A Land Far Away

Got two and a half months free in the US later this year (August-October) and really just looking for things that people would suggest doing (no plans at the moment, other than starting from NC and flying out of LA and need to get up to NYC at some stage to visit a friend). Any must-dos while over there?

My current rough thoughts are travelling north from NC up to New York, then across past the great lakes, maybe popping across the boarder to that waterfall, then continue across to the Pacfic, and down the coast to LA. Long time 'til I really have to have any solid plan, so really just gathering ideas at this stage.

Make a stop over in LA, and go to Knott's Berry Farm, Disneyland, Six Flags, or at least one of those. Be happy to show you around.

Shuttling into Raleigh, taking north through Virginia, you'll be passing by A LOT of old Civil War battlefields if history is your thing. If not, I'd suggest a stop over in Richmond as the drive is a good bit, then make a stop off to D.C. Visit the Smithsonian, the old monuments are okay, but I am more of the museum type, I'll check a couple for you, see if I can remember the ones I've been to, and try to get up a map. SHould be some good art and historical museums...also a very good civil war museum in Richmond, again, if that is up your alley. I've never strayed farther North than DC...northerners give me the heebee jeebies.

Daniel

Funny, we feel the same way about you southerners.

If you have to do great lakes than upper Michigan the Keweenaw peninsula is your place to be especially for fishing. A mix of finnish-american and other northern european influences if you know where to look. Ice cold polar bear diving, hot saunas and warm pasty. Heaven.

warm pasty

Worth the whole vacation.

~Killthorne~

What are your interests? It'd probably be easier to give suggestions based on that. The US is way too big to see much of in such a short time, so we should point you to what you really want to see. :f

Make sure you take time to see all the steers and queers in Texas.

Smog in LA is going to be on the endangered list as California emissions laws have their effect. It's already greatly lessoned from the days of yore. Soon it'll be all gone. Better check it out.

Make sure you spend some time in Wyoming and Montana. Nothing like taking in the view of miles and miles of nothing.

If you've seen Deliverence then you know you can't miss out on the great Backwoods, home to Rednecks and other stout country folk.

The Armpit of America is great because then you can say you've been to the Armpit of America.

Don't forget to stop in down home Louisiana and witness first hand the passage of time after bungled disaster relief efforts.

Then head to Las Vegas, city of vice. I don't know what people do there, cause what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, apparently. What a great motto though, enh?

Anyway, those should start you off right. Hope you have a grand old time.

Yeah, it really depends on tastes. I would do more of a natural wonders tour, go to Yosemite, the supervolcano caldera in Wyoming, Niagra Falls, etc. LA can be skipped, but NY is worth a few weeks all by itself.

I'll meet you at The Falls, if you get near the great lakes. The tunnel that delves underneath the falls, is pretty cool.
Heck, I'll even treat you to a few rounds of Texas/Canadian Hold'em, at the Niagara Fall's Casino's.



In Canadian Hold'em, we give our winnings back at the end, and say "sorry".

Happy Trails!

I would definitely suggest skipping LA unless you hate yourself. It's a horrible stain on the world, and there's really nothing to see there that you can't find a better version of somewhere else. In general, if you're interested in a nature tour you'll want to spend more time west, if you're interested in history then you'll want to spend more time east.

And since you're going to be in New York anyway, plan for at least a week there. If I had three months to spend anywhere in the US I probably wouldn't even leave NYC, but that's just me.

Tynndahl wrote: In Canadian Hold'em, we give our winnings back at the end, and say "sorry".

Ha! Sounds like my sort of game!

For me, US history isn't such a big priority. The nature/outdoor side of things is really me, so the west you say is better for that? Any great walks/hikes that you can recommend (preferably not overly-touristy ones)?

So NY certainly worth going to? Should have free accomadation there, so that should be good. LA I really have to go to as my plane will most likely be departing from there. What's Washington DC like as a city? Any other really nice cities to see?

Vendrin wrote:Make a stop over in LA, and go to Knott's Berry Farm, Disneyland, Six Flags, or at least one of those.

Okay, I know what Disneyland is, but those other two I've never heard of. I assume as they're placed in the same sentence as Disneyland they're also theme parks.

Rotku wrote:The nature/outdoor side of things is really me, so the west you say is better for that? Any great walks/hikes that you can recommend (preferably not overly-touristy ones)?

For nature I suggest:
Black Hills, South Dakota
Yellowstone, Wyoming
Grand Canyon, Arizona
Arches National Park, Utah
Monument Valley, Utah/Arizona
Petrified Forest, Arizona
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Note that I like deserts and mountains. If you happen to be in the area for some reason, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky is also pretty awesome.

There's also more than US history around--for example, I wouldn't recommend coming to Ohio, unless you like aviation, in which case you should come see the best air museum in the world. But there's not really any other reason to come here.

Rotku wrote:So NY certainly worth going to?

NYC is my favorite place in the world, so I'd say yes. It's impossible to be bored there.

Rotku wrote:LA I really have to go to as my plane will most likely be departing from there. What's Washington DC like as a city? Any other really nice cities to see?

DC has tons of history and museums and stuff. As a city it's a shithole, but the central area where all the museums and monuments are is quite nice. Just don't go into the city proper. Chicago is nice. I've heard great things about Seattle, though I've not been there yet so I can't confirm them. Other cities depend on what you're interested in. The entire area from DC to Boston is all hooked together with a nice rail network and functions essentially as one huge city, and NYC is right in the middle of it, so you could run around there pretty easily. I can't remember if you're over 21 or not, but if you are then you might want to hit Las Vegas just because. If you're not then don't bother.

Rotku wrote:

Vendrin wrote:Make a stop over in LA, and go to Knott's Berry Farm, Disneyland, Six Flags, or at least one of those.

Okay, I know what Disneyland is, but those other two I've never heard of. I assume as they're placed in the same sentence as Disneyland they're also theme parks.

Yep. There are other Six Flags locations, though I don't remember where they are. If you like roller coasters, you should stop by Cedar Point, Ohio on your way west. It has the best collection in the world as far as I know.

If you drop by San Francisco I would be happy to say hi and show you around a bit. The SF Bay Area is beautiful.

Rotku wrote:

Vendrin wrote:Make a stop over in LA, and go to Knott's Berry Farm, Disneyland, Six Flags, or at least one of those.

Okay, I know what Disneyland is, but those other two I've never heard of. I assume as they're placed in the same sentence as Disneyland they're also theme parks.

Yep, though if I had to choose out of the three I'd go for Knotts, cause it's fun, not to hard to get too due to traffic, and has decent mix of stuff to do.

Its getting into the country that should take up 50% of the trip, ya'know deciding Y/N to "have you ever been a member of the nazi government of germany" and soforth.