'Must See' states

[josh.p.]

Where are your 'Must See' states?

I finish working for Disney on the 19th of August but I don't go home until the 3rd of September so I have quite a few days to travel! :thumbsup:

I am going to spend quite a while in New York and I fly home from there. So give or take a day or two I want to stay there for 5 days.

If you could go anywhere in America, where would you go?

[ukwdwnut]

the carolinas and hawaii are two that spring to mind

[josh.p.]

My visa doesn't extend for travel to Hawaii :shrug: :sigh:

[wdwgrandma]

Every state has something to offer, but the north eastern states are quite beautiful - especially in the fall.

[foreverducky]

Wow, as Donna said, every state has something nice to see. I don't think I could pick just one state.

How about a specific thing like the Grand Canyon?

[ukwdwnut]

My visa doesn't extend for travel to Hawaii :shrug: :sigh:

guess you cant go there then :)

[foreverducky]

For me though, I would spend sometime in the northeast (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire).

[Dawn]

From Florida?

New Orleans, no contest. You can Amtrak from Orlando overnight to New Orleans. I know a brilliantly placed cheap hotel too if you're interested.

[josh.p.]

We have been discussing this on the international program group and we have all said New Orleans would be great to travel to :yes: The name of the hotel would be great please Dawn!

We're either going to be travelling up from Miami or Orlando so it sounds great :yes: All these suggestions sound great and I'm going to look into each of them to see what things I'd like to see. I really have no idea where anything is in America :rotfl:

[Deafjeff]

Washington DC? I went there a good while ago and it is amazing place to visit at least once...

[Keith]

so so hard because there are just so many amazing places

new orleans for sure, Vermont, New Hampshire yep, Washington DC I think is strangely overlooked by UKers often but it's a rather wonderful place with a very special feel to it.

[Britchick]

South Carolina, beautiful

[josh.p.]

so so hard because there are just so many amazing places

new orleans for sure, Vermont, New Hampshire yep, Washington DC I think is strangely overlooked by UKers often but it's a rather wonderful place with a very special feel to it.
Funny you should say that because there are good savings to be had if you fly to Washington, spend a day and then get an overnight amtrak train into Manhattan :thumbsup:

[Keith]

Funny you should say that because there are good savings to be had if you fly to Washington, spend a day and then get an overnight amtrak train into Manhattan :thumbsup:

I remember flying to washington on business, spending the most AWFUL week in this hotel with the most boring company reps I'd ever met. Long business table kinda thing with 30 people round it all going blah blah blah PROCESS blah blah blah. I remember looking at a big jug with tea on it and thinking YAYAYA wake me up, poured a load, took a drink and EERUGUGUGH Ice tea :( Just wasn't my week. Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner, I don't blame you mr Hotel, but it wasn't a good week :lol:

Anyway, when I got out, I found there was a totally AWESOME mall at Tysons corner which I loved, though I realise that's not what you have in mind :lol: From there I discovered the delights of the Air and Space Museum, the national art gallery, the white house and so on.

Even stopped by the FBI and went on the BEST tour ever. They even fired different guns including a machine gun to demo some things to us. No idea if they still do this kind of thing but it opened my eyes to the work they did! Amazing how they had the exact chemical composition of every car paint colour etc. so they could match it to crime scenes.

I could go on but I'll try not to :lol: just to say, I've heard people at work say oh no point going to Washington and I think they're exactly 100% wrong :lol:

(oh the other thing I meant to say.. the place has an air of grand importance about it. Whereas I felt hustle/bustle sorta dragged along by the crowd in new york, which is itself mind blowingly wonderful, in Washington I was walking around on what I felt were large pavements, huge buildings but not that many people. It felt more spaced out somehow. No one walked into me, I was taking photos of all the buildings, people and having a great time (of course taking a photo of the FBI building would probably get us locked up now but still))

[josh.p.]

You should totally work for the Washington tourist board as you have sold it to me!

[wdwgrandma]

One thing to note, however, about Tyson's Corner is that some major construction is going on in that area right now. It is a mess. They are extending the Metro out to Dulles Airport and it goes right through the Tyson's area.

DC has a very nice zoo, Arlington National Cemetery, American History Museum, Natural History Museum, National Museum of the American Indian, the Old Post Office, the Newseum, the US Capitol, the Washington Monument, and don't forget all the wonderful memorials that dot the area. You could spend a month in DC and never see it all.

DC also boasts some wonderful theaters: Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, National Theater, Warner Theater, and Ford's Theater, to name a few.

Fine dining abounds. Choose a cuisine and DC probably has it!

[catrancher]

You could spend a month in DC and never see it all.

Between the National Mall building and the Udvar-Hazy center up by Dulles, I could spend a month at the National Air and Space museum and not see it all! :airplane:

Just wish the Paul E. Garber facility was still open for public tours. Oh well, eventually they'll get all that moved to Udvar-Hazy and then it'll be open to the public again.

Tom (:macwave:... crazy for someone who doesn't fly anymore!)

[wdwgrandma]

If you have transportation in the DC area, just south of our home is a wonderful Marine Corps Museum. Not too far out of DC going south is Mount Vernon, home of George Washington. Head north out of DC and Baltimore is a decent drive with lots to see. I especially love the Inner Harbor area with the wonderful National Aquarium - but the train museum is also great!

[uscwest]

My visa doesn't extend for travel to Hawaii :shrug: :sigh:
Josh there is so much to see and do in the immediate Washington D.C. area that you could easily spend a week there and still not see it all. Yes, I would definitely consider New Orleans on the way. Boston is also fantastic.

[catrancher]

but the train museum is also great!

Oh... the B&O Museum! :yes: My grandfather was an engineer for the B&O! :happydance:

Tom (:macwave:... whole of dad's family is from up around there!)

[Deafjeff]

I was very very impressed with Shakespeare library :yes:

-Folger Shakespeare Library (http://www.folger.edu/index.cfm)

Worth seeing!

[Dawn]

Josh I stayed here 3 times in New Orleans

Hotel La Salle in New Orleans, LA (http://www.hotel-rates.com/us/louisiana/new-orleans/hotel-la-salle.html)

It's cheap and cheerful, a traveller's hotel, some rooms have shared bathrooms but the bathrooms are kept very clean. It's 2 blocks from Bourbon St and a short walk to the Mississippi. The staff are incredibly helpful - they gave me a map of the city and marked off the no-go areas for me.

If you go to New Orleans and arrive by Amtrak you will need to taxi from the station - it is not in a good part of town.

I've been to DC too and yes you could spend a week there and not even scratch the surface - Air and Space Museum would be top of my list.

[DisneyFreak]

No particular order:

Chicago, IL
Door County, WI
Yellowstone National Park, WY
Gatlinburg, TN
Mount Rushmore, SD
Key West, FL

[Dawn]

OMG I forgot Chicago. :thud:

You have to see Chicago. :mental:

Extend that visa boy. :D

[catrancher]

Key West, FL

Wait... Key West isn't a state. It's its own country. The Conch Republic.

So sayeth Jimmy Buffet and the good people of Key West since 1982! :bar:

Tom (:macwave:...tripped on a pop top!)

[lisaw]

Josh just a thought but we used low cost inter city travel (http://www.megabus.com) to travel from NY to Philadelphia for a day trip in August - very cheap $55 return for all four of us so may be worth looking into for day trips/short stays. Think they are mainly in the NE :)

[josh.p.]

Josh I stayed here 3 times in New Orleans

Hotel La Salle in New Orleans, LA (http://www.hotel-rates.com/us/louisiana/new-orleans/hotel-la-salle.html)

It's cheap and cheerful, a traveller's hotel, some rooms have shared bathrooms but the bathrooms are kept very clean. It's 2 blocks from Bourbon St and a short walk to the Mississippi. The staff are incredibly helpful - they gave me a map of the city and marked off the no-go areas for me.

If you go to New Orleans and arrive by Amtrak you will need to taxi from the station - it is not in a good part of town.

I've been to DC too and yes you could spend a week there and not even scratch the surface - Air and Space Museum would be top of my list.
It sounds ideal, Thanks for all the great info! :thumbsup: My wallet is currently crying but this is a once-in-a-lifetime type thing so I'm just going to go mental :mental:

Josh just a thought but we used low cost inter city travel (http://www.megabus.com) to travel from NY to Philadelphia for a day trip in August - very cheap $55 return for all four of us so may be worth looking into for day trips/short stays. Think they are mainly in the NE :)
Thanks Lisa, that sounds great! :hug2:


OMG I forgot Chicago. :thud:

You have to see Chicago. :mental:

Extend that visa boy. :D
:mental: Chicago is another one of the places a lot of people are agreeing on!

[Dawn]

I stayed in another cheapie hotel in Chicago. It was hysterical - the shower head was hanging off the wall and I pulled a drawer open and the whole cupboard collapsed. I won't recommend that one. :laugh:

[DisneyFreak]

I stayed in another cheapie hotel in Chicago. It was hysterical - the shower head was hanging off the wall and I pulled a drawer open and the whole cupboard collapsed. I won't recommend that one. :laugh:

Might I suggest the Whitehall on Delaware Place. For a classic hotel it is relatively reasonable for being a 1/2 block off the Miracle Mile and Watertower Place.

Downtown Chicago Luxury Boutique Hotel
(http://www.thewhitehallhotel.com/)

[josh.p.]

I stayed in another cheapie hotel in Chicago. It was hysterical - the shower head was hanging off the wall and I pulled a drawer open and the whole cupboard collapsed. I won't recommend that one. :laugh:
You should have seen the school we stayed in in China! We donated them money as we did fund raising prior to the visit!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/josh7456/DSC02195.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/josh7456/DSC02197.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/josh7456/DSC02198.jpg
On the other hand there was an um... fantastic... :unsure: view... :sorry:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/josh7456/DSC02215.jpg

As much as we loved the 2 days in China, the return relative luxury of our hotel in Hong Kong was very welcome :yes:

[malcolm]

Two places I have been were Las Vegas and San Fransisco with Hawaii in-between. I know you can't do Hawaii... Which is a great sadness as it's stunning. The other two places ibwouldnspend a couple of days in Las Vegas and 3 in San Fransisco as good sceanary and you hear so much about them you may wish you went when had a chance....

[uscwest]

Josh, Hawaii is one of the 50 states. If you have a VISA to visit the US how do they exclude Hawaii, and does Alaska get excluded also? Besides which, I under stand the VISA thing because you will be working, but isn't there a VISA Waiver program that allows you to just visit for a given period of time?

[josh.p.]

Josh, Hawaii is one of the 50 states. If you have a VISA to visit the US how do they exclude Hawaii, and does Alaska get excluded also? Besides which, I under stand the VISA thing because you will be working, but isn't there a VISA Waiver program that allows you to just visit for a given period of time?
:yes: Alaska is excluded also :sigh: I have a work/travel visa which allows me to work and then 30 days of travel excluding Hawaii and Alaska. I could go to Canada for a week and then back to Hawaii on a travel visa but I would rather just stay in the other states as Hawaii would be quite expensive :yes:

[Johnie]

I'm going to vote for my lovely state of Virginia. We have it all, except deserts. There is tons of history, beautiful beaches, glorious mountains. Dc is right there next to us and it is an awesome place to visit as well.

I would LOVE to go to New Orleans and am so saddened that I never got there before Katrina:sorry:

[gwennie81]

Pass on Miami. If you feel like you should see New Orleans, go, but I would tell you to pass on that as well. It's a dump. I say just travel up the East Coast. The majority of the US is not as great as it appears in the movies. Most of it is ****. Especially the tourist-trap type places.

IF YOU ARE TRAVELING IN AUGUST/SEPTEMBER IT IS HURRICANE SEASON. BEWARE THE COASTLINES. Also, it will be super-hot.

I would pick Savannah, DC, and NYC.

[Tinkfan]

:wave: Well since we'll miss you in Florida Josh, if you come to see Niagra Falls, we'll act as tour guide and take you to dinner then!!!

[Dorothy]

Chicago is awesome Josh and I love it, but if I were given the choice I'd do DC :thumbsup:

[Skywatcher]

Lisa and I loved Chicago when we lived and worked in Wisconsin for a summer :yes:

[josh.p.]

:wave: Well since we'll miss you in Florida Josh, if you come to see Niagra Falls, we'll act as tour guide and take you to dinner then!!!
Thanks so much :hug2:


Lisa and I loved Chicago when we lived and worked in Wisconsin for a summer :yes:
It sounds like I might split my time between Chicago and Washington :yes: