Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

Zion National Park is really nice and not as crowded as Yosemitie as long as you start early in the morning.
Bryce Canyon is really awsome as well, because of all the different colors of red.
The Grand Canyon is awsome, but is one of those places where you need to go there to be able to experience it. A picture doesn't do justice.

I agree Yosemitie is incredible, and its even cooler if you go theere and camp out at night so you can see all the stars. The only thing about Yosemitie is that now there are WAY too many tourists there to be able to enjoy yourself unless you go on a 5 mile (or larger) hike. (Which is fine with me, cause I did half-dome in a day, and clouds rest another).

Lastly, any place outdoors where you can just stare up into the sky can inspire me. Any professional picture at www.webshots.com always gives me something to think about if I want to stimulate my mind.

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

Since it is Mother's Day -
My favorite spot in the summertime was the roof of a book shed surrounded by branches filled with ripe mullberries, a breeze through the leaves, reading. My grandmother's house.

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

Custer State Park, SD
Badlands
Science and Industry Musuem, Chicago

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

The animation studio tour at Disney MGM. I could spend all day there.

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

My favourite vacations were the 25th anniversary of Disney’s park in Florida and I love to go to a provincial park in Ontario, Canada called Algonquin. The landscape is amazing and the hiking and biking trails are outrageous, there is also a wide range of other activities that you can do! There are camp grounds there for the average camper all the way to the extreme outback campers! Enjoy your summer everyone

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

Probably one of the most interesting places that I have ever traveled to is Ireland. The Cliffs of Moher are breathtaking and there are large caves in the south that are incredibly fun to tour. Whether you are a history buff or not, visiting the castles (both intact and in ruins) is always a treat - just remember to bring a big flashlight so you can go into the dungeons!

In grade school, my parents made a point of near-monthly trips to Chicago to bring my siblings and I to the museums. Needless to say, I've been through my fair shair of exhibits and, short of the Smithsonians in Washington, D.C., the Chicago museums are fantastic. The most interactive ones are definitely the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry.

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

While it isn't exactly "vacation" per se, there's a little patch of grass outside the dorm at the summer camp I worked at last/this summer. If you wake up early enough (which I thankfully did the day I returned to Columbia), you will see the most beautiful sunrise. Coincidentally, it will also wake you up mercilessly if you have an eastern-facing window.

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

This is good to know, I'm planning on a road-trip to Chicago this summer. I will definitely include this on my list of "Places I must see."
:)

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

Boston Museum of Science.

Especially in 2001 when there was 2 FIRST robots on display there.

151 right in the main lobby, and I believe 177 in the first great room on the right of the main entrance.

Also, taking a trip up to Salem & Gloucester Massachusetts* always make me feel at peace for some reason. I wanna live in those places once in my life, if only for a year.
(1/2 year in each place would do it.)


Gloucester is home to the Rockport Publishing Company who is making the FIRST Design book announced this year.
I'll have to stop in there and personally thank them for writing about us when I am up there in October.

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

If you find yourself in colorful Colorado, take the Cog Railway up Pike's Peak. The railway is a nifty piece of old school engineering that lets a train climb up some really steep inclines. It's pretty kewl, and when you get to the top, you can see Inspiration Point where the "America the Beautiful" song was written. You sit up on the majesty of those purple mountains and check out the fruity plains. It's nice. They have a monument up there that has the whole song. The next verse starts with "O' beautiful for pilgrim's feet......" No wonder we never sing that part....ewwww....thinking about William Bradford's toejam doesn't exactly make me wanna scream, "U-S-A, U-S-A!" Plus, a tour guide tells you stories all the way up, and you get a lot of history and hear about the foolhardy souls that yearly race hot rods to the top of the mountain. Those guys must really have a 'need for speed' because if you mess up, that first step is a doozie as they say. Some of you might remember Jessie James on Monster Garage building and a racing a car in that race. Jessie is just about fearless, but he said it scared him.

That's one of the neatest little side trips I've taken.

vic

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

Ohio's not a big state, so you can do all of this with a max. of three hours drive between each:

-Youngstown (near PA border, on Rt. 80) - Steel Museum, Children's Museum, Mill Creek Park - Old Mill
-Go west on Rt. 80 & north to Cleveland - Great Lakes Science Center (team party for Buckeye Regional this year - soooo much fun stuff to do!) and, of course, The Rock&Roll Hall of Fame (next door to each other)
-West to Sandusky - Cedar Point (best rollercoasters in the world, I think), or South/East to Aurora, Geagua Lake (more rollercoasters). Both sponsor Physics Days so I'm pretty sure if you call ahead you can get a park employee to give you a behind the scenes overview. The have FIRST teams display there every year to display on Physics day (coordinated by Cleveland NASA). And there's another hugh amusement park in Cincinnatti but I forget the name because Geagua Lake and Cedar Point are sooo awesome that I haven't gone there in at least 15 years!
-South to Columbus (COSI, state capital, the Horseshoe at OSU, etc.)
Of course, lots of really big malls and shopping everywhere!

And, there's much more (boating, train rides, water parks, camping, Amish areas, River Boats - go a little further south to the souther boarder - etc.)

And don't forget baseball, football, soccer, hockey...

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

Kings Island. Home of the world's greatest wooden roller coaster. Not quite as coaster-crazy as CP but a great park in its own right.

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

OK, an update. I visited my favorite National Park this past week. Here are some more recent shots. By the way, the snow runoff was AMAZING!!!

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

It's hard to think of a place I'd rather be than Yosemite, especially with the waterfalls flowing and a bit of snow still here and there. I haven't done the Half Dome hike in over 15 years, but your pictures had me looking for my boots up on the closet shelf.

Re: Vacation places that inspired you!
 

WOW! Yosemite in on my plans for 2007.
:cool: