Anyone itt ever been to Copa America? Buddy of mine that lives in Colombia invited me down there sometime next year. Saw Colombia was one of the host countries for the tournament and thought that might be an awesome time to go, but wanted to see if anyone else had experience with it.
If you get to the chains I’m sure you can YOLO it the rest of the way. I doubt they are guarding or enforcing it.
There is a more detailed listing in the National Parks thread, but for a quick rundown. - Drove to McCarthy the first day stopped and hiked near Matanuska Glacier. Then did a Root Glacier hike while in McCarthy. - Went from McCarthy to Healy via the Denali Hwy, it rained most of the time so I missed what I am sure are spectacular views. Went in a really neat, and maybe dangerous, glacier cave. - Spent a couple of days in Denali NP, had a permit to drive the park road. - Did a few of hikes in the Hatcher Pass area and North of Anchorage. - Spent a couple days on the Kenai Peninsula. Finished with a boat tour of Kenai Fjords.
You did a great job. Did you check out the Kennicott Mine while bouncing around McCarthy? Do any fishing while down in Kenai?
None of my group fishes, so no, just hiked and drove around. The inside of the mill at Kennicot was closed for repairs so I didn't think it was worth paying for a tour without going in, but our guide on the glacier tour gave us a pretty good mini tour because you have to walk through the old town to get the glacier.
Any suggestions for places to winter during COVID? It would be for several months, so a typical tourist area is likely out as other people already booked it and I don’t want to spend $4k / month.
Somewhere outside a metro area in SoCal, Arizona or Florida? I’m sure there’s demand but those are massive areas you can look at somewhere in Galveston island for <$2500 pretty easily that time of year
Saint George, Utah. Warm but not as warm as Florida or Arizona. Close enough to go to Zion, Grand Canyon, or Bryce Canyon on the weekends. Even close enough to go to Las Vegas and back in a day if that's your thing.
The GF and I had planned to do Finland over New Years but seeing as how that trip might not be allowed to happen (we booked it in Feb, before the pandemic), we might be trying to change it up to Alaska (assuming we're allowed without a massive quarantine). If you don't mind, I might be picking your brain shortly.
Also, anyone on here do much snorkeling? I've enjoyed it when I've done it but would like to get my own gear (excluding the fins) and have no idea where to start looking or what websites are legit or trustworthy with their advice. Any advice on decent brands, set-ups, places to start doing research?
A great recommendation although almost completely populated by pro-Trump anti-maskers. But it certainly meets DollarBillHokie ’s criteria. Hurricane & Kanab Utah are in the area and have the same dynamics. Mesquite, NV does too and is closer to Vegas.
Fiancée was required to get a test 72 hours prior to arriving (although she still has her AK license so she got the resident treatment). You can get one done at the airport upon arrival but I think it’s $250
I do a lot of diving. I bought this mask and it's fucking awesome: Just buy a cheap snorkel to add onto it - they even have ones that roll up for travel. What else do you think you need? Weights a helpful but costly to travel with.
I snorkel with the leopard sharks in La Jolla cove, but rent a $10 mask because I'm a poor. Can't justify buying a mask when I'll use it 2-3 times max per year.
Thanks! I'll look into it. I doubt I need much else but didn't know where to start looking to do research. Like anything there are tons of webpages giving rankings and feedback but didn't know which were reputable and which are trash.
Booked for 2.5 weeks in Oaxaca, dude gave me a nice $250 discount. Will probably head to Tulum afterwards for 5-6 days https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/38958564
Welp, end of a journey - did 47 days around the country and now in Palm Springs, CA so back to LA tomorrow. Would definitely get a RV next time (this was initially supposed to be roughly a 2 week trip but obviously there are a lot of areas worth spending more time so that kept getting extended) - hotel costs add up with the quickness. Ended up hitting 42 states - back to reality now.
Between Covid and the fires, the amount of national parks closed is pretty rough. We literally couldn't go to any native american areas because they were on full lock down.
I think we will make it into Kenai Fjords next week, though that is a symptom of it's remoteness. Our trip to Glacier NP in June was cancelled due to covid so its currently 1-1 for us.
One of the main things MLS wanted to do on this trip was to see the historical native american sites in Arizona and New Mexico, literally all of them are closed as well as Monument Valley, etc. Grand Canyon is fully open but there is basically only one restaurant open in the entire South Rim area.
Turning 40 next July and planning for a trip to Maui (if possible due to COVID). Would like to stay at a Hilton property so I can try and use points. Any recommendations? I am sure it’s been discussed a million times in this thread, but thanks for any input/guidance.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/millionmilesecrets.com/guides/best-use-of-hilton-points/amp/ There are two other sites like this - Points guy and the other name escapes me. Best bet for chain hotel analysis. The best Hilton property I’ve stayed at is the Palmer House in Chicago. Was a Starwood / Marriott guy and all my points are still there so I’m not much help
Grand Wailea would be my recommendation. Hopefully you can go next year with COVID - the islands are going to start allowing people to visit if they get a negative test 72 hours prior to arrival.
The list of where US citizens can go is slowly expanding. As of early September, here’s where Americans can visit right now with no quarantine required. Spoiler Where US citizens can visit with no testing or quarantine required Note that though a test isn’t required, you may be tested upon arrival (randomly, or if you’re showing symptoms) and asked to isolate until you get your results. If you’re sick and do need to quarantine, it may be at your own expense. Albania Belarus Brazil (health insurance covering Covid is required) Dominican Republic (passengers will be randomly selected for a breath test) Kosovo Maldives (confirmed hotel required) Malta (only if you spend 14 days in an approved country first) Mexico (travelers must arrive by plane) North Macedonia Serbia Tanzania (health screening may include a test on arrival) Tunisia Turkey Where US citizens can visit with a negative Covid test and no quarantine required Testing rules are all over the place. Some countries require a negative test from the last 72 hours while some allow tests that are five days old; some require a test before you board, and others test on arrival. In some countries, a single test is all that’s needed and in others you may need to be tested again depending on the length of your stay. Bottom line: check each country’s requirements carefully. Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Armenia Barbados Bermuda Bosnia and Herzegovina Costa Rica (only visitors from select states are allowed) Croatia (with proof of booked accommodation) Dominica Dubai Ecuador Egypt French Polynesia Honduras Jamaica Kenya (travelers from California, Florida, and Texas must quarantine for 14 days) Montenegro Rwanda St. Lucia St. Barts St. Maarten Saint Vincent and the Grenadines The Seychelles Turks and Caicos Additionally, Belize, El Salvador, and Namibia have announced plans to reopen soon. Unfortunately at this time there’s no word on when other countries, including those in the EU, may begin welcoming Americans again.
Think I'm gonna drive with my sister from Denver to South Florida next week to help her move. It looks like Kansas City, St Louis, Nashville and Atlanta are the bigger cities we'll pass through. St Louis is the only one I haven't visited, so may hop around there. Any ideas or suggestions of things to check out along the way? Would've been a nice trip to catch some baseball games, but alas.
What states did you skip? Have four left on my list but its gonna be hard to find reasons to travel to North Dakota and Oklahoma (New Mexico and Louisiana are the other two)
We couldn't hit Alaska, which was one of the main ones we wanted to go to due to the Canada restriction - and the damn goat removal kept us from getting to Neah Bay. Hawaii obviously not drivable. The rest: North Dakota Maine New Hampshire Vermont Kentucky Missouri The only state I have yet to go to is Hawaii - how I've managed to save that for last I have no idea.
I loved that cheat code in Vice City that made land vehicles drivable in water. Used to fuck the police boats up with the tank
Also, I had a blast in North Dakota. Stayed near the Bully Pulpit course - it's an awesome course and then you're basically already within 5-15 minutes from Theodore Roosevelt National park, Painted Canyon, etc. https://medora.com - really solid resource if you ever want to make that trip.
Which parts, out of curiosity? I mean it's definitely no booming metropolis - but people there were heavy drinkers and really nice, golf course is like a top 50 national golf course, and the Roosevelt national park is solid if you like outdoors. With that said, I was about 50 miles away from it on this recent trip and didn't feel the urge to go back.