Americans: I need your advice and recommendations

[chairohkey]

I'd suggest this route from Flagstaff to Las Vegas.

Taking the I-40 through Kingman is boring and ugly. If you go north then head west you'll pass through Lake Powell and then Zion, two of the prettiest places on earth.

Lake Powell

Zion National Park

[BeigeTurtle]

I've lived in New York for about nine months now, and there are some things I'd suggest:

1. A lot of museums have free days of the week or free weekends of the month - check their sites, as you might be able to get in free somewhere like this. Personally I feel like the Bronx Museum of the Arts throws super fun parties but gets overlooked a lot because of its location.

2. The northern part of Central Park is generally more tourist-free. Hudson River Park is also quite nice, especially if you want to go for a long walk, run or rent bikes. Bryant Park is a complete zoo.

3. Do check out Groupon - there are always deals on there for restaurants, shows, etc. What the heck, you might find something you like.

4. You probably already know about TKTS, but in case you don't, look it up. It's a great resource for buying tickets to Broadway and off-Broadway shows at decent discounts. (If you were staying in New York for a significant amount of time I'd have other recommendations, but for a short trip TKTS is probably your best bet.)

5. Williamsburg (in Brooklyn) is admittedly getting a little overrun, but it's still cute for a walk. Stop by Bedford Cheese Shop and buy anything they recommend for nibbles (assuming you eat dairy). Munching on delicious cheese down by the water is super fun.

6. Along the same lines, the Astoria neighborhood in Queens is also surprisingly nice. There are a lot of great little restaurants there, and it's cheaper than Manhattan. I haven't been to Astoria Park, but I hear that's really nice, as well.

7. If you want to get groceries at all while you're here to save money, I recommend Trader Joe's as one of the cheaper alternatives in the city. Try to avoid peak times - I once literally saw a fire marshal line outside on a Sunday afternoon. About half an hour before closing on Saturday seems to work, as does the middle of the day, if you can swing it.

8. Check nerdyorkcity,com, as well, for some tips on things going on. It's not a terribly comprehensive site, but they have some cool things listed.

9. Time Out New York and niftynyc also have decent email lists with events (the latter focusing on cheap or free things); I'm not sure you want to sign up for email lists if you're not going to be here long, but I still like them.

10. Also, New York Comic Con is going on in mid-October - if you're around for that, it should be a blast.

11. Levain's bakery has insanely delicious chocolate chip cookies. Sweet Melissa has fantastic afternoon tea.

Good luck, and feel free to message me if you have any other questions I can help answer.

[BeigeTurtle]

Oh, and Le Poisson Rouge is a great venue, which usually has great stuff going on, so worth checking them against your schedule. And if you like to dance/like house music, Sullivan Room is a great club - people go there to dance, not just to preen.

[Seabright]

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!

Okay, now you are in my neck of the woods. Big Sur, then drive up Highway 1 along the coast to Santa Cruz. Stunning Pacific coastline between Big Sur and Carmel, then stop for lunch in Moss Landing at Phil's Fish Market. If you get to Phil's for dinner on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday night, there will be live bluegrass music (2nd Tuesday of the month is my band...plan carefully.) Stop at the Thistle Hut along Highway 1 near Castroville for artichoke-related gee gaws. Castroville is the Artichoke Capital of the World and home to the Giant Artichoke restaurant. Somewhere in there call the Monterey Bay Equestrian Center and set up a horseback ride on the beach - no riding experience necessary and you can ride your horse right into the water. Fantastic. Keep on coming up the coast to Santa Cruz and ride the Giant Dipper roller coaster at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Dinner at Betty Burger. Or put your toes in the sand and eat a taco down on the beach by the yacht harbor.

Echo the tram ride in Albuquerque to Sandia Peak. Stay away from the restaurant up there, though (over-priced bad food). Green chile enchilada served open-faced New Mexico style. Yum!

Has anyone mentioned Yosemite, yet? Truly one of the most beautiful places on the planet. 3 hours or so east of San Francisco.

I'm so excited for you! Take it all in, buddy!

[Blueberries]

Some other comments. Camera obviously. I would suggest a pair of binoculars as well. There are some great views off the Blue Ridge Parkway. If your trip is before late November, you probably need to make hotel reservations now for the Blue Ridge area. Quite popular because of the fall colors. You're going to need clothes for a lot of different climates. New York in the late fall/early winter can be cold, as can the Blue Ridge. Miami/Orlando will not be cold. Amarillo, Albuquerque and Flagstaff are all high plains/low mountains and can get pretty cold. So give that some thought. You are probably going to see at least 50 degrees of variation, maybe more.

^That is good advice, especially if you plan to be on this part of your trip over a weekend. I live just off the Parkway and avoid it at all costs on October weekends. Weekdays are still busy, but less so.

Other Blue Ridge Parkway tips (I only know the NC part):

Keep an eye on closures. From time to time, they'll close down a section for reconstruction or a rock slide or something. No biggie, but I've seen detours that are 50-100 miles or more. Just kind of the nature of the road.

Mt. Mitchell has a very easy 'hike' to the summit on a paved trail. You drive most of the way up, and then take the trail another... I don't know, quarter of a mile? It's a pretty panoramic view from up there.

The Lynn Cove Viaduct is probably the most well-known photograph of the Parkway. Right at the beginning of the viaduct (er, I guess it would be at the end if you're coming from Boone), there's a Visitor Center. Park there, and there's a paved trail off the parking lot that leads you to the Tanawah Trail, which you can follow for about 1/3 mile to get to the boulder where you can take your own copy of the image. Hit the right time of October, and the colors will be exactly like this one:

There are a million things to do in Asheville, if you want to make it a longer stop. Some touristy, some not.

Grove Park Inn (spa treatment!)

Biltmore Estate

LaZoom Comedy Tour

Highland Brewery

Rafting/Float Trips or Nearby: Sliding Rock

Thomas Wolfe Memorial

My favorite local restaurants in Asheville:

Bouchon

Sunset Terrace

Marketplace

Pack's Tavern

Tupelo Honey

12 Bones (open for lunch only)

For dessert: French Broad Chocolate Lounge is like heaven on earth.

The Asheville Independent Restaurant Association has a list of its members, which is a great resource.

[Rurounii]

In NYC eat Shake Shack for a good burger. The line is worth it. Tour the Brooklyn Brewery.

[Bacon]

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!

Easiest conversion there is probably that a liter is just barely more than 2 pint beers and just barely less 3 12oz beers. It's about 60ml difference in both cases.

I can't wait to get into the BBQ ribs and wings. It's going to be amazing

I have to second the vinegar based Carolina bbq comment from earlier, eastern part of the state but my preferred type.

[annakarenina]

When will you be going through Albuquerque? We drove through there and went to a cool hot air balloon museum. Touristy, sure, but awesome all the same. They have a big festival in October. Not sure when it is this year, but it might be fun checking out.

The Painted Desert (between Albuquerque and Flagstaff off of I-40) is gorgeous and well worth a stop, even if it's a bit touristy. It was beautiful when we went.

Enjoy DC/Blue Ridge Pkwy. We're outside DC and just checked out some of the caverns near the entrance to Shenandoah Nat. Park. I don't really enjoy caves, but my husband and kids liked them. I don't know if you do wine at all, but our area is full of vineyards.

On your way to Savannah, try to make a quick stop in Charleston if you can. It's a gorgeous city, and you could even spend a couple of hours downtown and then move on. There are some fabulous restaurants in Charleston/Mt Pleasant/Isle of Palms area.

[SAficionado]

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...)

[Morrigainz]

Wish I could help; you're missing all the amazing places I would recommend

[wildross]

Any particular reason for Memphis? That's about a 4 day zig...

wildross - warriors count tons, not reps

[wildross]

Id replace Memphis with Lake Tahoe...

wildross - warriors count tons, not reps

[wildross]

If you do go to Memphis, the Civil War battlefield at Vicksburg is very interesting. Don't stay in West Memphis. It is a heavy industrial/shipping area and pretty 'rough'.

wildross - warriors count tons, not reps

[SusieBlu]

Aww, you are missing colorful Colorado. Anyway, since you are traveling to the Carolinas, Memphis, and Texas eat all the BBQ styles then let us know which one you liked so we can argue with each other about whether you are correct or not. Personally, I like going to all the touristy places. There is ususally a reason they attact so much attention.

[clinzy]

I've lived in/frequently visit a few of the cities on your list. Your trip is going to be amazing.

Philadelphia

You've had lots of great suggestions here. I'd make it to South Phily to Federal Donuts, for sure. Awesome donut flavors, all made in-house, and around 11 am, they switch to fried chicken. There will be a wait. It will be worth it. Oh, and their coffee is also locally roasted and is amazing (says the husband).

DC

Adam's Morgan has a ton of great little restaurants. Don't go too late, or the collar-popping jerks turn up, but go eat falafel at Amsterdam Nights. It's some of the best falafel I've ever had. The DC Zoo is near there and is free and a great time. Walking around by the museums is also cool, albeit touristy. It's still a neat area and some things should be seen. The food in the Native American Smithsonian museum is diverse (and delicious).

Savannah

Make the drive to Tybee Island to eat at the Crab Shack, if you like seafood. It's a little out of the way but you will get a ton of food, see some alligators, and have a ball. A good low country boil shouldn't be missed.

Orlando

I lived here for a few years. I agree with the poster that said Islands of Adventure is the best park in Orlando - it's been my favorite for years. And, Busch Gardens in Tampa is also amazing - world class zoo, great roller coasters if that's your thing, and a great experience every time I've gone there. Food in Orlando is easy, too. Fuji Sushi in Winter Park is so good that my husband and I would meet there for lunch and make a dinner reservation for that same night. Siam Garden (Thai food) is also in Winter Park, right around the corner from Fuji Sushi, is incredible. Winter Park itself is a neat little area with eclectic little shops and out of the touristy area. International Drive has a ton of touristy stuff, but also has great restaurants, like Cafe Tu Tu Tango. That's a tapas place that will have people painting, belly dancing, reading palms, etc. in the "performance area" of the restaurant on any given night.

Oh, the trip to Cape Canaveral to the Kennedy Space Center is worth it, too. Pair it with the bird watching on Merritt Island. That would be a really nice, relaxing day.

New York

Williamsburg (Brooklyn) might be a little more built up now, but my husband and I had a great time there a few weekends ago. We went into a little Irish pub (waiting for a restaurant to open for dinner) and had a few drinks. It was a great neighborhood place a few blocks from the first subway stop after crossing the water. Then, we had dinner at Traif, which was phenomenal. (This restaurant is not for the religious - traif = food that Jewish people cannot eat for religious reasons. Everything on the menu is 'against the rules' and freaking delicious.)

Get tickets for a show. TKTS is a great way to do it if you don't care what you see. I've seen a few different things on Broadway and always had a great time.

Times Square is chaos. Avoid at all costs, unless you just *have* to see it. I'd much prefer hanging out in the Village or SoHo. Just get off of the subway at Christopher St and go walk around. There are all kinds of things to see, places to eat, and so on.

[PrincessHeather]

I lived in Los Angeles for 4 years while attending UCLA... so my suggestions are:

Venice Beach/Santa Monica Pier: Venice is full of interesting and "colorful" street performers and artists, the pier has a little amusement park, and there is a nice long place to run/bike/rollerblade along the cost between the two. Also not to far from Malibu along Pacific Coast Highway.

Food places: Diddy Riese Cookies in Westwood was a staple while I was at school. Other great places include Carney's on Sunset, and any of the Mexican places on Olvera Street downtown. And while not exclusive to Cali anymore (you can find some in Vegas, in Arizona and Texas), you should go to In-n-Out Burger!

Cultural: The Getty Museum, the La Brea Tarpits, LACMA and MOCA, Griffith Park Observatory. And of course all the touristy Hollywood stuff, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Ripley's, Walk of Fame, etc. You can also easily drive through Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills just for fun, get a Star Map etc if you're so inclined.

[BoydLabBuck]

It's a long shot, but check to see if NASA is launching anything at Cape Canaveral during your Savannah to Orlando leg. Since the shuttle is retired it's not quite the same, but a rocket launch is still an awesome experience.

Personally Panama City is very meh, but it's geared towards Spring Break college kids. Destin to the west is much cleaner in my experience. If you like military aircraft Pensacola is the home of the US Navy Blue Angels, and they practice there twice a week through October/early November, and have their hometown airshow in November.

As for Memphis a word of caution. Be VERY carefuly of where you end up at night, Memphis has some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country, so plan on avoiding them as tourists.

If you get to LA and have time to spare, head down to San Diego. That's my favorite city in the entire country. It's around 90 min drive south if traffic isn't bad. Head to Torrey Pines State Park and Beach and also Cabrillo National Monument for some of the most scenic ocean views you'll ever find. San Diego and LA are night and day from each other IMO. I didn't care for LA too much, but Griffith Park and the observatory are cool. The best thing I did in LA though was a tour of Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, that was really cool if you are interested in TV and movie production.

[RescuedRuckus]

Ok, I see on there you have Savannah. I must protest this and say come to Charleston, SC instead I say that because that's where I live and have grown up so I'm a bit biased. Never actually have gone to Savannah, but from what I hear, the two cities are very similar. If y'all wanted to come through Charleston I can give y'all the list of things you should see in 1 day. We have a lot of history here from pre-US colonial times, through the American Revolution, past the American Civil War, and into modern times. Not to mention we have a TON of really good restaurants Can't really think of anything too much in the quirky americana category around here that you wouldn't see similar somewhere else.

[BeigeTurtle]

In NYC eat Shake Shack for a good burger. The line is worth it.

I respectfully disagree; I find their food average, and I find them constantly clogged with tourists. I find Bare Burger much, much tastier, but that's just me.

[Kishi]

I respectfully disagree; I find their food average, and I find them constantly clogged with tourists. I find Bare Burger much, much tastier, but that's just me.

... is it Paleo?

[ellystar]

If you're a musical person and like stage shows, check out Beach Blanket Babylon while in San Francisco. It's a long running review show with amazing over the top costumes and very talented performers. They make fun of tons of celebrities and politicians and have lots of pop culture jokes mixed in a long the way. I live in Massachusetts, and I want to go back to San Francisco just to see that show again.

[rtalencar]

Lets see, I live in NY, my mom lives in DC, and my dad lives in Miami. What's your budget?

Assuming you can drop the cash for it, I'd suggest going to Plataforma in Manhattan or Peter Luger's in Brooklyn, staying at the Gaylord hotel in DC (well Virginia, but you can take a water taxi from there into DC), do a tour of the everglades and drive to Key West in Miami.

Ride the staten island ferry to see the statue of liberty instead of doing the formal tour. If you like drinking find a BYOB restaurant rather than going to a bar or club. The weather is perfect right now to do the Brooklyn Promenade at sunset and see the city. You could also walk across the Brooklyn Bridge (or rent a bike and do all of this). People like Central Park but I actually prefer the highline and the running path along the west side highway.

For DC in my opinion you kind of have to do the touristy stuff. Check out the mall, hit the museums, go to the memorials. The city's kind of built around it.

For Miami, hit the beach, go clubbing (prepare to spend a lot of money though, I spend more going out in Miami than I do in NYC), hit the beach some more. The everglades are really cool, and I personally love the drive down to Key West (though it's a long one).

[rtalencar]

In NYC eat Shake Shack for a good burger. The line is worth it. Tour the Brooklyn Brewery.

If you've had a few brews, http://53rdand6th.com/ is FANTASTIC. You'll regret it in the morning but it is delicious. Get lots of white sauce and go easy on the red.

[blindasutsutsu]

Aww, you are missing colorful Colorado. Anyway, since you are traveling to the Carolinas, Memphis, and Texas eat all the BBQ styles then let us know which one you liked so we can argue with each other about whether you are correct or not. Personally, I like going to all the touristy places. There is ususally a reason they attact so much attention.

I saw this too :-( I would recommend skipping Arizona and coming to Colorado for the beautiful Red Rocks and Snow Shoeing a 14er!! :-P

[Athaclena]

I second Charleston over Savannah - but I too am biased. I have the inside track on a great tour guide if you want a water or walking tour there. She's a walking bit of history and great at what she does. If you're into ghosts or pirates - those are her specialties! If you're heading down I-95, Charleston may be too far out of your way which is why you're probably swinging by Savannah instead....