The FastDay Forum

Ok so The Minsmum family will hopefully be travelling to America for 3-4 weeks over the summer. What I need is suggestions for must see places to visit. We will be leaving around the 6th and coming back the first week in September. We have no must go to places, apart from New York at the end. Min has a desire to go shopping there!
Minsdad and I have done The Grand Canyon, but would like to take Min, as for anything or anywhere else, who knows, the world (or America) is our oyster.
So suggestions please, from anyone out there who knows where to go and what to do. We don't feel the need for lying on a beach or shopping in malls. We want to see this country.
Planes,trains or automobiles.... We have the time, help us fill it up x

[carieoates]

Oooh I'm excited for you. Where do you fly into? It's a big place Ya know.

I know, it's huge. That's why we need ideas. We don't mind where we go we just want to go, but need some kind of itinery otherwise we may get lost we are......planning an adventure

If you are in the Grand Canyon area you might want to check out Las Vegas and/or Hoover Dam. I've never been but my husband said Hoover Dam is neat to see. Las Vegas isn't really my thing, but it is quite something to see. There are stores/events that are kid oriented. How old is Min?
How about Yellowstone Park? I've never been but have always wanted to go. I've never heard anyone say they were disappointed there.
I'm more into civilized things to do. I'm not a camper! I like San Diego's Balboa Park. There is a wonderful zoo, museums, so much stuff. http://www.balboapark.org/ San Diego is also on the Pacific Ocean and you could check out the beach there or north of the city.
Los Angeles has some nice things to see. I lived there for about 10 years. I consider Venice Beach Boardwalk a must see. http://venicebeach.com/the-venice-beach-boardwalk/ You've seen it in movies for sure. Muscle Beach (body builders) are there, lots of street performers, tourist shops, funky shops, and still plenty of colorful characters. It's just a huge mix of interesting things. I never got tired of that place.
I also like San Francisco. There is Alcatraz Island/Prison to check out. North of the city are the giant red wood forests and wine country for the adults. The drive along the coast between Los Angeles and North of San Fran is beautiful.
I know the west coast best. Maybe someone will have ideas for the midwest or south.
Oh Philadelphia has the Mutter Museum if you are into that sort of thing. I loved it. http://muttermuseum.org/ It's not far from New York so would be easy to fit in to your trip.

The Mutter museum just up my street, I know Min would love it too! she's 12, so we won't need kiddie things to do. I think we will leave Vegas for now while we have Min with us, we've been before and done the Hoover Dam, it is neat, go see it, we flew over it. I don't think Min will be impressed though, but prisons and physicians may do it. Also big trees and body builders sounds interesting, oh wow a log cabin in Yellowstone..mmmmm so much to think about thank you O'Dell ( I tried 7 times to tag you but the computer said NO!)
@O'Dell
@Odell
@O'Dell
Arrrgggh.

All good suggestions so far! I might throw Colorado into the mix. Simply gorgeous. Rocky Mountain National Park is fabulous.

I've lived in the East all my life, and for the first time this year we will explore the Oregon coast. Looks fabulous. We'll begin in Seattle and work our way down the coast. We've done the San Francisco area and Yosemite, so we're heading a bit further North this year.

I can't wait to hear what your itinerary works out to be!

How exciting @Minsmum My sister in law lives in San Francisco and we have visited twice, it is fab, fascinating to see places that we recognise from films! It's often foggy in the city during the summer, but gets really hot just away from the Bay Area. If you do west coast, Monterey (south of SF) might be worth a look, we went when our daughter was about seven- we all loved it, but it might have changed because that was about twenty four years ago!
We loved a short trip to Yosemite, the scale of the cliffs is stupendous! Ooh, I wanna go too!

If you do west coast, Monterey (south of SF) might be worth a look, we went when our daughter was about seven- we all loved it, but it might have changed because that was about twenty four years ago!
We loved a short trip to Yosemite, the scale of the cliffs is stupendous! Ooh, I wanna go too!

Yes, drive up or down the west coast - see San Francisco, Monterery, Carmel, the 17-mile drive, maybe some vineyards in the wine region, Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks (about 2 hours apart) are must sees http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/California/Sequoia_National_Park-755665/TravelGuide-Sequoia_National_Park.html, Santa Barbara (not necessarily in that order !!!!!!)
I agree with others about L.A. and San Diego too !!! There really is TOO MUCH to see !!!!

September in San Francisco can be beautiful. The summer marine layer that covers the area often lifts and it is beautiful. From there as others have said you can explore the city, drive south down to the Big Sur (Carmel & Monterey). Alternatively go inland into Napa and Sonoma for a couple of days. If you have time, go to Lake Tahoe & Yosemite.
From SF, you can also take the Coast Starlight and take in the Pacific Northwest http://www.amtrak.com/coast-starlight-train.

I find it hard to come up with specifics, but I am very familiar with all of New England, so if you are going to be headed this way and want to know what might be worth a visit, just shoot me a question.

The most interesting trip we've done was sailing up Penobscot Bay along the coast of Maine for a 4 day cruise in an old fashioned schooner. Seeing the Maine coast with its hundreds of islands from the sea was a wonderful experience. The food was great, including a lobster bake on a deserted island, the accommodations are very tight since it is a 60 foot ship with 22 people on it but once you realize you are camping on a boat, there is no big issue. The people were very friendly and we had a lot of laughs and good times. It's not for everyone, but if that kind of thing appeals to you, it could be pure heaven, and very modestly priced. (The Schooner we took was the Lewis R. French, They are online with a video.) There were older teens on the two trips we have gone on.

The best places in New England are the place the tourists don't know about. Most of the towns people visit from abroad here are to my mind rather awful. Full of shops selling cheap junk to tourists and not much else. I live in a part of New England that no one knows about (yet) so there are lots of little unspoiled villages with country stores, hole in the wall restaurants, lovely rivers, historic houses, and beautiful scenery unmarred by ski resorts.

A trip to Burlington VT which has a vibrant downtown, with restaurants and shopping, beautiful lake and mountain views could be followed by driving east to Maine through the Presidential mountain range and up Mount Washington (which you can ascend in your car) would give you a whole different view of the U.S. than you would get going to more well-known places. A bit like the Lake District except larger and more intense.

Beyond that, hmm. I love Mystic Seaport in Mystic Connecticut, which is fun if you like historical reenactments. It was much nicer than I expected. But I am really into history and the sea. Newport, which isn't too far away, was so crowded when we visited we could never find a place to park to actually check out the town. They have huge 19th century mansions there if you like that kind of thing. We ended up hiking along the coast there and seeing some of the mansions from afar, and then had a wonderful dinner in a restaurant we found via Yelp.com.

For just driving around in the country and getting a feel for what it was like in the older times, you can't beat the back roads in the area between Northampton, MA and Brattleboro, VT. Lots of little towns with old houses from the 1700s and 1800s, especially my very favorite, Shelburne Falls, with its Bridge of Flowers, which is an old railroad bridge with lovely gardens on each side of the rail bed that is now a footpath. Beautiful river views, some craft stores, and delicious cream puffs.

I haven't been most of the places other people are suggesting or if I have been it was 30 or 40 years ago, so I'm not much help there. The traffic on the West Coast, which I visited last year, can be a bit overwhelming if you aren't used to it, which I'm not. You definitely need to work out where you are going there because the scale and population density is so huge and just poking around can be overwhelming. But I'm pretty much a country mouse. . . .

@Minsmum, we will host you here in beautiful Colorado! Rocky Mountain National Park is definitely a must see, and just a short drive from our place. We are also near Denver - plenty of tourist stuff of all sorts, and Colorado Springs, where you can take a cog railway train up Pikes Peak.
Mesa Verde, the largest archeological site in the US, is also totally fascinating. You can stop off there if you are traveling southwest toward California after Colorado. While you are there, you should travel from Durango, CO to historic Silverton, CO aboard one of the last surviving Narrow Gauge railroads.

These are just a few of my suggestions, though perhaps the ones that come to mind as must-sees. Feel free to PM me for more information. Anyone else want to come visit? @Pennyforthem, can I entice you?

I would actually advise against Yellowstone. It is a fantastic place, but the lines of cars and the crowds are extreme, from what I've heard (I was last there as a kid). You might even have trouble getting lodging there this early - they do book up. So maybe put it on the list for a time when you can visit the US in a season that isn't summer!

Rocky Mountain National Park (couldn't they have found a shorter URL?!): http://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm?utm_s ... c-48538949
Pikes Peak Cog Railway: http://www.cograilway.com/

Mesa Verde National Park: http://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm
Durango to Silverton train: http://www.durangosilvertonrailroad.com/

[Tracieknits]

Northern California is gorgeous!
I lived in the Seattle area for 10 years, and that is some stunning country as well. North Bend has some beautiful waterfalls, and there's the always impressive Mount Rainier.

What do you like though? You said you don't like beaches and shopping malls. Do you like Museums? Nature? History? Scenery? Long drives? Culture? What kind of shopping specifically does your daughter want in NYC?

You know August will be *really* hot in many areas of the country, especially the midwest and the south. Air conditioning is mandatory most places, except maybe Seattle.

I live in upstate NY right now, right between NYC and Montreal. It's gorgeous here.

On second thoughts, I agree with others, take the train, relax and enjoy the views - long-distance driving in the U.S. can be quite exhausting.

I would not wish the trains in the North East U.S. on my worst enemy. <shudder> You can't buy a ticket at the station or on the train. Only online. The trains can sit on the siding for 40 minutes with the lights dimmed for no reason. They take forever to get where they are going. And the train costs so much you could often rent a car cheaper. Worst of all, the view is entirely of the ugliest parts of every town you pass through (the wrong side of the tracks!) And you can't get off and explore which is part of the fun of traveling.

I would ride a Greyhound/Trailways bus before I would ride the train. The Megabus is a very cheap option if you don't mind lots of students and are flexible with your schedule.

Entreprise Rent a car will pick you up from anywhere, including a bus station, and is a good way to rent if you want to mix travel modes.

We are getting ready to do a very long drive down to North Carolina stopping all along the way, as soon as the weather improves. Some of the drive will be boring, but it will be nice to be completely in control of our schedule.

[Tracieknits]

I agree, the trains are miserable. The fastest supposedly "high speed" trains in the US are slower than the slow regional trains in France. It's shameful. And the cars are in bad shape, not very comfortable and at times overcrowded. For three, it will *always* be cheaper to rent a car or fly. I only take a train if I'm traveling alone to NYC. In January, it was raining and I had a constant drip onto me. The train was completely full, so there was no other seat to move to. But the train was cheaper than three days of parking, and I was alone, so I took the train.