What are some exciting places to visit in Panama City, Florida?|100209

My mom and I are going to Panama City, FL for my dance nationals, and we will have 2 free days there. What could we do there that we would enjoy??? We were considering going to Gulf World Marine Park. We really don_t want to spend that much money. Help?

....look at _visitpanamacitybeach.com_ for various activities on the beach.Check out Pier Park,and Coconut Creek Mini Golf and Maze,for a nostalgic mini golf _Goofy Golf_ is on of the Original Mini Golf courses.
Also A glass bottom boat trip to shell Island is worth it.

Lots of fun things to do there! Depends on what you_re into, lots of shopping (outlet malls, local shops, etc), go carts, mini golf, water parks. PC is okay, but I much prefer the towns west of there, a little more upscale. I know you didn_t pick it, you_re going to nationals, but if you want nicer beaches head an hour west and spend the day in Destin! Also, there are plenty of places to rent jet skis, parasail, etc.
Hope this helps.

Depending on your age Gulf World may not be all that exciting and if you ask me it_s over priced. There_s good shopping at Pier Park, Shipwreck Island Water Park, and Ripleys. Theres_s also of course the beach which is free and you can be out there as long as you want and can even kill an entire day.

What is the fare to get to a 1A station using an MBTA interzone pass?|172961

If I have a 1-7 interzone pass coming from Haverhill and need to get off at Malden (zone 1A), what do I pay? Is it just the fare from zone 1 to zone 1A?

_Interzone fares and passes are NOT valid for travel to or from North Station, South Station, Back Bay Station and other Zone 1A stations._. Uh-huh.. If I_m reading the website correctly (if can be a big word) an additional four bucks each way, on top of your pass. It_s as clear as mud!

What to see in the Olympic Peninsula?|183473

We_re planning a day trip from Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula. We_re renting a car and taking the ferry from Seattle to Bremerton and want to drive through the peninsula from there, returning to Seattle that night. Is it reasonable to expect we can do this in 1 day? What are the _must sees_? Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :)

Yes, you can do it!

Head for Sequim from Bremerton. That_ll take just over an hour. When you get to Sequim, don_t miss (if you like big animals) the Olympic Game Farm. It_s home to lots of retired Disney (and other movie) animals and you get to feed them from your car. Be prepared to have zebra heads half way into the front seat and buffalo begging from you. It_s a lot of laughs, and you can drive through it in half an hour or 45 minutes.

Then on to Port Angeles, just 15 minutes beyond. The most important thing to do there is to drive to the top of Hurricane Ridge. The road to the top starts right in downtown Port Angeles on Race Street and you_ll be up there in about half an hour. You_ll have one of the most spectacular views in the world up there, and it won_t be much out of the way.

Then back down the hill and on to Forks, a little over an hour away, where you can either tour the _Twilight_ book settings or skip them and go on to the ocean beaches, any one of which you can stop at and scout for rocks and driftwood. The Kalaloch Lodge on the coast is a good place to have a meal (probably dinner by this time, as you would likely have had lunch in Port Angeles).

Then down the coast to Aberdeen/Hoquiam/Olympia--just drive through unless you want to see the house where Kurt Cobain grew up in Aberdeen--and back to Seattle. It_ll probably be late by the time you get back--maybe 9 or 10--but you will have put in a good, fun day.

If you don_t want to stretch out the day that much, just stop when you get to Port Angeles and turn around and head back to Bremerton the same way you came. You_ll be back in Seattle by late afternoon.

EDIT: Re: Hood Canal Bridge.
Well, now that does present a problem. There are ways to get to the Peninsula without the bridge, but they don_t really work with a trip to Bremerton on the ferry.
Instead of taking the ferry from Seattle to Bremerton, why don_t you drive north to Mukilteo (Everett area) and take the ferry to Whidbey Island. Once on Whidbey Island, you drive to Keystone and take the ferry to Port Townsend. From Port Townsend (a cute little Victorian-style town) you drive 45 minutes to Sequim and the rest of what I describe above is still intact. This does add some time to your trip but allows you to visit the Olympic Peninsula as you originally planned.
Otherwise, the only logical way to do this during that 6-wk time frame of bridge closure is to do it backwards--that is, drive around the Sound by going down through Olympia, then up the coast on 101 through Aberdeen to Kalaloch, Forks, Port Angeles, Sequim--and then back to the ferry at Port Townsend, back to Whidbey Island and Mukilteo, and back to Seattle on I-5. Without the bridge though, you can_t really incorporate a ferry ride to Bremerton in with a day on the Peninsula. Sorry about the timing.

ANOTHER EDIT: Without the Hood Canal Bridge, the best way to get on the Peninsula is the ferry from Whidbey Island to Port Townsend. That involves the option I mentioned in my first edit, i.e., going to Mukilteo (north of Seattle) first, taking one ferry to Whidbey, then driving to the ferry at Keystone on Whidbey and taking the short trip across to Port Townsend. (You should be able to do all that within a time frame of under 3 hours, and then you_re ready to explore the Olympic Peninsula in whatever part of the day you feel you have left. If you intend to return the same way you got there, you will need to set aside three hours at the end of your day to do that. I trust that will give you at least 6-8 hours on the Peninsula. It_s about 45 minutes to Sequim from Port Townsend, about 20 minutes to Port Angeles from Sequim, and about 75 minutes to Forks from Port Angeles. If you want to stop for lunch in Port Townsend, figure 75 minutes, the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim, figure 90 minutes, the drive to the top of--and back-- and time to appreciate Hurricane Ridge, figure 2 hours. That_s over 7 hours without having dinner; maybe you have dinner in Forks and drive back to Port Townsend in that last 3 hours you_ve reserved for getting back to Seattle; OR--if you get as far as Forks, you may as well drive down 101 to Olympia and then back north on 1-5 to Seattle. You should be able to do all that in about the same amount of time without backtracking. HOWEVER, if you don_t feel you can make it to Forks without extending your day too much, you could drive just beyond Port Angeles to some eating spot on the way to Forks (It_s a beautiful drive, and Granny_s, about 10 miles out on the highway, is a good choice) and then turn around and go back to Port Townsend to begin your ferry trip back to Whidbey and to Mukilteo. As I forgot to calculate waiting time at the ferry landings, chances are you_ll have to add about an hour to the whole trip in order to account for waiting at each landing. Or, you could save time altogether by picking up something to eat as you wait for ferries, or by eating ON the ferry. Options are a bit limited on those particular ferries, but you can always find something to get you by. The time savings would be worth it, I think, making you feel less rushed as you explore the Peninsula).

If you don_t mind coming home at night time, then you definitely can make a day of it and see many sights. There are so many fun things to do across the Peninsula would go to the Petrified Forests, or visit Port Townsend (very cute town) I personally would take the ferry to Port Townsend, drive around through the Olympic National forest, check out the petrified forest, head over the the coast and come home from the south, but you can also go the other way and start from the south and save on some ferry costs or skip the ferry altogether. The ferry (as I_m sure you know) may save you time, but for the wait of the ferry that you have most of the time doesn_t really save you time, just a little bit of driving and gas. I hope that helped, sorry I couldn_t give you too many more ideas. We always seem to hit the same destinations and I bet there is a lot more out there. :)

You could kill two birds with a stone by seeing the
Pacific Ocean and the Olympic National Rainforest.
One popular place to enter the rainforest is at the
place where the Hoh River empties into the ocean.

You could hike on the beach there before or after
taking a hike through the rainforest. There is an
entrance to that forest by the north side of the Hoh
River. You could find it there off of Highway # 1.

Where in southern CA can i live near the beach but not spend a fortune?|198850

My fiance and I are going to move to southern CA for his job. We want to live near the beach without spending a fortune. Any ideas?

Long Beach or Huntington would be your best option

In Long Beach, Alamitos Beach is probably the cheapest. But the parking is absolutely the worst, and its not the nicest of areas. Its borderline ghetto, and if you walk just a few short blocks north, you will be in the Ghetto. I only lasted 2 months living there.

I don_t live in CA so I can_t tell you about it being affordable (but I have heard that most of CA is pretty pricey!). My dad lives in RIverside (about 30-45 from the beach and the mountains...ocean front is going to cost you a lot more... and being a half hour away shouldn_t be too bad!

ummm, well where is his job that would be the best starting point....obviously many people want to live near the great beaches...Where does he work or what kind of job does he have...there are many miles and miles of beaches...?

Unfortunately, that is PROBABLY near-impossible.

Housing/rentals that are near the beach are at a premium - and carry a premium price tag.

Ocean Beach in San Diego
Imperial beach

I think I would try for Long Beach or Seal Beach, but it is all expensive.

Oceanside is the cheapest of all Southern California beaches, but it is next to the Marine base!
Long Beach is very diverse, expensive near the water and cheaper as you go inland, ghetto actually...

Depends on what you classify as spending a fortune, because homes in CA cost a lot. Your best chances are with Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Seal Beach, Oceanside and way down south Imperial Beach.

It_s really very simple: It_s all about supply and demand. EVERYBODY wants to live near the beach. But there is only a limited amount of real estate near the beach. Thus, high demand times low supply equals VERY high prices.

Actually, I DID find an inexpensive place about 12 miles from the beach: It_s called Compton. Check out craigslist, I_m sure you can find a great deal.

What is the best: living alone in the woods or living in the city?|109759

I always dream of living alone in the woods. Living close with nature. Hearing all these wild animal sounds. Watching the sunrise and the sunset. Away from these crazy technologies once in a while. Have you ever felt that feeling wherein you were almost _this_ close to Earth? I_m not a naturalist or a Green Peace member. I_ve grown tired of living in the busy streets of the metro. I need a breath of fresh AIR!!!

I_ve lived in BOTH settings- and have enjoyed them both. But unless you have serious emotional _issues_ and can_t _handle_ dealing with your OWN thoughts- NOTHING beats living alone in the woods. Because you don_t _feel_ alone... -Life in a zillion _forms_ is going on _ in communication around you...- _ there_s SO much to, _tune in too..._ And once you learn to tap into that, you ALWAYS have _Company_. In the City, -virtually ALL your contact is Human based... -It_s like ONE strain of music, playing over, _ OVER- again. It_s comforting in it_s way...-but it_s _dulling_ of the mind _ imagination... -and can lead to a dangerous _ stifling sort of Security. Country living really IS the way to go. :)

I bet it will be great to do that for a few days, but I am sure I - and probably you too - cannot do that for more than a few days.

I would love to take a break from a place like the city and go to the woods but i could never do that for more than a week or so but i think id live in the city and vacation to the woods or another place away from the city

I think that I could do that for maybe 3 days......then I would need to get in my car, and go find a laptop or something.

I live in the forest. I am a Troll ! Come and live near me and I will teach you how to eat roots and bugs and show you why eating roots and bugs makes me a little sideways.
But you can not live closer than 20 kilometers. I do not like a lot of people crowding in on me. You may want to start letting your toe nails grow now , so you can dig out roots and bugs.