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Where to begin???
I'm a Midwesterner through and through, mostly in Minneapolis. Diversity, culture, and nature within easy distance. (I'm not a shopper but I've been told it's good here too, smiles.)
One slice of life travel: Broke my wrist in Bergen, Norway; landed in university hospital for 5 days, surgery on wrist, 5 different nationalities in operating room, Englis of course common language; interesting experience w/payment: did not have to pay before I left! Would this happen in U.S? I think not! Able to experience their health care system to a degree, compare w/U.S. (I have a strong interest in this area.)
Hope to hear from others.

I've always enjoyed traveling, some places I enjoyed more than others ~ each was unique. There are so many places to go and see I'd rather go someplace different each time rather than go to the same place over and over, I enjoy variety. I've only taken one cruise and although I did enjoy it very much and all it had to offer I believe I prefer to get to my destination quicker ~ by plane and spend more time there seeing the sights and enjoying the area and what it has to offer rather than spending it traveling on the sea and only spending a day or maybe two in the area. Airfare has gone up so much and I'm not working now so my traveling isn't as much as it used to be. A catch 22, have the time but not the income! So, I'll be watching for those that share bargains! I don't know about a wealth of knowledge but I do enjoy traveling and sharing about other peoples travels so thank you so much for the invite MarieSatz!

HI....I'm a Yankee now living in Texas. That is quite a leap...not only a different climate but a different culture. Most of my travel has been in the U.S....from Maine to California and Florida to Utah and all states inbetween. I have usually spent a month or two at each stop and never did make it to Washington state or Oragon. Northorn New Mexico and Wyoming are favorites. Traveled in England with a tour group....do not advise that for the seasoned travelor. Traveled thru Japan with my son (who traveled with a guide book) it was great as we visited not only large cities but small villages (some with no English spoken!) and several great musiums.
If traveling in the states I perfer to go by auto.....overseas I like the trains.

Hi. For the past 30 years my wife and I have lived on Maryland's Eastern Shore, sometimes refered to as the "Land of Pleasant Living." We're sandwiched between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. We prefer camping vacations, sleeping in a tent, on the ground, though we've taken a few motel-only trips when camping wasn't convenient. Early on we drove to all of our destinations. Over the past 11 years we've flown, with our camping gear, to a number of locations - Grand Canyon NP, Yosemite NP, southern Louisiana, Alaska, and Glacier NP/Canadian Rockies. Among other places, we've driven to Acadia NP, Everglades NP, Grand Teton/Yellowstone NPs, Mammoth Cave NP, Shenandoah NP, Great Smoky Mountains NP, and (with a passenger ferry ride) Isle Royale NP. Neither one of us is retired yet, so no trip has been longer than two weeks. We also flew to Hawaii and visited Oahu, Kauai, and the Big Island, staying in hotels. In September we're flying to Seattle, from where we'll visit North Cascades, Mount Rainier, and Olympic NPs. No camping on this trip.

I was born in Ohio, lived in Pa. and in Boston for awhile, and then moved to North Carolina. We live on the Southern most tip of the Outer Banks. We spend most of the time when we are home at the beach. We recently bought a couple condos in Hawaii and we often spend the winters there. I never thought I would want to return to the same place more than once, but Hawaii is one of those places that just seems to be different to me. We've visited all the islands.

We've traveled across country several times just with a car, and our wits...not really much money in our pockets.......and the first time, our car was about 14 years old when we headed out! Since we are teachers, these trips were a couple months long each time. We have been to most of the National Parks....in the USA. In fact the two road trips in the US were exactly that.........National Parks trips. We also traveled to Canada and saw the Canadian Rockies...WOW.

We've done two cruises, and I too am not too much of a cruise person. But, I have to say the Alaskan Cruise is wonderful since there is something to see the entire way. When we are doing a road trip, we stay in hotels, and Bed and Breakfast places. We did a road trip in Italy a couple summers ago and stayed in people's homes....

I've done several long term rentals from vacation home owners in Mexico, Italy, New Mexico, Lake Tahoe, and Hawaii. I love to scout and find bargains. I'm more interested when I travel in what I'm going to see and do, then where I stay. As long as I am close to the sights, I'm happy. I also don't mind buying groceries and eating out of the cooler....spending any extra money on the excursions and sightseeing.

I've done a teacher exchange twice for 2 months each in Japan and after completing the assignment, set off across the country with a backpack by myself. That was a great experience.

When we were much younger we one time took a tour of Europe. I jokingly always call it my 21 countries in 21 days. Of course, it wasn't that fast paced, but I do remember the 6:00 am bus calls about as well as the countries that we visited. I'm not a tour group kind of person either.

I went one time with a group of High School students to Spain and Portugal. For some crazy reason, I don't really recommend that either. The trip was FREE for me, and it still cost too much!!

My history has taken more twists and turns than I ever imagined.

I consider myself a Michigander as I was born there and lived there for about 31 of the 48 years I lived in the US. I was a navy brat so as well as living in Michigan we also lived in Mass and Florida. In 1990 I tired of Michigan winters and moved to Tennessee which I really enjoyed. During the 90's I travelled to NC, SC, Florida and California.

Then in 1998 I decided to wipe out my bank account and travel outside the US, alone. I went to Ireland for 2 weeks and rented a car to tour the country in. In 1999 I travelled to England and Wales with my youngest sons who was in his 20's. We also rented a car. No crashes on either of these trips!

Met a Scot on the internet in late 1999 and married him in spring of 2000. We've just celebrated our 9th anniversary. Home is Scotland but we've been living in Uganda for 19 months (hub volunteered) and we return home to Scotland in 5 months.

Travels: I can advise people on travelling to Scotland and some of the rest of the UK. Have travelled to France, Belgium, South Africa and Australia. I hope I don't have to take any coach tours until I/we are too old and frail to drive ourselves, or too old to be able to rent a car. Cruises don't appeal to me nor to my husband.

Future travel plans: we've enjoyed SW Florida in the winter and will return, make annual/semi-annual to Michigan to see my family, are making a return visit this year to Australia in Nov/Dec and Michigan for xmas. 2010 is not planned yet although we expect overseas visitors and have plans for some of the Scottish islands. Future trips with no definite plans made yet are Spain, Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand, taking hub to see the coast of California and maybe all the way up to Alaska.

Places I recommend: Brugge, Belgium was fantastic even though it was hot and crowded (July), I adore Scotland of course, France has fabulous food, Uganda is also a country I recommend and can advise on, Australia is beautiful and the people are great. I'd be happy to answer any questions on any of the countries I've mentioned. I love to plan trips and do them down the last detail.

annie

I now live in San Antonio.

I was born in Indiana and raised in Washington DC
In the past I have lived in Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Tenn, Calif, Arkansas and Germany.

I have traveled to all of the U.S. states except Alaska, Maine and Vermont.
All the provinces of Canada.
All of Europe except Portugal.
European and Asian Russia and Kazakstan.

My favorite mode of travel is by train. For bargains, a rail pass is usually the way to go, but in a few cases it's cheaper and more convenient to buy a ticket.
My specialty is noting and collecting dual names of towns in Europe, including the ones that have been changed due to treaties that gave territory to another country.

I've lived in the Seattle area my entire life.

Today my favorite travel destinations are Italy, France, Hawaii, or wherever my plane ticket says I'm headed to next! Since 1995 most of my last 12 trips abroard have been to Italy which will probably always be my #1 love. Among other destinations that I've particularily enjoyed in Europe and would go back to in a heartbeat were Paris and the south of France, Switzerland for the scenery and sheer beauty of the area, the Bavarian regions in Germany, the mountains, lakes and picturesque towns in Austria, Spain, and also the Greek Islands. When I was younger I traveled to most of the other counrties in Europe as well as Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon. Closer to home, I've done a lot of traveling here in the states and Canada but there are still so many more places I'd like to visit or get back to. Will finally do 2 or 3 cruises in the next year - Mexico & Hawaii are already booked and hopefully I'll get up to Alaska as well.

I enjoy both big city vacations for all the culture, history, and art that they have to offer as well as the more scenic destinations - just depends on what I'm in the mood for. Love to travel by train in Europe, otherwise I want to get to where I'm going quickly by air. Not much into car travel unless it's under 200-300 miles.

I've lived in Missouri my entire life--in the Kansas City area for the last 20 years or so. I have traveled in all 50 states, and have many, many favorite places. In general, I love any place that has a nice beach that isn't too crowded. Specifically, Orange Beach, Alabama is my #1 pick. We did a timeshare exchange there back in 1994, and I fell in love with the place, and was able to buy a unit. The beach is very fine, white sand (like Panama City, FL, but MUCH quieter and more peaceful) and for us, it is a reasonable drive. When our kids were growing up, we did camping vacations--in a pop-up camper, thank you. I never wanted to be sleeping in a tent on the ground with the creepy-crawlies. Since the early '90's, much of our travel has been road trips to various timeshares. We have enjoyed visits to various parts of the Carolinas--the area around Cashiers, NC is spectacular in the spring when the trees are beginning to leaf out--every shade of green you ever imagined! Of course, then there was the year I decided to visit south-western Utah in the spring. I had read that the area aroung St. George enjoyed very mild temperatures and had beautiful desert flowers. I didn't really believe it would be warm enough to enjoy an outside pool, so picked a resort with an indoor pool at Brian Head--15 or 20 miles from St. George. But what the resort directory didn't tell me was that Brian Head is the highest mountain in that part of the state--and when we got there, there was 4 to 5 feet of snow on the ground, and people were still skiing! No beautiful desert flowers to be seen on that trip!

We've also enjoyed some cruises during the last 10 years or so. A tip for those of you planning an Alaskan cruise: Rather than purchase the port excursions, we rented a car in Skagway and Ketchikan and did our own sightseeing. It was a lot cheaper than the cruise line's excursions, and we got to see more of the area.

My most adventurous trip (so far) was to Kenya. The first time I went with a friend, and then 7 years later went back and met a lady from South Africa (whose acquaintance I had made on the first trip) in Nairobi, and after a week in a timeshare on the Indian Ocean coast, went with her on a sort-of individualized safari to 3 of the game parks. She planned that part of the trip; my contribution was the week on the coast. Seeing all those animals roaming free was something I never expected to be able to do!

If anyone is coming to the Kansas City area, I highly recommend a day at the Arabia Museum. The Arabia was a paddle-wheel steamer that was carrying trade goods up the Missouri River and sank in the 1840's. The river course changed over the years, and the steamer was buried in sandy mud until it was excavated in the 1980's. The mud preserved all the cargo, and much has been cleaned and is displayed in the museum. It's a fascinating place.

I'm coming up to my fourth aniverasry in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a.k.a. 'the Land of Smiles'.

Before that a year in Amman; before that, a year in London; before that, five-years in Portland, OR.

Before that, too many to name; however, I will say Seattle will ALWAYS be my 'hometown'.

jon