I don’t see that ad. I see Ashley Home Furniture.
When you realize that real traveling and cruising are 2 different things, it helps. Anyway, we will do real traveling on our own in Italy and then cruise home, spending the same for 14 days of relaxation and entertainment what we would have spent on a miserable flight home. And no jet lag!
My parents did a repositioning cruise from the Mediterranean to South Florida. They loved it - but they were in their 80’s when they did it.
When we did our cruise the only days I enjoyed were the ones we were at sea, not the port stopping. I even skipped going ashore at one port just to sit by the pool.
I haven’t read this thread, but I wanted to jump in as an advocate for RVing. We’ve always been tent campers, but bought a used RV 3 years ago.
It is a fantastic way to see the country. It is just such a relaxed way to travel.
Our recent trips include Acadia National Park and Assateague National sea shore. We were planning a Canadian trip when Covid-19 reared it’s ugly head.
I will say that we’ve always been drivers as opposed to flyers. For us the 20 hour drive to visit my folks is just a given, so RV driving for us isn’t a chore.
Having done 2 large ship (thousands of passengers) cruises when our kids were young, we will never again go that route. However, we have come to love cruising on very small ships - 110-300 people. I definitely want to be able to sail again but I don’t know when that will be possible or advisable.
^ i just had to laugh. You haven’t car traveled with my H. It’s easier to travel with a toddler. I can’t relax at any time. Even if he drives (which he prefers), he has a bad habit of falling asleep behind the wheel. Plus, he’s incapable of following directions - even a GPS. So I must watch out for every single lane change and turn off. Lately, he’s getting bad enough that he won’t change lanes unless I look behind and check for him. That’s when our fights start. He shouldn’t be driving if he can’t check a mirror and/or turn his head. And he’s OCD about what and when he eats. He must eat certain things at certain times, or else he is not happy.
I love to drive myself! And family trips are still fun. But a relaxing way to travel? LOL. no! But with the kids? Definitely. I drove with older S halfway across the country in 2 days. It was awesome. He is great company.
We were driving to a mountain city 3.5 hours away last year. We have been there dozens of times together, and he went there ALL the time growing up. Halfway there he remarks “This is the way to the beach, isn’t it?” Umm… there are mountains in front of you. The beach is behind you.
Well I’m in Portland (OR) - flew in yesterday morning from So Cal (John Wayne airport) - observations…
Airport was almost empty - I’m TSA pre-check so zero time through security (don’t tell but the guys were so busy chatting with one another my bag just floated through the X-ray) - masks and social distancing all around fine, few people sitting in waiting areas.
Flight was uneventful and the plane seating was two by two, so I had a “row” by myself. Everyone wore masks the entire time, some wore gloves). One ‘bad apple’ - young guy, too cocky for his own good (I wanted to take him on the tarmac and slap him!) - had both feet (shoes and all) on the seat next to him, knees bent, bottoms of shoes on the seat. Ugh! Really dude? I wish I could post a picture. A small (8oz) water and a teeny Chex mix type snack about 30 minutes in air.
No special safety (health) measures in place. I think I expected them to wand my forehead for my temperature - but no.
Walked to groceries in Portland (Boise area) - EVERY ONE in masks and literally standing within the social distance marks at the check out (in my area people sort of float those, some, like me, take them seriously, others not so much). Stopped at a mom-pop salad spot on the way back for one to go (they were all to go) - they just reopened for non-delivery/pick up orders and were sweet and delighted to have us.
Because I arrived in the early AM, and sunset’s not until 9, we drove to the coast (about 90 minutes), to go find some coastal hikes…thwarted! Although we drove south quite a distance (hours!) and we must’ve crossed a county line or two because we accidentally stumbled on an open area. A gorgeous 5 mile r/t hike through a beachside forest that lead to sand dunes and finally the shore - we thoroughly enjoyed that.
Today we’re heading to Mount Hood, we rented a cabin for the night and again will hunt and peck for open day use hiking trails.
We’ve road tripped my entire life and our entire married lives. No issues with personalities - we enjoy being with each other and have similar styles.
Being on the road today even if for just 3 1/2 hours going from PA to VA felt like getting back to normal"ish."
I wish we’d been able to go to Tangier, but at least FIL’s cottage is on a river. Not the gorgeous St Lawrence (that I grew up on), but some water is better than no water. FIL has no desire to go anywhere and made sure we’d been isolating prior to our getting here. At the moment, he’s out mowing lawn in the 88+/- degree heat. I know I’m a northerner, but there’s no way I’d do that now vs in the early evening or morning! (BIL offered to do it, but FIL declined.)
Our kids grew up traveling. During one of the early elementary school years at a parent teacher conference our oldest’s teacher asked us where we went. We wondered what sparked the question. She told us she’d asked the class what they did over a weekend and one chimed in saying they went on a trip to their grandma’s house. Where was that? About half an hour away. Our lad piped in informing the kid that he didn’t actually go on a “trip.” Apparently to qualify as a “trip” one has to spend at least one night away from home and not with relatives. 
FWIW, we never taught him that, but we get a laugh out of it. This “trip” wouldn’t qualify in his elementary school mind.
@JustaMom thanks for the airport report and enjoy being with your daughter.
I’m contemplating having my D come visit. I don’t see things getting better and I am thinking maybe it’s better to have her come before her life starts opening up and her circle of exposure becomes larger. Unfortunately the direct flight to our city has been suspended so she’d have to do two flight segments to get here or I would have to pick her up in Los Angeles. Or she could do a 6 hour drive.
@Creekland, our “definition” of a trip is someplace we go for multiple days and spend time with our children.
Our “definition” of a vacation is someplace we go and spend time without our children.
ETA - I actually enjoy traveling with our now “adult” children. Husband still prefers going without.
We took one 10 day cruise in 2015 - never again. My misgivings began when we began to fill out the copious paperwork and I realized that we were basically giving up pretty much all our rights as citizens to the cruise line. Before we boarded we had to report for our photography session in order to get our picture ID which we had to wear the whole time. Once on board we were required to report to the lifeboats we were assigned to for the safety lecture. I thoroughly understand the need for all the safety briefings but frankly if I wanted a vacation where I had to follow orders, I’d join the army (too old, of course but you get my point).
We had to commit to eating at a certain time each night in a particular restaurant unless we wanted to brave the huge buffet lines. Once we reached each port, we had to join long lines in order to get off the ship with strict orders to be back by 4:30 or they’d leave without us. Either we liked the port so much we could only do a small portion of what we wanted to do in the time allotted (Walk past a cool restaurant we’d like to have dinner in? Tough. Back on the boat for abundant but IMO mediocre food every night.) Exhaust everything we wanted to do in 4 hours at another port? Too bad. You can either get back on the boat or wander aimlessly until it’s time to go.
After seeing the way the cruise lines treated the passengers once the virus took hold, I wouldn’t go on another one if you paid me. I don’t understand why anyone believes that the cruise industry has their best interests at heart.
This is my husband to a tee!! Now if your husband has to stop every 45 minutes for a bathroom break, I really will wonder if they are related! 
Drives of 6 hours take him 8 hours. He always wants to drive, but when we get 45 minutes from home we have to switch because he is tired!
I don’t think we ever thought to differentiate trip from vacation. It didn’t matter if our kids or parents were with us. We traveled so often with kids (and sometimes my mom) that it seems odd now to travel without them even though they’re grown. We keep thinking, “Oh, ______ would love this!”
H and I did go away every anniversary and most of those were without kids or my mom - often mom was watching the kids - but sometimes we all went together. It just depended upon whims of the year.
I think the most laughed at story from one of those “everyone went along” trips was when my youngest was 3 and we were at Disney. He was too young to go to the Peter Pan club at the Polynesian so my mom watched him. H and I had to return to the room prior to our dinner reservations having forgotten something and found the three year old and my mom in OUR bed eating pretzels! Yeah, nothing says comfortable night like sleeping in a bed after a three year old has been eating pretzels on it. 
It was all innocent though - just not thinking and it’s what he wanted to do. Mom was being nice and letting him choose since he couldn’t go with his brothers.
@Creekland I know what you mean about not traveling with kids now. We were in Madrid and I saw a street performer showing off a fun looking light up toy and my immediate thought was “S would love this!” Forgetting that he was 23 years old. But it was the sort of toy he would have loved as a kid.
According to my kids, it’s not “vacation” unless we have to bring a passport.
Ahaha. According to my Mr., it is not a vacation unless our room has a lanai and ocean and palm trees can be seen from said lanai.
Whoa.
Nice!!! Go Alaska.
We take our passports along whenever we go anywhere at this point, even domestically, so mine wouldn’t be able to make that distinction.
And actually, many of the places we’ve loved have been domestic or Canada before passports were necessary so it wouldn’t occur to my kids. Now it would probably be that way though since we’ve been to 49/50 states and the eastern half of Canada (and the western half would require a passport). Still… Alaska is up near the top of our list so we can finish 50/50. Youngest son already did for his honeymoon. When we learned of his plans we threatened to join him on it.
We missed Rocky Mountain National Park though - it’s still on our list too. And someday revisiting other national parks we loved.
So many places to go, so little time - and a virus limiting it even more. Germany and Poland were supposed to be completed last April/May. We were supposed to be going to Tangier (in VA) this week or weekend (pending weather and whim for specific day). Now they have to be fit in sometime.
This is a criteria for our winter “office” when we go places, though one of our spots is a waterfront campground, so no lanai and the water is a bay rather than the ocean/Gulf of Mexico. We still walk on a Gulf beach most mornings when we’re there though, and dolphins come within feet of our site so it counts for us. Camping adds the nature part that we love to the water/scenic part.
It looks like Spain is going to open up a bit sooner than originally planned…we will have to decide whether we want to go in mid-July or not.
https://news.yahoo.com/spain-open-land-borders-portugal-090816525.html