You may also be interested in Mount St Helens. It’s about 3 hrs South of Seattle, and really pretty cool to see. They dumped millions into a pretty cool museum and viewing centres that I really enjoyed the last time I drove by and stopped.
@downndirty if I haven't responded to this by tonight, tag me to remind me. We just spent 3 months exploring the Seattle area including hundreds of miles of hiking. It's awesome, I'll provide some highlights.
Speaking of the PNW, we are trying to plan a bachelor party for a buddy of mine. We are thinking Vancouver. I’ve only been once with my wife, but I wasn’t sure what the typical scene is for bachelor parties. Any suggestions?
@downndirty My favorite hikes (in order of my preference): Yellow Aster Butte is basically a must-do in my opinion. It's a little over 9 miles and 3k feet of elevation gain, and it's just unbelievable views around every corner. There are tons of other trails that criss-cross through that area, so if you want to camp, you could see a ton more. Heather Pass/Maple Loop is also spectacular. It's heavily trafficked so I recommend making this an early morning hike; we got started early and had a great time, but we could see the crowds behind us at some of the overlooks. Not a very hard hike, a bit over 7 miles and 2k feet of gain (which lends to its popularity). Skyline Divide is supposedly a very popular trail but for some reason we didn't see a lot of people when we went. It's 9 miles and 2.5k feet of gain for the named trail, so again a very reasonable hike, and if you want you can extend it to go further out towards Mt. Baker. At some point you'll need ropes and climbing gear so you can stop there. Gothic Basin (pretty lake, and a serious uphill scramble to a lookout over the lake) and Park Butte Lookout (neat lookout perched on the edge of a mountain; this one can get really busy) are also good trails. If you want to head out to Mt. Saint Helens, do the Harry's Ridge trail, it's really nice. Maybe not as special as some of the other trails we did in WA, but it seemed like it was impossible to pass by the area without visiting Mt. Saint Helens. Doing The Enchantments as a day hike is amazing and is in my top-10 hikes of all time, but that's pretty far from where you are. I know you said you were not in Seattle, but I assume you'll probably wander up that way. If so, you should check out Shiro's Sushi if you're a sushi fan, and I had some awesome fish tacos at Duke's Seafood. For sweets, The Flour Box has - bar none, no questions asked - the best donuts I've ever tasted and I can't recommend them highly enough. You'd have to show up really early and stand in line, but it's worth it a thousand times over. I still dream about them. Good coffee is, of course, everywhere in Seattle but I particularly liked Espresso Vivache and Cafe Mariko. For beer, head on over to Ballard in Seattle and just wander around the dozen or so breweries there, all with food trucks parked in front; it's a beer drinker's paradise.
My partner and I are heading to South Korea in a few weeks, I've had a bit of a look but if anyone has some absolute must-do things then let me know.
Assuming you're staying in Seoul? Definitely do one of the border tours. We did one that covered the Third Tunnel of Aggression, Dorasan Station and some other cool parts of it. The JSA was closed when we were there, but it might be worth considering. If you want cool nightlife, check out the Itaewon district. Also, check out the Namsan Cable Car which can take you from N. Seoul to this area (I think). If you want shopping, check out Dongaemun. There are a ton of food options, but I would honestly just wonder around and eat some street food. At night you can definitely find a nicer place for dinner. We did some other shit I wouldn't necessarily recommend, like going for a hike in the middle of nowhere with no ride back to town, but there is plenty to do in the Seoul area and tours that take you outbound to see interesting things.
I'd add to that a coffee shop experience, some of them are quite unique, and some time in a korean spa can be amazing. There's one in Seoul that sees a lot of foreigners near Itaewon, but damned if I can remember what it's called. The aquarium in Seoul was remarkable and the Korean war museum was pretty fucking intense. Kimchi farts will ruin your partnership, be prepared. Also, Koreans get drunk on a whole other level. Fried chicken and beer places are usually a good start.
Booked a trip to Hawaii. Going to stay in Honolulu for a few days where we plan on hiking Diamond Head and visiting Pearl Harbor. Then going to Kauai for a few more days. Plan on seeing Waimea Canyon and other sights. Any "must do" or "don't waste your time" opinions? It's our first trip to Hawaii
We went to Kauai in 2019. Even in the "dry" season it rains there. Quite a bit more than the other islands. As such, I'd recommend being flexible with your visit to Waimea - the day we went there was the day before we left and it was raining and so foggy and you couldn't see a damn thing. Watch out for the chickens. There are more chickens than people on the island and they will steal food in the blink of an eye if you're trying to have a picnic or even on a patio somewhere. We never made it to Haena State Park as the road was being rebuilt from being flooded out, but it might be better to check out the shuttle if you're headed to that area, somewhere past Princeville/Hanalei they start limiting traffic and it is really popular. Excursion wise we went tubing down the old mineshafts and did a sunset cruise along the Na Pali coast with some snorkeling/diving thrown in, and did a tour/tasting at the rum distillery. I'd do the cruise again, maybe not the tubing. Other than that we just went hiking and hung out on the beach as we felt like it.
I spent an overnight layover in Santiago. It's essentially in a bowl surrounded by the Andes. Do to the timing of our flight we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express at the airport (literally a walk across the from the airport entrance) for convenience and took a bus into the city center for dinner and to walk around. The views alone from San Cristobal Hill are worth your time. Plaza de Armas is not.
Looking for suggestions on stuff to do in New Mexico, especially Santa Fe or ABQ. If any of yall are local to NM, it'd be cool.to hang out as well
I was just there back in May. Such a beautiful place. I would hit up Meow Wolf https://meowwolf.com/visit/santa-fe It’s a crazy interactive art installation. Ojo Caliente if you want to see a nice resort with natural springs in the middle of the desert. There’s one near Taos which is the best one and another one in Santa Fe. https://sazonsantafe.com/ for a really, really good meal. I didn’t get to spend much time in Abq though.
Just got back from New Caledonia, awesome scenery and friendly people. Awesome being able to jump in with a mask and see reefs almost everywhere. Food was ridiculously expensive and they've never heard of a switchback. Holy fuck were the hikes intense.
I'll be in Orlando for 4 days and Austin, TX for four days. Any suggestions? I am not doing Disney, or any of the parks in FL. Thanks in advance!
Where in Orlando? Outside of the theme parks, that place is white trash central. But I went to college there so if you can tell me more about where, I can help. As for Austin, get some bbq. Franklins or Blacks are good choices. 6th street is fun at night. Lots of bars and live music. Barton springs is nice but probably way too cold to swim right now. There’s bats every night on the Congress ave bridge. Lake Travis is really pretty and some decent restaurants and bars that overlook the water.
If you're hard-set on doing Franklin BBQ, you;'ll need to get in line at like 6 AM or some shit. At least I did when I went a few years ago.
It's not unless they give a shit about novelty. The Salt Lick in the Dallas airport is comparable. In general, BBQ for me hits an upper limit where it's about as good as it's ever going to be. I was, however, a huge fan of Perry's Steakhouse. Those giant pork chops are amazing. I was so pumped when they opened a location in Raleigh, NC not too long ago. Made a point to eat there when I was down for a business trip a few weeks ago. Completely prolapsed my per diem for the day, but the out-of-pocket expense was worth it.