America north, south, east and west

[Ruben A]

I have had some plans for taking the famous travel across the US next year or so with a friend - pure vacation - for 4 weeks or so. A lot of young people do this, maybe buy a cheap car and drive across or just use the airplanes.

Have any of you done this before? I mean, its easy to sit here and think "ah, that should be possible, we´ll see alot of things" - but god damn, there are so many things to plan!!! WHAT are we going to see, WHERE are we going and WHERE are we staying for the nights? Its really huge...

I´m not necessarily going to NY.. more everywhere else. Small cities out in the country. :)

sooo... ill probably just go to the local bookstore and buy a "guide to the USA"

[gunjack]

man make sure you go to NEW ORLEANS, SAN FRANCISCO and the frigging GRAND CANYON or YOSEMITE.

[thembuzz]

definitely yosemite. also death valley, monument valley and yellowstone

[drop]

stop in st. louis
go to the top of the arch
it's cool and a little weird

euclid avenue in is nice on a sunny day
make sure you stop at duffs eat and drink and ask for the local beer (not bud) you'll be pleasently surprised

americus, georgia: home to jimmy carter and his peanut farm, if you're lucky you might catch billy (jimmy's drunk brother) stumbling around town

st. joseph, missouri: jesse james (the cowboy outlaw not the monster garage person) died here, nice museum

athens, georgia: home to the university of georgia, R.E.M, and the B-52s. from what i understand still have a nice little music scene

panama city, florida: skip the main city beach (named one of the best in the world) and head to port st. joe, just like panama city without the crowd. be sure to leave the beach around 4pm, the mosquitos are fierce!!!

liberty, illinois: central illinois, stopped here around 6am, head full of acid and for whatever reason needed pancakes. stepped into a truckstop after raving it up in st. louis, yikes!!! everyone looked the same, no joke. they all stared at us from the time we stepped into the place, when we were seated, served, lefted the place was quite. FREAKY!!!

southern illinois : they still do open-pit coal mining in this part of the country. why would you want to see this: HUGE MACHINES everywhere, and the people are like aliens, ya know the whole "we don't get many outsiders out here (spit tabaco into cup)"

southern missouri: the ozarks region, this region is famous for all kinds of shit, apart from the awesome beauty, its known for catfish wrestling http://www.johnsjottings.com/archives/2003/04/23/catfish_noodling.html
and branson, kinda like a hillbillies las vegas

[Ruben A]

ahhh superb!! thats whats interesting - instead of those big cities offering more or less the same as any other city. :)

[pille'ocheoni]

fun stuff. done it a couple times. everytime take a different route. my favs have to be the most common. hwy 1 & 101 up the west coast. big sur, san fran, coos bay, oolympic national park, victoria, bc. montana is worth a look, then yellow stone, before it blows up you know. and i live in the south, so its pretty bleak, but the asheville region in the oldest moutains in the world is pretty cool. west penn is nice, mass, rhode island, new england is also a trip for the summer, seafood, beer, good people. midwest blows ass, in my opioion. cheers, come and see us in the south, always welcome to pass through and chill out. cheers

[Sheridan]

as for a city, washington DC is great. some cool bars. awesome museums!! which are always free, minus some special exhibits.
once you are done with the city, head out west on 66 into virginia. from there you can pick up 'skyline drive' which is a really nice drive through the mountains. it is especially beautiful during autum when the leaves change colors. also from 66 as you head deeper into virginia, you can stop and see luray caverns in the shenandoah valley. an awesome place to see cool stalagmites and stalagtites.
check out the website.

http://www.luraycaverns.com/

[gunjack]

i heard dc is a sesspool, did you kno it is the murder capital of the states???

[Sheridan]

Originally posted by gunjack
i heard dc is a sesspool, did you kno it is the murder capital of the states???

well, some parts are a cesspool. that is true.
anacostia is no joke. very scary place indeed.
DC was the murder capital a few times in the past. along with detroit. crack hit that city very hard in the 80's.
I don't think it is #1 at the moment.
if I remember correctly, chicago was bestowed that honor last year.

[gunjack]

big up chi town homocide

[seawolf]

drive up the 101 on the west coast. from vegas to LA to san francisco. just driving up that coastal road is fucking amazing..let alone the places themselves.

[gunjack]

vegas aint on the 101 bro, but yea la to vegas is the drive in a fast car and late at night.

[penciLneck]

the 101 up to sanfrancisco is pretty cool. Big Sur, Monterey. I've camped out up in the hills in Big Sur overlooking the sea, very nice. And you could stop by at Monterey aquarium on the way up.

[isoprax]

I just did a 7 state tour with the wife (got home last week). top to bottom. it was great!

next year I'll do it again for sure but maybe on the west coast instead ;)

[jukka]

isn't it called san-fran-disco ?

[river]

Suggested stops:

Pittsburgh, PA: i.e., home, for me - or at least where I spent years 1-18. ;) Stuck in the middle of the Appalachians, it's the second most hilly major city in the U.S., behind San Francisco. Warhol museum (Andy Warhol is from Pittsburgh), and loads of culture.

Madison, WI: Gorgeous little sleepy college town on Lake Wisconsin, and fun, fun, fun.

Boulder, CO: Plastic hippies aside, this is definitely one of my favorite spots. You just sort of have to go to understand.

Santa Fe/Taos, NM: Beautiful and quirky, both places.

And for the west coast, just drive it. The whole thing - open land as far as the eye can see...

[[sik]]

the oregon coast is god...i know some beaches u can camp where there are no humans. build a bonfire, live it luv it.

[[sik]]

also orca island in washington...basically the whole northwest part of the us is amazing. california has sanfran, but its a bit mutant down there. its arnold land

[7875]

yeah, if you come to the Pacific Northwest, we can hang out..there are a ton of beautiful spots to camp out.

one thing about renting a car, be weary about getting insurance. its such a rip off! that's how they get you.

[Ruben A]

Yeah, a friend just told me its very important to get an insurance if renting a car. He drove on the highway with his girlfriend when a tire on a truck in front of them exploded and a big piece of it smashed both the helmet and the frontwindow of the car. And they had to catch an airplane 4 hours later.
But no problem, the renting-firm just took a look at the insurance-papers and said.. "well what are you waiting for? You gotta catch that airplane, right? We´re gonna call you next week. No problem!"

:)

coool

[djerome]

nothing like those long drives.. the movie "paris, texas" reminds me of it.

driving through the northern california coast is lovely. southern california has a lot of development but you might find that interesting.. Newport Beach is a very nice beach town. Think of The OC I guess. San Diego on the southern end of California is a nice mid-sized city. You will find a bunch of small towns if you drive to Vegas. I find that journey interesting for some reason. Well driving through any part of the states you'll always find small towns. But one city I really liked that felt like a small town was Santa Fe, New Mexico.

If you go south, only thing I remember is The Grand Canyon being nice. You can get a donkey tour. Austin, Texas is a really nice city I've heard but I haven't been there yet.


add:
just north of L.A. there are two towns on the mojave desert called lancaster and palmdale. they have joshua trees. It's where they shot the cover for the U2 album.

Ive heard that Joshua Tree (a different town in southern california) is supposed to be really very nice but I haven't been there yet.

[cmarakasu]

i live in the deep south,
and take long drives
nowhere whenever
the opportunity
presents itself.

sites like
these fill my
head with all
kinds of crazy
thoughts:

http://www.ghosttowns.com
http://www.roadsideamerica.com
http://www.deltablues.net/

[garew]

I've driven across the country in a cheap car. If I did it again I would go amtrak. Driving across the country is a good idea, but not in a cheap car. This country will kicks it's ass. Especially the deserts. Rent a nice car maybe? There are really good hostels here, too. Just gotta look around.

[Sheridan]

I would think that if you are going to actually drive across america, it would probably be better to do it in a small RV/ winebago.
that way you don't need to pay for hotels. just gas, food, and maybe a place to put your RV in a camp site, etc. which really shouldn't be too expensive.

[Sheridan]

and if you come by atlanta, give me shout. I can put you up for a night or two.

[garew]

Places to park RV's can cost as much as hostels and the gas mileage is high. I don't know what would be cheaper. I do know it's hard to park just anywhere and not get harrased by a cop.

[garew]

Maybe there is a Walmart policy that allows overnight parking. I'm not sure. There are Walmarts everywhere. Could be worth a try. No showers at Walmart, though. But big truck stops have showers. Maybe truck stops allow rv parking. They are a great way to see the country. Hop around to massive truck stops.

[djerome]

i've taken the train in the east coast, and it's interesting in that it stops at the old rivertowns that used to be popular. now they are sleepy towns because highways have taken over. i think taking a train in some parts really shows you a side of america you wouldn't see by highway.

[karitek]

no nyc ruben?? :( :(

too bad. i've always wanted to meet you! if you change your mind, you have a place to stay.

my sister drove cross country last summer. you can do these car-share programs, where people who need their cars driven cross country will let you use their cars for free. it's a great deal - you just have to pay for gas, and some people even pay you a small stipend to do it. another option is to buy a greyhound bus pass - they are very cheap, and a good way to see the country.

i'd do the car one, and just invest in a tent and sleeping bag - you can camp out for cheap across the US if you want to save $.

[phil]

<s>Originally posted by karitek
no nyc ruben?? :( :(

too bad. i've always wanted to meet you! if you change your mind, you have a place to stay.

my sister drove cross country last summer. you can do these car-share programs, where people who need their cars driven cross country will let you use their cars for free. it's a great deal - you just have to pay for gas, and some people even pay you a small stipend to do it. another option is to buy a greyhound bus pass - they are very cheap, and a good way to see the country.

i'd do the car one, and just invest in a tent and sleeping bag - you can camp out for cheap across the US if you want to save $. </s>

GETME!!!

[Jeniffer Mills]

Originally posted by Sheridan
and if you come by atlanta, give me shout. I can put you up for a night or two.

Half of my relatives live in Atlanta, and my cuz (who now lives in Barcelona) says it sucks......:!

[phil]

<s>Originally posted by Warren D.


Half of my relatives live in Atlanta, and my cuz (who now lives in Barcelona) says it sucks......:! </s>

U WANT YOUR FACE GROUND OFF?

[Jeniffer Mills]

Originally posted by phil
<s></s>

U WANT YOUR FACE GROUND OFF?

*rofl*

[bitch one]

i did this. i particularly enjoyed utah/colorado/arizona/new mexico - but i love wilderness places more than i love cities

utah, in particular, was amazing. camping at bryce canyon, 8000 feet up, you could see 100 miles across the colorado plateau, storm clouds lit up by lighting at night, spectacular. also if you like riding bikes at all, moab in utah is the place to go

[LEFTHANDLOU]

I Say Skip it and Hit Jamaica Instead :)

No seriously USA has many great places to see, but don't stray to a buncha butt crack towns man, its not going to do anything for you. If you got a few weeks hit the major cities and some well known sites, that others have mentioned already.
Also if you plan to rent a car, use a credit card that covers your rental, this will save you lots of cash.

You should hit NYC, its worth it. Los Angeles, and Miami should be considered as well.
Chicago, New Orleans. Hit Oregon and Washinton State for the Kind smoke, and kind people.

Enjoy!

[LEFTHANDLOU]

Sorry i meant to say a Credit card that covers you rental car insurance. Some do. Call your Credit card company and ask.

[Sheridan]

Originally posted by Warren D.


Half of my relatives live in Atlanta, and my cuz (who now lives in Barcelona) says it sucks......:!

yeah, atlanta isn't all that.
there are some cool aspects that I do like.
but all in all, it really isn't my scene.
for me, it's just a pit stop before I move somewhere else.

[Ruben A]

Originally posted by karitek
no nyc ruben?? :( :(

too bad. i've always wanted to meet you! if you change your mind, you have a place to stay.

Well, in fact I´ll be in NYC in September.. for some days. My second job offered me to join them on a little "holiday" - hard to say no! ;)

But all this trip-thing started with NYC and has grown to become a travel across. But if we change our minds and "just" hangout in nyc - we appreciate your offer, Kari!!! Yes, could be very nice to hook up!

@Sheridan, the same for you.. if we come that way!
nice!

[karitek]

cool :)
when in september are you coming? I'll make sure I'm around. Also, PM me - my friend runs a great night if you wanted to play out while you are over here. I can get you guys in touch.