QOTD: Best Vacation

[atlasien]

We've had a couple of "worst" threads, but what was the best vacation you ever had, where was it and what made it an awesome experience?

[vsoy]

Geez, ya'll telling me you've had crappy vacations?

One of the best vacations I've had was camping on one of the Channel Islands that is part of the National Park Service. I think we went to Santa Cruz island and we went over Thanksgiving weekend. We took a boat ride from Ventura, CA and took a little motorboat to shore. We had to carry everything with us, food, water, toilet paper, etc.

We set up the tent in one of the camp sites and there were very few people around, just a bunch of daytrippers hiking. The first night, there was a torrential rainstorm with thunder and lightening and all our washed dishes and pans that we placed on the picnic table to dry were scattered everywhere. It was pretty funny finding them 50 feet away in the most random places. We woke up to bleating goats and feral pig noises but they were far away.

Went hiking in some hilly areas, it was really beautiful. Gray skies would suddenly turned into brilliant blue with cloud whisps. On top of small hills, we could see the ocean all around and occasionally see sea lions or birds. At the end of the day, we were bushwacking our way back to our campsite and somehow found ourselves in some kind of ravine. All of a sudden, the sky turned black and threatening and we were freaking out because we were trapped. We booked out of the ravine and made it back to camp, not too wet. Dinner was Thanksgiving turkey with chestnut-cranberry stuffing we made the week before and sealed in boil-proof bags. I become a pyromanic, fascinated with feeding the fire.

On the way home from Ventura, we stopped for the night in a campsite in Santa Barbara on the beach. It was the most beautiful sunset as we set up camp. We couldn't believe our luck, getting a primo campsite on the beach and it was practically deserted.

Even though there was a couple of disasters, including the hubby suffering from seasickness for half a day, we took it all in stride and completely forgot about the stupid things we worry about on a day to day basis. Our thoughts were about gathering firewood, enjoying a snack or meal, figuring out the best way to get up a rugged hill and enjoying the scenery.

[minbo]

Meh, my best vacations so far were the five I took with my last girlfriend, because we had very similar interests and traveling style (no arguments over staying in a 4 star hotel vs a hostel or you want to shop, I want to hike, etc.), and also simply because we were together. Of course, those vacations were in our "salad days". If I traveled with her now, the "simply beacuse we were together" wouldn't have the same effect, but we still would make good traveling companions for the other reasons.