So where is everyone headed this summer?
We just got back from a short cruise to celebrate my partner's 60th, and next week, we will be heading up to Boston/Provincetown for our annual 10 day trip to visit family and friends....

We just got back from a weeks holiday in Holguin, Cuba, celebrating our 1st wedding anniversay and an early celebration of my birthday. Great time.

It's not a vacation, but I am going to a conference in Houston June 25-8. Was wondering what spots might be worth taking the time to see. I know the 'Stros are in town playing Detroit so I hope to get to see their park- maybe with some Outsporters? or fellow teachers (it's an education related conference). I also know it could be unbearably hot!

It'll be hot as heck with 90% humidity...
Some great restaurants in town...
If you are into bars, the BRB is good, JR's can be fun.....

Nowhere

The boyfriend and I are going to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico at the end of June for some R&R. OMG can't wait. I have to get some color. Its sad when a few of my white friends have more color than I do right now. So skin cancer be damned I want to BAKE!!!! That will be such a mental break. I want to read a couple books and get some treatments at the spa and have lots of sex...more than usual. Oh and please..no swine flu comments. I'm sick of everyone either bringing up drug cartels or now swine flu when I tell them we are going there for vacation. Thats going to be the big trip for the summer though because we have so much going on work related. I am working on my best friend's commitment ceremony for this fall, we are making some structural alterations to the house, there are 2 weddings we are going to in July, and 1 in August. We both have week long retreats for work that we are going to. Ugh..usually the summer is down time but just so much goin on this year. So other than Cabo (and Arizona at the end of this month so technically not summer) we will just be hitting the beach house on the weekends for get away time.

Swiminbuff, how was Cuba? That is one place I am interested in visiting. My ex's grandmother used to visit their yearly and had some old home movies of Cuba...wow! Like Vegas in a beautiful, tropical setting. As for me, just visiting the folks at their summer home in Hot Springs. They live on a mountain lake, I float around, and mom makes me cocktails. Life is sweet when I am down there!

We go to Holguin province which is actually a largely agricultural and mining area so scenery isnt the selling point. What it has going for it is that it has not been over developed with hotels like Varadaro but for my money it has the best beaches in the Caribbean. Water is so clear you can see your feet at the bottom and fish come right up to you to be fed bananas. People are so friendly, and attractive, and cant do enough for you both on the resort and off in the local villages. They also seem optomistic about their future which is good. Holguin was hard hit by hurricane Ike and still about 500,000 people homeless. There are students from UBC in Vancouver there now building homes for people.

We have over the years visited many parts of Cuba (Havana, Varadaro, Metanzas, Caya Coco, Santiago and Trinidad) but have decided Holguin area is our favorite for rest and relaxation. The hotel we stay at is very welcoming, they know we are a gay couple and arent bothered in the least. Welcome us back like family each year. Went there on our honeymoon trip last year and they sent up bottles of wine and rum to our room and arranged a special private dinner on beach for us.

There is certainly a lot of development potential in the country in terms of infrastructure. It should eventually become the wealthiest of the island nations. Time will tell how things work out as government continues to make small moves forward and inevitably changes to some form of democracy.

I am going to be on vacation late June early July but do not have any plans yet.

I am thinking of a couple of things- I would really like to see the east coast and be someplace really cool for the 4th.

Just every time I go to one of the travel websites and try to plan out the trip, I go completely blank LOL Nothing is jumping out- any ideas from the crew?

The other thought I had is that I would like to head out to the Mountain West and travel through Utah (see the ArchesNational Park, through Colorado, Nevada and over to the Grand Canyon.

I will be traveling solo, but I really want to just enjoy myself- no pressure, etc.

But ANY ideas are welcome. I have a moderate budget... so please send ideas my way. (I have to stay domestic- will not have my passport in time)

Why not go someplace where you can get your history straight and your nightlife gay?

Going to Mexico also. Will be staying in Morelia for about 5 weeks and taking a bunch of university students too. Amazing to me how the flu story was hyped and how it scared some of our students and their parents. Still the vast majority of them are sticking this out...

Backpacking with the Boy Scouts again.

I have been backpacking at Philmont in New Mexico with my oldest two sons. I didn't think I was going to get to go with my third son but he announced he was going. There was a space in the crew for another adult so I am delighted to get to go again.

10 days backpacking is quite an adventure particularly for an old man like me. The mountains, the trail, the scenery is unbelievable.

The only bad thing is that whenever I go, my friends threaten to revoke my gay card.

Ahhh Morelia. Have a good time. I love the Centro Historico. The buildings have such beautiful Spanish colonial architecture.

Any recommendations for Puerto Rico? Sightseeing? shopping, excursions?

The rain forest is pretty cool...
Old San Juan is kind of fun to explore as well...lots of great restaurants in the city, plus night life...you will not be bored...

OMG thats my home away from home. Where to begin? Well....when are you going? Well sightseeing I agree that if you are into touristy areas, San Juan and Old San Juan has many attractions. I love the little shops of Old San Juan. There's also the Bacardi Factory in San Juan. The gayborhood of Puerto Rico is located in the Condado area. There is the gay owned Atlantic Beach Hotel but I would not recommend staying there. It is an older rather shitty hotel. However, they do have a bar leading out to the beach and it is cool to go there for a drink. But again I wouldn't recommend staying there. The best places to stay in San Juan if you are looking for nice accomodations are the InterContinental San Juan Resort Spa and Casino, the El San Juan Hotel and Casino which is part of the Waldorf Astoria Collection, and the San Juan Caribe Hilton.

If you are interested in gay bars/clubs I'd recommend Krash. It has a mixed crowd of gays and lesbians; a very hot crowd. If you are into the scene, you can't be in San Juan and not go to Krash in San Juan. Hot guys, great music, and is the spot you want to go to drink and dance your ass off. Then there is Club Le Cirque which is exclusive. Its where the "go to be seen" people want to go. People are usually dressed to the nines. It offers membership to regular patrons and there is a dress code. Very nice decor and great wine and food. This place is in Old San Juan. If you are into salsa I would recommend Boccachio for some great salsa music and dancing. This is in San Juan. If you want the Queer as Folk Babylon experience and want to get your freaky sneaky on I would recommend the Male Depot Private Club in San Juan. Its definitely a cruising bar with a backroom where lots of nastiness goes on. They've also got strippers and porn playing on tv. Starz in San Juan is another must go to club in San Juan. They have great dancing and its pretty trendy.

What part are you staying in? If you can at all get to the El Conquistador in Fajardo I would HIGHLY recommend it. It is an amazing hotel and spa with beautiful scenery. They have great restaurants and boutiques there. Get some spa time if you can. Its part of the Waldorf Astoria Collection and is truly one of my favorite hotels in the world. Not far from Fajardo is the El Yunque rainforest. Really beautiful. If you are into surfing I would recommend the western side of the island in Rincon. I would also try and go on a scuba diving excursion on the island of Vieques....simply amazing!!! My relatives stay in the Luquillo and Fajardo areas of Puerto Rico. Its located about 45-55 minutes east of San Juan. When I go I pretty much don't go to San Juan unless I'm going to meet friends who fly in who want to go to the hot clubs at night or if I'm showing them touristy areas. I like to stay with the locals.

OMG I always get excited for other people when I hear they are going to Puerto Rico. There's so much more to do there though that I didn't even touch on. I pretty much gave you the San Juan experience with a sprinkling of some things to do outside of that area. Have an AMAZING time. When the boyfriend and I retire in hopefully 10 years...15 at the most, I want to have a place there. Of course, since he's Dominican, he wants a place in the Dominican Republic. But thats a whole other subject. ENJOY...LIVE IT UP...HAVE A BLAST!!! I absolutely love Puerto Rico. Its beautiful with beautiful people and beautiful beaches. Oh and don't worry about the whole language thing. Most people you will come into contact with speak English.

16 more school days then it's summer break. That's all I'm concerned about. I SO need some time off from these little "angels."

The bf & I decided to do a road trip this time around. I've never done one as extensive as the one we have planned. We'll be leaving on 6/19 & head towards Zion Natl Park & stay in Bryce Canyon Natl Park, UT. After that we head to Colorado Springs to see the in-laws (they just moved from Wichita a few months ago). It's so cute cuz my mom-in-law called last night & told us she & my bro-&-sis-in-law are taking us to a nice place for dinner. She was so excited when she was telling us about it. Also, my sis-in-law said that she's gonna take us to this "cool" gay bar! LOL! It was supposed to be a surprise but mom spoiled it. That's ok though. At any rate we plan to see Garden of the Gods & the cave in CS. After 4 days, we head to Santa Fe, NM. Then off to our last stop, Sedona, AZ, b4 heading home. I can't wait. I've been dreaming of this trip for years & now it's only 5 weeks away. Yay!

The only place I've been is Santa Fe. As for my bf he's been to none. So I'm sure it'll be quite a nice & romantic vacation for us. Plus we'll be doing lots of outdoor things, which I absolutely LOVE!

Edit to add:

LOL! I just happened to notice this photo from the Sedona link I referenced here. Perhaps our trip is gonna be REALLY romantic:

^STC, Garden of the Gods is awesome. When I visited my Aunt in Denver, she took me there. Very very picturesque and beautiful. If you do somehow get the chance, try and get to Red Rocks Ampitheatre, really really cool as well, not to mention there are dinosaur fossil imprints 7min away(by car).

Cool MfC. Thanks 4 the info.

Wearing white? Oh, now, SC Trojan, you DO know better, don't you? White? Really?

OMG!!!!! Get out of me mb! That's why I posted that pix! ...

You know me & my sense of humor too well!

Got to P-town yesterday & it is friggin' cold! 50 degrees this morning! Very cold 4 us Miami boyz!
Just got back from a brisk morning walk into town for coffee.

Tomorrow it's off to Dallas for a short 2 night business trip....
Since so many of us at the conference are gay, usually one night ends up on Cedar Springs....

Well this sucks. I just started getting to know some of ya guys and now you're deserting your houses for Mehico, the desert?, Cuba (awesome), etc.

Oh well, I plan on going to the beach at least once a week, drive up the coast of california, nude beaches, I dunno.

Yeah, my ancestors were from Zacatecas (another colonial city). (a side note: Mark Sanchez's family was also from there)

...my grandparents immigrated to Miami, AZ early in the 20th Century (just when Villa's revolution was getting started). My Grandpas feared forced/kidnapped entry into the war by either side. ...& yes, they were miners.



I've always wanted to go to your hometown Joe!...Will you be my tour guide one day?

Well, sure! Although you might be happier with a professional...

A party goin alchy would suit my persona/taste just fine.

Philly- 4th of July weekend(really, is there a more fitting place to do that holiday?)

That and visiting five ballparks in a 50 hours span. Hey, it's how I roll.

Ohio- NFL Hall of Fame induction weekend to see Bruce Smith and Ralph Wilson in those yellow blazers. The Unintentional Comedy Factor for Ralph's speech should be off the charts.

That and checking out Columbus, OH's new ballpark(surprise)

Yep, pretty lame by my standards.

Dang! This summer is prolly out, but next summer, hmmmm?...

Joe, start stocking up on that Stoli, okaaayy!!!

Off tomorrow morn QUITE early. Ok, talk everyone in a few.

Boston, maybe?

My plans are pretty simple: I'll be in Provincetown for the July 4th weekend and for a full week in mid-August. At some point this summer, I will take my kids down to visit their grandmother on the Jersey Shore. Very late in the summer (September), I'll be going to Las Vegas with a group of gay friends for one of our birthdays.

Been twice to the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. Quite fun, but certainly an exhausting day.

I've also gone to Ptown once for 4th of July. Quite fun also.

Summer is over you guys!!! Man it went by so fast. I'm not complaining though. Fall is my favorite time of year, and after this humid August in the northeast, my hair will love drier, crisper air. Anywho...any last getaways for anyone? I'm gonna wrap up the summer very low key with the usual jaunt to NY to take my god son and two younger cousins to Arthur Ashe Kids Day to kick off the US Open. After that, the boyfriend and I and some friends are going for a week of rest and relaxation in Martha's Vineyard. I want to just sleep in, relax, do some bicycling, do some sailing, and enjoy the tranquility of that place. So...for all you summer lovers out there who actually have a clear change of season, enjoy the last days of it.

I certainly will.

I've got the week before Labor Day off and I'm hopping in my car on a baseball roadtrip of the MLB parks of the Midwest. I'll be seeing 10 games in 9 parks in 9 days.

Detroit, Cincinnati(2), Wrigley, Minnesota, St. Louis, Milwaukee(will check out Gay World Series), Comiskey, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland before heading back to the B-lo....

Uuummm! I'm confused. My calendar says that Fall officially starts 9/22.

Meteorological autumn begins September 1st.

My friend from NJ is in town for the week and her, my boyfriend and I are taking a brief road trip to Western South Dakota (about 9 hrs from the twin cities).

We really want to do a hot air balloon ride in that area, but the only thing we saw on line was a company that charges $300 per person for that...which is preetty steep...

otherwise, we'll end up at mt rushmore, the black hills and anything else we find for the few days we are there....

I'm looking forward to a long car drive...i wish some baseball would be involved, but unfortunately, I haven't had a good baseball road trip since 2006!

josh

Ok, LA will be warm or usually warmer throughout Sept. up until late Oct. So I guess it's a regional thing. Fall usually doesn't start here until late Oct./early Nov. Oh well. I'll cont to enjoy the warm & dry weather.

You can thank El Nino for that--for now. He formed a couple months ago, & if he becomes a strong one, CA. & the rest of the west coast is in for a major problem!

yep summer is over and i'm not complaining....

Well...officially yes. But many kids around here are already back in school or start on 8/31. Labor Day weekend is next weekend, and even though fall doesn't start until 9/22, I think of these combined events as the unofficial end of summer. The fall clothes are on the shelves, Halloween decorations are out. All I need now is for the temperatures to cooperate. That baseball roadtrip sounds awesome blueraider.

Actually, to date our summer here has been mild for LA & quite comfortable, hovering between 80-85. There's been one week or so where the temps reached the upper 90s, but other than that nada. Of course, Sept & part of Oct could be quite warm. But the way things have been goin so far we just may have mild temps then too. Fingers crossed.

Cincinnati for the MIST Tournament over Labor Day weekend.

I'm going to Baltimore for a couple of days...but that's on Thursday, so technically it's still summer.

We took another short 3 night Bahama cruise last week. We always forget about these as a great way to get away for the weekend...
Saw a lot of the Miss Universe contestants while we were over at Atlantis...
We pre-booked 2 cabins on the Norwegian Epic, which looks like it's going to be an amazing ship! Looking forward to the Ice Bar on board!

There are so many great deals right now for trips. The boyfriend and I just booked a 5 night trip to the Dominican Republic that includes roundtrip airfare and all inclusive meals and drinks. Now, anyone who has done all inclusive before knows the alcohol is not top shelf and the food isn't always the best. But, still can't beat that kind of deal. It will be a nice little fall getaway and he can see his family and friends in DR. But there are great deals for airfare to Europe and cruises that are so low right now. Its just that you have to book between now and the end of the month and have to go by November. So if you've got the funds and the time to spare, BOOK!!!!

I am concluding a two week trip to see the family in Ohio before heading back to LA. Fortunate that LA summer runs until October and then...Brasil!!!

Brasil.....aye aye aye....what part?!!! Have you ever been? Have an amazing time!!!! I've been there as a single guy and coupled and I must say...it was more fun single. Are you speedo ready? Oh my god the men in Brasil are AMAZING!!!! Makes 99% of the men we post in Hot Jocks look like a bunch of RAGAMUFFINS!!!!