Totally off-topic - holiday destination ideas??

[Feltwell]

Absolutely nothing to do with old houses, but I'm fed up of working on mine today - I'm decorating - and my thoughts wander off to.... Holidays!

Next summer I have a unique situation - Feltwell Offspring No.1 will have finished her A levels and will be waiting to head off to University, Feltwell Offspring No.2 will have finished his GCSE's and be waiting to go to college to do his A-levels, and Feltwell Offspring No.3 is too young at age 12 to be stressing about exams yet.

So - kids with plenty of time on their hands, no stress & no studying to do, plus the number of years that all 3 will be willing to go on holiday with the "olds" is strictly limited, though I'm sure the attractiveness of the destination will be a big influence!

We don't usually spend a huge amount on holidays, but for this year we *were* thinking of doing a blow-out holiday to Canada - 3 weeks, fly to Vancouver, a week in the city then head out into the wilds of British Columbia for 2 weeks. However - pesky Canadian Government insist on 2 Covid jabs for all over 12's if you don't want to quarantine for 2 weeks, and pesky UK Government only offers a single jab for 12-18 year olds :evil: . It might change of course but no guarantee.

So - where to go? What ideas can you clever lot come up with? We're talking late July / Early August - needs to be warm but not too hot, mid 20's is perfect - Mediterranean-type heat at that time of year would be too much for us! Sitting on a beach bores me rigid after about 2 hours, a bit of beach is fine but for all of us we want places to go out and explore. Likely to stay in rented self-catering properties rather than hotels. Will hire a car for exploring and will likely stay in 1 location for no more than week, we like to move about.

Any ideas?

 

[LadyArowana]

Not sure about the “requirements” for USA, but how about California? Coastal road trip? San Francisco? Yosemite?

 

[noj]

Maybe not the best time of year, but Costa Rica could be worth investigating? Never seen so much wildlife, locals love tourists and a mix of sea, sloths, snakes and volcanoes heating the hot tub in one hotel room certainly made it memorable!

 

[Gothichome]

Well don’t give up on us yet Feltwell, even us Canadians can’t get back into Canada with out two shots and a molecular covid test. BC is nice but Ontario might be a better place if your a history buff or the maritimes. For change of the usual Quebec is nice. If you want a taste of European France we have a ferry going there every day to the isles of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
And you could alway visit Gothichome, the war of 1812 was fought on my front lawn.

 

[a twig]

Canadian gov will accept a single shot of Johnson Johnson one if you can get your 12 year old to get that one?

 

[a twig]

Tour of the Outer Hebrides?

Whisky, scenery, big skies, lots of “extreme sports” (windsurfing, surfing, kiteboarding etc) for the youth - maybe look to hire a decent sized camper van for ultimate freedom, and free overnight parking at a distillery if you do the tour.

CalMac ferries do an island hopping pass

Probably not hippity hoppity enough though I suspect

 

[malcolm]

I like my holidays in January for a bit of sun in the winter. Canaries are good for that. Nice and quiet at that time of year and still 20 degrees C and sunny. Canada is good and Toronto is the only city I've found where you can chat to strangers on the street. Wouldn't try California during Covid.Sounds frightening but of course very safe if you like that sort of thing.

 

[Feltwell]

Thank you - but keep 'em coming, some good suggestions there!

Has to be our summer alas Malcom, to fit with schools.

Twig, Harris & Lewis is one of my favourite places and I own a motorhome, I love taking it out there - I only ever venture to Highlands and Islands early in the year though, I have 3 Michelin stars in the midge fine dining guide!

California - hmm, for some reason I keep discounting the States but I shouldn't do really, especially now Trump is not in charge.

Costa Rica - that's a new one, rainy season then but it doesn't rain all the time and it's still quite warm, says t'internet. Hmmm.

The war of 1812 was fought on my front lawn.

That's some front lawn - or a very small war. My front lawn is definitely not up to a war, even a minor kerfuffle would be a bit of a squeeze :wink:

I fancy Iceland but Miss F doesn't consider 14 degrees to be summer :lol:

Keep 'em coming.....

 

[worms]

needs to be warm but not too hot, mid 20's is perfect

Tour of the Outer Hebrides?

Much as I love the Western Isles, I don't think even the most enthusiastic eileanach would bet on a warm holiday in July/August!

I'd stick with plan A if you possibly can and investigate all possible ways to make it work.

 

[jsmac]

That's a vote for a Canadian west coast road trip from me!

A number of years ago a me and a friend flew from the UK to Calgary. Calgary isn't much of a tourist destination unless you're into rodeos, the Stampede or Canadian-American football. No disrespect to Calgary but we found it a bit dull. But it is a great jumping off point for a drive up through the Rockies stopping at Banff and Jasper National Parks. The drive itself is breathtaking and the weather at that time of year should be really nice. North of Jasper we then travelled west and crossed over into British Columbia and drove south to Vancouver - again, the scenery is stunning.

Vancouver is lovely and is worth spending a few days wandering around, however, if you have the time it is well worth getting the ferry to Vancouver Island and visiting Victoria and some of the smaller towns on the island. If you're able to get flights into Calgary and out of Vancouver then I can highly recommend some version of the above itinerary.

If Covid restrictions mean that travelling to Canada is too much hassle then driving down the American west coast from Seattle to San Francisco along Highway 101 is another option. You can stop in Portland and there are lots of pretty little seaside towns along the way if you're into that kind of thing. You'll pass through the Redwood National Park in northern California and Yosemite National Park is just a day's drive detour.

Anyway, it sounds like a potentially brilliant holiday and you can't go too far wrong on the west coast of North America.

 

[Feltwell]

Canadian gov will accept a single shot of Johnson Johnson one if you can get your 12 year old to get that one?

No, it's Pfizer only for kids, which is a 2-jab requirement for Canada. It is a bit frustrating as if one jab is certified as safe, surely 2 (with an appropriate gap) should also be safe? I suspect that 1 only is more to do with logistics and cost than anything else.

But, I have no doubt that we will see further changes.

 

[Feltwell]

This weekend's endeavour, that holiday thoughts were distracting me from - worried that I've rushed it a bit, after all it was only 14 years ago that we moved in and said how much this room needed redecorating :lol:


how to see screen resolution

Other side of room still to be painted, as given away by the mirror.....

 

[Gothichome]

Feltwell, while you were squabbling with the French the Americans decided it would b a good time to invade Canada. The battle of the Thames was just one of the fights. It was a running battle following the river. There were 3000 ameicans camped a mile down river chasing 300 mostly militia up river. With a skirmish a mile up river. My front lawn is in between. At that time my lawn was a 200 acre farm/forest.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Thames

 

[paulc]

Not sure about the “requirements” for USA, but how about California? Coastal road trip? San Francisco? Yosemite?

Been over to that neck of the woods several times. California can get mighty warm in July/August and it is also fire season. Get up in to the mountains, and the temperature is a lot more comfortable. Personally, I favour May/June for California - Not as hot, not so many tourists, and the rivers/waterfalls are in full flow. But there is a risk of some of the mountain roads being closed due to snow even in May.

Iceland would be high on my bucket list.. A road trip round the island with a camera and a big box of film.

 

[LadyArowana]

This weekend's endeavour, that holiday thoughts were distracting me from - worried that I've rushed it a bit, after all it was only 14 years ago that we moved in and said how much this room needed redecorating :lol:

Looks lovely, and of course I thoroughly approve of elephant on mantlepiece.

 

[a twig]

This weekend's endeavour, that holiday thoughts were distracting me from - worried that I've rushed it a bit, after all it was only 14 years ago that we moved in and said how much this room needed redecorating :lol:


how to see screen resolution

Other side of room still to be painted, as given away by the mirror.....

Did you purchase the wallpaper 14 years ago? :twisted: :lol: :wink:

 

[Feltwell]

Did you purchase the wallpaper 14 years ago? :twisted: :lol: :wink:

:lol: Cheeky sod!

About a year ago - but seeing as how the designer died in 1896, I guess it could have been a lot more than 14 years ago! William Morris - not sure if it's actually one of his or just "influenced by" and part of a brand name these days, but hey.....

I'm in 2 minds on it now it's on the wall, it's not our usual thing and it is a bit busy - a whole room would have been overpowering - but safe to say with my track record on decorating it's not coming down in a hurry! :lol: We do tend to play it safe usually, which can make things a bit, well, magnolia.......

I thoroughly approve of elephant on mantlepiece.

Thought you might! :wink:

 

[a twig]

Did you purchase the wallpaper 14 years ago? :twisted: :lol: :wink:

:lol: Cheeky sod!

About a year ago - but seeing as how the designer died in 1896, I guess it could have been a lot more than 14 years ago! William Morris - not sure if it's actually one of his or just "influenced by" and part of a brand name these days, but hey.....

I'm in 2 minds on it now it's on the wall, it's not our usual thing and it is a bit busy - a whole room would have been overpowering - but safe to say with my track record on decorating it's not coming down in a hurry! :lol:

:mrgreen: Sorry, couldn’t resist! All snarks aside, I think it looks brilliant - well done

 

[Feltwell]

:mrgreen: Sorry, couldn’t resist!

It's fine, it's the kind of thing that I'd say!