Second trip to the US

"Alohacyberian" wrote in message
...
"Dan24" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello everyone!
I'm not sure if there's 14 days of travel for just those two or if it
would be diversified enough (we don't want to lie around on the beach
as beautiful as it may be, for 14 days). We'd love to visit NYC again
but weather.com shows it's going to be freezing cold...

So I guess my questions are -
Should we go anywhere else? And if so, where?
Should we stay in the southern east coast or also go to the west?
Any other tips / suggestions are welcome

The western coast is much warmer in the wintertime than is the eastern
coast. Freezing weather is unusual in Seattle and doesn't eve happen
every year, is almost unheard of in San Francisco and never occurs in Los
Angeles and San Diego though it can occur in Florida. You didn't say
where you live now, so it's difficult to give you a gauge as to how much
warmer southern California is than the southern east coast. You would
probably enjoy Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, San
Juan Capistrano and San Diego. Unless you want to consider Hawaii where
most people from temperate climates can't tell the difference between
summer and winter. If so, you are invited to visit my Hawaiian Islands
webpage at:
~ http://hawaii.home.att.net/ - where you'll find no advertising, no
pop-ups, no cookies and nothing for sale. Bon voyage! KM

The issue, Keith, that immediately arises to mind - given your continued
failure to address my question:

"Do you agree that a maker of a statement is accountable for that
statement? A simple 'yes' or 'no' from you will suffice."

- is whether all this Hawaii stuff you push here is something behind which
you stand. That is, do you deem yoursefl accountable for what you say as
per Hawaii? Or are you just throwing out a lot of tourist related smoke and
mirror stuff just to fun the folks? But - but - I will note...you obviously
have adopted a stance in this post of yours different from a) the Keith
Martin of non sequiturs, red herrings, and ad hominems, b) the Alvin Toda of
crawling under that rock for a while, and c) that six year old kid's
response of yours "Yes or no. KM." This new approach, I guess, is an
improvement of some kind or another....it certainly is a change of some
sort. But it is one which still leaves my question to you unanswered.

On Oct 7, 9:23 am, Brian K wrote:
On 10/6/2007 2:55 PM Dan24 consulted a Magic 8 Ball and declared:



Hello everyone!

My gf and I are planning our second trip to the states and we wanted
to collect some suggestions. In our previous trip (which we really
enjoyed!) we visited New York city, Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco
(took the amazing route 1 drive from LA), Orlando (went to the major
theme parks) and finally Miami (South Beach, which we enjoyed least).
We loved New York city and had a great time in Orlando's theme parks,
especially Disney's. We also enjoyed shopping in malls and outlets and
dining in famous American chains like the Cheesecake factory, Outback
steakhouse, California Pizza Kitchen, etc.

Our trip was 30 days long during September. This time we have only 14
days during February. Now I know this isn't the best time of the year,
but I noticed there are still several sunny getaways such as Florida
and California. But this time we'd like to find some new attractions
and places we haven't been. I've been thinking about the Key West and
the Caribbean which we haven't got a chance to visit the last time but
I'm not sure if there's 14 days of travel for just those two or if it
would be diversified enough (we don't want to lie around on the beach
as beautiful as it may be, for 14 days). We'd love to visit NYC again
but weather.com shows it's going to be freezing cold...

So I guess my questions are -
Should we go anywhere else? And if so, where?
Should we stay in the southern east coast or also go to the west?
Any other tips / suggestions are welcome

Thanks in advance,

Danny

Danny,

Ft. Lauderdale and Key West Florida are some of my favorite vacation
spots. But there is something you should know. Anyplace warm in
February is going to have very high hotel rates. Reservations three
months in advance are necessary at most places, if you want a decent room.

Unless you are fishing, snorkeling or scuba diving Key West is mainly
about R&R. One of my favorite things to do is rent a bike for the time
of my stay and use it to explore Key West's back streets and alleys. If
I need a refresher, theres either Smathers, Higgs beaches, my B&B pool.
If I am near Atlantic Shores, I use their pool. AS as many people call
it has the largest clothing optional pool on the island. All are welcome
to use the sun deck, pool and bar. Only hotel guests may use the towels
and lounges. The sun deck goes out over the ocean. Unless it was
destroyed in a storm, they have a stairway where you can go down and
swim with the fishes in the ocean.

It's not as hot in February as say July. Actually you can get a cold
snap where it can go down to 40F at night.

There are all sorts of dive boats, you need to shop for the best deal.
This is true for fishing boats as well. There really isn't anything
close to shore where you can dive or fish. Boats are a necessity. There
are some marinas where you can rent a boat. Anything of substance will
probably cost more than your entire vacation budget. There are open
"dingy" boats with 5 hp motors. But unless you are with someone
familiar with the waters it's not a good idea. Aside from safety
issues, the area is under environmental regulation. You can only drop
anchor in certain locations. Areas over reefs have stationary floats
that you moor up to.

I was in Key Largo when someone inexperienced sailed their sailboat and
went aground on a reef. The fine is $1,000. an hour and he had to wait
5 hours for the tide to come in to get a tow.

If you take your time, the drive down to Key West can be fun. Each key
is a little different and has different attractions.

One thing that's true, if you like seafood that's fresh, you have come
to the right place. I've had some of the best seafood in the keys. You
can get it gourmet, but at it's best is simple preparation of the catch
of the day, grilled, breaded pan fried , or blackened.

Another possibility is New Mexico, see the Pueblo Indians outside of
Taos, or take in the outdoorsy artsy culture in Albuquerque.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page:http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Guys,

Thanks for all this wonderful load of information. I just wanted to
clarify some additional points:
We never tried diving but we're not really into it so as far as that
goes, we'll probably skip...
Hiking / camping is not our style of vacation, we are very spolied and
like to drive around in a car and sleep in hotels

Thanks again,

Danny

On Sun, 07 Oct 2007 11:05:32 GMT, "Alohacyberian"
wrote:

"Dan24" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello everyone!
I'm not sure if there's 14 days of travel for just those two or if it
would be diversified enough (we don't want to lie around on the beach
as beautiful as it may be, for 14 days). We'd love to visit NYC again
but weather.com shows it's going to be freezing cold...

So I guess my questions are -
Should we go anywhere else? And if so, where?
Should we stay in the southern east coast or also go to the west?
Any other tips / suggestions are welcome


The western coast is much warmer in the wintertime than is the eastern
coast. Freezing weather is unusual in Seattle and doesn't eve happen every
year, is almost unheard of in San Francisco and never occurs in Los Angeles
and San Diego

Except for, say, mid-January 2007, when it dropped below freezing
in much of San Diego.

though it can occur in Florida. You didn't say where you live
now, so it's difficult to give you a gauge as to how much warmer southern
California is than the southern east coast. You would probably enjoy Santa
Barbara, Santa Monica, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano and San
Diego. Unless you want to consider Hawaii where most people from temperate
climates can't tell the difference between summer and winter. If so, you
are invited to visit my Hawaiian Islands webpage at:

--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

In article . com,
Dan24 wrote:

Hello everyone!

My gf and I are planning our second trip to the states and we wanted
to collect some suggestions. In our previous trip (which we really
enjoyed!) we visited New York city, Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco
(took the amazing route 1 drive from LA), Orlando (went to the major
theme parks) and finally Miami (South Beach, which we enjoyed least).
We loved New York city and had a great time in Orlando's theme parks,
especially Disney's. We also enjoyed shopping in malls and outlets and
dining in famous American chains like the Cheesecake factory, Outback
steakhouse, California Pizza Kitchen, etc.

Our trip was 30 days long during September. This time we have only 14
days during February. Now I know this isn't the best time of the year,
but I noticed there are still several sunny getaways such as Florida
and California. But this time we'd like to find some new attractions
and places we haven't been. I've been thinking about the Key West and
the Caribbean which we haven't got a chance to visit the last time but
I'm not sure if there's 14 days of travel for just those two or if it
would be diversified enough (we don't want to lie around on the beach
as beautiful as it may be, for 14 days). We'd love to visit NYC again
but weather.com shows it's going to be freezing cold...

So I guess my questions are -
Should we go anywhere else? And if so, where?
Should we stay in the southern east coast or also go to the west?
Any other tips / suggestions are welcome

Its really up to you. Do whatever you think you would enjoy most. If you
prefer to vacation in warm weather, Key West for a week and then maybe
Puerto Rico or perhaps one of the Caribbean Islands would work out well
for you. If you want to be a bit more adventurous, consider going skiing
in Utah, or perhaps the Vermont area or maybe Montana.

On 10/7/2007 12:00 PM Dan24 consulted a Magic 8 Ball and declared:
On Oct 7, 9:23 am, Brian K wrote:

On 10/6/2007 2:55 PM Dan24 consulted a Magic 8 Ball and declared:




Hello everyone!

My gf and I are planning our second trip to the states and we wanted
to collect some suggestions. In our previous trip (which we really
enjoyed!) we visited New York city, Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco
(took the amazing route 1 drive from LA), Orlando (went to the major
theme parks) and finally Miami (South Beach, which we enjoyed least).
We loved New York city and had a great time in Orlando's theme parks,
especially Disney's. We also enjoyed shopping in malls and outlets and
dining in famous American chains like the Cheesecake factory, Outback
steakhouse, California Pizza Kitchen, etc.

Our trip was 30 days long during September. This time we have only 14
days during February. Now I know this isn't the best time of the year,
but I noticed there are still several sunny getaways such as Florida
and California. But this time we'd like to find some new attractions
and places we haven't been. I've been thinking about the Key West and
the Caribbean which we haven't got a chance to visit the last time but
I'm not sure if there's 14 days of travel for just those two or if it
would be diversified enough (we don't want to lie around on the beach
as beautiful as it may be, for 14 days). We'd love to visit NYC again
but weather.com shows it's going to be freezing cold...

So I guess my questions are -
Should we go anywhere else? And if so, where?
Should we stay in the southern east coast or also go to the west?
Any other tips / suggestions are welcome

Thanks in advance,

Danny

Danny,

Ft. Lauderdale and Key West Florida are some of my favorite vacation
spots. But there is something you should know. Anyplace warm in
February is going to have very high hotel rates. Reservations three
months in advance are necessary at most places, if you want a decent room.

Unless you are fishing, snorkeling or scuba diving Key West is mainly
about R&R. One of my favorite things to do is rent a bike for the time
of my stay and use it to explore Key West's back streets and alleys. If
I need a refresher, theres either Smathers, Higgs beaches, my B&B pool.
If I am near Atlantic Shores, I use their pool. AS as many people call
it has the largest clothing optional pool on the island. All are welcome
to use the sun deck, pool and bar. Only hotel guests may use the towels
and lounges. The sun deck goes out over the ocean. Unless it was
destroyed in a storm, they have a stairway where you can go down and
swim with the fishes in the ocean.

It's not as hot in February as say July. Actually you can get a cold
snap where it can go down to 40F at night.

There are all sorts of dive boats, you need to shop for the best deal.
This is true for fishing boats as well. There really isn't anything
close to shore where you can dive or fish. Boats are a necessity. There
are some marinas where you can rent a boat. Anything of substance will
probably cost more than your entire vacation budget. There are open
"dingy" boats with 5 hp motors. But unless you are with someone
familiar with the waters it's not a good idea. Aside from safety
issues, the area is under environmental regulation. You can only drop
anchor in certain locations. Areas over reefs have stationary floats
that you moor up to.

I was in Key Largo when someone inexperienced sailed their sailboat and
went aground on a reef. The fine is $1,000. an hour and he had to wait
5 hours for the tide to come in to get a tow.

If you take your time, the drive down to Key West can be fun. Each key
is a little different and has different attractions.

One thing that's true, if you like seafood that's fresh, you have come
to the right place. I've had some of the best seafood in the keys. You
can get it gourmet, but at it's best is simple preparation of the catch
of the day, grilled, breaded pan fried , or blackened.

Another possibility is New Mexico, see the Pueblo Indians outside of
Taos, or take in the outdoorsy artsy culture in Albuquerque.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page:http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Guys,

Thanks for all this wonderful load of information. I just wanted to
clarify some additional points:
We never tried diving but we're not really into it so as far as that
goes, we'll probably skip...
Hiking / camping is not our style of vacation, we are very spolied and
like to drive around in a car and sleep in hotels

Thanks again,

Danny


Then maybe you might want to arrive at Ft. Lauderdale Hollywood Airport,
and spend some time in Ft. Lauderdale. It's not as trendy or expensive
as Miami but has a lot to offer besides beaches. There are museums,
shopping and a healthy slice of nightlife. From there you could go west
and check out the Everglades for a day or two. Then wind up in Tampa
with Ybor City the adjacent entertainment area. Alternatively you might
consider heading south when you reach the west coast and check out Ft.
Myers Beach, and/or Naples.

Google up Tampa, Ybor City, Ft. Myers Beach and Naples to get more
details about lodging and things to do. Ft. Lauderdale is easy to
remember at http://sunny.org

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

"Hatunen" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 07 Oct 2007 11:05:32 GMT, "Alohacyberian"
wrote:

The western coast is much warmer in the wintertime than is the eastern
coast. Freezing weather is unusual in Seattle and doesn't eve happen
every
year, is almost unheard of in San Francisco and never occurs in Los
Angeles
and San Diego

Except for, say, mid-January 2007, when it dropped below freezing
in much of San Diego.


But, that's extremely rare and I don't recall the previous time it happened,
but would hazard that it was a long time ago. There's a lot of difference
between dropping below freezing for a few hours between 3:30 to 6:00 in the
morning and hovering well below freezing for days on end as it does in New
York. I don't think San Diego has ever stayed below freezing during the
day. But, my point is still the same, the coastal temperatures in
Washington, Oregon and California, particularly southern California are
considerably warmer than their counterparts on the east coast. It doesn't
snow every year in Seattle, but, it certainly snows every year in Boston,
Hartford, New York and Pennsylvania! KM
--
(-:alohacyberian:-) At my website view over 3,600 live cameras or
visit NASA, the Vatican, the Smithsonian, the Louvre, CIA, FBI, and
NBA, the White House, Academy Awards, 150 language translators!
Visit Hawaii, Israel and more at: http://keith.martin.home.att.net/

On Oct 8, 7:26 am, Brian K wrote:
On 10/7/2007 12:00 PM Dan24 consulted a Magic 8 Ball and declared:



On Oct 7, 9:23 am, Brian K wrote:

On 10/6/2007 2:55 PM Dan24 consulted a Magic 8 Ball and declared:

Hello everyone!

My gf and I are planning our second trip to the states and we wanted
to collect some suggestions. In our previous trip (which we really
enjoyed!) we visited New York city, Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco
(took the amazing route 1 drive from LA), Orlando (went to the major
theme parks) and finally Miami (South Beach, which we enjoyed least).
We loved New York city and had a great time in Orlando's theme parks,
especially Disney's. We also enjoyed shopping in malls and outlets and
dining in famous American chains like the Cheesecake factory, Outback
steakhouse, California Pizza Kitchen, etc.

Our trip was 30 days long during September. This time we have only 14
days during February. Now I know this isn't the best time of the year,
but I noticed there are still several sunny getaways such as Florida
and California. But this time we'd like to find some new attractions
and places we haven't been. I've been thinking about the Key West and
the Caribbean which we haven't got a chance to visit the last time but
I'm not sure if there's 14 days of travel for just those two or if it
would be diversified enough (we don't want to lie around on the beach
as beautiful as it may be, for 14 days). We'd love to visit NYC again
but weather.com shows it's going to be freezing cold...

So I guess my questions are -
Should we go anywhere else? And if so, where?
Should we stay in the southern east coast or also go to the west?
Any other tips / suggestions are welcome

Thanks in advance,

Danny

Danny,

Ft. Lauderdale and Key West Florida are some of my favorite vacation
spots. But there is something you should know. Anyplace warm in
February is going to have very high hotel rates. Reservations three
months in advance are necessary at most places, if you want a decent room.

Unless you are fishing, snorkeling or scuba diving Key West is mainly
about R&R. One of my favorite things to do is rent a bike for the time
of my stay and use it to explore Key West's back streets and alleys. If
I need a refresher, theres either Smathers, Higgs beaches, my B&B pool.
If I am near Atlantic Shores, I use their pool. AS as many people call
it has the largest clothing optional pool on the island. All are welcome
to use the sun deck, pool and bar. Only hotel guests may use the towels
and lounges. The sun deck goes out over the ocean. Unless it was
destroyed in a storm, they have a stairway where you can go down and
swim with the fishes in the ocean.

It's not as hot in February as say July. Actually you can get a cold
snap where it can go down to 40F at night.

There are all sorts of dive boats, you need to shop for the best deal.
This is true for fishing boats as well. There really isn't anything
close to shore where you can dive or fish. Boats are a necessity. There
are some marinas where you can rent a boat. Anything of substance will
probably cost more than your entire vacation budget. There are open
"dingy" boats with 5 hp motors. But unless you are with someone
familiar with the waters it's not a good idea. Aside from safety
issues, the area is under environmental regulation. You can only drop
anchor in certain locations. Areas over reefs have stationary floats
that you moor up to.

I was in Key Largo when someone inexperienced sailed their sailboat and
went aground on a reef. The fine is $1,000. an hour and he had to wait
5 hours for the tide to come in to get a tow.

If you take your time, the drive down to Key West can be fun. Each key
is a little different and has different attractions.

One thing that's true, if you like seafood that's fresh, you have come
to the right place. I've had some of the best seafood in the keys. You
can get it gourmet, but at it's best is simple preparation of the catch
of the day, grilled, breaded pan fried , or blackened.

Another possibility is New Mexico, see the Pueblo Indians outside of
Taos, or take in the outdoorsy artsy culture in Albuquerque.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page:http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951-Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Guys,

Thanks for all this wonderful load of information. I just wanted to
clarify some additional points:
We never tried diving but we're not really into it so as far as that
goes, we'll probably skip...
Hiking / camping is not our style of vacation, we are very spolied and
like to drive around in a car and sleep in hotels

Thanks again,

Danny

Then maybe you might want to arrive at Ft. Lauderdale Hollywood Airport,
and spend some time in Ft. Lauderdale. It's not as trendy or expensive
as Miami but has a lot to offer besides beaches. There are museums,
shopping and a healthy slice of nightlife. From there you could go west
and check out the Everglades for a day or two. Then wind up in Tampa
with Ybor City the adjacent entertainment area. Alternatively you might
consider heading south when you reach the west coast and check out Ft.
Myers Beach, and/or Naples.

Google up Tampa, Ybor City, Ft. Myers Beach and Naples to get more
details about lodging and things to do. Ft. Lauderdale is easy to
remember athttp://sunny.org

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page:http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Guys,

How many days out of the 14 should I spend in the Caribbean? and if
so, where should I spend them there?

Thanks,

Danny

On Sat, 06 Oct 2007 11:55:16 -0700, Dan24 wrote:

... We'd love to visit NYC again
but weather.com shows it's going to be freezing cold... [in February]

New York is not necessarily freezing cold in February, what with
global warming and all. I suppose it depends on what you're used to.

So I guess my questions are -
Should we go anywhere else? And if so, where?
Should we stay in the southern east coast or also go to the west?
Any other tips / suggestions are welcome

Thanks in advance,

Danny

--
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it.

"Dan24" wrote:
How many days out of the 14 should I spend in the Caribbean?
and if so, where should I spend them there?

I'd spend 7-8 days. For warm water, you need to be South
of Cuba... I'd say you could have fun any of the more popular
islands, like Grand Cayman, Domincan Republic, Virgin Islands
(U.S. or British), St. Maartin, St. Kitts, Barbados, Bonaire,
Aruba, Jamaica, or Mexico -- Cancum/Cozumel.

I once spent 10 days sunning and swimming on Grand Cayman,
but that got old after awhile. My preference now would be to
take a Southern Caribbean cruise departing from San Juan, PR.

However, if I were to do just one set of islands, it'd be the U.S.
Virgins, more specifically, St. Thomas for the variety of activities
and resorts, or St. John, which is 2/3 National Park, for great
snorkeling off white sand beaches... and throw in a day trip to
Virgin Gorda, one of the British Virgins, by ferry. =R=

So I guess my questions are -
Should we go anywhere else? And if so, where?
Should we stay in the southern east coast or also go to the west?
Any other tips / suggestions are welcome

Thanks in advance,

Danny



How about the Southwest of the US? Use Las Vegas as your starting
point, and drive to places like the Grand Canyon, Southern Utah,
Northern Arizona. Lots of national parks.

Another suggestion would be Texas. Dallas, San Antonio, Austin,
Houston.


Just a quick comment about the Southern US...Except for Southern Florida and
California, the Southern states like Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas, etc.
have widely unpredictable winter weather. Moreso in the past few years. I
live in Atlanta....while we have light winters, usually in the 40s, 50s, or
60s (occasionally in the 80s :-) , we can also have ice storms, the kind
that shut everything down for a few days. Texas has lots of them. They may
not be a regular occurance, but like a hurricane, if you're there at the
wrong time, your trip is ruined. (and many Yankees believe that, since they
can drive on snow, they can drive during an ice storm. Ha! ;-) Seriously,
the ice pulls down power lines, so it can be a dark, cold, boring
experience.