This year we are going to Vegas to visit the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam. I have been looking at hotel rooms and prices and I'm in information overload. So I wondered if any of you have been, and if so, where you stayed.

While we are at it - can we share the best or worst vacation we've ever had?

My favorite is a tie between San Francisco and New York. I really enjoyed both cities.

My dream vacation is to visit Jerusalem and London/Paris/Rome.

The first was to western Ireland. Oh, it was so lovely, we rented a coach house next to Ballyhannon Castle, and took my DH's kids and their families.
And the second was to Italy, where we put the family up in a villa, Borgo Tre Querce (3 Oaks Farm). I think I took pictures the entire time we spent there. LOVELY place.

Also, Virginia Beach where we rented a house a block off the beach for DH's family, as well as my brother. I don't think I put any photos of that online, come to think of it.

I also loved going to Mystic Seaport CT, if you are into nautical stuff. But that was only 2 days.

We plan to get the Amtrak ticket that will let us ride the rails for 30 days I think it is, stopping off where we like, and continuing when we are ready. We also want to go to Quebec City, the only walled city in North America. Quite unique.

My worst vacation? The one which made me realize I HAD to get a divorce.....another lifetime ago.

On the other hand where we live is like being on vacation all the time. Mountains small town slow lifestyle. We live the way most people have to go away to when they go on vacation.

OK Game on ,worst vacation.Dare any one to top this. Went to Hawaii with adoptive mother and adoptive brother and his X girlfriend of 5 years before. Do we say tense?? So the guy I was living with then was not happy I was going at all which added to tense for me.

So all three roomies NOT ME ate mixed nuts junk food and drank booze and got puking sick for three days. I was feeding the doves off the balcony to get out of the stinky room and maid busted into room and yelled at me for doing that. I was board stiff and certainly not having a good time. I really did not want to go but did it to please.

Anyway was supposed to be a 10 day vacation half on the big island and half in Maui. I split on the fifth day when they flew to Maui I flew home. And to make it worse flight was fogged in in Sacramento so we had to land in Fresno and be bussed up to Sacramento. Took 24 hours to get home.

Then my adoptive mother was so furious with me for leaving she threw away the camera I had given her for Christmas with the Hawaii pictures on it. Well oh well. And I am not even getting into all the side line stuff that went on. UGH.

OH and did I mention I had pneumonia when I got on the plane to go to Hawaii??? A fun time was NOT had by all.

Going over Hoover dam is neat. Done it many times.

Chris

Chris, how can you go to Hawaii and not be allowed to enjoy it? What you should have done is hired some shady characters to break their legs (then they would have had to go home and you could have enjoyed yourself). Wow! I must have a mean streak. lol

There are so many places I want to visit, there's no way to name them all .... If I were independently wealthy, that would be something that a lot of cash went to ..
My favourite vacation so far was the one we took last year to Italy for our 20th anniv. :o) We really really wanna go back, but we're so torn because there are so many places to go ....
I used to love traveling to 'beach' destinations, but the older I get, the more bored I get just sitting around. I enjoy architecture, nature, and seeing how other folks live - getting off the beaten path. Canada is such a young country - it's awesome to see a building elsewhere that has stood for hundreds of years. That's just not something that we see here. Nature is also so beautiful - there's no end to the variation of 'beauty' out there.

That is so true!! (Except Quebec City is the only walled city in North America, so it is pretty old.)
And I absolutely LOVED Italy! That's why I came home and immediately started looking at Italian tiles, the kind of plants they used in the gardens, the flower pots, the paint colors, the textures.....(deep breath).....I could go on and on and never express how wonderful it was, including the people we met. Even those tiny little cars...I want one. It was the same in Ireland too. They all live side by side with history and have centuries old buildings that THEY DO NOT TEAR DOWN. Will we one day have anything that stands the test of time? Our modern building equipment and techniques is not creating anything like the European cathedrals or even the BARNS and FARMHOUSES! Most of those things were created with hand tools and manual labor.
It is an awesome feeling to stand under an archway that you know St. Patrick himself stood under too.

Favorite vacation- British Columbia. We went on a ski trip, staying with my brother's inlaws, who have a cabin right on the mountain. The chairlift was 100 yds from the back porch. When not skiing, we got to see the Okanogan Valley, Fraser Canyon, and also a few days around Seattle.

I can't really think of a worst vacation. We are really 'lemons into lemonade' kind of folks, so if it rains the whole time, we relish curling up with a good book and doing nothing.

flgargoyle, it's interesting how people's perspectives are so different. A mountain holiday would be so boring for me, as we live here! However, a trip to Florida would sure be something I'd like to do! :o)

"Lemonade from Lemons" is such a good way to live... Sometimes we can't change the external world around us, but if we approach with a good attitude it makes all the difference in the world!

~Missy

Anyway, this gives me an idea for another discussion thread!
The Texas coastal blogger had a LONG critique of both houses in the above mentioned movie. And they were gorgeous.

To see how they would work, I made plain paper prints in black & white first, thinking to change to color if they looked good. Heck, the B&W looked so good, I left them in the frames. The black wood narrow gallery frames fit in this redone sitting/living room perfectly, with its black granite tiled fireplace, wrought iron/glass topped tiny table, and two armed dining chairs flanking the fireplace.
Since this photo was taken, DH laid the narrow prefinished strips of Bellawood ash flooring. It is a cozy refuge for chatting with company, or sharing a cocktail at sunset.

Never been skiing, too old to start now. But DH was a very good ice skater and cross country skiier usually in NH and VT. Those days are gone for both of us. However, a good lodge or vacation house with a cozy fire and some hot buttered rum? I could deal with that no joke!