Money can't buy happiness

[ponyo]

I'm dying to go on vacation again and have been thinking about going back to Cancun or Los Cabos next month in spite of COVID-19 risks. Mexico is one of the few countries Americans can fly in and not have to quarantine for 2 weeks. I was thinking about driving down to Miami and Key West since I rahter not fly but with all the protests and riots going on in many of the major US cities, I'm kind of hesitant. But man do I miss vacationing. Searching and seeing this post brought back lot of good memories. What good is money if you can't travel?

 

[brianmanahan]

I'm dying to go on vacation

are you really dying to go on vacation

or are you going on vacation to die?

 

[brianmanahan]

i want to get out too, planned on doing france or NZ this year

but now my only vacation option in 2020 is to sit at home and post on ATOT all week

 

[OccamsToothbrush]

Money can buy a shit ton of things that would make me happy.

It's okay, you can say "hookers and blow" here. We all know what you meant.

 

[Exterous]

Any places in driving distance domestically? We're finally headed to the UP in MI later in the summer. Between driving and hiking it should be relatively safe. Parts are a 9 hour drive from here so while we've wanted to make the trip for the same time commitment we could be in France, Spain, Aruba etc so we've not bad the decision to stay in state before

 

[brianmanahan]

What good is money if you can't travel?

more hermes scarves

 

[ponyo]

Any places in driving distance domestically? We're finally headed to the UP in MI later in the summer. Between driving and hiking it should be relatively safe. Parts are a 9 hour drive from here so while we've wanted to make the trip for the same time commitment we could be in France, Spain, Aruba etc so we've not bad the decision to stay in state before

I was going to drive down to Miami and Key West but not with the protest and riots going on right now.

more hermes scarves

Hermes is cheaper to buy in France. Once this dumb virus dies down, I'm going to take my wife to Paris to do some shopping at the flagship Hermes store there.

She received her scarf last week. I'm trying to buy her another Hermes scarf but the design I want to buy for her is not available to purchase online right now. That's Hermes game. They make it really difficult to purchase the item you want to buy. Just because you have money doesn't mean you can just buy what you want at Hermes. It doesn't work that way. It could be years before you have the opportunity to buy certain Hermes product at retail if at all. There are scarves, bags, and wallets my wife wants I'm trying to buy for her that I don't know if I will ever get to buy for her. Not because of lack of money. It's because Hermes won't sell it to me. Not yet. Maybe never.

 

[purbeast0]

I'm dying to go on vacation again and have been thinking about going back to Cancun or Los Cabos next month in spite of COVID-19 risks. Mexico is one of the few countries Americans can fly in and not have to quarantine for 2 weeks. I was thinking about driving down to Miami and Key West since I rahter not fly but with all the protests and riots going on in many of the major US cities, I'm kind of hesitant. But man do I miss vacationing. Searching and seeing this post brought back lot of good memories. What good is money if you can't travel?

We are REALLY contemplating driving down to the keys for 2 weeks mid-June. We will stay in Marathon like we usually do if we go down there. I'm in MD so it is like an 18 hour drive or more. But if I do it I think I might stop overnight in Georgia or something to split it up.

It's all highway so it's not like the protests are going to be in route or anything.

 

[Red Squirrel]

People who insist on traveling are the ones that are going to make this pandemic last longer than it should. Stay in your home area. We are almost 1 month without any cases in my general area and it would be nice to go back to normal and be able to visit people again, but it only takes one dufus who insists on traveling and coming back with the virus and then we'll have cases again. Wish they would stop air travel and set road checkpoints to keep people inside (only allow freight) their regions so the regions without a virus can start going back to normal. We only get 2 months of summer here and family BBQs and camping would be kind of nice. Don't need to leave town when everything to do is here.

That said me and my family have kinda broke the rules a few times, we were cautious about it but we did get together a few times. It's not any worse than going to stores or other places that remain open. It would be nice to be able to do it legally though and we still avoid it in case we get snitched on.

 

[skyking]

we'll load up the trailer and head out to where ever I can get to and back in a week, sometime this summer. Maybe the Utah National Parks.
Having your own home on wheels means we can social distance anywhere.

 

[Kaido]

we'll load up the trailer and head out to where ever I can get to and back in a week, sometime this summer. Maybe the Utah National Parks.
Having your own home on wheels means we can social distance anywhere.

I went through Moab a few years ago, it was amazing! Rented a Jeep for the day & crawled around 7-mile rim. I wanted to hit up the arches, but it was packed & I was on a schedule

Absolutely beautiful country though. I've driven through most of America at this point & I'm always surprised at how many states really do have their own little ecosystem, for the most part, despite being more or less arbitrary lines on a map. I wish that hitchhiking was more of a thing like it used to be in Europe, where you could just pack up after high school & tour the country. My buddy did that in college - took his bike & spent like 3 months biking all over Europe. What a cool thing to do!

Reminds me of this awesome motorcycle tour gallery from half a dozen years ago: (be sure to click "load more images"!)

https://imgur.com/a/J7kZJ

 

[Muse]

Jay Leno agreed, but he added "but it can help."

 

[ultimatebob]

Jay Leno agreed, but he added "but it can help."

Heh... says the guy who has about fifty million dollars worth of cars in his garage. He sure looks like he's having fun driving those on his TV show.

 

[Mai72]

People who insist on traveling are the ones that are going to make this pandemic last longer than it should. Stay in your home area. We are almost 1 month without any cases in my general area and it would be nice to go back to normal and be able to visit people again, but it only takes one dufus who insists on traveling and coming back with the virus and then we'll have cases again. Wish they would stop air travel and set road checkpoints to keep people inside (only allow freight) their regions so the regions without a virus can start going back to normal. We only get 2 months of summer here and family BBQs and camping would be kind of nice. Don't need to leave town when everything to do is here.

That said me and my family have kinda broke the rules a few times, we were cautious about it but we did get together a few times. It's not any worse than going to stores or other places that remain open. It would be nice to be able to do it legally though and we still avoid it in case we get snitched on.

My city is packed with people from Philadelphia and New York. It's like COVID-19 never even happened. I hardly ever see anyone with a mask. Only in stores because it's mandatory. Had a guy approach me the other day and told me that this is all fake anyway. He worked in the medical field for 30 years. Fauci is a fraud. People dying aren't dying from COVID-19. It's not even real. Yadda yadda yadda. Remember. Half the country thinks this is real. The other half thinks it's fake.

 

[ultimatebob]

My city is packed with people from Philadelphia and New York. It's like COVID-19 never even happened. I hardly ever see anyone with a mask. Only in stores because it's mandatory. Had a guy approach me the other day and told me that this is all fake anyway. He worked in the medical field for 30 years. Fauci is a fraud. People dying aren't dying from COVID-19. It's not even real. Yadda yadda yadda. Remember. Half the country thinks this is real. The other half thinks it's fake.

I'm not too suprised by this. After all of the BLM protests, it's pretty obvious that the police doesn't have the manpower to enforce any of the quarantine restrictions. They're probably thinking "If the protestors can gather as they please, why can't everyone else?"

 

[ultimatebob]

we'll load up the trailer and head out to where ever I can get to and back in a week, sometime this summer. Maybe the Utah National Parks.
Having your own home on wheels means we can social distance anywhere.

Yeah, Utah looks like they've basically reopened. It seems like a nice to go for a "socially distant" vacation where I can go look at pretty rock formations without dealing with crowds.

 

[zinfamous]

Heh... says the guy who has about fifty million dollars worth of cars in his garage. He sure looks like he's having fun driving those on his TV show.

It's probably way more than that, right? His McClaren F1 alone is now worth ~$15 million, I think? I know he doesn't have a 250 GTO (I don't think he cares that much about Ferraris), but that is already a $50 million car.

Car values in recent years have gone ridiculous (I think it's all of that newly-trapped wealth, especially new wealth in places like China, that have suddenly minted tens of thousands of millionaires and billionaires from nothing)

 

[Dr. Detroit]

I wish I understood why our State and Federal parks are still not open for camping - but retail stores are open along with thousands protesting? We have a few camping reservations for later this Summer that we hope don't get canceled.

We booked Cancun for this Fall a few months back when plane tickets hit rock bottom. $300/RT from SF to Cancun direct. We got a minor discount on the hotel at $340/night and they tossed in a private airport transfer.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I wish I understood why our State and Federal parks are still not open for camping - but retail stores are open along with thousands protesting? We have a few camping reservations for later this Summer that we hope don't get canceled.

We booked Cancun for this Fall a few months back when plane tickets hit rock bottom. $300/RT from SF to Cancun direct. We got a minor discount on the hotel at $340/night and they tossed in a private airport transfer.

Yeah seem odd to me, camping is a great way to go on vacation without needing to travel far and there is plenty of social distancing involved. It's a very low risk thing to do for everyone. Here they are planing to open the parks soon, but still no word about camping on crown land, which seems odd, crown land is even more isolated than national/provincial parks.

 

[mopardude87]

Oh money can buy happiness, this is oh so true. My life is based on the very concept. No shame in it honestly. Money does make the world go round. Depends what ya buy, what i buy usually generates happiness. I am growing some of that happiness as well. I could be happy without money but honestly its just easier to deal with a reality where it honestly does make ya happier.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Money can't buy me happiness? If I had enough to kidnap the components for a celebrity sex harem I'm sure I could feel better than not have it.

 

[skyking]

I wish I understood why our State and Federal parks are still not open for camping - but retail stores are open along with thousands protesting? We have a few camping reservations for later this Summer that we hope don't get canceled.

We booked Cancun for this Fall a few months back when plane tickets hit rock bottom. $300/RT from SF to Cancun direct. We got a minor discount on the hotel at $340/night and they tossed in a private airport transfer.

Us too, I have a group camp reserved for the 4th to get the dogs away from the fireworks. I booked a single site at another campground, because I heard the group camps may remain closed longer because 'groups'.
I really did not have all that many folks participating, it is just nice to have a 200 yard long spot on the river to yourself.
I usually start inviting people about May to camp with us, but that all went out the window.

 

[Exterous]

I had forgotten my vacation was still on the work calendar starting next week until a colleague pointed it out. This was supposed to be continent number 6 visiting Singapore, Bali, Thailand and Malaysia. Was also looking forward to trying business class on airlines like ANA, and JAL which I've heard such good things about. This was also my third attempt to fly on the upper deck of a 747. Equipment swaps on Lufthansa had stymied me previously and finding those still in use was getting a bit hard.

Kinda a bummer to be reminded that instead of flying out Friday after work I'll just be at home. Over the past 5 or 6 years i think 3 months was the longest I'd been grounded between work and vacations. 6 months and counting now...

 

[Red Squirrel]

I had camping planned in August with a friend who lives down south but we came to the consensus that it's better cancelling so we did. We figured we'll play it by ear, if things are much better then we might still go. We just won't be able to book the cabin we normally book as it will be taken but there should be campgrounds available. He just did not feel comfortable traveling here and risk getting covid sitting on a plane, airport etc.

Works out ok for me financially anyway since between rental and food etc it usually ends up costing around $500 or so and I'm very strapped for cash right now. Bought a truck in fall and it hit me pretty hard financially and will be paying that down for quite a while. Was kind of a bad decision. As much as it's nice having a truck, should have bought a car and a trailer instead. Not like I haul anything super heavy, it's just nice being able to get drywall, plywood, do dump runs, etc. I guess it comes back to the money buying happiness thing. If you buy something you want but then you get financial remorse over it, as much as you enjoy that thing you may still not be happy that you spent all that money and now dealing with debt. Kinda my situation with the truck.

 

[darkswordsman17]

It's probably way more than that, right? His McClaren F1 alone is now worth ~$15 million, I think? I know he doesn't have a 250 GTO (I don't think he cares that much about Ferraris), but that is already a $50 million car.

Car values in recent years have gone ridiculous (I think it's all of that newly-trapped wealth, especially new wealth in places like China, that have suddenly minted tens of thousands of millionaires and billionaires from nothing)

I think its just the same issues that have been happening in the art world (where its a mix of money laundering, tax scams, and a bunch of other behavior that is known to not be on the up and up).

Which, I remember a video several years back that Vice did, about a group of thieves that would rob jewelry stores, where it was the stores paying them to rob them because they'd gone underwater and filing insurance claims helped them out.

I went through Moab a few years ago, it was amazing! Rented a Jeep for the day & crawled around 7-mile rim. I wanted to hit up the arches, but it was packed & I was on a schedule

Absolutely beautiful country though. I've driven through most of America at this point & I'm always surprised at how many states really do have their own little ecosystem, for the most part, despite being more or less arbitrary lines on a map. I wish that hitchhiking was more of a thing like it used to be in Europe, where you could just pack up after high school & tour the country. My buddy did that in college - took his bike & spent like 3 months biking all over Europe. What a cool thing to do!

Reminds me of this awesome motorcycle tour gallery from half a dozen years ago: (be sure to click "load more images"!)

https://imgur.com/a/J7kZJ

People are still doing that, just in a different form. Lots of "van life" people. I'd said it about the little Elio 3 seater, but really a better option would be something like an older Prius, but those could be "backpack" cars where you could see the country at fairly low expense. They'd solve the hostel issue. With smartphones and the like you could easily find social interaction so that wouldn't even be missed much.