Places to visit in the US [Archive]

VoodooRhythm

25-01-2010, 10:30

Hi guys and gals, the Mrs and I are now really getting into planning destinations to stop on our road trip in May and I thought the :sxoc: would be a great place to get some recomendations on places to visit.

Now we've planned a rough route, starting in Vagas, then Grand Canyon, Slat lake city, Yellowstone National park, then across to San Fran, and down the coast to LA, San Diego (including a day trip over to Tijuana) then back up to Vagas for the flight home.

We're out there for a whole month so will have loads of time to visit plenty along our route.

So any recomendations of place along those rough routes??

Thought about maybe death valley, Reno, the Salt flats?

GO, GO :sxoc:

frisbee

25-01-2010, 10:40

Any racing on at Laguna Seca during that time? That's one place I would be very tempted to go.

Johnny

25-01-2010, 10:42

Do you have any interests ?

if you are on west coast, you have the wine tasting in Sonoma and Napa valley

the coastal road from Sonama to Sf is worth a drive, perilous cliff bends and all :cool:

Surfing at halfmoon bay

Redwoods (stupidly high trees) at Muir Woods ?

An evening at Santa Cruz for a tacky roller coaster experience ....... infact the whole of Santa Cruz is rather entertaining in a Californian, hot rods, beach party, kind of way

VoodooRhythm

25-01-2010, 11:53

Any racing on at Laguna Seca during that time? That's one place I would be very tempted to go.

That's a good shout, hadn't thought of that one!

Do you have any interests ?

if you are on west coast, you have the wine tasting in Sonoma and Napa valley

the coastal road from Sonama to Sf is worth a drive, perilous cliff bends and all :cool:

Surfing at halfmoon bay

Redwoods (stupidly high trees) at Muir Woods ?

An evening at Santa Cruz for a tacky roller coaster experience ....... infact the whole of Santa Cruz is rather entertaining in a Californian, hot rods, beach party, kind of way

I'm a bit of a tech type (hence being an Engineer by trade) and like motorsport (obviously!)
We're paying for an annual NP pass so Muir redwoods is something we'll prob do.
Things like the good coast road is interesting, along with any other scenic routes etc, not normally into wine, but may have to pop in and try some.

Keep the ideas coming:thumbs:

EDIT: This is going to be a once in a lifetime type trip, so looking for unusual experiences that will make an unforgetable trip really :thumbs:

The Chef

25-01-2010, 11:59

Death Valley is good (better than the name suggests...:wack:) - Its good in a 'never seen anything like it' before kind of thing and its quite a trek to drive through it.

The redwoods are also nuts:nod:

Alcatraz is a must:nod: - they provide a fantastic tour.

How long are you in Vegas for (and where are you staying) - i've spent a little time there over the last few months (its my new favorite place) so can give you the odd tip on things to do/see/go.

Jonny

25-01-2010, 11:59

Santa Cruz and on down to Monterey Bay is worth a look - and you'll go pretty much past Laguna Seca on the way.

Also up to Lake Tahoe if you can - there's some stunning scenery up that way :) That's about 4 hours east-ish from SF...

If you stop in San Fran make sure you go over to Alcatraz - it's really interesting if you like that kind of thing :)

The Chef

25-01-2010, 12:07

I'm a bit of a tech type (hence being an Engineer by trade) and like motorsport (obviously!)

Las Vegas Motor Speedway is also worth a look (if Laguna Seca doesnt have anything on that month) - Both Nascar and Drag racing

I went last October to the Drag Racing Nationals - its was a pretty immense event - especially when comparing it to Santa Pod (my only other experience of top-fuellers)

Cloudy

25-01-2010, 12:24

The Alcatraz audio tour is fantastic and well worth the visit, along with Yosemitie (SP) National Park and Lake Tahoe. A good blast along Route 1 is something else especially when the sun is setting and you're in a convertable:thumbs:

25-01-2010, 12:26

LA is, imho, a dump*. I'd go to other, more intersting places :nod:

*this is based on my 3 days worth of heavily jetlagged experience :wack:

BBB

25-01-2010, 12:33

LA is, imho, a dump*. I'd go to other, more intersting places :nod:

Have to agree with Si, last place in the US I'd go again.

Yosemite National Park on the other hand :nod:

Cloudy

25-01-2010, 12:35

LA is, imho, a dump*. I'd go to other, more intersting places :nod:

*this is based on my 3 days worth of heavily jetlagged experience :wack:

That's what I thought after spending a long weekend there. Thankfully I stayed with friends in Pacendena (SP) but when we did venture into LA I just thought it was a hell hole and couldn't understand why anyone would want to visit the place!

MattyGee

25-01-2010, 12:36

San Diego is nice, you could do to Sea World or San Diego Zoo, Also try and visit Coronado Beach - to get to coronado you drive over the bridge Ron Burgundys dog was kicked off of (Anchorman) and then when on the beach (which is very nice) you occasionally get to see some military aviation hardware swoop low over the beach as it lands at the Cornado Air Force base. On second thoughts maybe thats not everyone cup of tea but I loved it when I was there with the g/f a few years back, she was sun bathing while I walked through the surf and the every now and then a jet fighter would come in to land :cool:

25-01-2010, 12:39

I was like 'yeah, let's go to Venice Beach- it's a skating Mecca and really cool' - everyone else was like 'no, don't, you'll get stabbed'.

I then repeated the same desire about almost every other part that sounded interesting, and the response was invariably almost the same, but with 'stabbed' substituted with one or many of 'shot', 'mugged', 'beaten', 'sold', 'enslaved', 'raped', or 'cuddled, not in a good way'.

We stayed in Santa Monica, which is apparently none of the nicer bits. Really? Aces. I love the way you couldn't see the beach in the afternoon because of the smog :wack:

seaside-racer

25-01-2010, 13:37

i liked the black hills in south dakota but its in the mid west so kinda too far outta the way.

VoodooRhythm

25-01-2010, 14:22

How long are you in Vegas for (and where are you staying) - i've spent a little time there over the last few months (its my new favorite place) so can give you the odd tip on things to do/see/go.

We're staying in the Stratosphere for the first two nights, then again the night before we fly back. We were thinking of having a meal in the tower resaurant.

We're camping the rest and have booked a 2005 Mustang :D

Jonny

25-01-2010, 15:07

We're camping the rest and have booked a 2005 Mustang :D

Tahoe's got loads of campsites - but it may still be a bit chilly then as it's high up. Likewise Yosemite.

Cloudy

25-01-2010, 15:16

Camping is the best way to do it, met some great people that way. Nothing like camping next to the beach, starting a fire and hitting the beers - brings back some great memories.

Word of warning - the campsites along Route 1 get booked up well in advance (weekends) during the summer.

You won't need to take much camping stuff with you as you can get it all fairly cheap out there. Target was good for cheap camping gear (basic stuff), Wallmart however had everything you would ever need.

Egon

25-01-2010, 15:22

Depending on how geeky you are, and if youre heading to san-fran, the street-car garage is worth a look. (they have all the drives and what have you for the cables that run the famous sanfran street car lines). Another vote for the uber-cool tour round the rock..:nod:

Yosemite ROCKS. loved it there. really really loved it there.

The drive from yosemite to vegas is long and dull though (we went the other way to you!). and the convertible was a bit pointless as it was brain meltingly hot.:eek:

We had a 'stang too. (bigfatnuglyneededloweringbyafootbluerch)
My best mate did death valley and the wine areas, he raved about it for months. So much so we told him to shut up about it!!! :wack: Must have made an impression on him!!

25-01-2010, 17:20

We're staying in the Stratosphere for the first two nights, then again the night before we fly back. We were thinking of having a meal in the tower resaurant.

My other hakf stayed there :nod: She loved it :)

ferretca18

25-01-2010, 17:21

I saty in southern california quite a lot! Its ace, as Si said, LA is a dump, good to go for a day but thats about it. Hollwood is the same.

Do a bit of a tour, Laguna Beach is amazing, and surprisingly friendly. Check out Santa Barbara, one of the nicest cities in the States, amazing restaurants as well:)

If you havent been to Disney Land, go there! Im 26 and it was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!! lol. my mates live just round the corner in Garden Grove so its just a 10 minute drive to them, only took me 3 years to twig why the road adjacent to theirs is called disney way:wack: (seriosuly, its awesome, if you like rides, the place is awesome, get over to californian adventure and go on soaring over california!!! great ride and not bad if youre a scaredy cat!), also pretty impressive from an engineering point of view, im an engineer myslef and would love a job as an imagineer, but its mega hard to get into!!

Drive highway 1, AKA PCH (pacific coastal highway) awesome road, but you'd wish you had a car that could handle with some power in places:)

Dont think youll be close enough but Monument Valley was mind blowing! More so for me than Grand Canyon, (which was impressive to say the least)

There is loads to do over there, just depends what your hobbies are and what time of year you go.

OH, and if you go in the winter time, get a local news rag and look in the back for coupons for all the hotels and motels, you can get up to 50% off in places!:thumbs:

VoodooRhythm

25-01-2010, 18:36

Good ideas :thumbs:
We had been told to check out Disney land.
We're flying out 8th May so not quite summer but getting there.

We had thought about going around the south side of the Grand Canyon and up past Monument Valley, but were told that the south side of the Canyon isn't worth seeing.

ferretca18

25-01-2010, 21:18

oh yea, the roads in Grand Canyon national park....:eek: they had just been resurfaced when we were there, about 6 years ago.. wow!

May, you might catch the end of the offers over there:)

Cloudy

25-01-2010, 22:09

VoodooRhythm

25-01-2010, 22:29

It's the Grand bloody Canyon... it's worth seeing from any side:nod:

Not so much that, as there was nothing better on the south side that would warrant the extra travel.

Still waiting to see what Hertz stance is on having tyres replaced mid hire :wack:

Robbhp

25-01-2010, 22:34

it has been said don't spend much time in LA move down to Orange county as its far better than Ventura County. I lived in OC for 5 years its a great place, i would stop at two places Laguna beach, and Salt Creek both very nice beaches with the former on the cusp of a very nice town.

ferretca18

26-01-2010, 00:55

bit off topic but where did you live robbhp?

sprout

26-01-2010, 01:25

Sounds like an awesome trip you have planned, with a great place to start and end your holiday! I was in Vegas 3 nights ago, and it is totally surreal, and pretty much anything you do there will be enjoyable.

There is a nuclear testign museum nearby that might be interesting if you like techy things, I didnt go but I do remember seeing it! I went to a gun range too which was great fun, there were some couples there too :wack:

You are staying at the other end of the strip than where I was, but if you get out and want to eat there is a great Italian restaurant called Battistas(sp?) "Hole in the wall" It isnt as weird as it sounds :D

I even had fun gambling, without losing money! I was watching my mate win $800 over an hour and a half playing Blackjack. Then losing it in 5 minutes :)

ferretca18

26-01-2010, 13:59

--Lorien--

26-01-2010, 15:15

We're staying in the Stratosphere for the first two nights, then again the night before we fly back. We were thinking of having a meal in the tower resaurant.

I love Vegas so much...

Last time I stayed in the Strat for about a week before moving to the Bellagio. Deffo eat in the restaurant, it was actually very good and the views are epic at night but the Hotel / Casino is hillbilly central as well as being off strip.

Make sure you spend most of you time on the strip, the other Casino's are immense in the most part, the Venetian / Bellagio and the Wynn / Encore are very cool. Hoover Dam is worth a trip even if it's just to see how much trouble Vegas is in due to the water shortage problems.

Enjoy! :thumbs:

EDIT: oh and try this when checking in to the Strat, works more often than you'd think :)

http://www.thetwentydollartrick.com/

VoodooRhythm

26-01-2010, 16:11

Oh yea, I did one night in Vegas. (was on a drive from CA to TX) but i could easilly spend a week there. Took a good 4-5 hours just to walk half way down the strip, looking in the casinos, getting lost a few times lol. Awesome place. I dont even gamble either, Just wish I went to see Spamalot when i was there:rolleyes: (missus, wasnt in the mood:whip:)

We're spending one whole day there at the start as the 1st aniversary of getting married. But may still spend more at the end.
The Mrs got hooked on gambling enough when I took her to the Gala casino in Bristol, I dread to think what she's gonna be like there:eek:

Spamalot? What's that?

Hoover Dam is worth a trip even if it's just to see how much trouble Vegas is in due to the water shortage problems.

Enjoy! :thumbs:

EDIT: oh and try this when checking in to the Strat, works more often than you'd think :)

http://www.thetwentydollartrick.com/

I'd fancied the hoover dam, so will prob drive across it if nothing else.

As for the $20 trick, we've already booked into the romance spa suite as this is our more official honeymoon, so not really fussed about getting any 'upgrades'

Cloudy

26-01-2010, 16:50

Considering the Hoover Dam is only a few miles away it's worth a visit. I imagine they have finished the massive bridge over it now so you may not be able to drive across the dam anymore.:confused:

--Lorien--

26-01-2010, 17:11

Considering the Hoover Dam is only a few miles away it's worth a visit. I imagine they have finished the massive bridge over it now so you may not be able to drive across the dam anymore.:confused:

Not yet, the bridge is still not done, you can drive across the dam fine :thumbs:

There are some hilariously placed porta-loo's at the very top of the bridge construction though! Need to be one brave worker to use them :wack:

ferretca18

26-01-2010, 19:28

youll love vegas! Its ace, Spamalot was/is the monty python stage show of the holy grail. supposed to be proper funny,. Apparently the cirque du soleil is worth a watch, as well as most things that run through vegas, not like them to put on shit acts!

I drove over the hoover dam, only it was dark and i couldnt see anything. Not even a transformer having a fight:wack: (wish i saw it during the day as its freaking huuuuuuge!)

Robbhp

26-01-2010, 19:34

bit off topic but where did you live robbhp?
first of we lived in westlake Thosand oaks, than after around 8 month we moved down to Dana point, stayed there for the rest of the 5 years , some of the best times of my life , I would go back in a heart beat if ever the option was available.

ferretca18

27-01-2010, 01:25

Ha! cool, my mates live in Lake Forest (just above the Oakley Headquaters.) Its portolla hills.trabuco canyon really. Also in Garden Grove, Long Beach and Laguna Beach (his parents house is worth millions, they had it since the 40's when it was worth nothing:eek:)

I spent last Christmas at my mates parents place in Marble head (right up near Dana Point):thumbs:

Im hoping to emmigrate over there at some point, once i get the B1.B2 Visa:)

Sorry to be off topic:)

Murt

27-01-2010, 02:08

I go to Portland, OR every year or so, so much to do there and its such fun!

Robbhp

27-01-2010, 12:53

The Chef

27-01-2010, 21:26

Hoover Dam is definately worth a trip. The tour closes quite early ~4pm (if my memory serves me right).

As for actual Vegas (i.e the Strip), theres a whole holiday to be had there! I'd seriously recommend nipping out to the Palms hotel - situated off the strip ~$20 cab ride from the centre of the strip and go to the Ghost bar. The Ghost bar is on about the 60th floor with an amazing view back onto the strip. Get in there early enough, whack ~$200 dollars down for a 'VIP':ghey::rolleyes: table, you'll be given a bottle of spirit (of choice) and mixers of your choice whilst being sat out on the terrace ~60 floors up with an uninterupted view of the strip - which is an awesome sight. As good as and as different as any other view you'll see through out the rest of your holiday.
Only bad thing is getting in a lift with a lot of hyped up yanks - damn do they like the sound of their own voices :nod::mad:

Probably one of the best (if not the best) hotel for night life (as in varied bars) is New York New York. Theres a load of bars, few that sprint to mind are the ESPN bar (if your into your sports), Irish bar (if your into your Guiness) and Coyote Ugly bar (if your into...).
Night clubs, the best (in my opinon is LAX in the Luxor and Planet Holywood has a decent 24hr bar.

As for things to do in the day??? Im not really sure - just milling about the hotels is entertainment in its self. Each hotel has a load of varying attractions. Also, the 'Gun Store' was recommended to me on this board and it was a cracking place - basically a 'try what you like' shooting range.
Infact, we did that on the way back from the Hoover Dam as it was on the way back along Tropicana Ave