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My sister took her whole family to Costa Rica for her 50th and loved it. She did all the planning (not through a tour). My best friend did Iceland year or two ago and sounded like she also liked it a lot. Hubs cousin did the European cruise thing before covid and enjoyed it. I never heard too much detail about that trip though. None of the others appeal much to me. Hubs and son did a bunch of stuff on a cool educational tour of Belize including cool Mayan ruins. He loved that the exchange rate is super simple (2:1) and everyone spoke Midwestern English but yet they saw stuff they'd normally not see in the US.
Talk about tempting fate... yikes...I like the idea of him paying whatever rent he was paying before and you just holding it in a high yield savings account for him until he moves out. Also about building budget skills. Sad not to have those at that age. We are actually struggling a bit with similar issues with our son (almost 23). Minimal affordable rental options and almost zero inventory in the housing market. One of the girls he went to school with just tried to put an offer in on a house. . They got ELEVEN the first day on one that I thought was about 50k too high for 100 year old house that needs work. Crazy. He may live in my basement forever. Ugh.
Yes, I think the 20-somethings are kind of screwed, unfortunately. ๐
HWD is a smart guy but also has ADHD. A few months ago I read a post from a person with ADHD who said that their reaction to having to deal with budget things is kind of like having a pile of vomit in the corner of the room. It's gross and you don't really want to deal with it. That gave me some insight. It's always been a fairly easy skill for me - that's just the way my brain is built.
@smartasswoman I've always been pretty frugal, but never been good about having an actual budget. But at the stage of life now where it is easy to live on way less than we make so not really an issue. Interesting analogy about vomit in the corner.
5 countries are on my bucket list. Costa Rico, Belize, Iceland, Scotland/Ireland, Germany, and Uruguay.
Uruguay - interesting choice. I have been to Brazil and Argentina (enjoyed both) but never Uruguay.
@smartasswoman Seems they produce some of the best beef in the world and are known to eat huge quantities of this yummy stuff. I have heard they are politically stable. I would also add Spain / Portugal.
Unfortunately Machu Picchu and the Galapagos are problematic right now with unstable governments. Yes they are high on my list also, but will have to wait.
Costa Rica is great. I was there during the dry season. I would like to go again and try a different time of year. It was still great, and probably better than wet season, I just would like to experience it.
Iceland was fantastic. Spent almost two weeks travelling around the island. Did not venture into the middle. Yes it is expensive. Do not worry about food. We had a difficult time finding Icelandic food. Mostly what we found was burgers and pizza.
I am not a cruise person but have thought about river cruise in Europe. I have heard good things from friends who have gone.
New Zealand is the top of my list. Going to Japan this summer. Unfortunately a very short trip.
Good point about Peru, I have seen some debates about safety there on the FB travel group I belong to.
@smartasswoman Ecuador also unfortunately.
Hi ...
They all look awesomeness! The first one that stood out to me is The Safari ... then Iceland and Europe River Cruise ...
How did you enjoy Greece?
In Greece I had a learning about myself, which is that I am only moderately interested in archeology. ๐ Visiting all of the old sites was interesting but probably not how I would choose to spend most of a vacation in the future. Also I made the mistake of booking in the summer (the only time single person slots were available) and it was very hot!
@smartasswoman -
Sorry it wasn't everything you were hoping for, we live and learn ... constantly ...
Thanks for responding ...
Have a beautiful day ...
@trixietrixster it was still a great trip! And good to learn about those ancient places. I think it was the sixth site we visited, Saranda, where it started to get old for me, haha! And after Greece we visited Croatia and Slovenia and I really enjoyed both of those countries.
You have a great day as well. ๐
You brought up a point about food. This might be my biggest reason for not traveling. I am a peskytarian and eat a pretty healthy diet. But, I do recall being in Some European countries decades ago where the only thing on the menu was meat.
In addition, my lovely wife is gluten and dairy free. I think that worries me more than her, though.
Luckily I don't have any major limitations aside from being a pickytarian (picky eater ๐ ). I do try to overcome it when traveling. In Italy for three weeks, I only had a couple of meals where I felt like I didn't get enough to eat. Mostly because I do not have the skill of getting enough little shreds off of a sardine!
The downside of coming late to this post is all the smart things I was going to say have already been said... multiple times!
My sister has been talking about doing a river cruise and seeing the tulip fields and I'm hoping that comes to fruition! That'd be my pick, but with my own excursions!
I would love to see the tulips, too. So many places to travel!
I do like the idea of dodging the group excursions on some of the days and just doing my own thing, if I were to do the river cruise option.
Require a budget. It sounds mean but every adult who has stayed with us for any length of time has been expected to start socking their money away. So they can move out, LOL. The end goal is that they learn better spending habits.
Can HWD have his own room? So he has to come knock and ask for your attention?
Hugs!!
Yep, we already discussed him having his own room. I don't sleep well, and besides, that way he could have his own space to arrange his belongings as he likes. The only possible wrinkle would be if one or both of his children end up staying here at times. I just have the one guest bedroom. There is a third bedroom that's very small, but I don't have a bed in there. I suppose we could put my nice camping air mattress in there!
Big decisions all around.... first, for travel they are all good options - but it really depends on where you are at. 15ish years ago I did consecutive trips to Europe for adventure travel (in-line skating and biking through Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands). I was trying to be active while seeing as much as possible.... which I certainly did. But it required one to be constantly on the go. Then I did a cruise with an old college roommate and it was beaches, beer and blackjack... essentially. You mentioned yoga, seems that you're mind is on mellow and relaxed, but not "slow and elderly." ๐ I'd lean towards Costa Rica and the River Cruise. Iceland sounds great too... I keep intending to sign up and run a half-marathon there... but it keeps getting the old "next year" treatment. ๐คฆ๐ปโโ๏ธ
As for HWD, he's a big boy, have a talk and set a date for his apartment move-in. Explain it's just about making sure focus isn't lost in the day-to-day. If need be, after that date, mutually agree to raise the savings account charge... lol, there has to be some timelines and incentive(?). ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ Doesn't have to be harsh, just a reminder (subtle hint?) that it's your space and you do cherish the alone time. He'll understand where you're coming from (my take, as a scheduler / habitual list maker). ๐
I used to travel in the mode you're talking about - have done bicycle tours in France, Italy, Vermont, Canadian Rockies, etc. I'm no longer in good enough shape and, in retrospect some of those trips weren't very relaxing! Especially if it was a rain day and we still had to ride... yeah, I think "relaxed but not elderly" is my vibe now. ๐
Hummm, seems you might need a get-away in a few months. ๐
I've thought about all your ideas at one point or another. After I get back from the 2-week road trip that starts tomorrow, the "biggie" will be Australia. I kinda want to cruise to there (ease through the time zones) and would be OK with flying back. That takes time (and moola) and attempting to see an entire area roughly the size of the US in one shot seems a bit unreasonable.
Don't ask me why, but I also want to take a long distance train trip, complete with (attempting to) sleep on-board. I'll bet I'll be glad with it is over, but (much like a cruise ship) the idea of checking in once and having the "hotel" move appeals to me.
Love the idea of cruising to another continent to have a gradual adjustment to the time change! Also you'd arrive so well rested, compared to ~18 hours of airports and plane travel.
I've done Minneapolis - Glacier Park on the train. The ex and I stayed a week at a little XC ski resort outside of Glacier that is a "whistle stop" on the train line; very unique and fun. That was a 24 hour trip, which was just about right - one night to try to sleep (and of course we did it both ways). I suspect any longer and the novelty would have worn off! ๐
I vote for Galapagos or the Safari.
If HWD stays with you while he looks for a reasonable place to live, does that mean his children will be staying every other weekend?
Good question. I did ask him whether that meant the kids would be staying here sometimes and he said "maybe". Somehow if I had to guess, I don't think their mom would be real happy with that. But if they end up sleeping 100% at mom's that will add more driving to his kid transport duties because she lives 25 miles away (he already drives them out there a lot, after activities in town).
Still lots to talk about. : /
@smartasswoman Here's to good communication (with a dollop of luck thrown in)
I'd love to visit the Galapagos. I'll probably have to bring an extra SD card to store all the pics ๐
Being under the same roof day in and day out will test the relationship, for sure. You'll both see bits of each other you never have before.
All I can say is, Good Luck! ๐ค
Thanks. ๐ For myself, I'm capable of being on "good behavior" (trying to be a good communicator, etc) when it's just one night a week. It's been a long time since it's been required day in, day out.
I think the saving grace will be that I will still have plenty of alone time, what with him working two jobs and having various kid transport obligations throughout the week.
@smartasswoman
Since "spending more time together" isn't an expectation for HWD to temporarily stay at your place, him being gone for work and family obligations won't be an issue lol
Good luck and hopefully he gets an apartment before the two of you get into a skirmish.
It will be a test of our relationship, for sure. ๐ฌ
14 years ago I went to the Philippines for a wedding of my brother. Him and his wife paid for my plane trip and hotel stay. Spent a week there in Manila and had a wonderful time.
At this time my brother and I are planning a trip to Ontario Canada to explore our family roots. We figure that will take a week.
Have a wonderful time in Canada!
@smartasswoman used to spend summers with my grandparents there. They had a cabin on lake Ontario. As a kid I wished I could stay there ๐