes to love it. I went and spent the entire time thinking of Alfalfa on "Little Rascals". Elery fell asleep, LOL. He also fell asleep during Phantom of the Opera in Chicago. Now that I think about it, he fell asleep when we saw the Rockettes in Nashville too. Hmmmm. Maybe he could sleep while I drove.

I'm hopeless. I like to keep moving and I've got to have something to do.

Annie

Um, take up surfing or skiing? Kiteboarding? Windsurfing? Bungee jumping, ziplining, snorkeling, spelunking, or???

Gina, I'd love to learn to surf, in California I was in the ocean with all the kids and the adults there thought I was crazy. Kiteboarding would be fun too, or ziplining. I did do a short zipline up by Nancy's at Boyne, it was fun and I know they now have a waterpark with an indoor "surfing wave" but it doesn't seem the same, somehow, as actually doing it outside.

No bungee jumping or spelunking, but snorkeling would be good.

It would be something I'd do alone, though, until the doc can figure out how to get Elery more comfortable with that bad hip. He says it's from years of running, but no matter the cause, it's bad enough that he sometimes struggles to just get in and out of the vehicle, there's not even walking for any distance.

I'm not crazy for machines, so I wouldn't snowmobile or jet ski, I think equi-trekking would be a blast but Elery has no interest in spend days on a horse, even without the hip issue, LOL. I like to hike, but again, it'd be a solitary activity. And I'd LOVE to try white water rafting. I did go tubing here down the Muskegon River and it bored me right out of my mind, but I think faster would be better!

Annie

Linda C, I'd love to go traveling with you. Let's go to Italy! (Acutally, I love traveling with my DH, so we'd have to make it a threesome, or maybe you could bring a friend.)

Actually, I have trouble in crowded places. DH and I went to an art show at the Dallas Museum of Art, on the last weekend that particular show was open. I don't even remember who the artist or what the collection was, but I was very uncomfortable, and stayed mostly in the middle of the rooms where it was less crowded. I mean, people were shoulder to shoulder. I can't handle that. I can't appreciate the art that way. DH had a good time because he tunes into the art so much that he doesn't notice anything else. If we had gotten there on a slow day, I would have enjoyed it much more, but I'm a tad bit claustrophobic, so that was a bad day for me.

We're planning a trip to Portland OR this July, and we'll be there a week. We'll be visiting our son and daughter, and I know there's way more to do there in a week than we'll have time. But, one week is probably plenty long to spend at DD's place, and it's all we can take off work, any way, but if we had the time, and a separate place to stay, we could find a month's worth of stuff to do there, easily. I know DD has a camping trip planned, and I want to visit the rose garden, and go walking in the Cumberland Pass, and see the giant trees, and work in a visit with the forum's NW members, and ... . One of these days, we'll make a road trip of it when we have the time to make that spectacular drive, but for now, we'll have to fly. I can't wait.

Oh, Annie, I laughed when I read that you don't like to visit public gardens cause you'd want to start working in the gardens!

Sally

Sally, I can't help myself. I see a blade of grass growing where it's not supposed to be and get this horrible urge to pull it out, LOL. It tends to make some places a bit testy....

I'm with you on crowds of people too. I once considered going to see a Bob Dylan concert in Grand Rapids. I very rapidly re-thought that, realizing that there was nothing and no one that I wanted to see badly enough to endure the parking, the standing in line or the 10,000 other people.

Elery probably couldn't have slept thought that, though.

I would love to see the giant redwoods and sequoias, Yosemite national park.

Annie

Yes, Annie, come to the other California. It's pretty spectacular. You must also go to Big Sur and Monterey. Helene and Clare are both in the neighborhood.

Eileen

Eileen, I'd love to go further north in California. As you have noticed, I like the national parks, mountains (as long as I don't have to drive up and down them, LOL) lakes, oceans, wildlife, empty spaces. I don't care as much for cities, museums, concerts, anything with a lot of people or traffic. I like to drive the back roads and stay off the expressways as much as humanly possible. And, at the end of the day, I want MY OWN SPACE! (grin)

I like to be busy, I don't spend hours doing anything because I'm relatively hyper-active and my attention span is short. I hate movies and shopping and mostly refuse to do that. I'm more than slightly anti-social and so 3 days with people I love is enough. More than that and I love them less, and they love me less too, LOL.

And now I've got to go finish ripping down a dining room wall, it's some seriously ugly striped vinyl paneling. I finally gave away the even uglier dining room furniture inherited from Bruce's mother about two decades ago, even Goodwill wouldn't take it, they said they didn't think they could resell it, LOL, and she paid like $3,000 for the darned stuff. And then I'm painting. I've even decided on a color scheme. Off white with white trim. Yup, I'm painting something besides just white. (grin) I hate color, but you knew that. So, it's kind of an almond, leaning toward light cream, and the trim is white.

I think I'm doing the whole house that way, the same as the outside. Beige with white trim. Ashley tried to talk me into an "accent wall" and I nearly barfed. I have to live in the darned place until I can sell it, sheesh.

Tonight I'm going to Elery's and this week we're painting his kitchen cabinets. Yup, they're going to be white. I love it. (grin)

So, since we're doing houses this year to get them up for sale, I think any vacation can be safely put off until next year. Or the year after. The longer the better, IMO.

Annie

Okay, demo - that's something that 's seriously fun!

Sally

Everyone should see Monterey and Big Sur once in their life. It is knock your socks off gorgeous. Anyone who wants company, let me know. Well, not ANYONE but all non-mass murderers, etc.

I can't think of anything more boring and repitive than painting a wall white or painting cupboards....white no less.
I get bored with repetitive jobs that pretty well don't entail any brain power, but an intrigued with something new and want to learn all about it. In a museum for example, I want to know when the artist lived, what else he painted and what was his purpose in painting this picture and was this typical of his style of work?

At an ancient site for instance some of those Anasazai sites I want to know when it was occupied, how they carved those stones how they got those petro-glyphs up so high on the cliff wall, what they wore, where they went, how do you know that.....etc.
When sitting on the beach I notice that every wave is a little different.
Different strokes I say....you come and paint my cupboards and I'll go to Italy with Elery!

Pam, I'll happily meet you in Big Sur or Monterey.

Annie, I'm with you re: white on white. I am currently repainting my entire house. Pale cream walls and ceiling, white trim, door, cabinets. After decades of every color wall, wall paper, stencils, faux texturing, borders, murals I am loving white on off white. Not dead white like primer white but white with just a bit of warmth.

I don't care for crowds, either. I get you. I care even less for noisy places. I do like galleries and museums and art walks. And breakfast at interesting little cafes where the locals eat. I like to wander off alone and take photos of things other people might not notice. But I have no desire to camp. :)

Big Sur, Monterey, add Point Lobos.

Here is a link that might be useful: Images Point Lobos

LindaC, I don't care where the artist lived, or why he painted anything. I just want to know if he will paint the cabinets.

I didn't say it was fun painting cabinets, I said I was going to do it. I hate to paint and I hate to decorate even more than I hate to paint. I do like white. It's clean, it's easy and it goes with everything. Plus, I want to sell the house. I told Elery that if there was going to be any color, he'd have to choose it. Then the realtor informed me that most people don't want color, they want neutrals so they can cover them easily and choose their own colors. That's why they call it "realtor beige".

the high point of tearing out that wall was finding out that under that butt ugly striped paneling was drywall, so I don't have to build another wall, just paint the one that is there. Well, that and getting rid of the wall that I hated. Striped blue, brown, gray and cream. Ugh. I'm excited about FINALLY starting to do something about getting these houses ready for sale, I just hope they sell quickly so I can move the heck out!

eileen, I'd like the interesting little cafes, although I don't usually eat breakfast, it would be lunch for me. I like to wander off by myself too, but that drives Elery nuts, he's sure I'm lost or mugged or eaten by some animal that I just had to get a little closer to. But he's not interested in the seals or the sea turtles on South Padre. he wants to sit and relax and by gosh, I need to learn to relax too. It's both funny and annoying.

I can tell you how cold the water was and how the sand felt on my bare feet and what the coffee was like and how many people had dogs and what kind. I notice the breeze and the smell of the flowers and iguana on the rocks and that the aloe is blooming. To me a thousand sunsets are all different but 152 paintings of people I don't know are all the same. I believe that nature is a far more talented artist than any human could ever be. I can't tell you about sunrises, though, because I'm not a morning person. (grin)

So I'd LOVE to see Big Sur and Monterey and Point Lobos.
And in about 3 days, I want to go home.

Annie