Calling all Americans!!

Maggie1960
Maggie1960 Posts: 322
edited September 21 in Chit-Chat
Hi there, I'm English and have never visited the USA. My husband used to work in New York and now that we are childfree - all 4 are now at college/university/travelling - he wants us to have a trip to America. So MFP people, what do you advise? A long weekend in New York? A road trip from East to West? I am open to any suggestions.
I was born in Italy, brought up in England and have spent holidays in Europe, North Africa, Morocco, Egypt, and Turkey but have never visited the USA.

Replies

  • gatedialer
    gatedialer Posts: 149 Member
    You can do much in New York. I have only been there once and there was so much to see. Even if you plan for a week in the US, there are neighboring states to visit. I recommend that you don't miss DC and it's museums. Boston is nice too. I've traveled all over this country, with the exception of Hawaii and Alaska. The US has so much to offer, travel wise, it all depends on what you and your husband want to see. I meet a lot of British citizens here (San Antonio, Texas) during the summer.
  • goatskinlegs
    goatskinlegs Posts: 40 Member
    I recommend if you wanna see beauty only rivaled by the alps, go to The Grand Teton National Park. The near by town of Jackson has absolutely amazing, healthy lean foods. All beef, elk, and buffalo in town are grass-fed, hormone free and tasty! Most places serve organic foods and everyone is very environmentally friendly (but not all up in your face about it) there's hiking, fishing, rafting (summer, fall and spring) and world class skiing, and beautiful sleigh rides in the winter. It's #1 on my top ten favorite places here in the states. Truely the all-American experience :)

    Places I recommend for reasonably priced amazing eats while you're there. The Bunnery, JH Organics, The Virginian, The Gunnery, and Jackson Hole's Steakhouse (you can order Buffalo and Elk at the last two) and if you want a sweet indulgence Moo's Ice Cream and smoothies, all handmade organic ice cream TO DIE FOR! I've never had better. Alright, well that's my suggestion. Enjoy :)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    it really depends on what you like to do. If the city is for you, NY or Chicago are great places to be, but be warned, they can both be relatively cold in the winter months, generally slightly colder than most of England (Chicago can be a LOT colder, and receive a LOT more snow as well), so if you are looking to get away from cold weather, I'd wait until May. I wouldn't recommend a cross country trip to most unless you've done it before and like it. That's a long way, and a lot of boredom between the sites.
    If outdoor activities are more for you, probably one of the southern East Coast states are for you (MIami, or somewhere in South Carolina or Georgia). Course there's always Vegas, but that city's not really representative of the rest of the U.S.
    I haven't been to the west coast so I can't really comment on that, but I hear San Francisco is gorgeous (from what friends say).
    Really, I lead back to my original point, it all depends on what you like to do. There's something for everyone here in the US. I live just north of Boston, and there are some GREAT historical sites, wonderful museums, and some very nice restaurants here, but not much in the way of outdoor fun (not in the winter at least), or if you like the idea of Halloween, Salem, MA the week of Halloween is absolutely fantastic, and only a 30 Minute drive from Boston.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    oops, double post, my bad. It's early here.
  • aprilgicker
    aprilgicker Posts: 395 Member
    I am partial to the "Worlds Most Beautiful Beaches." Contrary to popular belief there is NO oil here. But because of all the bad news the condo prices are WAY down. I live in Navarre, FL which is between Pensacola and Destin in the panhandle of Florida. If you want beaches to relax at this is the area. Shopping is great too.

    DC would be my pic for museums, followed up by Philadelphia, PA. they are within a day of each other. then slide on down to Charleston, SC for some great ghost tours and stay in some of the best bed and breakfasts. Finally, down to Florida to Navarre-Destin area. for some R&R.

    New Orleans is 4 hour drive. Walt Disney World is 8hour drive but the are planes that go right there from here.
    Hope this helps.
    Have Fun!
  • Suedre
    Suedre Posts: 435 Member
    Like everyone else said, it depends on what you're looking for. I have some ideas for a more subdued visits. Charleston SC and Savannah GA are really nice southern historical towns. They both have lots of local restaurants, shops, and antiques as well as art museums, tour groups and boat trips. I'm really partial to Boone and Ashville NC as well. They are both really nice mountain towns and the Biltomore estate is a must see.
  • OnionCookie
    OnionCookie Posts: 272 Member
    I definitely second gatedialers recommendations. Especially Washington DC. I've been a good fifty times and the landmarks and museums never cease to amaze me.
  • andreahanlon
    andreahanlon Posts: 263 Member
    I saw this post early this morning and have been thinking about it.

    I am an east coast girl, and have not been to much in the middle of the country (it's so big!), so besides Seattle Washington, my experiences are limited to the eastern coast.

    It's been written already, but my number one recommendation is our nation's capital, Washington DC. I took a bus tour last spring -- I think we were dropped off at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and from that area you can walk to a ton of great museums. I recently went to the Holocaust Museum -- it's somber, yes, but very worthwhile -- you could spend the whole day there and not run out of things to see (a lot of reading though). There are also multiple Smithsonian museums located within walking distance of each other -- you could literally spend a week there and not run out of things to do! I also visited the Capitol Building on another recent trip to DC; the free tour features a short video outlining America's beginnings... I recommend the capitol building tour if you're interested in learning about early American History.

    Regardless, DC is most definately a place to visit. I don't know what your budget is, but you had to pick one area, I would choose a week in Washington DC.

    I also swam with manatee off the cost of Tampa Florida last year, which was an experience I won't forget anytime soon.. Boston is nice... I've been there a few times and always enjoy it. The Baltimore Inner Harbor is pretty and they have a gorgeous Aquarium there. I think people would recommend the Grand Canyon (although I've never been there). In that same area is Mount Rushmore, and the overall scenery in the mid-western US seems really beautiful (from what I've seen of other people's vacation pictures!) The Sequoia Forests are apparently pretty cool in California... these are just a few ideas to look into. I'm from Pennsylvania and people tend to like to visit Amish country when they visit our state. The Amish are a conservative folk who live without modern conveniences .. they use horse and buggy and quilt... stuff like that. So if you're doing an east coast tour, you could consider that. It really depends on your interests.

    Also, my mom just did a trip from the east coast to the west coast last summer, so if you would like more details about where they went and costs, etc. send me a message, and I'll get the info for you.
  • Laura80111
    Laura80111 Posts: 958 Member
    Just a couple weeks ago we met a couple that are from England. We were at the Donnie & Marie Show in Las Vegas, this was their second trip there and the next day they were flying to San Francisco and driving down the coast to Los Angeles. Since I'm from the West Coast I know that is a beautiful drive and there is a lot to see along the way and of course San Francisco and Los Angeles both have so much to see.

    Like everyone else I would say that it all depends on what you are wanting to see. The US is so big and each part is full of different sights. Currently I live in Colorado in Denver which is the middle of the country and we have the Rocky Mountains and are short drives away from a lot of other National Monuments to see ie Pikes Peak, Mt Rushmore, to name a few.

    Before you decide I would invest in some time on the internet or library to decide what you are wanting to see.

    Last year my Hubby and I stayed 17 days in the UK, with 8 days in Scotland (which wasn't enough) and the rest all around London. We were able to only touch on the highlights and hope to one day return and get away from the city and more into the country and do our own driving tour of the Highlands in Scotland and the coasts of England.

    Hope you enjoy yourself when you come over:)
  • I think that trip mentioned from DC down to Florida was an excellent idea. Also Colorado - they are real fitness buffs into rock climbing, mountain biking, horseback riding , and of course in winder skiing - there's the Colorado river to go down by multiple means, camping in Colorado would be dreamy, altougth perhaps not on a vacation from England unless you really know what you're doing, it's just a real good place to get alot of physical actitivty in one of the most beautiful places in the world and the quisene there reflects the good health attitude held by Coloradians.

    I live in CA and went on a road trip from LA to San Fransisco on my honeymoon - this is unbelievable if you like the beach, wine country, farm country, bed and breakfasts, quiant towns where you feel like you must have one of every colllectable, there's an aquarium in Monterey that's very nice and in San Fransisco you have to be in the most romantic of places, Ghiridelli chocolate and wine, clam chowder and sourdough bread made in huge pots right there on the pier that you can eat while checking out all the stands of fresh fish and crustaceans, wonderful place for raw oysters. And of course there's china town - don't know if there's something like that in England but if there's not it you must visit one - you must absolutely see a chinatown which is just as good in NY as in CA - however although the CA coast is beautiful and sunny and warm San Fansisco can be cool and cloudy and you may not appreciate that given what you already live with unfortunately while all the coast is sunny and warm the best city (in my opinion) is not.

    NY is only sunny and warm in the summer which starts in late june and ends in early sept.
    Actually if you want to visit a town from every country in the world food wise NY is your best bet. It is the definition of melting pot. And of course although i've never been there NY has got a bit of everything within a small area (not the beach so much - gotta go to CA for that) and NY is also very romantic and i don't know if you're into thiis but everything there is OPEN ALL HOURS. In CA we close at 2am generally., And of course in NY you get Broadway.

    so that's my two cents - Even if you end up in rural Oklahoma i assure you a wonderful trip - so ENJOY
  • Voncreepy2
    Voncreepy2 Posts: 1,450 Member
    I suggest seeing as many states as you can as , like Europe, each state, or in your case, country is very unique and diverse. Have fun!!!!
  • Thank you everyone for your thoughtful replies - lots and lots of brilliant ideas there, I shall be busy over the next week researching all the different itinieries.:flowerforyou:

    I want to do it all!!!:bigsmile: :bigsmile:
  • Hi Maggie, Because you've never been to the US before,I would definatlly recomend NYC.There is just so much to see and do! I'm a Boston girl,but I love going to Manhattan.Museums,Broadway shows,Statue of liberty,Times Square,Central Park,Little Italy,SoHo,shopping on 5th Ave.,World Trade Center site and Empire State Building,to name a few.You can walk anywhere and there areresturants on every block.Because its in the northeast the weather can be a little nasty at times,but I was last there in March and it was sunny and unseasonablly warm.Good luck in your search.
  • jwd28
    jwd28 Posts: 765
    I agree with the posters who recommended Washington DC. If you're not going to be in the US long, or don't know if you'll ever be back, it'd be nice to visit the Nation's Capital. There are LOTS of site seeing things to do in DC.

    New York is nice too. Do you have time for both?
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