¶ Vacation Destinations and Favorites
Welcome everybody to another episode of the Ride Home Rants podcast . This is , as always , your host , mike Bono . I have a great and interesting episode for us today and a great panel of guests that are going to help me get through it . Today we're going to be talking about all things vacations , I figure .
Since it is the summer , what better time to talk about vacations than during the summer ? So I have a panel of guests that we're going to get through here today . I'm going to let them introduce themselves , as always , a little bit different of an intro for them today . But , guys , hello everyone .
Your name , what your high school mascot was , and if a song were to play every time you walked into a room , what song would that be ? And , nicole , we're going to start with you all right , I am nicole faith .
Um , my high school mascot was a hickory hornet . I'm originally from hermitage pennsylvania , so if you're from that area , hornets was the mascot and song Addicted to Love by Robert Palmer .
I'll throw it back to an old one . Old school , I like it All . Right , that's a vibe .
That's a vibe for vacation , so I figured throw it out there .
Absolutely , Andrea . What about you ?
So I'm Andrea . My high school mascot was the Fitch Falcons , and if a song played every time I came into a room , I would have to say let's Get Loud by Jennifer Lopez , just because that song hypes me up . But I'm also Italian . I'm very loud , so when I get into a room , naturally it gets louder , so yeah , yeah , it's my house Most , most paisans .
When you go into a room naturally it gets louder , so it's my house song .
Most Paisans . When you go into a room , it gets louder , for sure , Rusty . What about you ?
Hey , my name is Rusty Bliss . My high school mascot was a Viking and the way I feel today after a weekend of softball tournaments , is if I walked into a room , every time it's going be toby keys as good as I once was smoked man smoked .
I'm sure you are drew , what about you ?
what's up y'all ? Uh , drew mclaughlin here . My high school mascot was a low bill rocket and if a song was to play when I entered a room , it would probably be Guess who's Back by Eminem , okay , classic .
Nice Wendy . Hey there Wendy Kunash , and my high school mascot was a beaver mascot was a beaver and song I'm gonna say don't tell me what to do by . I love me conan is the name , okay .
And last but not least , jordan what's up , guys , jordan ? Uh , my high school mascot . We were the river bend bears . There was School was actually supposed to be the Beavers , so it's funny that Wendy said that we were supposed to be the Beavers . They switched it last minute and it was Bears .
If a song played every time I walked into a room , I feel pretty good right now so I'd probably say Sold Out by Hardy .
Okay , solid choices there . I will actually go for this one one too , as well . As always , everyone knows Mike Bono , my high school mascot was a Bruin and , with how you know , I can't not go with this . It is the song that plays every time I walk up on stage and that is the Chicks Dig it by Kurt Skagel , by Chris Kickle .
So typically , when I go into a room , I'm the only one on stage that plays country music and I love it . So that's , yeah , it's Chick's Ticket . So that's definitely my walk-in song , for sure . But we're going to talk all things vacations here . So , nicole , we're going to start with you here .
What is one place you have visited on vacation that you absolutely had the best time ?
Oh , geez . Okay , Can I give a couple ? Sure , all right . So Florida is definitely in the mix . Where I'm headed right now , I'm in an airport right now heading there , so all parts of Florida can't go wrong . It's always a good time . You know what can't you love with the beach , sunshine and the ocean and it's a constant party everywhere .
But the other ones I would say Montreal , canada , which has a really good European feel to it , has a really good European feel to it . I've not been to Europe yet , but I have actually a trip scheduled for next month to go there for the first time to Europe .
So I feel like Montreal was kind of a little dose of the European vibe and not too far away in our sister country . And then another one I would say is Boston . Boston , massachusetts , going to like Cape Cod and Salem was pretty cool .
And then just the actual city of Boston is a smaller New York and Chicago , but very clean and has an awesome , awesome Italian culture , italian village , like a little Italy of New York . So those are my top threes .
Okay , solid top three , andrea . What about you All ?
right . So I'm going to give two as well . Only because I'm normally a beach person . But we just got back from Gatlinburg , tennessee . So if you're looking for beach fun , vibe , I've been to a lot of parts of Florida and I'm not too much of a partier , but South Beach , miami , was spectacular .
The food was great , the entertainment was great , a little bit more of a party scene , but a great time . And then Gatlinburg . I know it's the fad to go to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge now , but top notch , absolutely . We had a place with a pool . We only spent one day in the pool .
There's so much to do , just walking , doing tastings , a little bit of that southern hospitality . Everybody was very nice .
Okay , Absolutely Drew . What about you ?
Yeah , I agree with Andrea and Nicole . Florida has been my favorite place by far , going all the time . I'm actually going there in a few weeks . Buddy lives down there , we're going to visit him . But to compare Florida , I've been to Denver , colorado , which is a blast . That's a new upcoming city , I'd say Not as big yet , but it's still a lot to do .
And then my top would have to be I went on , went to a wedding in the bahamas and that was , uh , that was unbelievable . So I gotta say nasa , nasa , bahamas was top notch for sure .
Okay rusty well , I mean , you know what I do for a living so I don't really get to go on vacation a lot . Everywhere I go is like a vacation destination . But you know , growing up I have family in Jersey and you know my vacations were always in Jersey , at the beach , and that was before the , the commercialized Jersey Shore nonsense .
We were the OGs and it was . It was nice . And then as you got older , you know you saw what your , your parents , saw in that it's nice to get away from everything but , um , out of the country . There was always one because of work .
Where I went and I ended up going back there to hang out just for a while , was grenada , which is way the hell down south , um , but we have a run that goes between st lucia and grenada and I wanted to just go hang out down there . So we I had a week off of work , I jump-seated down and we hung out on the beach in Grenada .
It's crazy but it's just chill . You're 2,500 miles away from home and it's really nice .
Absolutely . It sounds nice . And for the new listeners out there , Rusty is a pilot , so yeah , he's basically on the road a lot . So , uh , yeah , so he's , that's what he does , and you know he's constantly in the air and I'm always looking for you , just in case you end up flying over where I'm in in ohio .
So just so you know I'm always looking out , I know , I'll wait . All right , wendy , what about you ?
um , all right , so I almost didn't say this one , but I'm just going to say it . I went to the Marble Ranch in Montana and I have to tell you , like I've traveled so many places Paris , I mean , just all these different places and I will still rank Montana as my number one favorite trip , because there's so much to do there .
Everything is pretty much outside , but when I went it was like below 10 degrees and we were ice fishing on water . The Clyde Sail Horses were there . It was insane . We were snowmobiling down the sides of all of these mountains and you're taking these little tiny like prop planes everywhere , which is a little scary , but it's incredible .
Just the scenery , the people . Yellowstone Park is there too , so we got an opportunity to check that out . But the wildlife , it was just incredible . There's more wildlife than actual people , which is kind of nice a little bit .
That sounds awesome , that sounds awesome yeah , it's sweet as someone who's making his living as the angry white comic and just talking about the
¶ Dream Destinations and Overrated Locations
stupidity of the people in the world . Yeah , that sounds like a dream to me , but that is actually , uh , my wife's dream location to live is montana , so , uh , for , definitely want to go there . I haven't been there . That sounds amazing . But Jordan , what about you ?
I feel like everyone's given like real nice , like good answers , and I'm just going to go with the basic one , which is Mexico and an all-inclusive at Mexico , like something about going there knowing that you can have as much food and be fat as you want . Go swap to the pool bar , go to the beach if you want , swim in the ocean . You can do it all .
To me it's easy . All I got to do is show up . I got to wake up every day , that's it . I got to wake up that I can pick X , y and Z to do Basic again . A Mexico trip is basic , but an all-inclusive down there I love it . I love it .
I can't get enough . I don't think you can go wrong with an all-inclusive anywhere . That just sounds like right up anybody's alley . Yeah , all I got to do is wake up and everything else is done for me . Yeah , that's a vacation for me .
I've got to wake up .
That's it , I've just got to wake up . That's a vacation for me . Just wake up and everything's done . That's a vacation . So what I'm taking at the end of this month that I can't wait for ? I'm going to be on a houseboat in a lake in West Virginia and I cannot wait . There you go . I don't care If it rains every day .
I will be outside on the top deck of this just lounging . You're not going to get me out of this chair . That's exactly what's about to happen . I've warned everybody that's going on this trip . Don't bother me . I haven't had a vacation in six years . I'm not doing anything . So that is what I can't wait for . But , nicole , let's go back to you .
Where is your bucket list vacation spot that you have not yet made it to but you want to go to ?
Okay . So one thing I want to throw out to Jordan , since he chimed in about Mexico if you haven't checked this out yet , look up , crash my playa in Cancun , mexico . And for you , mike , since you love country , it's a four-day all-inclusive country fest on the beach that's hosted by Luke Bryan . So it hits both of your styles right there .
It's an absolute blast Experience , one-of-a kind thing . Put it on your bucket list , go do it . Anybody that loves country and the beach and an all inclusive , you can't beat it . But back to your question , um the trip that I have coming up at the end of August , um into September , going to Europe .
We are flying to um Venice and then training to a couple places there and then flying over to Paris and hitting Paris . Sorry , I'm in an airport , you're in an airport .
We're fine , we're good , we got it .
Some feedback there . But Paris and then training to London and Amsterdam , that was on my bucket list . That's where I wanted to go . That's where I'm going , so I'll hit you back after that trip and let you know how it was .
Absolutely , that sounds phenomenal . But Andrea , what about you ?
You've probably heard this from me before but definitely Italy . I have a strong Italian background , so got to make it there one day 100% Drew Drew .
what about you ?
yeah , how fitting is it that we're doing a vacation podcast and Nicole's at the airport ?
yeah , she's gonna be leaving us here in like 5-10 minutes to get on a plane .
I planned it .
I planned it yeah right , just leave the phone on as you board ?
my last name is mclaughlin , so I have a strong , uh irish background . I have family in ireland living there right now , so definitely ireland would be my top . For sure to get there at some point in my life .
I I think you just went to the top of my wife's favorite guest list . Uh , she has a list , but she is full Irish . That is her bucket list place . The problem is , she said , if I ever took her there , she's not leaving .
So like , that's just .
I can't go there . But yeah , I definitely that's a solid pick , but Rusty .
Norway .
Norway .
Just yeah , norway . I got a cousin that travels a lot and now I mean I've been all over the planet and don't get to stay too much and that's a place that it's , dude , it's quiet , it's . I want to .
I tell them I'm going to go for a week , I'm going to go to the highest mountain there , turn everything off and just take it in Um , it's , it's quiet , it's . You know , the airports are one thing , but to go and actually get out and get in the country , it's just , it's . It is a bucket list place .
I even joked around with my cousin I go , that's where I'm going to die . Man , I'm going to go there , I'm not coming back .
Leave me in the mountains , dude .
I'm good , I'm good , but good , but um , yeah , norway's probably the top one .
All right , wendy what I want to go to spain .
Spain , all right , yeah , no particular area , just anything , spain . I've been fascinated with that whole space , just the people , the food , scenery , all of it .
From what I've seen , yeah , so just throw a dart at the country of Spain .
Anywhere , like I'm good , that's where you're going . All right , I'd love to go , yep .
Right Jordan what about you ? Yeah , going off of um , going off of Andrew , I'd like to go see the home country and then go out to Calabria in Italy that's like a bucket list and see where the roots of my family are from , anywhere there in .
Like the Mediterranean is like on my bucket list , like Italy , and then I like to go over and shoot over , like Greece maybe , but besides those two , like one that's off the ball . I heard Iceland's beautiful . That's another one Like , besides the Mediterranean area , like Italy , greece . Iceland's beautiful . That's another one Besides the Mediterranean area .
Italy , greece , iceland's one that I love , iceland's on fire right now . Be careful . Not much ice left , never mind . Retract that , retract that . I feel like volcanoes , it's cool .
I'm going to go to Norway with Rusty .
Come on , man , they're going to be up in the mountains , jordan and Rusty , up in the mountains . One big beer , absolutely . For me , obviously , like Andrea and Jordan , the resident paisans on here , it's Italy for me . I still have family in Sicily . I am Sicilian , so I would love to go there , but obviously for my wife's sake and my sake .
Ireland is on there too , as well as the bucket lift vacation . But I don't think you'll get either of us out of either of those countries if we go , so that's probably not going to happen . But , nicole , I know you got to go here soon , so here's another question for you what place do you think is an overrated place for a vacation ?
to siesta key um . So I'll throw that one out . And another one I'll throw out is , even though I've been there traverse city I feel like that's gotten a lot of um , like a lot
¶ Commonly Overrated Vacation Destinations
of feedback , a lot of people like wanting to go there or they've been there . So I would say those two places are overrated , even though I've been there . I like them both . It's just a lot of people have gone there and you hear it all the time . I'll throw those two out .
Florida's overrated for me . The heat and the humidity , they don't work well with me , that's just . I love going there , but , yeah , it's overrated for me , andrea . What about you ?
I'm assuming all of you guys are from ohio , if not pretty close .
So I don't know if it's gonna be a good or a bad thing to say , but geneva on the lake , like it's not really a vacation place because it's in ohio , but , like I've grown up going there my entire life , my girlfriend is from ashribula , so like covid , I mean they were at yankees every night , but every time we go there , bachelor rep parties , bachelor parties
out the wazoo I'm like you came to Geneva for a whole weekend to do this Like I feel bad saying it , I'm like laughing . But not Geneva , Ohio , that is overrated .
Okay . Yeah , I've heard it's overrated there too .
So you're not , you're not wrong there .
Uh , no offense but yeah , I'm not originally from ohio . I'm a west virginia born and raised , so we're fine . Drew . What about you ? What's overrated for you ?
yeah , so for mine , and it's . It's gonna be another one . That's contradictory . Um , I'm a big tennessee titan fan so I love going to national to see a game . But uh , I've been there three times After day two I'm like I've had enough . I love going to a game , but the Broadway is cool .
You go there so many times , it's long lines and you get one drink every 45 minutes . I'm like this kind of sucks . I guess I'd say Nashville , even though I like going to see a Tennessee Titanessee titan game . But after two days you're like get me the hell out of here gotcha rusty .
What about you ? What's overrated ?
it's easy to echo the florida sentiment easily . Um , I mean , you see it a lot and it's just , it is overrated as far as vacations . But one interested that nobody brought up is new york , new york city in particular . Um , it plays well on tv , not in person , it's okay you know it's good .
It's one of those that it's good for a quick weekend , man , unless you really really , really , really , really really like people . It's , it's insane , it's we're just ripping your destination .
Yeah , nicole this should be good for you to get on a plane to Florida here in a couple minutes .
It depends on where you're going in .
Florida , though there's how many millions of people in the world . Some person is still going down there , so I'm okay that Airbnb will still work for them . Millions of people in the world . Some person is still going down there , so I'm okay that airbnb still works for them .
And hey , I still got a junket to hop on when I want to get out of this winter cold , so I'm good with it .
Yeah yeah , and you know , as we're talking about this , I know this is uh recorded well before this is gonna air , but my parents just got off a plane in florida , in south beach today . So , yeah , that we're all crappingpping on Florida and they're down there now .
Not really , not really knocking it , but it is , it's over , I mean everything's . You know Uber commercialized so and I mean it is nice . Nobody's saying it's not nice , but you know some things , they can play it up as being this , this and this and it's . You know , it's Florida .
Yeah , wendy , what about you ? What's ?
overrated . To you . I'm going to say Myrtle Beach . The amount of people that are in Cleveland looking to go there as a destination and I'm not talking like once family vacay every year . They intentionally go like two or three times a year .
I've been there and I'm not quite sure where they're staying or what they're doing there , but there's like not a whole lot going on in myrtle beach . It's the craziest thing to me , um , but I have to say something about the geneva and the lake that's's funny , I kid you not . My best girlfriend Mike knows her .
She was on our show one time talking about patios when she's had too much to drink . Yeah , she went to Geneva on the lake . She made reservations for all of July 4th weekend for her fiance and her son and when she told me this , like those were the big plans , I'm like , what are you doing this weekend ? She's like , oh , we're going to Geneva on the lake .
I'm like , for what ? Like , what are you doing there ? She's like we're staying out of bed and breakfast . I'm like and then , what ? What do you do there ? There's like I went there . What do you do there ? There's like I went there , you know . Like there's nothing .
It's so funny , but anyway , it's just funny that you brought that up , because I have that same response . Like you're kidding , right ?
I'm glad you understand . Yeah , I totally get it yeah , I .
I have to echo the myrtle beach . You know , as an adult , there's not much to do in myrtle beach as like I I took , like my senior year of high school vacation there with my friends . Yeah , as a senior in high school , as an 18 year old , yeah , that's a blast . It now in my 30s , no , that it's miserable , get , get go away .
That doesn't sound like fun at all . But jordan , last but not least here what about you so ?
I'm . I hate to toot the florida thing . I agree with everything that , florida , we all just said about you . So I hate to toot the Florida thing . I agree with everything that Florida we all just said about Florida . I'm going to go specifics into Florida here .
Okay , and this is some feathers , and it's one that I have an argument with my fiancee all the time . She says well , we have kids , we're going there and I promise to God we will not be going because it's a waste of money . Some of you know what's coming it's Disney .
It's Disney . Oh yeah , I'm not taking out the loan to go to Disney .
It won't happen . I don't care to see it . I will get Disney Plus and watch every single movie on Disney Plus before I ever go there . I don't need to go there . I don't need to go get a souvenir . I don't need to go wait in line for an hour to get on a stupid ride that lasts 30 seconds . I don't need to do it .
I don't need to go get drinks around the world . I'll go get beer from every different country before I go there to get drinks around the world in Florida . I'm not doing that , ok . The best thing about Disney here's a little insider for you .
I don't know if any of you fish or any of you are a little bit country like me , but there's a bass pond , okay , next to Disney that has cabins for the cheap that they stock with huge bass . You're better to go get a cabin with your family there for cheap right outside Disney World .
Okay , and say you went to Disney and you can just go fish every day in the peace and quiet instead of standing there sweating your butt off and wasting money . God , I love it . I had to get that off my chest . I'm so glad we did that and I think my fiance is in the other room right now .
She probably hears me talking about Disney , and that will never go . You can't be done .
Keep going , that's it , we're good . She definitely heard me .
So you're on the rant show . So like I mean we're okay with long . You know , heartfelt , like I can feel that through the computer screen here it's not happening . It won't happen .
He's an adamant .
You have the same . He's opening the door .
You heard what I just said we're not going to Disney . We're talking about overrated places . It's Disney . We're not going . Waste of money , get all you want , we're not going , all right . Back off , we're not going all right back off I'm on a podcast .
Watch for stuff flying through the air , I don't know .
Yeah , I'm glad this isn't in person now , now that we're waiting together to do this how it's so good . No , george , don't understand . It's so much fun , it's so fun . Oh my god , I'm like oh no , it's not happening no see , I used to go as a kid .
My parents would take us down there . My wife has taken our son . He's my stepson , I don't need you , but yeah , she's taken him and she can't ride any of the rides . Anyway , she has a heart condition , she can't ride any of the rides . So what's the point of Disney for us ? I'm going to go and sit there and sweat in the heat in the community .
No , I'm sweating in my house in the air conditioning , recording this show right now , like there's no need for me to go out .
You better enjoy the Disney vacation , because the money is going to set you back for about two years before you can go on another vacation .
Right , it's a second mortgage . Yeah , waste of time .
I still remember , and I don't know how I remember this .
It was one of the few family vacations that my parents and my sisters took together when I was younger and I remember my dad getting the Disney passes and they told him the price and the ghost white came over his face and I just remember my mom grabbing us kids and going come on , let's go to the car , Dad's going to lose his shit here in a minute .
And I could just see him just trying rip off money Like this was back in the 90s , like he was just like holding on to it for dear life , like it was yeah , so not for me .
Yeah , you can make Mickey Mouse waffles at home , yeah , right .
We'll designate a whole night at Disney guys .
Don't worry , we'll watch whatever . I really don't know where you can go from here . That should have been the last question with George .
I would have known that .
I'd have saved that for the end .
It's the happiest place on earth . Maybe you should .
We're going to need a whole other roundtable to discuss we're going to have to .
The repercussions were for Jordan .
I'm going to need a whole other round table to discuss what the repercussions were for Jordan .
I'm going to have to talk to Fetty . We need a Disney round table , and it's just Jordan , it's just Jordan .
I love classic Disney movies , but I don't need to go to this park . What's there for me to do ? I don't want to drink around the world . What a scam .
Oh , I love this , I love this show and I love my job .
Oh my God , it's an international buyer crawl .
Yeah , nicole , since you're still with us , you got a minute to answer another question . I know you're going to get on a plate here soon .
Yeah , they're starting to board , but I got time for one more .
Okay , okay . If you are going to a wedding that is out of town , let's say , more than an hour away , are you using that weekend as a mini vacation or no ?
Oh , oh , yes and no . So I love like little mini trips , like staycations . I actually just booked one before coming to the airport because we're going to see a concert in December . So I figured , play on that and also find out if there's anything else going on that same weekend . And then there's like a Broadway musical that same weekend .
So making that a staycation . So if there's something happening in the area that's worthwhile , where you're going to a wedding , kind of playing on that , making a little mini trip out of it . Plus two , if you have the finances to do it right .
Some people don't have the means to hop on a plane and go somewhere , so the smaller trips like that go a long way for certain people . Those little mini trips go a long way for certain people because they might not have the opportunities , like some of us , to hop on a plane and go , you know , to Disney .
Oh God and spend the .
Disney funds don't even say that word anymore so .
So I think that I think that if that's your means , those are the opportunities that you can do and you can make little trips out of that . It goes a long way for certain people that that's where their funds can be placed .
So yes and no um looking again what's going on in the area for going for a wedding and book a little trip out of it and make it worthwhile .
Not a bad idea , Andrea . What about you ?
I agree with the yes and no . I just went to a wedding last week and it was like an hour and 40 minutes away but there was nothing to do there and I drove home at the end of the night . But I'm in a wedding which is a little different , but it's an hour away in Portage Lakes and it's right on the water . We're renting
¶ Destination Wedding Preferences
cabins , Like that's different . So , yeah , I'm going to make a whole weekend out of that , but it depends on what you can do there . Um , yeah , that's my answer .
Yeah , uh , a couple of years ago a buddy of mine . I was in the wedding and it was at South Bend , indiana . His wife was from Notre Dame . They got married right outside of Notre Dame College . You know , I made a weekend out of it . I made it worthwhile . I was leaving from West Virginia so it was like , okay , I've got to make the most of this .
I'm'm driving like four plus hours at this point in time to South Bend Indiana . I'm going to make it worth my while . So I get it . But not everybody can do that . But , drew , I know you've done these destination weddings before , so what about you ?
Yeah , I kind of agree . It's kind of crazy now this day and age . I just turned 30 . So kind of all your people around you are starting to get married or have gotten married or they're in the same boat of getting married . Most of the weddings I go to now are out of town . It's very few and far between . Now do I go to a wedding .
That's actually where I'm from . So it kind of depends . When we went to the Bahamas , you had to make that a . That's not just a . You're going there and coming back . You know what I mean . You're staying there for five days . I've been to Colorado for a wedding . I've been to Savannah for a wedding . I've been to Florida for a wedding .
I've been to New York for a wedding . I mean it's insane what it is like now , pentwater Michigan , for a wedding . So kind of my philosophy . My philosophy and policy is if I've got to fly to it , I'm staying for a long time . But if it's drivable I'll probably make it , maybe a day after . But I'll come home at that point .
It's getting crazy now , so much . So yeah , if I've got to fly , I'll stay . Make it a week or whatever , four or five days .
But , if it's drivable , maybe a day after I'm out of there . Yeah , that's a solid plan .
But , rusty , what about you ? Echoing a lot of the stuff everybody said , it's yes and no . If it's someplace you haven't been before , I mean it might be neat to , and you want to really check it out . You know , get the wedding done , get the reception done . If you survived the reception , go explore for a couple days and then head home .
But if it's something that's just an hour or two hours away , dude , I'm hit and run . Hey , congratulations , let me eat my dinner . Here's your food , I'm out . That's just . I mean hit and run man . But if it's someplace you haven't been or that I haven't been , that's you know . I want to check it out .
Yeah , I'll make a weekend or four-day deal out of it .
Okay , wendy , what about you ? I it .
Okay , wendy , what about you ? I mean , I'm writing on the same thing everyone else is saying it just kind of depends on where it's at . You know , if it's out of the state or somewhere fun like the Bahamas , then hell yeah , I'm there for the week , you know .
But if it's an hour and it's in the middle of nowhere like Geneva , and there's really nothing to do , poor Geneva . Like Geneva , and there's really nothing to do , poor Geneva . I'm driving home . I'll probably make it home in 45 minutes , but that's it . Yeah , it really depends , yeah .
All right , jordan , what about you ? Destination wedding to Disney you going or no ?
Yeah , mickey Mouse thing .
Absolutely not I do . I mean I'm going to keep beating the same drum . Yes and no Location . I like what Rusty said If you've never been there before , even if it's somewhere small , it might be cool to check out the town a little bit . If you're flying , it's a definite yes . For me , it doesn't matter where it's at .
If I'm flying I'm going to make at least an extra day out of it to check out wherever it's at , especially if it's the Bahamas where Drew went . That's a stay for a while type of thing . Yeah , not doing it . A Disney wedding just sounds like the worst day of my life I had to . I mean I'm thankful that my fiance didn't get married there .
I mean that would have just been you know what she's doing right now she's booking that . She's , she's booking and planning the wedding in disney as we speak like that's happening , no shot .
I'll go to kennywood a 30 times . We want to run kennywood's awesome . Yep , and I already wait 45 minute lines there , so why would I go wait , oh man . But yeah , I'll be the same job . Yes and no , depends flying definite . Yes , if it's more than an hour away .
If it's a town you never been to , stay for a little bit yeah , I feel like that was that's .
that's easy if you've been there before . Yeah , like uh , rusty Rusty said you know in and out , but if you haven't been there , make at least an extra day out of it . See someplace you've never been .
But being halfway through the show here , I do have to get these sponsors in , so I figured it would be a good break in the action to let Jordan cool down about Disney . And we're going to talk about two of the newest sponsors to the show , and that is the first . One is Buddy's Beard Care .
Buddy's Beard Care provides premium men's grooming products to an affordable price , products that are made in Ohio , and Buddy's Beard Care supports local . The majority of the suppliers are from other Ohio-based companies . You can find them on their social media at BuddiesBeardCare , or online at BuddiesBeardCarecom .
Use the promo code Bono15 , and he's going to give you 15% off . I have been using these products for a little over three months now . My beard has never felt healthier , it has never been growing faster and , according to my wife , it has never been softer . So try them out , buddiesbeardcarecom .
And we are bringing back another one of my favorite sponsors from former guests of the show , matt Lando Landowski , and that is Sweet Hand Sports . Elevate your game with Sweet Hand Sports . Our sports gloves are designed for champions , providing ultimate grip and durability . Achieve greatness with every match . Choose Sweet Hand Sports for the winning edge .
Grip your victory . At SweetHandSportscom , use the promo code Bono10 . You're going to save 10% . They also don't just have batting gloves now . They also just started their golf glove line . They sent me a complimentary pair of golf gloves . I love them . They're comfortable . They help you grip the club .
They do not help my golf game whatsoever because I'm a horrible golfer . I know it's a terrible promo for them , but I am not the golfer to go for that . But they are comfortable , durable , durable and they're going to last . For you again , promo code bono10 at sweethandsportscom .
All right , now that everyone got to witness me reading for a little bit now , um , let's get back into it . And , andrea , let's start with you here . Uh , where would be a better place to have a summer vacation ?
Montana or Maine um , okay , so I've never been to either of them , but I've wanted to go to Acadia and Maine and I have friends that have a lot of family in Montana and say great things . Because I've never been to them and because I discovered Acadia
¶ Seaside vs Countryside Vacation Preferences
and I just heard about Montana from others , I'm going to stay Maine . Okay , I don't know , I don't have experience so I can't give like a valid answer on that . That's just my mindset .
All right , no worries , drew , what about you ?
Yeah , to piggyback off , andrew , I never been to either one of them . Um , typically in the summer I enjoy being around water , any source of water . So maine for the I can at least find the coast of maine on , you know , lennig ocean and do something there . So I'd probably have to say maine for me , okay rusty what about you been to both ?
and there is a lot of water in montana but big lakes . But um , montana , just just because it's it's wide open , I mean there's , and there's actually a lot of stuff to do . Um , you know , we actually do a lot of airsport stuff up there with some warbirds . There's a lot of flying up there .
So montana's , it's just like I said , it's wide open , beautiful at night , it's clear , it's . It's just it's it's quiet and it's so far removed from cities . I mean it's really nice . I mean they have their share of big cities but , um , it's nothing like here out east , it's's just gorgeous .
All right , wendy , what about you ?
I'm going to say Maine . I want to be as close to the water as possible . In the summertime patios I'm dying to try some of that seafood that they have over there too . I haven't specialized in learning anything about any any of the cities or anything like that , but it's definitely on my list of somewhere to go .
Portland's real nice . Portland's real nice . A lot of seafood , good seafood there , good lobster .
Lobster .
All right .
Jordan .
Montana or Maine .
This is the toughest question of the day so far , I think Montana I've never been to either . My parents have been to Maine , so this is kind of giving me a slight edge visually , even though I've seen tons of videos , I guess , on Montana Beautiful out there , rusty was really selling it , but I'm the same way . I'm drawn to water .
My parents went to Bar Harbor , I think in Maine , which was a nice little town it looked like on the coast . I bet you there's just tons of hidden gem little towns on the coast of Maine that I'd like to visit and stay in . So I'd have to pick Maine .
Okay , didn't Jordan have a third choice .
It was Disney that was the third choice .
It was Disney . That was the third choice . We just got him calmed down , rusty .
This is good this is good for ratings .
You almost need to have a show dedicated To where you bring my fiance on it . It'll just be a debate , it's a game show Me versus her On the selling points of .
Disney . I will literally , just I will come on , I will post that debate and I would just say disney and go go and I would just leave the room for an hour .
You have to be the moderate . It's like a presidential debate and like ask a question oh , that would be awesome I'll put a suit on it and really sell it . Trust me , I'll sell it . All right , we're gonna . We're gonna talk to fitty about that one because now you're you're peaking the comedian's interest .
We're gonna talk to fitty about that , one for sure , especially after he hears that rant that you went on about disney , uh , but uh , to answer this question myself , uh , it's Montana for me .
Uh , I like the country , I like the openness , I like to be able to sit and look at the stars , uh , at night , and just , you know , give me a mountainside and an open field and an open beer and just let me be at peace . That that sounds amazing to me .
So , montana for me , and Rusty russie , you , you definitely sold it for for sure on that one well , it's , it's , it's beautiful .
I mean , when they don't call it big sky country for nothing , I mean it's . It's beautiful at night . I mean stars , clear air , um , and you know , it's just , it's . It's kind of it's kind of scary the first time you're out there and you're on a trip and you're by yourself working , but man , it's awesome . You just take that all in , it's great .
Everybody's been to the beach , so you know .
Yeah , it's definitely Montana , for me for sure . But , Andrew , let's go back to you . What are your thoughts on staying at a on a resort if you go on international vacation ?
well , um , first I want to say that I'm mad at nicole for getting off , because I like a second to have time to think about these questions . So I know she's going to listen to this , so I know she's going to hear that . You know , I've been to one international vacation .
I went to Jamaica and we it was like a mission trip , so we were staying with like house mothers and whatnot , and I see that there can be danger in other countries , but the exploring that we got to do with the families that that was their community was different , because obviously you're with the people who lived there .
I mean , I think resorts can be good , like somebody said earlier I think it might've been , it was either Jordan or Drew about like the all inclusiveness .
I think that is very nice , but I do think it's important that if you can , in a safe way , go in and really dive in-depth into those cultures , I think it's something that you can't miss out on , that's for sure .
There are so many things in Jamaica that are amazing that you have to go with tour guides to do , and I don't think , uh , anybody should mess out on those , that's for sure okay , drew .
What about you ?
yeah , um , the only resort I've really been on was the trip to the bahamas . Um , and , just like andrea said , I wish I would have more time to kind of get off the resort a little bit and check out like what the actual bahamas is all about .
I , we were only there for five days and one day was a wedding , one day was a rehearsal dinner and the day after they had like a party , like an after party . So you really had like two days to yourself essentially , but I would say , for I mean , I had a blast . It was all inclusive as well . So you know , time was not a factor .
You just kind of walked out of your hotel rooms like all right , what am I doing out today ? You know it was , it was a blast . So I would say resorts are cool for sure . I would definitely go to one again and , yeah , for sure .
All right , Rusty , what about you ?
The the resort idea is is pretty good because you don't . You don't have to clean a whole lot up when you're done . The food options are great , especially the all-inclusive side . You know I mentioned St Lucia before .
The place they put us up at work is one of those all-inclusive and they give us four meals a day and if we don't use them the company yells at us . So I ate that place out of steak . For two weeks I was like tap me with a good time . You know , four meals .
Drinks are a different story , but I think just the convenience of the resorts make it a little bit easier . It depends if it's just you or it's just a couple , or if it's your family with you .
The resort might be the easiest way , but sometimes , depending on where you're going and the locale , it might be cooler to rent a house , you know , to rent a place for if it's a week or two weeks .
Okay , wendy , what about you ?
I do like staying at resorts , Um , especially if it's international . You know there's that convenience factor Everything's already kind of planned out for you , or at least there's a menu of items that just already kind of choose from . There's no guesswork .
You know you're going into kind of foreign territory and a little bit on the vulnerable side too and not really knowing what their safety is like or , you know , can you even trust certain people and things like that ? I had . We had a situation .
There was a group of us in Jamaica and we went through a resort but even just the taxi drivers were trying to co-hurst us into purchasing drugs from them directly and then trying to take us off the path of where we were supposed to go , into this other area .
I mean , that is a very high crime place , Beautiful but very high crime crime place , beautiful but very high crime .
Um , so there's that , that part of that resort , I guess planning , where you feel like you have a sense of security too , right , and this particular one in jamaica that we stayed at , there were armed guards with rifles , 24 hours a day outside of the resort , completely gated , and everything . And you have to beg the question of like why ?
Why is it like that , you know . But they say the crime is is that high ? So I don't know that . I would probably travel without booking , at least through a travel agent where they specialize in at least giving us that kind of information , If not staying at a resort . I just did a trip to Korea .
I think we may have talked about it before on another show and I don't speak the language anymore , even though I was born there . But this is also , you know , 40 years ago and for me I felt , even though I was born there , like a complete tourist stranger . I wasn't able to speak to anybody . I couldn't find anyone that spoke English , that understood a word .
I was saying I wasn't able to speak to anybody . I couldn't find anyone that spoke English that understood a word . I was saying I couldn't find peanut butter for five days at any store , no American food anywhere . It was insane , insane .
So you know , I had to then look to my mother and say next time we try to come back here , I am going to plan it with a travel agent and it's going to be like this , because unless you know someone there and you're staying with them , it's , it's a free for all .
We didn't even know , like any of the areas , the streets , nothing , the hotel we couldn't find anything . It was . It was annoying and frustrating , to say the least . So that's not how you want to spend a trip when you're away either , you know that doesn't sound fun at all and that escalated really quickly with the armed guards .
Yeah definitely yeah . How do you ?
relax . How do you relax like that ?
Yeah , that doesn't sound relaxing at all .
I didn't . I was gone for two weeks . I lost pounds in the first week . Cause I was gone for two weeks , I lost pounds in the first week because I was starving .
I would need a vacation from the vacation .
I was so stressful , you know , and I was like this is crazy , I can't find anyone that speaks English here Like that is crazy to me . But it happened , you know , not even at the airport . It was rough , it was rough .
All right , jordan , go on to that again Round us out here . Round us out here .
Yeah , a vacation from a vacation is called Disney , by the way .
Anyway , moving on , I went there too . I actually had a great time .
Oh my God , okay , you don't have to laugh . I think about 90% of the time I would say you know , international for sure , a resort , uh , I like going last because you guys all give me great ideas to think . Um , rusty made it hit it on the head like if you have a family , then it's 100 chance .
If we're going international , I'm staying at a resort , you know , with the kid .
Uh , if it's one of those things where you know andrew is talking about and I'm talking about and she's kind of the same , where , hey , I want to go to the motherland out in italy and go see my roots , you know , then you kind of have to try to find somewhere out in the middle of there , where where's close to home , where your roots are from , and try to
explore a little bit and pick up on the culture , learn the culture and really take it in . But if you're doing that , it's kind of got to be like a you in one other person trip .
I feel , um , if it's more than two going and you got family in , yeah , I'm doing the resort every time makes it convenient , you would have a fun time , um , and it's just a lot less stress on it , um , unless you're in jamaica , with , with the guards . So you want to feel safe is what I'm saying .
At a resort , you want to feel enclosed , you want to feel safe . That way you don't have to think about much .
But if you are going on that trip for your , for your roots , then that's a different story right , yeah , absolutely , uh , yeah , I mean , and Jordan , I should make you go first for
¶ Best Month for Vacation Preferences
this , just for that comment . Keep it here , I love it we're going to keep the same order , just to keep things rolling smoothly here . So , andrea , this might be a nice toss up question for you here , to get you back into the swing of things . What is the best month to go on a vacation ? I ?
guess it depends on what you like , but I'm going to say August , august Okay . Yeah , Cause I mean of course , everybody now , and that's that's funny that I say that , because a lot of my vacations have been in June . But I've had a lot of like bad vacations , especially to Florida , Like a lot of rain during that time .
We went to Destin last year and it was like there was a tornado 15 minutes from where we were Like we were driving away from the area that it had just been um .
So I don't know . I want to say august , that's a hot month , but I think it's a more secure month . Yeah , I've been to florida in august never again . I'll tell you that right now yeah , that's not no , uh drew , what about you ?
yeah , um , I kind of feel bad anyone who's associated with me , because I am a teacher and a football coach , so I have like a six-week gap where I can go somewhere , and if I don't don't go during that time , I just don't go anywhere .
Um , so for me it's like june till like pushing the last week of july for me , uh , probably , I'd probably say june as a month , but but other than that , I'm a teacher and a football coach , so it's kind of hard for me to take off or , you know , go in August or something like that . So I got to say June .
Try being a comedian with no set schedule when you can you go out and rely on bookers and agents and people will be like .
I don't know how you do it dude , are you free this day ?
I mean , I guess , yeah , yeah , uh , now I , I I've told all of them that 22nd through the 28th of July . If you call me , I'm screaming no into the phone and I'm hanging up . That is . That is going to be your response . No , I'm not free . I'm incognito that week , so yeah , Uh , well , week , so yeah for sure . Well rusty , what about you ?
september . You know you , yeah , it depends on and this is another thing too . I mean it depends on , like drew said , his schedule and I've gone through the whole coaching thing and you know you're set on what your job has for you . But , um , if you don't have that and it's not based on because I'm I can't go anywhere in the summertime .
I've got travel softball to coach , so I'm locked in with them . A lot of those trips turn out to be like vacations , but it's , you're still , you're busy . But if it's just to get away , I think September , because you're just getting into right before the season changes and you know it's not as crowded because kids are back in school .
You know it's not as crowded because kids are back in school , colleges are starting to fill up and and you know it depends on what you want to do and where you want to go . But it's a . It's a nice spool down from from the high of summer to that kind of mellow right into autumn . It's , it's not bad , but it depends on where you want to go .
You know we use I think we talked on one of the shows about Thanksgiving . It was a Thanksgiving show and my weirdest Thanksgiving and this was kind of neat was . You know , I took a vacation in November . I went back to Jersey and we didn't have Turkey for Thanksgiving . We had frigging lobster , so it was . It's just one of those .
You know what time of year is it and what do you feel like doing , but I like September . September is one of my favorite months , and it's just . You know , it's nice . I can be on vacation week and nobody's really going to fight for it . In September
¶ Vacation Preferences and Food Experiences
I can go pretty much anywhere I want .
Gotcha In the spirit of vacation All right , there you go . Wendy , what about you ?
Yeah , so my vacation times it's really driven by work too . Similar to what they said , it's the work schedule I like to take off in November , the beginning of November , usually into the middle of November , and it's really just before the holiday season really kicks off .
Here , especially in Ohio , there's a lot of people that celebrate the holidays Thanksgiving and Christmas and every year Christmas starts to get celebrated earlier and earlier and I understand that many people don't celebrate holidays myself really included , because I really don't care to celebrate them , to be honest with you .
And there's all these other holidays too , but in our area here there's a heavy push , marketing push and everything Everyone's in that holiday season of entertaining , cooking , buying presents and things like that , and I like to take off .
My busy season really really slows down for work at that time , so I can finally get away and just completely check out , not have to worry about responding to anybody , seeing anybody for a while , and I can just kind of regroup and plan for my next year . That's usually when I do my planning and goal setting for myself and my team for the next year .
So yeah , I'm going to say November .
Not a bad month . Jordan , what about you ?
Yeah , I'm going to . I'm in the same exact boat as Drew . I'm a teacher and a football coach , so you're pretty much , you know , limited to that summer . But let's just go ahead and live in fantasy land and say I wasn't a football coach or a teacher . Um , I have family from up here in pa that live in the outer banks .
They've lived there for a while now and I used to go live with them in the summers and work at a restaurant and stuff and when I was down there and living , like it's so crazy during the summer and they used to always say , you know , well , tourist or , uh , local summer starts in september and I've been down there before in september and october and it is
like being at the coast of anywhere on the coast , I think , from north carolina up , because it gets real hot south of that right north carolina and up on the coast september and october . It's beautiful , the beaches are empty , it's it's usually still fairly warm , depending on where you're at like down there I know like in October it's still 70 , 75 degrees .
The water is still good enough that you can go in , it's warm enough and it was just . It's so much more peaceful to be there when no one's there , the leaves are changing , so fall at the coast is a really good time , in my opinion . Um , so that's that's kind of what I say . September , october all right .
Um , yeah , I don't really have a month in mind . Pretty much me is whenever I could take a vacation , I'm , I'm taking it . Uh , I'm not limited like uh , drew and jordan with the teacher and football schedule , but I don't have a set schedule . I don't have .
It's pretty much whenever shows tend to slow down , it's like all right , let's take a vacation and let's get out for a for a little bit . But we are running a little bit short on time here , so I'm going to get two more quick questions in here . Andrew , we're going to start with you flying or driving . Which is better to travel ?
in your opinion ? God flying , absolutely flying . I was just kind of I don't want to make this a longer answer than it needs to be , but I was just discussing this because we drove to Gatlinburg and it was a little over eight hours from where I'm at in Youngstown and I'm like that wasn't bad . We left at midnight . I was super excited .
I drove five hours like it was nothing . I drove till five in the morning and I was super excited . But if that drive would have been to Florida and it was like a 16-hour drive , I would have been pissed , I would have hated the drive . So I would absolutely prefer to fly over , drive anytime .
All right .
Drew , what about you ? Yeah , I agree a thousand percent . I'm flying anytime anywhere . I hate driving . I hate driving to cleveland . If I could fly to cleveland , I'd fly to cleveland .
So flying all day , every day all right , our resident pilot , uh rusty flying or driving .
Driving Train's not an option . No Flying . It's a no-brainer . I think that's the thing too . That comes with age . You know , when we're younger we like getting out . You know you're driving , you want to go all over the place , but just because it's so easier , it's easier for me to do it would be flying .
But I mean just for the saving of time , you know , I mean it is .
All right , wendy .
I'm going to say flying as well . I want to hurry up and get to where we're going and I just want to start relaxing from that moment on and not worrying about anything . You know , and driving again foreign territory whether it's just a different state or not like I don't want to , I don't want to be stressed about that at all yeah jordan .
Uh , it's simple for me . I have a cut line . If it's below seven hours , I'll do it , no problem , get behind the wheel , let's go . If it's above seven , I'm not doing . I'm buying a ticket to fly , for whatever reason . I've drove so much in my life . I used to live in Virginia . We'd come back home and visit PA , so I'm used to the five-hour drives .
When I'm behind the wheel I feel like I think better and I get a lot of football ideas behind the wheel . But seven hours is the max I'll go .
I did nine hours one time and that sounds like nothing , I guess , but I did nine hours and never did it again and wanted to punch myself in the face when I got out as someone who drives pretty much almost exclusively to all of my shows , uh , whether they're in state or out of state , um , flying would definitely have to be it for me .
Uh .
Last out of state show I had , uh , in Sanford , michigan , back in March and it was only five and a half hours one way , but the wonderful booker of the show knew I was going that far , didn't have lodging or anything like that for me , so I had to turn around right after the show and drive back to basically Columbus , ohio , and so I was in the car for
11 and a half hours total and never again , like it was the most brutal trip . I left my house at like noon to be up there in time for the show and I didn't get home until about four or five in the morning . And , yeah , fly , I will fly to Michigan . I don't even care at this point . Like I know it's right there from where I'm at now .
Yeah , flying all the way for this question here . And last but not least , since we are running short on time , andrea , best food you've had on a vacation is .
Um , I so I hate to eat at the same place twice , like when I go somewhere , because I want to try stuff that's not franchised and I can't remember the name of it now , but I'll get back to you . In South Beach , miami , there is this place and they have , like this , guacamole mozzarella , like quesadillas , I don't know .
There was this one restaurant that was great , but we went to it like three or four times while we were down there and I got the same thing every single time I went there . So I'm going to say , like some southern South Beach Miami food , they had a lot of great restaurants there .
All right , south Beach Miami food , it was they had a lot of great restaurants there , so All right .
Drew , what about you ? Yeah , To add something real quick to the last question , the best thing I ever did in my life is get drunk at an airport too , so that's why flying is so much better . The airport beer is top notch . I freaking love it . But to talk about food , wise Nashville the barbecue there was unbelievable . It was the best I've ever had .
I've been there three times and I get the same thing every single time . It's a little place on Broadway , I forget what it's called , but they have like anything you want . It's top-notch , and every time I go there I definitely get it .
All right , rusty , what about you ?
The Shore over in Jersey , man , there were all kinds of little small mom and pop places on the island and you know they would come up with something . I mean it would be similar to what we have here . But it wasn't commercialized , like Andrea said . It was just , it was their local stuff .
It could be a burger , it could be a sandwich , it could be a burger , it could be a sandwich , it could be breakfast sandwich , you know whatever it was .
And you , just , you know that was you look forward to going there and hey , we're going to so-and-so's for breakfast tomorrow , okay , and we're going to hit so-and-so's for lunch and you know , you , you kind of had that because you're , you know , just something you had , you had heard about and never tried , or something you tried before , and you really , really
liked it and you were going back for it .
All right , wendy , what about you ?
I'm going to say Black and Grouper , and anywhere in the Keys of Florida for sure . So Siesta Key , lido Key , longboat Key , all through there , st Armand Circle , I kid you , not all those restaurants , because they're all just pulling it right off of the gulf .
Right there they have the absolute best grouper you could ever have ever and it's best blackened all right , jordan round us out here uh , back down in the outer banks where I lived , um in nags head , there's a place that serves fresh poke .
I don't know if anyone is familiar with poke , which is pretty much like it's going to sound nasty , but a fresh , raw fish , and it's in a bowl , like you get in a bowl with certain different types of sauces , whatever veggies you want . They kind of mix it all together . At first I was like there's no way I'll eat raw fish .
At first I was like there's no way I'll eat raw fish . But when it's fresh and it comes in that day , um , I don't know man , something about it is , it's my favorite thing on earth , probably . I I every time I go back down there to visit family . I go there probably once a day and I get the same order every single time and it's just my favorite .
All right , I don't think I have a favorite . You know , as someone who's pretty much been all over the East coast and a little bit of the Midwest with comedy shows and all that , I don't really have I don't think I have a favorite . You know what I mean . But like , uh , rusty said I , you know I've been to Jersey , the little mom and pop shops .
I'd have to go there Anything mom , and pop . I think anywhere you go is going to be phenomenal because you know they put the time and the effort into whatever they're making . But yeah , I don't . I don't really have a favorite that I go . I'm a pretty simple guy . You know burger and fries anywhere I go . Really you know I'm upset . You know .
That's it for our vacation roundtable . I want to thank all of our guests Nicole , who had to leave us early , andrea , jordan , rusty , drew and Wendy for being on . This was a lot of fun . Get to know a little bit about everyone's vacations and everything like that . Hope everyone is having a safe and fun summer here and enjoying yourselves on vacations .
If you're able to take one , that is going to do it for me , as always . If you enjoyed the show , be a friend , tell a friend . If you didn't tell them anyways , they might like it just because you did . That's going to do it for me and I will see y'all next week .