SAficionado

Thanks for the tips guys. Will definitely try and at least get to a College football game along the way! Yeah we get stung pretty bad in terms of prices back home. Small population, not much competition and long distances to ship imported goods contribute to the cost, apparently. Historically our exchange rate has made travelling over here expensive but now that we are getting up toward parity, especially the Australian dollar, the US is a really reasonable destination. Hope everyone in the path of Sandy will be all right :S We have thankfully skirted underneath the weather.

Haha I see some comments springing up all over the place. Just left the Beautiful Carolinas and have arrived in Savannah (apologies to the people who recommended Charleston, we just couldn't fit everything in!) The people, the food, the scenery have all been soooo nice thus far. We are having an amazing time

Hi Everyone, Apologies for letting this thread die, the suggestions made have been really helpful. We are currently in Boone NC for the night as we make our way down the Blue Ridge Parkway. We had amazing weather for the Skyline Drive but got totally clouded in today. Heading off to the Gamekeeper as recommended tonight for some wild eats. If anyone is interested, we have been keeping a bit of a blog. It's mostly for our own purposes to reflect on later but anyone is welcome to check out what we've been up to. www.4kiwis.blogspot.com Time is really flying by and we aren't able to see or do absolutely everything we wanted to but we are having an amazing time.

Get this thread restarted.. Some good stuff in here. My top 5 in no particular order: 1 - Rancid - V 2 - Nirvana - Unplugged in NY 3 - Outkast - Aquemini 4 - System of a Down - Sytem of a Down 5 - Jimi Hendrix - The Ultimate Experience Gorillaz - Demon Days might squeak in somewhere too if I had room.

I've lived in a few places all of which have there perks: Grew up in a small tourist town, Rotorua New Zealand: Pros: Nice lakes and forests Mild Climate Awesome Mountain Biking Cons: Not very progressive Self Depreciating Not many job opportunities Went to University in Christchurch NZ, Pros: Great medium sized city, everything you need without the hassles of a big place 1 hour to some great ski fields Very proud, friendly people Cons: Flattened by Earthquake (lost job etc) Moved to Sunny Queensland Australia for a change and employment and ended up in Mackay. Pros: Winter weather has been amazing, couldn't tell you the last time it rained Some cool bush walks and waterfalls (mind the snakes) Good wages, mining boom has pumped up economy Our rental house has a pool Cons: Zero Culture, some people have backward/ racist attitudes Unbearable humidity in summer Beaches suck, no waves because the barrier reef shelters the swell, lethal jellyfish, crocs etc Expensive, $300/week rent for a room in a shared house. Will probably skip back to NZ when I've saved enough for a house. It'll always be home.

Thanks again for all the brilliant suggestions. This kind of information is so helpful! Chairokey - Will definitely be trying out that route, Zion looks amazing Beigeturtle - Thanks for the NY advice, some good insider info Seabright - I think our Yosemite visit will be too brief to do it justice, just can't fit everything in no matter how big we make the trip. Might have to cut the Napa Valley experience a bit shorter to spend more time at Yosemite. Blueberries - We are doing the Blueridge drive Tuesday - Saturday thankfully. That picture is unbelievable, if any of mine turn out half as good I'll be stoked! Map of our travels as planned: [ATTACH=CONFIG]5334[/ATTACH] (yes it is a map scanned from a library book...)

We are planning on 56 days at this stage. We'll be driving about 8000 miles all up, I'll post a map of the planned route when I figure out how. We should be prepared for the temperature variations, it'll be when we get back home to 90 deg + 99% humidity that will be the challenge. We've booked a few places along the Blueridge (Yogi Bear resort haha) so should be sorted there.

I'm getting to grips with miles to kilometers, Fahrenheit to celcius etc but I can see fl oz to ml being an issue. Hopefully I'll be on the receiving end of some larger than expected beers! Starting to get a really good list together, thanks for all the suggestions so far. It's tricky deciding where in the major cities to stay so as to not miss out on all the action. Manhattan for instance... Soho or midtown or the Upper East side? Too many options! I can't wait to get into the BBQ ribs and wings. It's going to be amazing

Wow, I've just been looking at the Big Sur. Looks amazing! It's somewhere I hadn't heard about or considered. Just the kind of place I'd hoped this thread would turn up, Thanks! If anyone has any recommendations for eateries or things that must be tried. "You gotta get a roast pork sandwich from DiNic's in Philly" etc, I'm all ears.

Haha the things on the list for Amarillo so far are Cadillac Ranch and Steak house for a 72oz steak. I'll have to remember to bring my spray paint.

We will definitely be checking out Hearst Castle, I hear the drive from San Fran to LA is really nice. That little Canyon thing is a must see too, we are going to see monument valley etc. I would be very keen to check out Death Valley, will have to see how we are for time. The plan is to head from Vegas up to Lake Tahoe which is a pretty big haul.

We are doing the Blueridge over 4 or 5 days. I think we will have at least 1 night in/around Boone. Really looking forward to that part of the trip! We will definitely be stopping to look at all the nature. I don't really know what to expect or what there is along the way. We have booked some accommodation in Luray but need to arrange some others. Thanks for the reply!

I'm coming to visit your fair shores in for a couple months starting October. It would be a huge help to get some local knowledge about what to see, do and eat. Particularly non-touristy, off-the-beaten-track type things. We are starting in NYC and driving to LA and have at least a night or 2 at the following places along the way: Atlantic City Philadelphia DC Blueridge parkway Savannah Orlando Miami Tampa Panama City New Orleans Memphis Dallas San Antonio Amarillo Albuquerque Bluff Flagstaff Vegas Napa Valley San Fran San Simeon LA If you live in/ have lived in/ have heard of any of these places and can give me the heads up on anything that must bee seen or done it would be hugely appreciated. I love food, the outdoors and anything pretty much anything weird or different. Thanks in advance!

Went to the beach the yesterday and got the courage to try my first dry land back flip. Went off a rock about 6 inches above the sand to start with and over rotated a bit, aka ended up with pants full of sand. Found another rock a bit lower and tried again, held the landing. Woot! Definitely could work on absorbing the landing as I jarred my shins and ankles pretty good but they came right. Next step is to give it a go on some nice soft grass. Oh we saw a snake too.

Haha it'll be a slow journey I'd imagine. I can pretty much get right around into the pool (most of the time) but it'll be a while before I get the courage to try one on dry land. Keep you posted. The 20 rep set of squats are breathing squats with a light weight because my legs are sore.