I've never visited Fort Knox, but since it's supposedly the location for the United States gold reserve, you can bet it's pretty stinking fortified. If the U.S. really has all the gold there that the government claims, you can be sure they are going to do everything in their power to protect their assets. If not, they will do everything they can to protect their secret. Either way, it would stand to reason that if you could get in and keep the zombies outside, you would stand a good chance of surviving the apocalypse. Since it is already heavily guarded, however, it might not be too easy to get into even in the event of a viral outbreak. Chances are the guys and gals who are already inside will be keeping themselves safe and won't let you in. If the outbreak gets them, you might have a war to even get inside, and who want to be inside a fortress with a bunch of zombies anyway. Take my advice and look for a deserted island instead.

Kentucky, however, is a pretty nice state. I grew up in Tennessee and lived in Kentucky for a few years. It's filled with rolling hills, lakes, forests, and great people. From Louisville to Murray, it's a pretty neat state to visit, so I would recommend going and visiting Kentucky while it's still safe to do so.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  I don't know about you but I would need to be extremely desperate to go to Antarctica. There are probably few places that could keep you safe from zombies as well as Antarctica. For one, it's really not an easy place to get to. It's also very cold.  You would probably have a hard time surviving there, so it may not be at the top of your list but I would say you could easily put some distance between yourself and the limping crowd of dazed zombies.

Here are some interesting facts I found at worldatlas.com.  " Antarctica, almost 98% solid ice, was finally considered a continent in 1840, and not just a group of isolated islands. Today it has active territorial claims submitted by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom."  Do you think you have cold Winters? Check this out, "Antarctica is the coldest and windiest spot on the planet. In fact, the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth was recorded in Antarctica (-129.3ºF) and the mean winter temperatures range from -40º to -94ºF. Winds are commonly measured at up to 200 miles per hour."

If you were to take refuge in Antarctica, I think zombies would be the least of your concerns. There are several research stations there though - manned by various different countries.  You might be able to take refuge at one of them.  From what I understand, one of them is green, so you might be able to survive in it.

Here's a couple to check out:   http://www.antarcticstation.org or http://www.usap.gov.

I've personally never been to Antarctica (I hate the cold), but if you love adventure, there are different expeditions you can join. One that sounds interesting is through a company called Expedition Trips.   According to their site, the trip includes a "cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding islands aboard a stylish state-of-the-art expedition ship with outstanding guides, kayaks, underwater dive master, and National Geographic partnership." The site has a picture of people in a raft checking out penguins. That's kinda epic I guess if you prefer penguins to zombies... unless they are zombie penguins, which would be kinda freaky.

 If Antarctic is on your post-apocalypse bucket list, you may want to book a per-apocalypse trip with one of these expedition companies to check out the turf. As for me, I'm going to stick with my deserted island plan. 

What do you think about Antarctica? Share in the comments below.

-Tim (The Adventure Guy, except in this case because I hate cold weather.)

There is no debating the monumental presence of the Grand Canyon. To stand over it and look into its depth of color and complexity is to view a work of art on the canvas of the Earth's landscape. It's rugged nature makes it a great temptation for adventure junkies. From its raging Colorado River to it's shear cliffs, The Grand Canyon beckons you to a challenge.

Since most people view zombies as brainless beings who can't do much more than drag themselves around, the same sense of danger promised by this great U.S. monument could provide refuge to those who can make it to the bottom. A raft could provide a quick escape when needed and someone who is trained in survival could manage to wait out the apocalypse in one of the most beautiful landscapes on the planet.

Don't wait until something happens to enjoy this wonder. Take a trip to the Grand Canyon and experience its beauty for yourself. If you are in for an adventure, book a rafting trip or enlist yourself on a mule trip on one of its scenic trails.

-Tim (The Adventure Guy)

Learn more at these sites:
plan your visit

grandclassroom.com

Lonely Planet

So, we have talked about transportation, theme parks and even deserted islands but some people feel that a yacht is the culmination of everything great when it comes to surviving the apocalypse. If you think about it, a yacht is great transportation since we are pretty certain zombies can't swim or navigate boats of their own. It's a great 'vessel' to take to your deserted island and it's just quite a bit more fun than sitting on an island Tom Hanks style with your volleyball.

For some people, the yacht is a must have for a post apocalyptic world. You can use it to find new places, other survivors and food/water. You will need to have a good fuel source, however, which will mean visiting once populated places...which in a zombie world would mean great danger. I guess that scenario would still provide adventure and for those thrill seekers still out there, it would be a good excuse to go visit the mainland on occasion. Just watch out for stowaways and I don't mean Gilligan!

As far at the present goes, this is an adventure I have yet to go on. I have not even gone on a cruise as of yet. Go ahead and accuse me of being a lame travel adviser. (If you want to pay for my cruise experience, I would be more than glad to accept your offer.) With that said, I think going on a cruise or even renting a yacht for a weekend would be an excellent adventure. Maybe not of Bill and Ted status, but excellent just the same. I think when I do opt for the cruise adventure I will lean heavily toward Disney cruises because I have already had such great experiences with their them parks.

For those of you out there who have gone on cruised or rented a yacht or houseboat, what advice do you have for those future deckhands? Please share your advice and it might be on a future post.

-Tim (The somewhat experienced travel and adventure guy)

 Since the title of this blog is Zombie Getaways, it seems fitting that I actually say something concerning transportation. If you think about it, transportation is often what comes to one’s mind when he/she contemplates a getaway. From gangsters to moonshine runners, cars have become synonymous with the idea of getting away. Bank robbers even call them getaway vehicles.

The zombie culture is infatuated with the perfect zombie getaway vehicle. Designers create everything from steel covered frames to chainsaws on the front. (I’m not sure how one would have enough time to get out of the car and start the chainsaws [if you have ever used a chainsaw you understand what I mean], get back into the car and drive through the herd of ‘walkers’ but someone decided it would be a good inclusion for  the front of an escape car). For some odd reason Hyundai teamed up ‘The Walking Dead’ to create ‘The Walking Dead Chop Shop.’ It’s a site or app where you can build your own Hyundai for battling the throngs of walkers you would encounter in The Walking Dead universe. The app is fun but I can’t help but wonder why anyone would choose a Hyundai as the perfect zombie attack vehicle. Don’t get me wrong, Hyundai builds reliable vehicles, but I just can’t imagine that I would choose one if that was my way of fending off walkers. I would definitely choose a 4X4 or maybe an AWD and it would come from a company that has a history of build tough off-road vehicles. Let’s face it, your goal would be to get away from highly populated areas and since the roads would often be blocked off by traffic jams or hordes of walkers, you would need something that could be driven on rough terrain and not be so encumbered in steel and chainsaws that it would sink into the fertile forest floor. For this reason I would probably pick a Humvee, Toyota Land Cruiser, Ford F150 4X4, Range Rover or even a Subaru, but I would not pick a Hyundai. I think The Walking Dead must have been paid a huge amount of cash to partner with Hyundai.  Think about it, you will need something that is proven as a heavy duty off road vehicle in order to survive, not something you can manufacture in a chop shop. Seriously, where would one find one of these chop shops and who would have time to make these alterations in a real emergency?

(Since this is actually a travel blog, I would be remiss to not somehow segue into some type of travel advice, so here is my rather rough transition).

Speaking of travelling in vehicles, what better way is there to go to your destination than by car? Yes, planes are faster but a plane just takes the enjoyment out of the journey. If you fly, you are required to wait in long lines, talk to rude people, get scanned, patted down and violated all to wait on a plane crammed with people who are as tired as you. Chances are you won’t get to your destination in one flight, so you will run for your next flight at some airport only to miss your flight or find out it is delayed by two hours. You may reach your destination earlier, but you will require rest due to the stress. If you drive, you get to see the sites, travel at your leisure, stay in hotels, and have your own car with you while at your destination. I know one can’t travel by car with crossing the ocean, but it is a viable option for cross country trips.

Since there are no walkers on your trip, you might choose a car over a gas guzzling 4X4 but that could still be a mistake. You never know what obstacles you will face while travelling. You could encounter snow storms in the winter or torrential downpours in the spring. You may be driving through mountains or on beaches. Finding an economical 4X4 or AWD vehicle like a Subaru, Ford Escape, Toyota Highlander, or a variety of other crossovers may be your best option to save some money on fuel but still retain some off-road capability for when the rubber meets the road. (Pun definitely intended).

(Tim-The Travel and Adventure Guy)

Hopefully, you won't wait until a zombie invasion to visit Walt Disney World.  It's my hope that your visit there will be similar to what I experienced - total excitement. Although I would label running from zombies as adventurous, I wouldn't call it exciting. I hope your trip will be filled with great memories.

One of the greatest things that came out of our trip to Disney was the memories we created together as a family. One of our last days we witnessed a family who either left a shop without their pre-teenage daughter or she wondered into the shop. They were in the middle of a war of words as we passed. I am not sure who was at fault for the separation of the parents and child but based upon the parent’s rebukes, the full responsibility was being placed upon the daughter’s shoulders. To say they were angry would be an understatement, as would stating they were furious. They were explosive and it was one of the few times I witnessed the crowd moving away. I realized that it had to be quite traumatic to lose their daughter and that every possible emotion had arisen during their frantic search, but all that could go through my mind was how that very moment would define their vacation at what is supposed to be the ‘happiest place on earth.’ I, myself, was extremely tired and my feet were aching... but I pledged to make the most of the remainder of our trip because I wanted to leave with wonderful memories.

We had a good day and got to experience some exciting times together. It was a time for bonding and we became a closer knit family as a result of our experience... and our attitude. For a vacation to be a success in producing fond memories you must enter it with the right attitude. You can vacation at any dream destination and have a horrible time if you expect he worst. We faced toll roads, torrential downpours, sunburns, aching muscles, etc – but they were all part of a wonderful memory that I would do over and over and over again. I celebrated the rain. The toll roads were a nuisance, but a gateway to adventure. The sunburn and aching muscles were the result of too much fun. My attitude was to enjoy my vacation and bond with my family and that is the results I obtained. Had I went with a negative attitude, I would now have negative memories. Instead I am filled with memories of carrying my daughter who is still young enough to carry, meeting Mickey Mouse, riding thrilling rides and getting to experience my son and daughter’s joy on their first roller coaster rides! We laughed, ran, waited in line together and just enjoyed the freedom of being together in a joyful place. It was pure excitement and I have memories that will last a lifetime.

My biggest piece of advice for going to Disney World or any vacation is to expect wonderful things to happen. Make good memories. Take you camera and snap it every time you have the opportunity. Don’t argue or fuss and make the best out of even the bad things that happen. If you heed my advice, you will have a smile on your face as you look back upon the time you and your family were running in the rain to ride down Splash Mountain.

Make the best out of each day.

-Tim (The Travel and Adventure Guy)

Here is part three of the Disney Travel advice. The picture is of me and my son in Disney's Animal Kingdom.  The safari ride is pretty killer and probably the best place to hide out if you are trying to escape a throng of thirsty zombies.  Maybe the lions will keep you safe.

1.       Plan your attire: I learned that June is a good month for rain in Florida. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, we enjoyed the rain and took advantage of the shorter lines it created. If we were not dressed appropriately, however, we would have been miserable. We planned ahead and bought sandals with nylon straps. (Good sandals for being in the sun and rain include Keen and Chaco). You want sandals with nylon straps because they can get wet and dry quickly. We also wore high end sandals because we wanted to be as comfortable walking as possible. Our children wore Keen sandals (which I saw many people at Disney wearing) while Julie and I wore Chaco sandals due to their superior arch support. Don’t get me wrong, our feet hurt, but not as bad as they would have with inferior shoes. My advice is to not wear tennis shoes, unless you enjoy the sloshing of water as you walk. It’s also a good idea to wear quick drying clothing and make sure you take rain protection. We wore ponchos that we purchased at Disney. We knew to pack some but forgot – Disney ponchos aren’t cheap, so remember to pack your own. The advantage to a poncho is that you can pack it when you are not wearing it.  

2.       Take a small backpack: When talking to others we realized that we would need to take stuff into Disney. We purchased a small backpack and decided that we would carry everything in that bag. (This worked great until we started buying souvenirs. You may want to pack an empty bag inside your main bag to put souvenirs in). We packed snacks, our ponchos, the camera, and other essentials in the backpack. Most of Disney’s rides have a storage compartment for bags, so we never found ourselves needing to hand it off and alternate who rode what. The backpack was very handy.

3.       Strollers: Our children were 8 and 5 at the time and neither one ever used a stroller. We were advised to take one because the walking is so strenuous, but opted to not take in a stroller. I would make the same decision if I had it to do all over. I noticed that those with strollers had a difficult time. Many rides require that you park your stroller in a stroller lot, so you are then forced to carry the child and all the stuff you stored in the stroller. Navigating a stroller through a large crowd can be very difficult and many people don’t yield to anyone – including those with strollers or in wheelchairs. My daughter did get very tired one night and I carried her quite a bit, but I still prefer that over hauling around a stroller all day. It was just extra exercise for me. Our situation is different. Some people have more children or younger children and need a stroller. If you do need one, plan ahead and be flexible because you will have extra requirements.

4.       Buy Souvenirs at the End of the Day: I mentioned that we bought souvenirs. Most days we bought our souvenirs at the end of the day. We just took mental notes of what we wanted and got those items before we left. This prevented us from hauling around extra stuff all day. There is no need to burden yourself with more stuff when you can just practice patience.  We did have a situation where we were in a gift shop in middle of the day and would not be returning to that area, so we purchased some items there. (They had sales, which is abnormal for Disney). We did, consequently, carry those items with us for the rest of the day and wished we had an extra backpack.

That’s all for today, but I still have a ton of information about our trip to share.  Comment below if you plan to go to Disney and have questions or suggestions.


 - Tim (The Travel Guy)