Next week I shall be moving to California; I intend to drive across the country and see a bit of it. I'm excited! The question is, what parts of it should I see? The constraints are,
a) Start in Cincinnati, OH, on or around August 31st. b) End in Palo Alto, CA, on or around September 24th.
What should fall in between?
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
If you pass through Florida, I'd be happy to join you for a beer. Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
So what's in California?
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I live in New Jersey. If you are going to be near Exit 9, let me know, and I'll show you the sights.
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
If you take a bit of a detour north that coincides with a weekend, you can go to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. It's pretty fun, one of the biggest renfests in the country. Usually more of an all-day thing than a stop by and take a look thing, so depends on how much time you want to spend in one place.
--Enigmatic
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Some people need to re-do that third grade geography quiz.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I'm a few hours north of you, but I'm not sure if you'd need a visa to cross the border into Soviet Canuckistan, comrade.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Well, I might be worth a detour. Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Renfest, eh? Not a bad idea. I shall definitely put it on the short list. For Soviet Canuckistan, well, I do have a visa for the US. I'm not convinced I want to leave the country, though; it might not be so easy to get back in. The Immigration types aren't very friendly, in my experience.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Oh, and California has SLAC, the Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre, where I am to work on
a) Getting my PhD b) Maintaining the DIRC, a subsystem in the detector.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
quote:I'm not convinced I want to leave the country, though; it might not be so easy to get back in. The Immigration types aren't very friendly, in my experience.
Should I feel badly for finding this amusing?
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Driving 600 miles in exactly the opposite direction from your final destination would be quite a detour. Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Yes, but I'm quite a worthwhile attraction. Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
KoM... since when do we let foreign nationals travel freely throughout the US like this? I think you should stop at every state Welcome Center and register with their Highway Patrol, at the very least.
Places to see (you can't possibly route efficiently through all of these, so you'll have to pick): - Grand Canyon. Seriously. Spend a night. - Sequoia National Park - San Francisco - Big Sur - Santa Barbara - Las Vegas (see a show...don't gamble) - New Orleans (not really on the way, but you've got plenty of time) - Bellingham, Washington - Powell's Bookstore - Tommy Burger in LA - Hollywood and Vine - Santa Monica Pier - Death Valley - The "Great Plains" - Airplane graveyard in Tucson - Gilroy California -- all garlic, all the time - Hoover Dam (or whatever they're calling it now) - Salt Lake City (it's so clean you could eat off it) - The Great Salt Lake (it's so salty, you could lick it) - If you see a "Stuckey's" stop and get Divinity fudge. - Don't miss Big Ben and the Champs Elyse. - Venice Beach (the one in CA, or the one in Italy) - Pearl Harbor (if you hit this, you've gone too far, turn back)
Posted by Indignigo (Member # 8496) on :
Since you seem to have time for the scenic route, I recommend crossing the continental divide on Trail Ridge Road (Highway 34) through Rocky Mountain National Park. Beautiful views. I'd get distracted there and never make it to California. Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
Actually, you'd have to take a pretty big detour to NOT see the "Great Plains" on this trip. Prepare yourself for a boring stretch of driving through either one of the Dakotas or Nebraska.
If you go through South Dakota there's the Badlands and the Black Hills for some really nice scenary and the Corn Palace! for a uniquely American and uniquely lame tourist attraction. We had to stop there when we were kids, you should have to see it, too.
--Enigmatic
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I remember visiting the Badlands in Dakota. Awesome! Even more impressive than the New Jersey scenery.
The Badlands are definitely worth seeing.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
quote:- Las Vegas (see a show...don't gamble)
Vegas shows are more expensive than Broadway.
It's much more economical to play craps.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
quote:Corn Palace Webcam: World's Only Corn Palace, Live!
>_<
Posted by Indignigo (Member # 8496) on :
The Badlands in SD are definitely impressive. And if you do wind up in that area, you may as well head over to the Black Hills for the obligatory look at Mount Rushmore, even though it's not as big as anybody expects it to be.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Bob, I think you are getting a bit confused on the difference between cars and airplanes, there. As it happens, though, I've seen Big Ben (though not the Champs-Élysées; maybe next summer).
Thanks for the suggestions; I'm off to bed now, but keep them coming!
Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :
mapquest thinks you should go IA, NE, WY/CO, UT. But if you went further south...
Rocky Mountain National Park near Boulder. Stunningly beautiful.
Dinosaur National Monument (never been there).
Mesa Verde, where the Anasazi lived in cliff dwellings.
Cave of the Winds and Pike's Peak, near Pueblo, CO.
Indian pueblos in the Albuquerque area.
Taos, NM. No skiing this time of year, but it's got to have other cool stuff.
Grand Canyon.
Las Vegas -- not for me, but people like it.
If you go thru St. Louis, Cahokian Indian Mounds.
If you go as far north as SD (or maybe other places), look up powwows. It's the right time of year! SD: Rushmore, and Crazy Horse Monument.
For California, I'd get Lonely Planet.
Have fun. I suspect you will!
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Sunset over Santa Monica Pier is one of the most beautiful sights known to mankind.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Bob aslo neglected to mention that if you take the most direct route (though I don't know why you would, since you've left yourself plenty of time to meander) you'll pass within 4 miles of our house.
Posted by Sister Annie (Member # 8480) on :
I think you should plan a route that lets you tour all kinds of famous churches and catherals.
Posted by Sister Annie (Member # 8480) on :
quote:Many people on Hatrack can tell you much more about Utah than I can, I'm sure.
Don't eat at any restaurant chains, no matter how many people rave about them. Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
Welcome to the South Bay/Pennensula. Please be aware:
1> No one knows how to drive. Especially when it rains. You don't have to point that out. 2> Yes, those signs are in vietnamese, chinese or korean. 3> No the people at Fry's don't hate you... specifically. 4> No it's not rush hour, traffic always stops like that. 5> Don't worry, the air is only green in summer. 6> Please don't mock either of the people who ride the light rail. 7> No, that's not the downpayment on your house. That's your rent. 8> You can buy a gallon of gas or go to the movies on the same ten bucks.
Pix
Posted by Epictetus (Member # 6235) on :
Make a stop at Nielsen's Frozen Custard in Bountiful Utah. I used to work there, and their choclate frozen custard (really good ice cream in layman's terms) was named one of the top 100 things to eat in America.
Dude...it's really worth the detour if you can manage it.
Oh, and their burgers are really good to; and their french fries, and their onion rings, and their chicken wings, and their grinders and...*trails off into barely audible background noise*
Posted by Sister Annie (Member # 8480) on :
You'll notice that every single recommendation you'll ever get on things to do in Utah involves food. (a few may involve miniature golf - if that's the case, plug your ears and hum)
Coincidentally, there's this Lebanese place in downtown Salt Lake called Cedars of Lebanon that is just plain heavenly. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
In L.A. Cedars of Lebanon is a hospital. (Well, it was. I combined with Sinai Medical to become Cedars-Sinai several decades ago.)
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
quote:Originally posted by Sister Annie: I think you should plan a route that lets you tour all kinds of famous churches and catherals.
With gas so expensive? There's a limit to the number of Molotovs I can afford, you know. Besides, it's not as though there are any actual churches hereabouts. If it hasn't stood for five hundred years, and maybe seen off a siege or two, it's at most a chapel.
This evening I'll start planning the route in earnest; thanks for all the excellent suggestions. Posted by Stray (Member # 4056) on :
You're in Cincinnati? That's about two hours from where I am (Bloomington, Indiana). If you wanted to stop off here, I'd buy you a pint or something.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Why would I want a pint? Silly American unit. It's liters or nothing! Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
I was thinking there were a lot of lovely churches along the way between Cincinnati and California...
But barring that, if you drive through Denver, there are a lot of very nice places to stop. IMO, it's well worth the 60 or so mile drive south to the Springs to see Garden of the Gods. You could also hike up to Red Rocks, a natural amphitheatre that has the most gorgeous view. There may even be a concert around the time you're going. A personal favorite for the area for me is the Butterfly pavilion. I just love it because it's like sitting in a sauna with flying flowers. Very peaceful.
If you're driving through Denver, that means you're taking I70 West, which is a beautiful drive through the mountains. The colors may just now be starting to turn on the aspens. Lots of ski villages along the way, most with excellent food.
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