I just posted on a thread about CCL Fantasy and my love for the City of New Orleans. Got me thinking about other great places to visit, whether a departure port or not. Don't get me wrong I love cruising and most vacations are based on one as is my upcoming visit to the Big Easy.

Unlike many here, if a vacation is not cruise related I'm not a big fan of visiting places I've been or plan to go on a cruise in the future unless it's the port I'm leaving from or returning to. I also love San Antonio, the riverwalk is among my favorite destinations on the planet and close to me. If you ever go, book the La Mansion Del Rio as your hotel and get a riverview balcony. A great place for an anniversary or any other occasion for a romantic get away with the love of your life. I used to go to San Antonio at least once or twice a year as a long weekend getaway.

I love the mountains... Rockies, Appalachian where I grew up, Smokies, you name it I love them.

What are your favorite places and why? I'd love to know about your favorites, maybe I'll give them a try and add them to my favorite places list in between cruises.

Cheers, Neil

Neil, you took my answer with New Orleans. It's an easy drive for me and I am a HUGE fan of creole cuisine. I know that it is not the most authentic place to dine but I always have to have brunch at the Court of Two Sisters when I visit the Big Easy. My other favorites are Emiril's Nola and any restaurant owned or started by Dickie Brennan. And of course, my all time favorite is the little steakhouse started by Ruth Fertel that became known as Ruth's Chris. Mmmmmmmmm..... To my knowledge, the Ruth's Chris on Fulton Street in New Orleans is the only one in which you can get bananas foster. (it has to be flambeed or it just isn't worth it)

Dr. I love Court if Two Sisters as well. I like to hit K-Pauls and the Bombay Club too. If I'm in the mood for a real treat and have a large enough group to make a reservation, Commander's Palace is amazing. There is also always at least one or two little whole in the wall places that seem to be different every time that my brother finds and says you gotta try this! When I drive, theres a place about half way between Houston and New Orleans called PawPaws that is a roadside, billboard every few miles kind of stop that you wouldn't expect to be much to brag on. It's as good as it gets for seafood. The portions are so big I can never finish, and I can eat!

Okay, now I'm really getting hungry. Theres a Brennan's here in Houston too, may have to make reservations tonight!

Cheers, Neil

I love Lake George, NY, one of 3,000 lakes and ponds in the 6 million acre Adirondack State Park. Lake George is a 32 mile long lake nestled at the base of the mountains. I've been going there my whole life, and have seldom seen any area as beautiful during all four seasons.

Sandy

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I've been going there my whole life, and have seldom seen any area as beautiful during all four seasons.

Sandy the changing of the seasons is the thing I miss most since living in TX. No fall colors with the changing of the leaves! We just get two seasons in Houston, summer and February.

Lake George sounds beautiful, never been but if I ever get the chance to be in the area I won't miss the oppt'y.

Cheers, Neil

Neil, I lived in San Francisco for a year, and got tired of having just one season: winter!

We all know the Mark Twain quote...

The year we were there, it snowed for a few hours one day. It's a beautiful city, but I prefer my four seasons. I understand your missing your seasons.

Sandy

One of my Favorite would be Nelder Grove. It is more undeveloped that the more popular Redwoods. Plus it has this Giant Stumps from the logging days.

Or the tall Giants.

Plus it has something the other Groves do not have...Peace and quiet. On a busy day there might be 4 or 5 people there, then again you might be the only ones there. It is a nice place to just relax and read, cat nap or do what ever you want.

Great photos Gary! What a beautiful place. In the center photo the sky is as amazing as the tree. My folks live in CO and you never see skies that blue anywhere in the US but out west in the mountains. I heard somewhere that it has something to do with the light reflecting from the atmosphere at the high altitude and that from the top of Everest the sky is so deep blue it's nearly black. May just be old climber stories, like fish stories.

Cheers, Neil

I hate to sound repetitious and I actually thought I would be the only one to say this, but I LOVE New Orleans! The food, history, jazz, and lets not forget the hurricanes(the drink of course!) Everytime I go I bring someone who has not been there before so they will understand my love for this city.

Great pics Gary, as always. I grew up in the same region as Neil. So I also miss the snow and the leaves sometimes. Not often enough for me to ever consider moving back though. Most of my traveling has been to the caribbean. I like going to Gatlinburg in the winter to see the mountains and snow. I hope to visit New Orleans someday.

Dwayne

Myrtle Beach SC since we only live a couple of hours from there.

Anybody for trying out The Grog Shop at the Pioneer Inn ,next to the great Banyan Teee in old downtown Lahaina,Maui?

BillyBuzzy

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I grew up in the same region as Neil. So I also miss the snow and the leaves sometimes.

Dwayne, Hmmmm... I miss the changing of the seasons but I certainly don't miss the snow. It makes for beautiful landscapes but one of my household duties growing up was the shoveling. We had a large driveway and lots of sidewalk. I swore as a teenager I'd never live in a place where it snowed when I got on my own. I've kept that promise to myself. You can have the snow, I'll look at Daves and other pics from Alaska and see how beautiful it is at a distance. I don't miss having a white Christmas at all. Or splitting and stacking the firwood, hauling it inside for the fires or any other part of winter. I guess I miss having some of the season changes, there will always be one seasonal change I can live without. While writing this, I know now why I really do like Texas!

Cheers, Neil

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Myrtle Beach SC since we only live a couple of hours from there.

wesnlin, That's my favorite place to get away from!

Well, at least during this time of year. I live straight across 17 from the Alabama Theater at Barefoot.

Dwayne

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Dwayne, Hmmmm... I miss the changing of the seasons but I certainly don't miss the snow.

Yeah, I can understand that. Seeing it every few years when visiting up there usually quells my desire for awhile. I was in charge of bringing in buckets of coal as a kid. I was so happy when we finally could afford an oil heater. You ever notice when you go back it seems colder than when you lived there? I think our bodies become acclimated to the south.

Dwayne

Yep Dwayne, after living in a warm climate all these years I have no tolerance for cold at all. If it drops below 60 here I turn on the heater. I went for a winter visit to my parents home in CO when they had a home at 9000 ft elevation. I froze and couln't catch my breath the whole time I was there. The air was so thin I felt out of breath and light headed all the time. They've since moved down hill to Colorado Springs but I don't visit in the winter any more. I don't know how folks who live in Canada and other cold climates can stand living through the winter months year after year. I guess they wonder the same thing about those of us who live in heat and humidity nearly year round.

Cheers, Neil

I grew up in the Hudson Valley - - - one of my most favorite spots in the country is West Point (the US Military Academy). Although I can't even imagine going back to live there again (don't miss the snow, don't even miss the "seasons" - - ), I do want my ashes scattered from Trophy Point.

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I grew up in the Hudson Valley

Me too. A little farther up the river from West Point though. Columbia County (Hudson, Kinderhook). I don't miss it either.

Try the beaches of the Outer Banks in North Carolina, especially the Northern beaches of Duck. Great family oriented beaches, never crowded, great sand and water (for Atlantic), some great seafood restaurants, lazy relaxed atmosphere and fabulous rental homes from 4 - 12 bedrooms for nearly any size family and budget!

Las Vegas, but not the strip any more. I like downtown better now that everything on the strip has turned into amusement parks. I like the strip, but it's not like it used to be. I did my time in Colorado, but there are some nice places there. Cripple Creek and Central City are fun. Trail Ridge road and Phantom Canyon Road are 2 great rides. You're about 4000 feet above the trees, fun, but way too dang cold most of the year. Key West is my all time favorite, though.