An aussie, needing some advice from Americans

[Nice_Couple]

Hi All, well its been over 12 months since out trip to the USA, and I'm starting to plan our next. We're getting married next year and I'm organising the honeymoon

So what I'd like to know is some places around America, not just Florida that are recommended to visit. What are some things/places that you think should NOT be missed by a tourist.

We covered a bit out gound on our last trip and are looing for other places to visit and things to see.
We will be revisiting Vegas, Florida and New York, and hopefully more places with your suggestions!
eg, NY - Statue of Liberty, Empire State, Central park
FL - Nascar, WDW, Universal Studios
CA - Six Flags, Knotts Berry, Alcatraz, etc. etc.

Any recomendations are well appreciated.

Also we'd love to attend a nascar race whilst in Florida, we will be there in April 07, are there any races around this time of year?

Thank you!

 

[Sandy22]

Come visit Canada

 

[barkley]

do some of the low key northern california stuff-visit the redwoods, take a few days in fort bragg (stunning coastlines, beautiful botanical gardens-the fun and "famous" skunk train). maybe a trip to lake tahoe-beautiful scenery and depending on the time of year snow or water sports.

 

[tribus121]

this is this years NASCAR schedule for april 06 should be all most the same in 07 they will release the 07 schedule on www.nascar.com in november 06



04/02/06 DirecTV 500 Martinsville Speedway
04/09/06 Samsung/RadioShack 500 Texas Motor Speedway
04/22/06 Subway Fresh 500 Phoenix International Raceway

The races in Flordia are
Daytona 500 3rd sunday in feb DIS
PEPSI 400 first saturday in July DIS
Ford 400 3rd sunday in november HMS
hope this helps

 

[N.Bailey]

Washington DC - White House tour, Smithsonian, among MANY other things
Philadelphia, PA - Birthplace of America, has LOTS to see and do
New Orleans - What can you say? I'm sure they'd love as many visitors as they can get right now
Tennessee - Grand Ole Opry, Graceland (Elvis), Dollywood - None of this is really my thing, but all get many visitors
Chicago - LOTS to do
Boston or maybe Maine for a taste of New England

 

[pat fan]

Any recomendations are well appreciated.

1. St. Augastine in Fl. is a great place. I went there as a kid and even then I appreciated it.
2. Grand Canyon or any of the parks out there (Zion, Bryce etc...)
3. Maine. The York area is very beautiful but probably a tad chilly in April
4. Redwoods in Ca.
5. Ben & Jerry's in Vermont. Hey, if you like the ice cream, the plant is a great place to visit.
6. Philadelphia. See the home of the Liberty Bell etc....
I'm sure I'm missing a ton af amazing things.....but that's my starter list

Personaly, I'd skip N.Y. Not my cup of tea to be jostled around in the big city. Same reason I didn't put Boston on there.

 

[auntpolly]

I'd like to suggest Philadelphia while you are on the east coast. It isn't all that far from NYC, (an easy train ride) and it really can give you a wonderful idea of our history. So much of the historical sites are very well preserved and in close proximity (a great place to walk around-- last time I went there was a tour of all the taverns -- kind of like 18th century bar hopping!! ). If you really got adventurous, you could go out to Valley Forge (I used to live there and the park is so beautiful, with lots to see.)

Have fun!

 

[golfgal]

The US, like Australia, is so varied that with each state you visit you will find something different. Take Minnesota for example, no matter where you are in Minnesota you are never more then a mile from a body of water, a LOT of lakes here. Northern Minnesota is dense pine forests, southern MN is prairieland. You have a lot of attractions, the most popular being the Mall of American, one of the world's largest shopping malls.

If you plan on more trips to the US, maybe you want to section off the country and concentrate on that area. If you are going back to Vegas on this trip, go to Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, then drive over to California, hit Los Angeles, San Diego, drive up the coast, hit northern California and the wineries. If you have time, continue on to Oregon/Washington and visit the Redwood Forests, Puget Sound, etc.

On the next trip, hit the midwest, for example, then the East Coast.

What time of year are you coming? If you are coming in the fall (our fall--Sept/Oct) then I would say do the New England States, especially Vermont, Maine, etc. The fall colors there are just amazing that time of year. You could add Washington DC, Cape Cod, Boston to that trip, depending on how much time you have.

Do you have a concept of how large the US is? A lot of people really don't. They think they can go from say Minnesota to Florida and back in a weekend. If you drove coast to coast in the US it would take about 4 days.

 

[SeeDisney]

Niagra Falls -- stay at a hotel at the Canadian side. Do a Maid of Mist tour or the Whirlpool Jets tour.

 

[Crankyshank]

I would take some time to explore New England. I'm in Rhode Island and only 3hrs hours from NYC. We have some nice casinos just over the border in CT if you're into that sort of thing, gorgeous beaches, excellent food, beautiful scenery, and I especially recommend Newport. Walking Cliff walk and going on the mansions tours is a lot of fun.

Boston is only an hour from me and there's a lot to see and do. Especially if you have an interest in history. The Maine coast is spectacular as well.

 

[roger_ramjet]

Do you have a concept of how large the US is? A lot of people really don't. They think they can go from say Minnesota to Florida and back in a weekend. If you drove coast to coast in the US it would take about 4 days.

Just a quick comment - Australia is roughly the same size as the lower 48 states of the US, so if she's been around Australia then she'll know exactly what it's like. Of course, it's even easier to get around the US because it's so much more densely populated and the road system is much more comprehensive.

Like golfgal said, though, try not to be too ambitious unless you have a lot of time and money to spend in the US. There are so many regional variations that it would be easy to get overwhelmed. I am living in the South, so I can perhaps recommend some things to do down here, but I also know a bit about California - specifically, Yosemite! If you're at all into nature you simply have to go there, it's like nothing else you will ever see.

Also, I too am an Australian (a fellow Melburnian, no less!), so if you want to ask any questions about my perceptions as an outsider of the South in particular, feel free to ask, as maybe I can help you decipher some of the weirdness that goes on down here

 

[Princess Mindy]

come visit Chicago! Theres lots of great stuff to do and
<-------- a Princess lives there

 

[RadioNate]

- Washington DC
- Chicago
- any of the National Parks but I'd suggest Yellowstone and or the Grand Canyon. I'd highly suggest making an overnight trip to the Grand Canyon from your stop in Vegas.
- San Antonio/Austin TX
- California wine country or Portland/Oregon coast
- Charleston SC

How much time and $$ do you have?

 

[Ub_Iwerks]

Do San Francisco and Napa Valley area while in California along with Southern CA. Maybe do Disneyland, if you decide to skip WDW while in Florida, but you don't need to do other theme parks if you're doing Disney. Knotts Berry and, especially Six Flags, will be a disappointment after Disney and Universal Studios. Washington, DC, is a very cool place with lots of history-- most museums are free there, along with the National Zoo.

The only other thing that hasn't been mentioned here is a trip to the Mountains. The Colorado Rockies are awesome. Maybe you can stop for a couple of days on your way to CA.

 

[Nice_Couple]

Thank you all for the great suggestions!

Sandy22 - Come visit Canada

Actually we got very close to Canada on our last visit, when we went to Niagara Falls, although didn’t cross the border as my fiance left her passport in the hotel! lol
Actually we did a contiki trip last time and still keep in touch with a friend who works in a hotel in Toronto, maybe he can do a mates rates deal

tribus121 - this is this years NASCAR schedule for April 06 should be all most the same in 07 they will release the 07 schedule on www.nascar.com in November 06

Thanks for the tips on Nascar, I’m going to do my best to make sure we are in Florida to be able to attend a race, really looking forward to it!

golfgal - What time of year are you coming?
Do you have a concept of how large the US is? A lot of people really don't.

We're coming sometime in April, probably mid to late April.
I know your great country is quite large, we did quote a bit of driving on our last trip, we drove from Anaheim to San Fran, stopping at lots of places on the way
Im planning on flying between the major states as we wont have the time to drive this time.

Also the reason we're covering so much ground is that the cost of the airfare to the USA is quite expensive, but local flights are quite cheap, so we'll happy spend $2000 to get there then a few hundred on getting around the different states. And this will probably be out last USA trip for a while unfortunately.

roger_ramjet - but I also know a bit about California - specifically, Yosemite! If you're at all into nature you simply have to go there, it's like nothing else you will ever see.

We went to Yosemite on out last trip, it was a truly beautiful place, loves the squirrels We went there on a wet day bought the standard yellow ponchos

Princess Mindy - come visit Chicago! There’s lots of great stuff to do and a Princess lives there

Thanks Mindy, if you can do us dinner we'll happily pop in for some all American cuisine

RADIONATE - I'd highly suggest making an overnight trip to the Grand Canyon from your stop in Vegas
How much time and $$ do you have?

Luckily we also went to the Canyon last trip, that was also spectacular, did the helicopter into the canyon then went down to the Havasupi falls which were magnificent!!! The blue green water was spectacular; I even went for a swim Was freezing cold but well worth it!
As for $$$ and time, we have about 6 weeks, can take more if needed. We should have enough money to cover all the things we want to do. I know what our last trip cost so that’s a good guide for this trip.

Again thanks for all the suggestions please keep them coming!

 

[Froggyswife]

Come to Arkansas. No really I'm serious. We have 3 mountain ranges the ouachita mountains which is the only mountain range that goes east to west the Boston mountains in the north east corner of the state and the Ozark mountains that reach from north central to Missouri.

Hot Springs Arkansas is loaded with history and has reopened the orriginal Bathhouse spas using the healing waters of the natural hot springs in the area. One of our favorite local haunts. It also has an amusement/water park that is very nice. It's not disney but it is pretty nice.

 

[Molly Meow]

If you decide to do Northern California and the Redwoods (which I love), I would highly recommend this drive: http://www.avenueofthegiants.net/

VERY scenic, very pretty, very relaxed drive. It also runs parallel to HWY 101, so it's rather easy to get back on if you run short on time.

Have a blast on your trip!

 

[N.Bailey]

What are you looking for? More nature type things, historic, different theme parks, any music preferences or sports (aside from Nascar), maybe white water rafting, maybe the arts and/or museums, shows? I think we've got them all covered in one part of the country or another.

 

[alliecats]

Putting in my 2 cents for Santa Fe, New Mexico. I went once in 1990 and still think about it all the time. Definitely worth a look!