dave@cylixd.UUCP (Dave Kirby) (01/08/86)
My wife and I are trying to decide on a good place to go for a vacation. We are not really into the more popular sports like skiing; what we like is unusual things to see or do. Our favourite spot is Disney World; but we would like to go someplace else this year. Does anyone out there know of a really interesting and unusual site where we can see unusual sights? Like strange museums or weird houses or unusual train rides or whatever. Go ahead and post replies; this newsgroup is getting lonely. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Kirby ( ...!ihnp4!akgub!cylixd!dave)
marks@yogi.DEC (01/09/86)
>Does anyone out there know of a really interesting and unusual >site where we can see unusual sights? Like strange museums or >weird houses or unusual train rides or whatever. Dear Dave: You have challenged my small knowledge of a vast number of things... This sounds fun. The only problem, however, is that you don't mention what time of year you want to take this vacation, although your mention of Disney World makes me think you are contemplating a winter vacation. You also don't mention duration of the vacation. But I will try to give you some suggestions in a general way anyway. o Have you been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras? (Or for that matter to Rio for Carneval? There are some great low cost packages around for this splendid event.) These provide some really weird sights and experiences I am told and are a bit unusual. o Some friends just went off on a cruise to Barbados and Venezuela, flying to Miami and boarding the ship there. What makes this cruise different is that they are taking a side trip into the jungles of Venezuela (guided I hope) and are hoping to see some pretty strange things. We gave them a huge sendoff in case they come upon cannibals or something in the jungle. o How about a paddle-wheeler trip down the Mississippi? o There's a boat that goes from Bar Harbor, Me (I think it also leaves from other ports along the Maine coast) to Nova Scotia. Don't know if this runs in the winter. In the summer it's great and in the fall breathtakingly beautiful. o Montreal, although not that far away from eastern and midwestern U.S. cities, is so different from any U.S. city I have ever seen as to make a vacation there truly special. It really has a foreign flavor to it, especially since most of the inhabitants speak French. Very quaint, great shopping, possibly less expensive rates than places in the U.S. o San Francisco is one of my favorite cities. There are enough "different" sights here to fill 6 vacations. Alcatraz is now a national park, and there are daily tours there which you get to by ferry. The tours are expertly run by the National Park Service. Fisherman's Wharf is a tourist's dream, with enough honky tonk to last a lifetime. Chinatown is unique and wonderful, a city within a city. And the sushi's terrific. o A couple hours south of S.F., Carmel and Monterrey peninsulas provide some relaxed and beautiful calmness for travelers. Carmel is a gem of a town, truly unduplicated anywhere else in the country. Monterrey is breathtakingly beautiful. The 17-mile drive around the peninsula provides gorgeous scenery and a glimpse at some native animals (like seals and otters) seen only at a zoo previously. The trip up and/or down the coastline on Rte. 1 through Big Sur is magnificently beautiful. o San Diego, if you want to do the southern route, has some unusual attributes. The San Diego Zoo is like no other. The beaches are great. And you are minutes from the Mexican border to Baja California, where you can go to Tia Juana (if you are so inclined) and have a ball bargaining with the shop merchants (they chase you up and down the street to make a sale), getting some nachos the way they're supposed to be, or going to a Jai Alai match. Well, hope some of this was of interest to you or inspired you to think of "THE" place you want to go this year. Hope after you find it and go you will post your experiences and recommendations to net.travel! Good luck, R.M.
johansen@agrigene.UUCP (01/10/86)
> Does anyone out there know of a really interesting and unusual > site where we can see unusual sights? Like strange museums or > weird houses or unusual train rides or whatever. > > Go ahead and post replies; this newsgroup is getting lonely. *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** Try the western side of South Dakota. Mt. Rushmore is interesting, the 'badlands' are unusual and there is a large cave. Also, Devils Tower is only 100 mile away.
martin@sdcsvax.UUCP (Bruce Martin) (01/10/86)
Here's my thought on a natural unusual sight: In the state of Mexico (note: state not D.F.), near the border of Michoacan, every year millions of monarch butterflies from Canada and the United States. arrive in one small valley. The trees are so covered with butterflies that you cannot see the leaves or the branches. In the morning hours the butterflies take to the air and block the sun. I believe they are there for a few months. Contact Mexican tourist office for more information. You would need a car to reach it and a small "tip" to the gateman. Bruce
martinl@molihp.UUCP (Martin M Lacey) (01/11/86)
In article <667@cylixd.UUCP> dave@cylixd.UUCP (Dave Kirby) writes: >My wife and I are trying to decide on a good place to go for a >vacation. We are not really into the more popular sports like skiing; >what we like is unusual things to see or do. Our favourite spot >is Disney World; but we would like to go someplace else this year. > >Go ahead and post replies; this newsgroup is getting lonely. > >----------------------------------------------------------------- >Dave Kirby ( ...!ihnp4!akgub!cylixd!dave) Hey, how this for a plug : Expo '86 in Vancouver B.C. CANADA (May - Oct '86) Theme : Modes of travel from past to future. I've seen a good portion of what is going to be going on, and it looks like it will be the best thing since Expo '67 in Montreal Canada. Lot of neat stuff to see and do (Even a cork screw roller coaster!!). P.S. Could be expensive for those last of the minute type people. the Magician.
boren@randvax.UUCP (Pat Boren) (01/13/86)
How about a western trip, complete with ghost towns, gold
mining sites, even a bit of gambling?
Starting on the eastern side of the Sierras north of Bishop,
there's a real ghost town called Bodie. It's 13 miles off
highway 395. Only a park ranger or two live there. No
hotels/restaurants, so stay nearby at Mono Lake (at the backside
entrance to Yosemite). Mono is hauntingly beautiful, and is
suffering from lack of water thanks to the LA water department
(this is a heated battle between northern and southern Cal.).
Anyway, from there north, you come to Lake Tahoe, I think
the most beautiful spot in the west. Gambling there in 5
casinos, too. Skiing in winter, water sports in summer.
(An hour's drive east, just across the Nevada border, is
Virginia City, ala Bonanza. It's a real silver mining town
that's preserved as it was 100 years ago, and has lots of
shops and buildings you can visit. People still live there,
unlike Bodie).
Go west from Tahoe (following the Donner trail, where 100+
years ago the Donner party got stranded in a bad storm) and
you come to Placerville, a gold mining town. Crossing this
town is highway 49, which goes thru many historical gold
mining sites (including Sutter's Mill, where gold was first
discovered in 1849).
The closest city to all this to fly in and out of? Reno (near
Virginia City) or Sacramento (near Placerville). Oh, as an
interesting aside, outside Sacramento is Folsom Prison. We
visited it once and went to their gift shop (!) with items
made from the prisoners. Trustees run the place, and were
eager to tell us stories of what it's like on the inside. This
place is maximum security, and only the San Quentin rejects make
it there. I thought it was fascinating!
--
Patricia Boren
decvax!randvax!boren
boren@rand-unix.arpa