Scuba is such a different world - I love it - flying through water with gorgeous scenery. Today we ended with a great couple of dives (Calf, then Cow for anyone interested). We “flew” through tunnels and mazes with a plethora of fish, coral, and extras all around us. USVI is really growing on us. HI was good for scuba (esp the Manta Ray night dive, but others too). USVI has a bit more variety IME. We gotta get down to Bonaire to compare - and my son tells me the Red Sea is awesome too.
And does anyone know what this fish is? It joined us snorkeling at Brewer’s Bay yesterday for over an hour, but we can’t identify it. It literally swam in front of or next to our masks or shoulders.
Booked a return to Maui for May. Taking DS and his SO.
Going to go ahead and start planning the Lisbon to Athens cruise that’s on the books for mid-October. I have great hopes it will not only take place, but that it will be a reasonable thing to do. Even so, only booking things that have no cancellation fee at this time.
my daughter booked her summer study trip to Munich (3 week ‘class’ which is going around to museum with her prof and other grad students). Some other grad students are then coming over and they will meet in Prague, go to Genieva, then to Rome. Then she and a friend are going to London to do research and tour and then flying home.
I hope it is all safe in May/June. And that her new passport arrives!
Good for you getting 2x F with points! What airline? I hope you don’t have to cancel. We canceled 5x business class for summer 2020 and now have 5 more in J for summer 2022 on JAL. I am reading some Japanese newspapers on the changing/loosening Covid policies. I honestly am not optimistic that Japan will be open for tourists by June for our trip. I’m already planning a different points trip in the States as my backup plan. And part of me just wants to pull the plug on Japan. We’ve been before and the thought of something like 20 hours with a mask is depressing. I don’t want to blow business tickets on masked flights for that long. Will just wait it out if I have to. Or go elsewhere.
It was ANA airline through Virgin miles, this was for Jan 2021, it didn’t happen, I’m waiting to book for 2023, I will settle for Business class even, at this point I don’t care as long as I can lay flat.
Are any of your college kids going to Europe this summer? Mine is, with two friends. These kids had their study abroad canceled and a full year of remote classes, and they are beyond excited to finally do this. We are beginning to plan the trip out and monitoring Covid policies.
Yes D is going Interrailing with a friend after graduation in May. She’s heard us talk about how we did it in college (4 summers in a row in my case), and had a brief experience traveling in Italy and France after HS graduation. Now she’s looking forward to a more extensive trip (though I had to point out that getting to Athens by train takes an awful long time). Seems like many of her college friends are also planning to be in Europe this summer.
Just finished listening to a phone call from the condo below us. The dude there was telling whoever was on the other end of the line that he didn’t think he would be returning and started talking about all the beauty on this island. Many of us say that in jest, but he sounded serious. It also sounded like he lives in an area without much beauty of its own (nor does he like anything else about it - somewhere in TX for anyone curious), and then, comparing this to Miami, no comparison in his mind.
It can be fun to eavesdrop, but then again, this could also go on the “downsizing” thread as a warning about no conversation on a lanai being private.
@jpga13 and @Twoin18 Are they going without any reservations? Just winging it? That’s what I did 30 years ago, but I’m thinking my kid and friends may need more solid plans. We’ve booked an Airbnb for their first city but so far that’s the extent.
They will book in advance, probably mostly youth hostels for visits of a day or two. Fortunately those are online now, I remember having to send stamped, self-addressed postcards to get advance reservations back in the late 1980s. And will also stay with friends who are there for a longer period. May try some overnight trains as well, although the combination of high speed trains and cheap flights has made those much less common than 30 years ago.
They are making a loose itinerary but since they can stay at my home there and they can take one of the cars or jump on the bahnhof right there in town they aren’t real concerned with anything too concrete. Kinda need to see what the covid requirements are in each country at the time. I brought them back to start grade school when they were little and they have been back many times so they are very familiar with roaming around Europe.
Mine is going to Munich for a 3 week ‘class’ with her professor (it’s really just touring around but they have to take a 3 credit class to go), then meeting up with others for Prague, Geneva, Florence and Rome. She will then go to London for a week to do some research for her thesis.
I expect her to run out of money somewhere in Italy. That’s the kind of planning this kid does.
What a great set up that is! We lived in France and my kids have also traveled extensively in Europe and Asia, but always with us. So this is new. We have a family apartment in France that they could stay at, but no car. And my kid, at least, really wants to focus outside of France. I actually looked at hostels online (omg @Twoin18 postcards!!!) and most were booked for guys, at least in the places I checked. There were plenty of girls dorm style accommodations. I think I will probably have them book some definite 5 night stays here and there so they aren’t constantly sweating it over what to do next. I’ve looked at Covid restrictions but feel like things are changing so much day to day that it’s worthless to worry about it right now.
What does the group think are the odds that the US drops the COVID test requirement to re-enter the country? Most of Europe, including the UK has dropped this requirement for entry by vaccinated individuals.
It seems odd that to return to the US from an extremely highly vaxxed country I need to be tested, but I can visit a poorly vaccinated, high-COVID state and return home to my high-vax low-COVID home state w/o any testing? At this point, the testing seems pointless for the vaccinated and boostered.
Now that we’ve said aloha to Maui (for this trip) we are settling into the Hilo area of Big Island - the view from my dining area…if I could I’d sleep out there - so soothing - even with the coqui singing (I happen to love them) -
