Detail or just facts?

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Robert & I have been discussing this very subject!! Robert & I do very lenghty and time consuming journals. Are we wasting our time? Would you like it like we do it or just the facts? I want to encourage everyone to tell a tale or two but I don't want anyone to feel like they have to compete with anyone who does detail. I was reading on another forum (I think it was Frommers) where a reader just yelled at a reviewer for putting in too much detail, like where they ate, what they ate, how much it cost, etc. Personally I like that.

What do you think?

shaggy

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Shaggy.....Write it the way that you are comfortable doing so. To each his own. If there is too much detail for someone, they can always just skim over the post. It's not like there's a test at the end, that they need to pass.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

This has also been discussed in conjunction with Resort Reviews. I think people should be free to write what they want; especially in a Travel Tales forum!!

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

I agree too with ArtsieAng and Glitter.

I like reading most travel stories here but I am retired so have the time. I have a feeling that everyone will read what they are interested in and skip what they do not want to read.

I had never heard of the "Corn Palace" so found it interesting when Robert wrote about it in his trip report with a link to it too because that is very helpful.

You all know by now that I love pictures because a picture is worth a thousand words to me. Some scenes are so beautiful that no pen can describe it.

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

Shaggy,
Keep doing it your way. As Angela says if its too much for someone they can skip it or skip thru it. Myself I like the detail, I always learn something from folks detail reports. Also, if you don't put enough detail in then there is a chance that something that someone is interested in will get left out and they won't get that info.
I always do a lot of research on places I am going looking at what folks say here, going to tripadvisor and other places.
And anyway your stories always add a little humor and insight and I found Roberts trip log interesting, so keep it up.
Everyone has different styles so those that don't write quite as much should not feel bad, what they do write and the insites they give no matter how short or long are always appreciated.

[JoAnn Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JoAnn]

I enjoy details AND facts! And, like the others, if I don't want to read all the details, I skim over them. I tend to write using both, which makes my 'tales' a little long, but that's my way. I feel it's good to see what other people have done and where they stayed, ate and felt about various places and trips they took.

I enjoyed reading Robert's Trip West, because some of the things he did we have done too, so it brought back memories. Robert had emailed me about our trip west in 2002 and I mentioned the Corn Palace where we had stopped for a quick look. DH Dad had seen it years and years ago and DH wanted to see what it was all about. I'm glad we stopped and I would stop again. I like to know where people eat..good, bad or indifferent...so IF we head that way, I can stop or not stop. Wall Drugs was one of those places. We HAD to stop just because of all the billboards along the way! We stopped, looked, had some ice cream and left. So keep the trip reports coming...it helps me decided where I might want to go next.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Leslie,

I love your detailed posts as well as Robert's and Jim's. I feel I am living those vacations vicariously with all of you!

It is a gift that some of you have and some of us lack.

Please keep it up.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Thanks, glad you like the logs, and like you said if you don't want to read it you can skip it!! I was so p'ode at the rude crude individual who slammed a traveler for doing detail. I told her to come on over here and she could type to her hearts delight. shaggy

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

I like to read detail and appreciate it when TS4MS, TUG, fodors forums members give such. For Trip West, where to visit was directed almost entirely by member inputs.
Several fed info to me and I’ve done a lot of digging in preparation of Trip West. There also was a lot of info gained as we traveled.

I plan on sharing all I can in hopes that others might benefit. If there's no detail, what’s the point? Personally, there must be detail.
I would appreciate some input as to what could be left out. It would help a lot. For Trip West, I have stroked the keyboard at least 238 thousand times thus far. That’s besides all the web research.

No doubt you could care less about the odometer readings, or the cost of the fuel. However that info is in my log so I haven’t deleted. I left it in, in case some like that for reference. Those figures will change for everyone, but that was ours.

Do you care that someone slept late or that we got to Missoula at 3PM? Or how long it took to stroll the DT base trail?

How about the notes of tidbit information? Or the URL inserts? Do any of you go there and read more about those places? I thought it would say a lot for you without me repeating that by tapping theses keys.

To make Trip West Report more interesting... what should I leave out?
My detail of the USS Badger… there may be those out there who might like to know about that ferry… I suppose such info could be referred to rather than made a part of my story, but I already had it.

The wedding I could have left out. I'm also sure no one cares about our vapor lock or prescriptions having to be filled.

To me, I’m sharing the journey and just a few of the hundreds of photographs, even if they aren’t the best. I hope it gives a glimpse of what we got to see as we drove about our country. Some I scanned where I didn't have great pictures.

LOG information, I tried to enter as one font size smaller than my comments. But when I copy from MS Word and paste into TS4MS, all my work comes out the same font. No bold or underlined either... I had to go back and edit... over and over. Even then, much is screwy.

The last posting of Chapter One wouldn't size my font correctly so I just left it. I see no way to edit the font once posted. I have to write it again and reinsert after deleting the original post. Is there a better way?

For Trip West, I have stroked the keyboard at least 238,000 times thus far. There’s still much organization to do and there's some duplication yet to be found and corrected.

There's much of the trip without detail at all in my log... yet to be added as I get to that section. That comes from brainwork and much web searching. I can’t remember names too well.

I upgraded the hard drive of my laptop while in Portland. Documents were backed up and reloaded but now the photos are not in order. WAA WAA

Anyway, what would make Trip West Report better for you?

Robert

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

I think you know that we can't please everyone. As pointed out, they like detail. If they don't want to read it they can skip over it. Do whatever makes you happy. It's fun to relive the trip!! shaggy

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

Also, some of us are not a verbose as others. I am not that great at writing long narratives about my trips. I hope to be informative but may be a shade light on detail. I appreciate those who can and do write such nice detail. I learn a lot from it.

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

Please keep writing and sharing! We have so many "silent" readers, those who enjoy and learn who never post a thing! And the posts will be here a long time, so they are great resources!

[TrickyD Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close TrickyD]

This is really the first time I have read this forum and I really apreciate the detail, the pics, everything. Personally I find it very interesting reading, and enjoy the details. I know that I am very negligent when it comes to posting about anything. We returned from Weston Dec. 19th, and I will try to describe that trip in a future post. I am afraid I won't be as eloquent as other posters, but I'll try!
Every year we at least once make the trip from here to Manitoba and "shortcut" through the states. We spend a couple of days in Great Falls, Montana then meander through Montana, North Dakota, then back up into Canada to visit relatives Northeast of Winnipeg. The voyage West trip description has me thinking of alternate routing for our trip this year! Only diff is we will be going East.
Thanks everyone for the descriptions!
TrickyD

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Tricky, don't worry about eloquence or competing. Everyone has a different style. Just write it like you are trying to remember what you did so that you can go back years later and relive it!! shaggy

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

Tricky, don't worry about eloquence or competing. Everyone has a different style. Just write it like you are trying to remember what you did so that you can go back years later and relive it!! shaggy

... and others may then know more about somewhere else. If you keep it to yourself, the rest of us may never know of the wonderful stuff you have experienced.

Just tell what's out there. Do you have favorite routes? And why do you go?

We want to know.

Robert