Ok

[Signe]

Brighton is okay but it's no where near as fun and interesting as Amsterdam and about a bajillion other European cities.  Brighton is a nice family holiday place but that's about it.  It has a nice art museum and gallery and a fun toy museum.  Do you really think they compare to the Van Gogh or Stedelijk?  Have you ever been to them?

And, yes, I know Sky.  I actually had "shoulda" there first.  In any case, I know my English isn't the best but, after all these years you guys have known me, I still don't really care.  I bet I won't care six more years from now, either, although I appreciate the attempted edumacation.

[Sky]

Hey, I know Sky, too! 

[Fraeg]

1) check your junkmail inbox, order one of those Viagra prescriptions, and go at it like bunny rabbits all weekend with your wife 

2) That or take a weekend trip with your wife to a B&B and enjoy each others company.... I believe that is filed under "romantic getaway"

just hit 37 a couple of weeks ago myself... which kinda sucked cause I was in a random hotel for work.

[Signe]

Hey, I know Sky, too! 

Is he a duck?  What is the difference between a duck?

[Sky]

Don't forget to cover.

[K9]

Brighton is okay but it's no where near as fun and interesting as Amsterdam and about a bajillion other European cities.  Brighton is a nice family holiday place but that's about it.  It has a nice art museum and gallery and a fun toy museum.  Do you really think they compare to the Van Gogh or Stedelijk?  Have you ever been to them?

Well I grew up in Brighton and I've spent several months in Amsterdam which probably kills the novelty. Amsterdam's a fine place, but it's really no more special than Brighton or many other cities; they all have their merits, but I guess whatever you prefer comes down to personal tastes. For me Art museums are all well and good, but are really no substitute to a beach for lazy summer afternoons and post-pub bonfires in the early morning; but that's just my preference.

[Signe]

Yes, that's probably the difference.  I've been to an awful lot of beaches and, to be honest, Brighton isn't close to the nicest but it's home for you.  I love living by the water, but otherwise, I'm not a particularly beachy person.  They're everywhere.  Incredible pieces of fine art, however, aren't.  And the only time I do pubs is when we're traveling and stop for lunch.  (although I used to love stopping by the Intrepid Fox after seeing a show in London just for a freak watch) Not a pub person, either.  Italian beaches are gorgeous but I don't like walking in sand and looking at speedos trying to restrain 350 lbs of rich dumbass.

[Cyrrex]

I don't like walking in sand and looking at speedos trying to restrain 350 lbs of rich dumbass.

Don't you judge me!

[Surlyboi]

Rich dumbasses can hire personal trainers. It's the middle class dumbasses that sport the speedos when they weigh 300 pounds.

[Sky]

I don't understand beaches. Hot and grainy, I don't want to get sweaty and sandy. Give me a nice mountain stream any day, especially if you can jump off cliffs into it!

[Yegolev]

No bears on the beach, normally.

[Cyrrex]

My wife makes fun of me, because she thinks I hate sand.  She's right.  The only good thing about the beach is if it's one of the white sand beaches with the green water, and there are hot chicks strewn about the area.

[Yegolev]

I don't go to the other sort of beaches unless I have to because of friends who are near some crap-beach, like anything on the Atlantic.

[Cyrrex]

While in Disneyworld a few months ago, we decided to waste a day to go see the beach.  In a fit of stupidity, I said "hey, let's go to Daytona" because I'd heard about it on TV so much.  It was even sorta spring break.  That place fucking sucked.  Thirty degrees colder than inland, no people.  You could drive on the beach, but that was just retarded.  Waste of a perfectly good day.

[Yegolev]

There was a cold snap a few months ago.  It was 50F in Fort Walton Beach, which sucked.  Anyway, next time go west instead of east.

[Cyrrex]

Yeah, well, I had even been to some of the beaches on the west side many years in the past, so I must have been thinking that they would be equally awesome on the Atlantic side.  Uh, no.  I need to stop listening to my dumb brain.

[voodoolily]

The Oregon coast is scenic and gorgeous but usually a little chilly. We use this to our advantage on oppressively hot days in Portland - just drive for an hour and a half to gray, misty weather and have a bowl of clam chowder. Even if it's nice at the beach it's rarely much above 75 and is always windy.

[Yegolev]

I did a GIS for Oregon beaches and they appear unpleasant.

[Khaldun]

I went on a nice trip in the Canadian Rockies with some of my family at 40. It turned into more of a family thing than I wanted, though, and got kind of difficult near the end. So there's something to be said for going off by yourself and howling at the moon, too. But pick a place you've always wanted to see, that strikes me as a good 40-thing to do.

[Oban]

Traveling alone with a cell/sat-phone, credit card, passport, a michelin/lonely-planet guide, a carry-on full of clothes and no set itinerary is one of the most liberating things to do in the modern world.

[Cyrrex]

I did a GIS for Oregon beaches and they appear unpleasant.

Go with your instincts.  The are only awesome in the "my, ain't nature wondrous" way...huge, vast expanse of sand, the sound of smallish waves crashing, that sort of thing.  It's just as nice in a picture as it is in person, but you'd save yourself from being really cold.  Except the sand dunes.  Oregon's sand dunes are pretty cool, especially when you're a kid.

[Sky]

No bears on the beach, normally.

No bar et me yet.

[Engels]

I like the Oregon coast. Its probably one of the most beautiful coasts I've seen, beaten only by Greece. That said, ya, its not for swimming. Ultra cold and very boring waves. If you like horse back riding, kite flying, walks and other non-watery stuff, the Oregon coast is excellent.

[WayAbvPar]

The Oregon coast is scenic and gorgeous but usually a little chilly. We use this to our advantage on oppressively hot days in Portland - just drive for an hour and a half to gray, misty weather and have a bowl of clam chowder pizza @ Pizza A Fetta. Even if it's nice at the beach it's rarely much above 75 and is always windy.

Fixed that for you. Best pizza I have ever eaten, right in Cannon Beach!

[Engels]

Food really is superb in Cannon Beach, Manzanita and environs. Best crabcakes I've ever had were from right here

[Rishathra]

I don't understand beaches. Hot and grainy, I don't want to get sweaty and sandy.

There is a built in function of beaches that can help you with those problems, you know.

[Lantyssa]

Sandblasting?  Wouldn't that hurt?

[Soln]

someone able to recommend a good (quiet, remote) 1) beach cottage on the Oregon coast, and/or 2) a mountain cottage in OR or WA?   Looking for options.

[Falconeer]

Traveling alone with a cell/sat-phone, credit card, passport, a michelin/lonely-planet guide, a carry-on full of clothes and no set itinerary is one of the most liberating things to do in the modern world.

That's what I keep doing every 12 months (save for the clothes), and I couldn't live without at this point.

[CharlieMopps]

You need an expensive automotive-type hobby. I started a monster truck when I turned 30. 

Pick up the right kind of truck for $1500 and just start throwing money at it. You're wife will be amazed about how cheap the truck is, and then even more amazed when the tires alone cost more than her whole vehicle. By then it will be too late for her to say no. It's great. Ok, maybe not... but look at it this way, if you get yourself far enough in debt she wont be able to afford to move out.

[Signe]

Yes!  Monster trucks will make you happy.  They are like motorised clown shoes!

[CharlieMopps]

Yes!  Monster trucks will make you happy.  They are like motorised clown shoes!

That's it, I'm driving over your car.