Vacation Suggestions

Go to New Orleans. Pump some money into an economy that needs it.

Vegas is like disneyworld with whores. This is my ringing endorsement.

Not warm at all, but what about Chicago? You could sleep on Ripoll's couch.

I would go with DC over Vegas, simply because there seems to be more to occupy you in DC for 12 days than Vegas.

Oh, and forget about Orlando and the parks, they're hell on earth during Christmas. Crowds that pale only to Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Having just been in DC recently I can't say enough nice things about it. Very friendly people, nice weather, lots to do and some really great eating.

I also love San Francisco and environs. It's a little rainy in the winter but you can still have fun.

I was just in Puerto Rico. If you're just looking to lounge and enjoy the weather, book a hotel on Isla Verde and you never have to leave the hotel property.

DC would get my vote, too. Cheap to get there, cheap to stay in, tons of stuff to do, decent public transportation.

I'd vote for San Francisco too. It won't be more than chilly, and it's a great place to see by public transportation or even on foot. Fantastic restaurants, coffee shops, bars, museums, bookstores, etc. You can also get out of town by bus to visit some of the local parks or even a winery. And a late day, wintertime visit to Alcataz is more than creepy.

DC is a neat town, and there's more than enough stuff to keep you occupied here. It won't be warm, though.

Vegas is awesome, but I get sick of the town within 5 days(such a corrupt hedonistic vibe is fun but tiring). I really enjoyed San Fran as well, but it's been a long time since I went. DC sounds interesting.

I love DC, but this is not a vacation city unless you are intent on seeing monuments and smithsonian museums for 12 days straight.

I actually love Chicago, but it's way more fun when you have friends there to hang out with and do things.

My vote is Vegas. Vacation = debauchery

Where are you coming from...that bears a good deal on the inexpensive part.

Go to New Orleans. Its worth it just for the French Quarter.

I'm going to suggest Lake Tahoe. It has the gambling of Vegas but it's not wall to wall people. Plus if you enjoy the snow there are all sorts of winter-related activities you can partake in. You can reenact DIE HARD 2, or as others call it "Rent a snowmobile."

While in Tahoe you're only about 30 minutes away from Carson City, NV. Here you can see where they film the HBO series "Cathouse." Play your cards right and you might be able to party with the stars of the HBO series "Cathouse." And by party I mean screw.

I thought they closed that place down?

Tahoe would not fit under inexpensive in december...June, yes. December, no.

Why would it close down? Women fuck for money there.

And by "screw," he means "chat up until you annoy the life out of them and they spend the rest of the evening hiding in the ladies' room."

My parents really like Myrtle Beach. It is pretty cheap, small enough so that you can walk around and the beach is pretty nice. There's touristy stuff to do too.

It's like a ghetto Orlando.

I had family living in Myrtle Beach for a while. It is one of the tackiest places I have ever been in my entire life. I'm glad they moved away so I never have to go back. It should be noted, though, that I'm a museum/places of historical interest/good restaurants kind of vacationer* and not a beach/suntan/drinks in hollowed-out tropical fruits kind of vacationer.


* I would totally go to monuments and museums for 12 days straight and I'd love every minute of it. It's why I like NYC so much.

Why don't you fly to Vegas, stay for a few days and then rent a car and check out some of California? Twelve days is a lot of time, and Vegas will get old well before then.

Yeah Zooey it is incredibly tacky. And there are Confederate flags everywhere. But still it is warm and small and cheap. And if nothing else you can always laugh at people.

I like Tieman's idea. Road trips are always nice and you can go to a bunch of places.

Come down to Austin! San Antonio's a short drive away, so you'll get your feel of artsy/indy Austin and historical San Antonio...all at the same time!

Of course, there isn't any special reason that I'd be pushing for Austin or anything.

I love spending time in either Chicago or San Francisco. Both are great towns that I have visited without a car and gotten around just fine. Chicago has a ton of museums, site seeing places and great food, but December could be chilly.

San Francisco has a great atmosphere and a wonderful downtown with a nice arts district. I moved around San Fran with just walking and transit fairly well and I've been there a few times.

Both towns have fantastic architecture.

I haven't been to D.C. so I can't comment on that, but I'm not a big fan of New Orleans. I visited there for about five days awhile back and it had great food, music (what a selection) and drinking, but it gets old fast. Back then it was probably the seediest, dirtiest, most violent town I had ever visited. While the architecture was great to look at, everything was just so damn dingy. There are also some historic areas there, but as I recall, the transit system was hit and miss.

Having the bad fortune of actually living in Vegas, this is actually a good idea and it's something we have done in the past. Vegas has a decent transportation system going, including buses that run most of the evening on the weekends and the damn Metro Rail that runs from the Hilton over to The Strip.

monorail monorail MONORAIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLL

Is there a chance the track could bend?

Vegas is great for four days, but 12 days is a no-go. Rath doesn't drive so his best shot is to fly to San Francisco for the remainder of his trip. San Diego and L.A. have awful transit systems, although if you stay near Old Town/Ocean area in San Diego you might be fine. San Francisco still seems the best option to me in California.

If you haven't been you should go to DC, Miss Zooey. The Smithsonian on it's own is a seven day wonder. The surrounding area is also drop dead gorgeous. Plus the restaurants kick all kinds of ass.

Allow me to say that my comment above had no bearing on the quality DC's monuments and museums. I just wouldn't' spend 12 days of vacation total doing that.

Though, there's good music and good food for sure, a lot of great indie bookstores if that interests anyone. And it's a pretty laid back city with great public transportation.

This is what I'm sayin'. If you're a museum and sight-seeing ho, DC will keep you more than occupied. However, if you're a hooker ho? Off to Vegas with you then.

DC is fucking cold that time of year. Why don't you get a passport? They are free, after all.

While I would also suggest San Francisco as an ideal vactaion spot, it isn't exactly an inexpensive option. (I think New York and San Francisco are pretty much tied for being the most expensive city in the contiguous United States.)

However, if you do go there, the three reasonably priced hotels I would suggest (in order of expense) are: Miyako Hotel, Ramada Plaza Inn, and the Marina Motel. The Miyako is a really nice hotel in the heart of Japantown. It has one of the better hotel bars in SF, nice rooms (some with traditional Japanese amenities) and charges around 125 a night for some rooms. The Ramada Plaza is near Civic Center, which gives you pretty much immediate acces to BART, Davies Symphony Hall, SF Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, and the Orpheum. On top of that, it's a litle cheaper than Miyako and has a very retro vibe i.e. there are doormen in red suits and hats outside of the hotel. The Marina Motel is the cheapest of the lot and--you guessed it--it is located right outside the Marina. Its rooms come with amenities such as a kitchen with a stove and fridge. The nearest landmarks are the Palace of Fine Arts and the Golden Gate Bridge.

If you want to visit the Bay Area relatively inexpensively, I'd sggest Emeryville. Not only is it the home to Pixar but it has the cheapest and most accessible and reliable public transport system in the area--free shuttles near the AC Transit stops--and it benefits from being about as clean and safe as the nicer areas of SF and Berkeley without being almost depressingly expensive.

Two areas to avoid at all cost in SF Bay Area: The Tenderloin and the part of Telegraph Avenue my town shares with Oakland. However, if you have a death wish, carrying around something moderately expensive in that part of Oakland at night is a great idea.

For the whopping six months that I lived in California, I can vouch for Emeryville (this was where we had our training classes when I worked at Estee Lauder). Cheap, and very close to SF, like a 10 minute drive to the heart of the city.

Wait...free?

I'll throw another vote in for New Orleans.

While the outlying areas are still trashed, the city proper is functioning, and the French Quarter and other touristy areas are close to normal levels.

The Aquarium of the Americas and the Audubon Zoo are great places to visit (you can flip off the sharks at the AotA for hours, and they never retaliate. Because they have stupid fish brains.), The National World War II Museum (formerly the D-Day Museum) is also a great place to visit and there are hokey but fun haunted history tours, historical tours, etc. Obviously there's all the partying on Bourbon, etc. The street car system is still hobbled but operational, but most everything is in walking distance anyway...except the stuff that isn't.

One of my favorite New Orleans memories was seeing a guy dressed like Jesus carrying a big cross on his back, throwing beer bottles at frat boys while a transvestite looked on. You don't get that kind of magic just anywhere.

Sorry. Practically free.

Age 16 and older: The passport application fee is $67. The execution fee is $30. The total is $97 .

You might want to reverse the Vegas/San Fran idea. I had a friend who did similar, but by the time he left Vegas he didn't have enough money to get to California.

Then again, he was a compulsive gambler and sort of vanished off the face fo the Earth because he owed some guys some money. I wonder if they ever found him?