Holiday 2020 thread (1 Viewer)

Gazbola said:

Vow :If you go anywhere near Sarasota .....

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bezzer said:

Early July a week in Turkey with the kids.

In September the wife and I are doing a fly drive to the West Coast of the US. Fly into San Fran and then over 18 days drive through Yosemite, Death Valley, Vegas, Phoenix, Palm Springs and finish in LA. We did a similar holiday 25 years ago.

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olderskyblue said:

Did almost the same in 2018 for our 40th wedding anniversary. Vegas, Grand Canyon, Vegas again, LA , Santa Barbara, Monterey, then SF. Renewed our vows in Vegas, Elvis officiated.. :emoji_grin:. Did the 17 mile drive, stopped at Palm Springs. Some great stopping places on that drive. I loved this trip, although we had to detour round part of the big Sur as they had part of the road missing after a big storm.... Eat at Dukes in Malibu if you haven't before. Great place overlooking the ocean.

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B-Ban-Boogie said:

If you do head this way, I've been here 15 years so know the lay of the land pretty well.

Shopping :
UTC (university town center)
Ellenton Mall.. (I think its better than UTC.. has a number of good shops)

Great waterside Bars :
Old Salty Dog (City Island - Man vs Food has been there)
Great bar - right on the intercoastal so you can watch boats and dolphins go by.
The Old Salty Dog Sarasota's Old Florida Favorite

This is right by (literally across the road) the MOTE marine laboratories...
Visitor Information
This place houses recovering animals and has an aquarium... you can touch stringrays, see recovering turtles and dolphins..
Great for an afternoons mooch about.

Then this is 5 minutes from St Armands Circle.
A huge area of shops and bars and great to stroll around.
I would recommend Columbia' restaurant Columbia Restaurant
or Shore ... They do great food there as well.
Shore St. Armands Circle | Hours + Location | Dine Shore

Olreary's - Right on the marina too.... a low key, chilled bar.
Oleary's - Sarasota Tiki Bar & Grill, Live Music & Waterfront Views

Whenever we have guests we usually go to Lido Beach and take them Kayaking on the intercoastal early morning.. Dolphins jump out the water and you can calve your way through the mangroves which is pretty cool..
https://www.sarasotapaddleboardcompany.com/

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olderskyblue said:

Did almost the same in 2018 for our 40th wedding anniversary. Vegas, Grand Canyon, Vegas again, LA , Santa Barbara, Monterey, then SF. Renewed our vows in Vegas, Elvis officiated.. :emoji_grin:. Did the 17 mile drive, stopped at Palm Springs. Some great stopping places on that drive. I loved this trip, although we had to detour round part of the big Sur as they had part of the road missing after a big storm.... Eat at Dukes in Malibu if you haven't before. Great place overlooking the ocean.

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OffenhamSkyBlue said:

How long did you take doing that, OlderSB?

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Gazolba said:

Of all those places, in my opinion Santa Barbara is the standout. I'd move there in a heartbeat if the house prices weren't totally insane.
Great places to visit are the Zoo and the Botanical Garden. A walk up and down State Street is a photographer's delight and virtually every side street beckons you to explore.
Another interesting little town is Carpinteria, just a few miles south of SB.
Keep as far away from LA as possible, the traffic is horrendous. I do like Pasadena though.

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