Where do you want to visit, outside the Pines?

[BarryC]

What places do you really want to visit sometime, that are outside the Pines?
I have a short list of such places.
First (the closest) is
---the Pine Barrens of Long Island, New York.
http://www.pinebarrens.org/
http://pb.state.ny.us/
This pine barrens total area is one tenth the size of the total area of ours.
Other places I want to visit outside the Pines are:
---Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California, to see the Giant Sequoias, such as General Sherman. http://www.nps.gov/seki/shrm_pic.htm
---The places in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California where you can see the Bristlecone Pines, the oldest trees on earth. The oldest is 4700 years. http://www.sonic.net/bristlecone/intro.html
---The places in California where you can see the Coast Redwoods. http://www.savetheredwoods.org/
---The ghost towns of Bodie, CA and Goldfield, NV.
And finally,
---New York City. I've been there, but I want to go sometime and spend maybe a week, and drive by and photograph the best of the historic buildings in all 5 boroughs, see some museums and visit some of their parks. I'm a big fan of NYC and have many books about it.
Barry

 

[bach2yoga]

I'd like to plan a trip to the pines in long island, maybe during the summer, but we're also planning on going camping in the provincial parks in nova scotia this summer, so I don't know. Maybe as a long weekend trip it would work.

I'd like to go back and visit more rainforests, Ecuador, Pananma, Costa Rica, Guatamala, Honduras...starting to learn Spanish now so I can continue. Boy, did I realize how "un-cosmopolitan" most of us Americans (including me!) are when traveling compared to the rest of the world. I'd never noticed it before because we'd always visited places and islands that were primarily English speaking.
We started out traveling via taxi when we got there, and spending a fortune. Some of the people told us to stay away from the Collectiv, the "combys", that the local people use because it would be rough for the kids, with chickens and everything else on board. We took our chances, and used them extensively; we found they were very available--every couple of minutes, airconditioned vans at a third of the price, with no chickens on board.

Unlike the Panama and Costa Rica, Mexico has absolutely no field guides (except birds) or good botanical guides on its rainforests because there is no funding.

BTW, five out of six snake species in Mexico are venomous!

I'd like to visit Lousiana, the bayous and swamps and groves...a group of us homeschoolers is planning that next year as a field trip. We're also going to Virginia in April as part of our yearlong studies on Lewis and Clark, we'll be seeing the Monticello and participating in a paleontology dig sponsored through the Academy of Natural Science and History in Philly. (I love homeschooling!) What would be awesome (but not practical for us) would be to actually retrace their journey.

There are some wilderness areas in Canada I'd like visit as well, and areas of South Carolina.

Sighs...I don't think there is anywhere I wouldn't want to visit under the right circumstances...Italy, Greece, Turkey, Morrocco, Cote d'Ivorie, Zambia, Kenya, Tibet...

Renee

 

[BarryC]

It's funny, some of what you said made me remember some other places I had neglected to put on my list.
I would also like to spend time in some Bald Cypress swamps. And it just so happens, we only need go as far as Delaware to find one. It's in a place called Trap Ponds State Park. http://www.destateparks.com/tpsp/tpsp.htm
Also, I would like to go to the Florida Everglades. I was there once and want to go back.
But of course there are many other places I would like to visit, like the Grand Canyon. And if I ever have the money to go overseas, I'd like to go to Italy and maybe other countries in Europe.
But still, the places mentioned in my original post are on the top of my list. I want to see the Coast Redwoods, the Giant Sequoias and the Bristlecone Pines and I want to go to the Long Island Pine Barrens.
Barry

 

[bach2yoga]

Barry,
I love that site, thanks! I saw a lot of great programs offered there, I am going to try to plan some homeschooler trips there--canoeing in the cypress swamps! cool!
We should try to get there one day this spring or summer, it's a little over a 3 hour ride for me, more for you.
Renee

Btw for directions on yahoo maps you need to add "Drive" to Baldcypress Lane.
I'm thinking it would be more fun and a bit faster to take the cape may lewis ferry. that's what we do when we go to virginia too.
renee

 

[bunnymom3]

LOL Like Barry my list would just grow and grow. Renee the bayous and swamps in Louisiana are just beautiful. We always went to see Oak Alley and if you do go make sure you go and tour there. The live oaks are amazing. Even watching them harvest sugar cane is neat.

I also love the Everglades and want to take the kids down there. I'd like to see the manatee. Mitch has never been to the Falls. I'd like to take him up there or the caves down in Va.

For out side of the US I'd like to go to Australia and see the outback and then Scotland and Ireland for finding family. Germany because my dad was stationed there and I'd love to see it. Venice for the waterways. I could go on and on and on.........

Let me know when the Del trip is up or the Long Island one. We'd love to go to both. Drove to Mass. just a few weeks ago for a day trip, 5 hours, just to see Alices Resturant and the church. 4 hours is no biggie

Nykki

 

[bach2yoga]

LOL Like Barry my list would just grow and grow. Renee the bayous and swamps in Louisiana are just beautiful. We always went to see Oak Alley and if you do go make sure you go and tour there. The live oaks are amazing. Even watching them harvest sugar cane is neat.

I also love the Everglades and want to take the kids down there. I'd like to see the manatee. Mitch has never been to the Falls. I'd like to take him up there or the caves down in Va.

For out side of the US I'd like to go to Australia and see the outback and then Scotland and Ireland for finding family. Germany because my dad was stationed there and I'd love to see it. Venice for the waterways. I could go on and on and on.........

Let me know when the Del trip is up or the Long Island one. We'd love to go to both. Drove to Mass. just a few weeks ago for a day trip, 5 hours, just to see Alices Resturant and the church. 4 hours is no biggie

Nykki

Cool!
I'm not familiar with Oak Alley, what is it? Joe and I saw sugar cane harvesting in Jamaica, but I didn't realize they did it in Louisiana too--the kids will love it!
Let you know when we plan!
Renee

 

[BarryC]

Oak Alley is the name of a plantation down there. The plantation house is beautiful, and the entrance road, or whatever it is, is line with beautiful, old Live Oaks.
I have not been there, but have seen postcards and such.

Cool!
I'm not familiar with Oak Alley, what is it? Joe and I saw sugar cane harvesting in Jamaica, but I didn't realize they did it in Louisiana too--the kids will love it!
Let you know when we plan!
Renee

 

[bunnymom3]

It's also the location of a few movies. One is Interview with A Vampire. You can see it when Brad Pitt first comes over the levee to go up to his plantation. The other movie I can remember off hand is Primary Colors, I think. John Travolta, I think (old age setting in) plays the president and at the end of the movie he walks down the alley of live oaks. Heres a link with a picture of one. http://www.louisianagardenclubs.org/pages/oak.htm. You would also love Avery Island. It is an amazing place and the home of the Tabasco company http://www.tabasco.com/html/historian_avery_island.html. Oh and the cemerties down there are really neat. I'll tell you about them tomorrow at Howardsville. Out of all the places I have been. LA has been my fave and we plan on moving down there when my kids go off to collage.

K night all
Nykki