Vacation/Trip Traditions

[disneychrista]

Do you have something you always do when you go on vacations or visit some place new?

For me it is visit the local breweries. I left on my big 5-0 birthday trip this morning. My goal is to try (at least) 50 beers over the next 6 days. When I say try, it means a sample/taster of not full pints/bottles. I actually rarely get pints when I’m visiting a new to me brewery. I like to try a variety of beers. You can’t really do that drinking pints.

 

[EACarlson]

My wife and I visit state capitols whenever we are in one. Although oddly enough we've never been to our own or the one where we used to live.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour
Starbucks - I collect the I Am Here mugs
Hard Rock Cafe - I collect the pins and tshirts
Visit a grocery store - its really fascinating going to grocery stores in different countries
Visit a mall
Depending on the location, I also like to try the local food specialty

 

[tvguy]

A lot of our traditions go back to when our kids were kids, involve specific places to eat in cities we had been to more than once.

1) St. Louis. Always stopped for a sack of White Castles on the way from the airport to my wife's Aunts house.
2) Eastern Texas (Beaumont/Vidor). At least one meal at Sonic.
3) Phoenix, eating at Abuelos. (Technically Peoria)
4) Honolulu. Patty's Kitchen. Can't go there any more they closed in 2010 after 43 years.
5) Northridge. Brent's deli. A new addition as our son and his family just moved to Northridge.

 

[ronandannette]

This only applies when we are taking land vacations, which is about 1-in-4 (we're cruisers). We like to go to restaurants that have been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives or the Canadian version, You Gotta Eat Here. It's neat to see them IRL and they always look way different than on TV. If we happen to be away from home on a Sunday, we try to find a church of our affiliation to visit. If there isn't one, choosing somewhere random to attend is always a hoot!

 

[PollyannaMom]

We like to go to restaurants that have been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

We do that too!

We also always start road trips with a fast food breakfast - McDonald's or Dunkins, usually.

But my favorite tradition involves Florida trips. Ever since DS was little, we've taken pictures at the Mickey wall statue in the Orlando airport. It's like a visual growth chart.

 

[tvguy]

This only applies when we are taking land vacations, which is about 1-in-4 (we're cruisers). We like to go to restaurants that have been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives or the Canadian version, You Gotta Eat Here. It's neat to see them IRL and they always look way different than on TV. If we happen to be away from home on a Sunday, we try to find a church of our affiliation to visit. If there isn't one, choosing somewhere random to attend is always a hoot!

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives profiled the restaurant across the street from where I worked. After that, a 3 hour wait for dinner became the norm. Prior to that my co-workers on the night shift used to be able to be able to get a table, eat and be back to work within their hour meal break.

 

[E&Cmom]

I reserve one nice dress up dinner.
We usually go for gelato or ice cream on the last day.
Starbucks at the airport before we leave.

 

[CynBeth]

Hard Rock Cafe - have a meal there and buy shirts and keychains.

Zoos/Aquariums

Depending on the location and working around food allergies and preferences to what we will or will not eat we try to have what that area is known for.

If that city has a Major League Baseball team we always take in a game usually not when our favorite teams are playing so we can be a fan of that one for the day. We always buy a hat and try to wear the team’s colors.

 

[HerRoyalHighness]

Visit a grocery store - its really fascinating going to grocery stores in different countries

I went to a Walmart grocery in Mexico when I was there for work ...middle of Mexico...I think Queretaro... they were giving out samples of tequila.

 

[mumto3girls]

Do you have something you always do when you go on vacations or visit some place new?

For me it is visit the local breweries. I left on my big 5-0 birthday trip this morning. My goal is to try (at least) 50 beers over the next 6 days. When I say try, it means a sample/taster of not full pints/bottles. I actually rarely get pints when I’m visiting a new to me brewery. I like to try a variety of beers. You can’t really do that drinking pints.

Happy Birthday, Christa!

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

We always have a Grand Finale! It started when I was a kid and we would stop somewhere random on the way home for something fun. It never actually needs to be the really big thing (although sometimes it is) but we always acknowledge it as a the grand finale as an end to our trip and the beginning of planning another.

 

[Skippy918]

Local eateries or dessert places are a go to on our list. We like to go to places we don’t have back home.

 

[JLTraveling]

Ghost tour. We've toured haunted jails, done haunted pub crawls, downtown walking tours, actual ghost hunting with all the equipment...it's always a fun time.
Hard Rock if there is one for dinner and t-shirts.
Public transportation. We try to live like locals wherever we are, so we'll take the subway/bus/streetcar/whatever as much as possible.
Local restaurants. Other than the Hard Rock tradition, we rarely do chains.

 

[bennifer]

Happy Birthday Christa!

I'm so happy you posted this because we're going to be starting our quest of traveling to all 50 states before YDS graduates from HS and I've been thinking about ideas like these. Hard Rock was on the short list, but we also want to hit some local places.

 

[luv2sewtjr]

Enjoy your birthday trip! I had one scheduled for that birthday but it fell during summer of 2020 and it didn’t happen. I’m hoping to do it for my double nickels birthday.

My kids and I travel very well together and tend to have a good time. No real traditions although when we road trip, there is always a “gas station snacks” stop. Even though I usually pack a cooler, it’s a goofy little thing we do. I also let my kids take turn queuing things up on Spotify and they are cute because they try to pick music I won’t skip.

We love local restaurants and the occasional tourist trap.

 

[Uncle Coaster]

Zoos/Aquariums


If that city has a Major League Baseball team we always take in a game usually not when our favorite teams are playing so we can be a fan of that one for the day. We always buy a hat and try to wear the team’s colors.

Same on both counts. I also like minor league baseball. I used to plan it so that I’d go when my team was playing but like you found it to be more fun to go and root for the home team.

 

[JLTraveling]

We love local restaurants and the occasional tourist trap.

Tourist traps are great! Our favorites so far were South of the Border and The Thing. We love them in a B movie, "so bad it's good" kind of way.