Ideal Vacation spots w/ Intrument Stores

[jlb]

I have some input into our family vacation this year, and I'm am trying to investigate whether there are any areas that have great instrument stores but are also cool vacation spots otherwise.

Nashville is an obvious choice, but the wife has no interest in revisiting this town.

Any ideas?

[Scotti Adams]

..I dont know...Im so busy all the time that Im startin to think that my ideal vacation spot is on my front porch right in the middle of my 17 acres enjoying the sound of serenity....watching the kids play...and baby KayLee frolicking in the grass with her little kitten. Watching the kids walk thier market lamb before it goes to the fair...sittin with my fiance in the dark in the back yard talking about our days....thats my idea of a vacation at this point in my life. Although the family and I are going camping this weekend....it will be nice too.

[skipper]

You could always come visit Amish country. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Ken Berner]

Asheville, NC or Mobile, AL would be great family vacation spots with music stores in and around,

[GBG]

Where in Mobile?

[Dru Lee Parsec]

Well, when I was in Kentucky a few months ago I visited First Quality Music in Louisville. #Very nice store with nice people. #And you can go to Mammoth Cave or the Corvette museum or go out east to the appilacians and do some hiking. #Everywhere in KY is beautiful.

I was in Indianapolis last November and there were several nice music stores. I particularly liked Meridian Music at the north end of Indy. #About an hour drive south is Nashville Indiana which is a pretty little artist town and of cource the Bean Blossum festival site and the Bill Monroe museum is there.

Here in San Diego you have perfect weather, lots of stuff to do here (Sea World, Downtown, Seaport Villiage, Mission Trails park) And if you drive 1 1/2 to 2 hours north you can easily get to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. Another 2 hours and you can get to 6 Flags Magic Mountain.
In San Diego we have Acoustic Expressions and Buffalo Brothers music stores as well as the typical Guitar Center stuff. We also have bluegrass jams every tuesday at some location around town, Celtic Jams every Thursday at Acoustic Expressions, and if you let me know I can get you into a slow jam on any Sunday at a private home if you like.

So there's a few suggestions. Have fun http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[saintanne]

SEATTLE!!!

Dusty Strings is a great music store. And Seattle is sooo beautiful (especially right now). You can hang out in the city and/or take day trips out to the islands or the Peninsula. Mountains, trees, water, and mandolins! You should come http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Randy]

Come to Louiville. First Quality is great (they've got mando's out the wazzoo) and check out Steilberg String Instruments as well. In Louisville you can visit the home of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs, and then to the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory and museum. Down the block is a new museum that has ancient to modern arms. Of course there's always the beautiful Ohio River and our new riverfront park that features an xtreme park for cyclists and skateboarders. As was said, Mammoth Cave is spectacular and just an hour from Louisville. The thoroughbred horse farms around Lexington are gorgeous as well as the Kentucky Horse Park, nearby. There are many other notable attractions, like the Six Flags Kentucky amusement park, but if I go on much more, I'll sound like a chamber of commerce member.

[Tom C]

Ho....Hum.... NYC. The family can keep busy with Museums, threatre, Food! while you go to Mandolin Bros. Lots of instrument stores on 48th st. Take the 3hr Circle Line Cruise around Manhatten, Take a Drive out to Montauk point (last stop on Long Island before Europe) Have an Extra day or 2? take a 5 hr drive to Cooperstown (Baseball Hall of Fame). Coney Island is fun.

[jeffyork]

I just spent a week in San Fransisco. There's not any good shops in the city, at least that I found, but Gryphon in Palo Alto is less than a 30 minute train ride, and the 5th string in Berkley was excellent. Lot's of mandos and accessories at both and really friendly folks. Ended up playing for a couple of hours at 5th string with the clerk on a variety of Gibsons including a SWEET varnish Fern. There's alos a few local jams, but i didn't make it to them.

[Lee]

Nashville was good to me. #they have a very cool full-size relica of the Greek Parthenon complete with the 43-foot tall gold-leafed statue of Athena (largest free-stading sculpture in the world). Andrew jackson's estate, Gruhn's Guitars, Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, the Frisck Center for Visual Arts, and my two days were filled with fun and adventure. And a new Old Wave A!

[Ken Sager]

I'll toot the Salt Lake City horn for a second. Mountains, lakes, red rock desert, camping, hiking, fishing, and oh yeah, skiing in the winter... We've got it good here. Plus, Intermountain Guitar and Banjo has a ton of instruments. Mandolins a plenty. http://www.guitarandbanjo.com

Joy to all,
Ken

[mandodebbie]

Come to Manitoba. There's lot's of lovely blue flax and yellow canola fields around this time of year to see. And do enjoy the clean prairie air! Oh,I bought my mando at Hildebrad's in Portage la Prairie. There better music stores in both Brandon and Winnipeg, but one has to support local business, eh? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Ken Berner]

GBG, Try West Mobile Music (great BG jam every first Thursday), MMI Music and Andy's Music. Also a great local luthier available in town. Across the Bay in Fairhope is Baldwin County Instrument Exchange and Jubilee Music.

[pickinNgrinnin]

Check out Greg Boyd's in Missoula, Montana. While in the Big Sky country, take a visit to Glacier National Park or head south to Yellowstone. If you head down Yellowstone way, stop by for a visit with Bruce Weber & company in Logan. There is a builder - Mike Blohm, in Laurel and a builder in Missoula, Andrew Mowry. Both make some nice looking Mandolins.

[odeman]

When traveling on business, I always look forward to going to certain cities because of their music stores. St. Louis has The Music Folk, Kansas City has Mountain Music Shoppe, Lawrence has Mass Street Music - but Nashville has Gruhn's and Lansing, MI has Elderly Music - these places are virtual amusement parks for acoustic pickers, or any other kind of pickers.