Help me decide where in the USA to visit next summer!

24

Replies

  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member

    I'm sorry, but on what planet is San Diego a tourist destination?

    My planet. I love the Thai food in the university district, and I spent three days at the zoo staring at the tapirs. I got to know a little bit about their nap schedules, and I watched one of them spray pee on a group of old women.

    Ugh....

    Sounds like a winner! :laugh:

    Thanks for advertising California so wonderfully, we really should make piss T shirts now.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    Savannah, Georgia, nice history, walkable city, beach, food fun bars

    Agreed, but hellishy hot/humid in summer as I recall, no?
  • tapirfrog
    tapirfrog Posts: 616 Member

    if you take the train down the coast you can keep your foreign driving off our roads. We have enough traffic problems as it is without you europeans driving all backwards and autobahn style. (amtrack.com) For the best experience take a hint from the Canadians and show up sans any pretentious accents or elitist attitudes

    Sorry, OP. People are a-holes to foreigners wherever you go but I've heard it expressed really loudly in the US.
  • tapirfrog
    tapirfrog Posts: 616 Member

    I'm sorry, but on what planet is San Diego a tourist destination?

    My planet. I love the Thai food in the university district, and I spent three days at the zoo staring at the tapirs. I got to know a little bit about their nap schedules, and I watched one of them spray pee on a group of old women.

    Ugh....

    Sounds like a winner! :laugh:

    Thanks for advertising California so wonderfully, we really should make piss T shirts now.

    I bet all the tapir keepers in the zoo would be the first to buy them!
  • Your going to have such a great time! If you want to explore West Coast, there are easy direct flights from UK to Seattle. I would spend a few days in downtown Seattle (take the Ferry to San Juan Islands for a day). Seattle caters to the vegan lifestyle and has great food. Next, take an easy direct flight to Las Vegas and spend a few days there. Rent a car from Las Vegas and drive to Los Angeles/Orange County San Diego Area. You could stay on Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach or Coranado. Use your car to explore the Southern California coastline. Fly from LAX to UK. That itinerary would give you nice variety from Northwest trees and mountains, to lights and nightlife to beaches. Everywhere on the west coast will have good vegan options. NYC is fantastic too!
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    Southeastern Utah is beautiful. Arches and Canyonlands National Parks are both very close to Moab. You can camp at either, if you like, or stay at a hotel in Moab, Utah and drive in each day. There are a lot of trails for hiking, and make sure you take a camera with a huge memory because you'll be taking tons of photos. It's 'red rock country' (the rocks are actually red ... lots of sandstone) and natural-formed arches and bridges and other rock formations are all around.

    It does get very hot there in August, easily into the upper 90s. It's also quite dry (humidity in the teens or lower) so plan on having lots of water with you on your adventures - there is running water in the campsites, I believe, so you don't have to pack it all in, but on the hikes it's easy to get dehydrated if you don't plan properly. Still, well worth it!

    Grand Canyon is a few hours south, in Arizona, so if you have the time/money you could possibly hit both. (A few days in Moab area, a few days in Grand Canyon)

    Utah was not even one of the options. Stop trying to horn your B-List states in on here.
  • nmtGurl
    nmtGurl Posts: 159 Member
    New England! Very nice in the summer.

    Boston has loads of history (and good food.) I've been to London and you will feel right at home, the cities are similar (obviously, lol!)

    Drive an hour or two North and you can be in Lakes Region or White Mountains of New Hampshire. To the East you can be in Maine and shop at the outlet malls and enjoy lobster/seafood galore. To the South in Massachusetts, you can enjoy the beaches of Cape Cod and the Islands. To the West, the smallest state, Rhode Island. Then there is Connecticut. And if you have time, take the 5 hr drive or train to NYC.
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member

    I'm sorry, but on what planet is San Diego a tourist destination?

    My planet. I love the Thai food in the university district, and I spent three days at the zoo staring at the tapirs. I got to know a little bit about their nap schedules, and I watched one of them spray pee on a group of old women.

    Ugh....

    Sounds like a winner! :laugh:

    Thanks for advertising California so wonderfully, we really should make piss T shirts now.

    Well I heard San Diego means a whale's vagina.

    Sounds lovely in the Summer.

    (PS, if you want people to visit, talk about the beautiful beaches, the great surfing, the marinas, and the mexican food.)
  • fheppy
    fheppy Posts: 64 Member
    California and Nevada will be very hot so i would avoid that in August. consider the longer flight as well, because its very tiresome to fly such long hours. I would go to NY or somewhere along that coast.
    In California I also found the sea very cold no matter which month. if you love swimming then its fine as its swimming temperature (about 20C).
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member

    if you take the train down the coast you can keep your foreign driving off our roads. We have enough traffic problems as it is without you europeans driving all backwards and autobahn style. (amtrack.com) For the best experience take a hint from the Canadians and show up sans any pretentious accents or elitist attitudes

    Sorry, OP. People are a-holes to foreigners wherever you go but I've heard it expressed really loudly in the US.

    This was not directed for the OP this was for the person who said LA was a dissappointment. Maybe she didn't have enough money to really enjoy everything LA has to offer and to add insult to injury she probably drove all stupid here the whole time and then went home and said LA blows. No, HER experience in LA blew and she probably cut me off someplace driving all stupid. I know the type, I see them everyday. Stay home then THOSE people, the rest of you cool awesome tourists are welcome but seriously LA driving is NOT for the faint of heart and tourists do not have a learning curve time frame so yeah the more you can do other things the better. There are a MYRIAD of transportation options in LA. Start out by asking your travel agent before you go and then your concierge when you get here. Things will go so much smoother.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    California and Nevada will be very hot so i would avoid that in August. consider the longer flight as well, because its very tiresome to fly such long hours. I would go to NY or somewhere along that coast.
    In California I also found the sea very cold no matter which month. if you love swimming then its fine as its swimming temperature (about 20C).

    This is also a thing, my NY friend cringes at our "cold" cali beaches. The flight length consideration is a real point to consider. Yeah just go to New York.

    I'm not gonna talk about the mexican food here because as a mexican I have felt more than once that the main thing tourists do NOT want to see on their vacation to LA is mexicans, which has always puzzled me.
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  • tapirfrog
    tapirfrog Posts: 616 Member

    if you take the train down the coast you can keep your foreign driving off our roads. We have enough traffic problems as it is without you europeans driving all backwards and autobahn style. (amtrack.com) For the best experience take a hint from the Canadians and show up sans any pretentious accents or elitist attitudes

    Sorry, OP. People are a-holes to foreigners wherever you go but I've heard it expressed really loudly in the US.

    This was not directed for the OP this was for the person who said LA was a dissappointment. Maybe she didn't have enough money to really enjoy everything LA has to offer and to add insult to injury she probably drove all stupid here the whole time and then went home and said LA blows. No, HER experience in LA blew and she probably cut me off someplace driving all stupid. I know the type, I see them everyday. Stay home then THOSE people, the rest of you cool awesome tourists are welcome but seriously LA driving is NOT for the faint of heart and tourists do not have a learning curve time frame so yeah the more you can do other things the better. There are a MYRIAD of transportation options in LA. Start out by asking your travel agent before you go and then your concierge when you get here. Things will go so much smoother.

    Oh. I see. OK.

    I live in California. I've driven in LA and I didn't like it. I don't drive there any more. I'm out of the way!
  • wow I wasn't expecting such a response already! Thank you to all who have given me input so far, I have about fifteen tabs open looking at all the different recommendations haha.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    New England! Very nice in the summer.

    Boston has loads of history (and good food.) I've been to London and you will feel right at home, the cities are similar (obviously, lol!)

    Drive an hour or two North and you can be in Lakes Region or White Mountains of New Hampshire. To the East you can be in Maine and shop at the outlet malls and enjoy lobster/seafood galore. To the South in Massachusetts, you can enjoy the beaches of Cape Cod and the Islands. To the West, the smallest state, Rhode Island. Then there is Connecticut. And if you have time, take the 5 hr drive or train to NYC.

    Its really hard to top California bbbbuuuutttttttt, I also like New England. And the cost/flight factor may play a role (it certainly helps its driveable for me). I love the beaches in Cape Cod. Lots of outdoors stuff, and a few bigger cities with all the fun things they offer.
    I love Boston.

  • if you take the train down the coast you can keep your foreign driving off our roads. We have enough traffic problems as it is without you europeans driving all backwards and autobahn style. (amtrack.com) For the best experience take a hint from the Canadians and show up sans any pretentious accents or elitist attitudes

    Sorry, OP. People are a-holes to foreigners wherever you go but I've heard it expressed really loudly in the US.

    This was not directed for the OP this was for the person who said LA was a dissappointment. Maybe she didn't have enough money to really enjoy everything LA has to offer and to add insult to injury she probably drove all stupid here the whole time and then went home and said LA blows. No, HER experience in LA blew and she probably cut me off someplace driving all stupid. I know the type, I see them everyday. Stay home then THOSE people, the rest of you cool awesome tourists are welcome but seriously LA driving is NOT for the faint of heart and tourists do not have a learning curve time frame so yeah the more you can do other things the better. There are a MYRIAD of transportation options in LA. Start out by asking your travel agent before you go and then your concierge when you get here. Things will go so much smoother.

    No offense taken regardless! We don't actually own a car (my boyfriend does know how to drive though) as London obviously has great public transport. I would much rather take public transport when abroad and only rent a car when absolutely necessary or going long distances between a and b!
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member

    if you take the train down the coast you can keep your foreign driving off our roads. We have enough traffic problems as it is without you europeans driving all backwards and autobahn style. (amtrack.com) For the best experience take a hint from the Canadians and show up sans any pretentious accents or elitist attitudes

    Sorry, OP. People are a-holes to foreigners wherever you go but I've heard it expressed really loudly in the US.

    This was not directed for the OP this was for the person who said LA was a dissappointment. Maybe she didn't have enough money to really enjoy everything LA has to offer and to add insult to injury she probably drove all stupid here the whole time and then went home and said LA blows. No, HER experience in LA blew and she probably cut me off someplace driving all stupid. I know the type, I see them everyday. Stay home then THOSE people, the rest of you cool awesome tourists are welcome but seriously LA driving is NOT for the faint of heart and tourists do not have a learning curve time frame so yeah the more you can do other things the better. There are a MYRIAD of transportation options in LA. Start out by asking your travel agent before you go and then your concierge when you get here. Things will go so much smoother.

    Nothing wrong with LA driving, I just didn't like the place. It was ugly. Sorry, my opinion. Driving in the US is far easier than in the UK. I've also driven in France and Switzerland....much harder! I don't think it's possible to 'drive all stupid' in the US in an automatic car, with a grid system and no roundabouts!
  • Deborah105
    Deborah105 Posts: 183 Member
    OMgoodness there are a lot of crabby peeps answering this question!

    I vote for San Francisco as well. And that drive along the coast. It would be lovely and relaxing. Someone suggested taking the train and that sounded like a fabulous idea!

    I live in Minnesota so I won't sing our praises even though it is lovely here in the summertime. And we have the Mall of America.

    I truly do vote for SF and the coast tour. But please let us know what you decide and I want to see a recap!
  • tapirfrog
    tapirfrog Posts: 616 Member

    I'm sorry, but on what planet is San Diego a tourist destination?

    My planet. I love the Thai food in the university district, and I spent three days at the zoo staring at the tapirs. I got to know a little bit about their nap schedules, and I watched one of them spray pee on a group of old women.

    Ugh....

    Sounds like a winner! :laugh:

    Thanks for advertising California so wonderfully, we really should make piss T shirts now.

    Well I heard San Diego means a whale's vagina.

    Sounds lovely in the Summer.

    (PS, if you want people to visit, talk about the beautiful beaches, the great surfing, the marinas, and the mexican food.)

    I dunno, it was pretty excellent seeing those women get misted with tapir urine. They had been standing there for quite a while with their hands on their polyester-clad hips screeching about how ugly tapirs are and how the exhibit was a waste of time and why was the San Diego Zoo so big, too big for anyone to see in a day, and that tapir sure looked ugly, why would anyone want to see such an ugly stupid thing, and then the tapir backed up to the barrier and PSST. It was one of the highlights of my trip.

    Maybe I should get out more. Or less.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Wait, why are all the California peeps up already? Isn't it really early there?
  • Nothing wrong with LA driving, I just didn't like the place. It was ugly. Sorry, my opinion. Driving in the US is far easier than in the UK. I've also driven in France and Switzerland....much harder! I don't think it's possible to 'drive all stupid' in the US in an automatic car, with a grid system and no roundabouts!

    We've had the pleasure of driving in France before... and dealing with the lovely French in all their road rage glory!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    One really great trip that is doable in 12 days (assuming you don't mind driving) is the Great Lakes tour. Fly into Chicago, drive up through Wisconsin along the Lake Michigan Shoreline, cut through Michigan's Upper Peninsula, take the Mackinac Bridge to Mackinac Island and stay a night or two at the Grand Hotel. Then you would follow the northern shore of Lake Huron in Canada and either turn south to Toronto and Niagra Falls and finish driving through Upstate New York to NYC, or east to Montreal and turn south to drive through New England to Boston.

    August is a great time in the northern part of the US, southern part of Canada. This trip will give you beautiful scenery, history, wineries, small towns, big cities, and everything else in between.
  • Vorpal_Sword
    Vorpal_Sword Posts: 33 Member
    I always enjoy trips to the Great Salt Lake.
  • tapirfrog
    tapirfrog Posts: 616 Member
    Wait, why are all the California peeps up already? Isn't it really early there?

    Yes. Yes, it is. I'm working today. That's another part of living in California: if you work in the computer industry, sixty-hour weeks are average.

    Probably everyone else us up because they've already been for their run and they're eating their organic tofu or whatever.
  • Deborah105
    Deborah105 Posts: 183 Member
    Wait, why are all the California peeps up already? Isn't it really early there?

    Yes. Yes, it is. I'm working today. That's another part of living in California: if you work in the computer industry, sixty-hour weeks are average.

    Probably everyone else us up because they've already been for their run and they're eating their organic tofu or whatever.

    Haha!
  • gonefishin1282
    gonefishin1282 Posts: 44 Member
    New Orleans is a great spot to visit....you could spend weeks there and not run out of things to do. Then drive to Biloxi, Ms and visit the gulf coast
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    It really does depend on what kind of vacation you are wanting...even if you're talking about a beach vacation, it's going to be completely different in Florida vs California. In Florida you're going to have calmer waters, whiter sand, warmer water, etc. California is going to be colder water, and surf.

    The US is a vast country and there are numerous and incredible destinations, but they're all going to give you much different experiences. If it were me I would sit down and make a list of what I was wanting to see and experience and go from there.
  • nmtGurl
    nmtGurl Posts: 159 Member
    If it were me I would sit down and make a list of what I was wanting to see and experience and go from there.

    Yes, this. And don't forget travel time. It will take 6-7 hr flight from UK to Boston/NYC vs 10-11 hrs to LA (and that's IF it's a direct flight.) Good news is, it will be a bit shorter going back to the UK though, lol!
  • scubaruby
    scubaruby Posts: 36 Member
    I'd stay on the east coast and take the train from Boston to NYC to DC and then back home.
  • Sweet!!!! My husband and I are originally from CA. Probably LA you should visit, but we've relocated to Boston and DC :) NY is beautiful. I would suggest East Coast cities. So much more excitement ! :)