ForumGarden

Hello everybody,

I'm new to this forum and excited to meet new people. So a little bit about myself, I've been an outdoors man all my life. Anything that involves being in the sun and outside is enjoyable. Building has been my specialty since I started building sheds and tree houses as a teenager. Ever since then I haven't been able to put down a hammer to save my life. If I'm not building something I'm either fishing or bicycling on my spare time. Here in Florida there are wonderful nature trails that stretch thousands of square miles with wild life at every direction. On top of that the beautiful beaches are flocking with fish and every new fishing excursion packs a surprise of what might be on the other end of your line. I recently retired from my cabinet installation company and now ready to travel all around the world... any recommendations?

With your interests it seems to me that New Zealand should be one of your first stops. With your skills, you could work your way throughout the country.

Do you speak any language beside English?

Feeling adventurous? If you're willing to learn a little Russian or read cyrillic I'd highly recommend going to Russia and the Ukraine. Moscow is a good place to visit but keep in mind its a big, dirty and very expensive place. If you feel like going further you can hop a train to Smolensk, Kazan, Novgorod or another of my favorites Byelgorod. Further out maybe you can wander through Siberia. Ekaratinberg, Omsk, Tomsk, Novosibirsk.

Moscow itself would take a few weeks to go over thoroughly. Russia is too big to see in a short amount of time. If you like woodworking and such things you'd be amazed at some of the local things produced, especially peoples homes.

The Ukraine is a different story, beautiful in ways but with the coming of "democracy" the whole place is kind of a pit. I'd check out Sevastopol and Evaptoria in the Crimea and Kiev, Chernigov . You wouldn't be the first foreigner to stay in that city, Batu Khan himself spent a winter there preparing to sack Kiev. If you're willing to put up with the hassle you could go to Brest Belarus. The Museum and Brest Fortress is an amazing place. In the museum they have a suit of heavy cavalry armor that is of Napoleonic vintage along with much more. Minsk is a nice city to visit. Even the stray cats are well scrubbed there.

If you want to do something different try this route.

It's why I asked about his language assimilation skill. If he's limited to English then there's South Africa, that's a place worth exploring and they all speak English there. Even the Boers.

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I speak Dutch and some Spanish. That's funny you say New Zealand, it was actually the first place I've visited out of America. It would be nice to start my voyage there then making my way over to Russia some day. I wouldn't mind checking out the slopes of Mount Elbrus.



Spot - Were you there for the World Cup by any chance?

Scalloway;1352566 wrote: Spot - Were you there for the World Cup by any chance?Good lord no - the murder rate in South Africa is in a league of its own. I avoid scary parts of the planet. I've not been to Africa at all, and the furthest south I've ventured into the Americas is 49 degrees north.

spot;1352576 wrote: Good lord no - the murder rate in South Africa is in a league of its own. I avoid scary parts of the planet. I've not been to Africa at all, and the furthest south I've ventured into the Americas is 49 degrees north.:wah:

How about the inca trails and things like that? or north to Alaska. I was actually on my way to alaska when I got married instead. Sometimes I think I should have kept going.

gmc;1352654 wrote: I was actually on my way to alaska when I got married instead. Sometimes I think I should have kept going.This surely deserves its own thread, the possibilities are mind-boggling.

gmc;1352654 wrote: How about the inca trails and things like that? or north to Alaska. I was actually on my way to alaska when I got married instead. Sometimes I think I should have kept going.


:D That would probably be amazing I heard from really good stories about Alaska but I think I'm getting sick of the cold already and winter just started. Though the inca trails sound nice.

Scalloway;1352924 wrote: That would probably be amazing I heard from really good stories about Alaska but I think I'm getting sick of the cold already and winter just started. Though the inca trails sound nice.


Hello Scalloway and welcome to ForumGarden:-6

I've always wanted to travel to Alaska as my Dad was born 130 miles east of Nome, Alaska. Unfortunately, he was shipped back to Ireland at the age of 2 years, leaving us little information about where he was born.

My family and I planned a trip to British Columbia and Alaska and planned to take a small plane to where Dad was born. After hearing of all the small planes that had crashed and the wildness of this area of Alaska, we decided not to go. We would have gone to Nome, but the cruise line had cancelled our trip to BC. So, it wasn't meant to be.

Why not travel to Ireland? There are fabulous places to visit there, especially Donegal. You can sit by a turf fire and enjoy a pint with the locals, or wander about the hilly mountains taking in the gorgeous views. You've never seen such gorgeous stars on a dark night as in Donegal.