I've been visiting the US for the last six months, working in San Diego. It's been rather lovely. But my job here is finishing, and in a few days I will give up my nice house in La Jolla and start on my way back to a small apartment in a grey street in central Europe.
I've got an opportunity to see some more of America on the way, since our flights are booked out of Atlanta in the middle of July. So we have three and a half weeks to drive over there. Can languish give me any advice on places to go and things to see on the way across?
My wife wants to visit places where she used to live in Berkeley and in Decorah, Iowa, so we will definitely be going there. Our provisional route is: the coastal road to San Francisco; Salt Lake City; the Tetons and Yellowstone; Devil's Tower, Mt Rushmore, the badlands park (I'm not sure what's there); Decorah. After that we have to get to Atlanta, and I'm not sure what a good route is. I would quite like to see the air force museum in Dayton, Ohio, but it's a bit out of the way; I'm also tempted by the mammoth cave in Kentucky, for the connection with adventure games. Are there any suggestions for places with historical, or other, interest that we should go to?
I'm also keen to hear about food we should eat. I haven't tried any proper barbecue yet.
Quote from: Pishtaco on June 12, 2011, 01:02:42 PM
I've been visiting the US for the last six months, working in San Diego. It's been rather lovely. But my job here is finishing, and in a few days I will give up my nice house in La Jolla and start on my way back to a small apartment in a grey street in central Europe.
I've got an opportunity to see some more of America on the way, since our flights are booked out of Atlanta in the middle of July. So we have three and a half weeks to drive over there. Can languish give me any advice on places to go and things to see on the way across?
My wife wants to visit places where she used to live in Berkeley and in Decorah, Iowa, so we will definitely be going there. Our provisional route is: the coastal road to San Francisco; Salt Lake City; the Tetons and Yellowstone; Devil's Tower, Mt Rushmore, the badlands park (I'm not sure what's there); Decorah. After that we have to get to Atlanta, and I'm not sure what a good route is. I would quite like to see the air force museum in Dayton, Ohio, but it's a bit out of the way; I'm also tempted by the mammoth cave in Kentucky, for the connection with adventure games. Are there any suggestions for places with historical, or other, interest that we should go to?
I'm also keen to hear about food we should eat. I haven't tried any proper barbecue yet.
Doesn't the desert air force base where they store all of the old/scrapped aircraft have a fairly decent museum ? It's not too far off you route ?
Quote from: Pishtaco on June 12, 2011, 01:02:42 PM
and in a few days I will give up my nice house in La Jolla and start on my way back to a small apartment in a grey street in central Europe.
:nelson:
From Iowa drive down to St. Louis and see the arch. Then to Memphis for barbeque, blues, and Graceland. Then to Nashville for the Grand Ole Opry. Then to Chatanooga to tour Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge (Civil War battle field).
You should hit Vegas for the quintessential caricature of America.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on June 12, 2011, 01:52:43 PM
From Iowa drive down to St. Louis and see the arch. Then to Memphis for barbeque, blues, and Graceland. Then to Nashville for the Grand Ole Opry. Then to Chatanooga to tour Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge (Civil War battle field).
Should probably pack heat if your are going into St.Louis.
I wouldn't drive. Not in the summer.
Get the hell out of there.
Do us a favor and go directly back to Europe.
America hates faggot Europeans.
I don't know what you have seen, and what you haven't. I assume you made it up to LA, but if not, that is something to do. Las Vegas is not much out of your way, and you don't want to miss Chicago if you are in the midwest (and haven't been before). Saint Louis is also good to visit, and Cahokia is only about 15 minutes from Saint Louis (probably the best precolumbian native american site north of Mexico). On your way to Atlanta, some attractions are Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga (see Yi's post). All of those are in Tennessee, which you would be passing through between Kentucky and Georgia.
Quote from: Pishtaco on June 12, 2011, 01:02:42 PM
My wife wants to visit places where she used to live in Berkeley and in Decorah, Iowa, so we will definitely be going there. Our provisional route is: the coastal road to San Francisco; Salt Lake City; the Tetons and Yellowstone; Devil's Tower, Mt Rushmore, the badlands park (I'm not sure what's there); Decorah. After that we have to get to Atlanta, and I'm not sure what a good route is. I would quite like to see the air force museum in Dayton, Ohio, but it's a bit out of the way; I'm also tempted by the mammoth cave in Kentucky, for the connection with adventure games. Are there any suggestions for places with historical, or other, interest that we should go to?
Mammoth Cave is indeed a very interesting place to visit. I should go check it out again sometime soon; it's about 2 hours southwest of where I live. Also worth visiting if you're in Kentucky is a bourbon distillery (the most convenient one probably being Jim Beam given the path I assume you will be taking).
Since you would be in Kentucky, I would have said visit the Patton museum at Ft. Knox, but they ruined it and the tanks are supposedly gone. Fuck Ft. Benning.
Quote from: jamesww on June 12, 2011, 01:08:42 PM
Quote from: Pishtaco on June 12, 2011, 01:02:42 PM
I've been visiting the US for the last six months, working in San Diego. It's been rather lovely. But my job here is finishing, and in a few days I will give up my nice house in La Jolla and start on my way back to a small apartment in a grey street in central Europe.
I've got an opportunity to see some more of America on the way, since our flights are booked out of Atlanta in the middle of July. So we have three and a half weeks to drive over there. Can languish give me any advice on places to go and things to see on the way across?
My wife wants to visit places where she used to live in Berkeley and in Decorah, Iowa, so we will definitely be going there. Our provisional route is: the coastal road to San Francisco; Salt Lake City; the Tetons and Yellowstone; Devil's Tower, Mt Rushmore, the badlands park (I'm not sure what's there); Decorah. After that we have to get to Atlanta, and I'm not sure what a good route is. I would quite like to see the air force museum in Dayton, Ohio, but it's a bit out of the way; I'm also tempted by the mammoth cave in Kentucky, for the connection with adventure games. Are there any suggestions for places with historical, or other, interest that we should go to?
I'm also keen to hear about food we should eat. I haven't tried any proper barbecue yet.
Doesn't the desert air force base where they store all of the old/scrapped aircraft have a fairly decent museum ? It's not too far off you route ?
That's down in Tucson, AZ. Way off his route.
Quote from: Ed Anger on June 12, 2011, 05:31:08 PM
Since you would be in Kentucky, I would have said visit the Patton museum at Ft. Knox, but they ruined it and the tanks are supposedly gone. Fuck Ft. Benning.
:hmm:
It's still open, but I did hear that yeah. :(
Quote from: Caliga on June 12, 2011, 05:41:38 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on June 12, 2011, 05:31:08 PM
Since you would be in Kentucky, I would have said visit the Patton museum at Ft. Knox, but they ruined it and the tanks are supposedly gone. Fuck Ft. Benning.
:hmm:
It's still open, but I did hear that yeah. :(
No reason to go for the rooms of Patton crap. It was the lamest part of the museum. King Tiger = yes. Patton's gun = who cares?
I thought they were cool. I also liked that they had Patton's staff car (the one he was in when he had his fatal accident) there. But yeah, by far the coolest part of the museum were all the tanks, self-propelled artillery, and tank destroyers. :weep:
Though, since you have 3 1/2 weeks, and 90% of the stuff east of the Rocky Mountains to Atlanta is crap, you could wind a bit out of the way around the southern portion of Utah before heading up to SLC. Zion, Bryce, Monument Valley, Canyonlands, and Arches, the Grand Staircase, Capitol Reef (maybe even northern side of Grand Canyon) would all be well worth it, and you could cover most of those in a week or a bit more. Assuming you just hit the drivable highlights...not sure hiking would be all that advisable for that area in July.
Great Smokey Mountains is also kinda on the way-ish.
Plus one of the cool thinks about Ft. Knox was you'd be driving down the road and you'd see M1's out in the fields.
Or you could go into the gas station and get a greasy chicken chunk and Hep B on a stick.
Quote from: Caliga on June 12, 2011, 05:46:26 PM
I thought they were cool. I also liked that they had Patton's staff car (the one he was in when he had his fatal accident) there. But yeah, by far the coolest part of the museum were all the tanks, self-propelled artillery, and tank destroyers. :weep:
I live 25miles from:
http://www.tankmuseum.org/ (http://www.tankmuseum.org/)
time I paid it another visit. :bowler:
Plan to go to Berkeley, you say? From there Salt Lake City, with eventual plans to enter the South, you say?
At any rate, if you want great barbecue, you best be going to Memphis. Fried okra, sweet potato fries, some good chicken & dumplings, peach cobbler- these are things I would recommend trying.
Excellent barbecue can be had in Nashville as well, especially on Music Row.
Cal's recommendation:
http://www.jacksbarbque.com/ (http://www.jacksbarbque.com/)
For those that don't like BBQ, you can watch your hamburger float in grease at Dyer's in Memphis on Beale.
Thanks for the suggestions, and for the barbeque recommendation. Is watching your hamburger float in grease a good or a bad thing?
I've been around the west coast before, and to New York and a couple of places near there, but not to the interior or the south.
I'm not much inclined to visit St Louis for the arch, but Cahokia sounds interesting. What does one do at the Grand Ole Opry? The civil war stuff in Chattanooga sounds good.
Is the aircraft museum in Dayton worth the visit? And where did the tanks go?
QuoteIs watching your hamburger float in grease a good or a bad thing?
Yes, once. If you are in Memphis for other things.
QuoteIs the aircraft museum in Dayton worth the visit?
If planes give you a murder boner, yes. Plus it is free. Watching German tourists gaze wistfully at the Kraut planes is a hoot.
QuoteAnd where did the tanks go?
The Armor school is being moved to Ft. Benning in Georgia. So they are moving the tank musuem down there too. Ft. Knox is becoming the HR base. bleh.
If you do go to Dayton, You can stand on the hill that they flung gliders off of. Some people think it is exciting. I never did. You get to look across 444 to Huffman Dam.
http://wikimapia.org/11120366/Wright-Brothers-Hill
Other aviation stuff:
http://www.aviationdayton.com/places/wright-memorial.html
Quote from: Pishtaco on June 12, 2011, 08:59:04 PM
I've been around the west coast before, and to New York and a couple of places near there, but not to the interior or the south.
I'm not much inclined to visit St Louis for the arch, but Cahokia sounds interesting. What does one do at the Grand Ole Opry? The civil war stuff in Chattanooga sounds good.
I like St. Louis as a town and a place to visit, but the tourist attractions in the city tend to suck. It is one of the best places to catch a baseball game--probably the best after Chicago (Cubs), New York (Yankees), and Boston. Other than that, it has good food and good people (though only if you stay out of the rougher areas). Cahokia gets surprisingly little press and tourist investment--I think that is because it is outside the city and actually in another state so it doesn't have a business community to lobby for it. Be sure to get the ipod tour if you go. There is another major mississippian culture site outside Atlanta (Etowah) which is not nearly as impressive, but I enjoyed seeing both. If you go to Cahokia, Etowah is going to be on your way into Atlanta and (at least to me) is interesting to see the cultural continuity between sites so far apart.
I was recommending Chattanooga, but that is because it will be right off the interstate as you drive into Atlanta. I've been to Chattanooga, and if you are interested in Civil War sites, it really doesn't compare to the east coast battlefields such as Gettysburg. The east coast is probably well out of your way, but I've heard that the Shiloh battlefield is very well done and is in Tennessee.
Perhaps rather than heading south from Ohio into Kentucky it would be better to head east to Washington DC? That is where they will have the best museums and has a cluster of the best civil war sites. If you want planes, they have the Air and Space Museum, which is going to be better than anything in Ohio. You will still get to see the south as you go into atlanta, and could even stop to see the arguably the best southern city (charleston) on your way.
i thought the air and space museum was incredibly kiddie, along with most of the other smithsonians in dc. the american history museum's obsession with edison annoyed me
Quote from: Pishtaco on June 12, 2011, 08:59:04 PM
What does one do at the Grand Ole Opry?
Listen to country music.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on June 13, 2011, 02:38:58 AM
Quote from: Pishtaco on June 12, 2011, 08:59:04 PM
What does one do at the Grand Ole Opry?
Listen to country music.
:yes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJawSgdvFZc
Your best bet would be to leave Kentucky. IMHO those sister-fuckers need to be booted out anyway.
Quote from: Zeus on June 13, 2011, 08:15:26 AM
Your best bet would be to leave Kentucky. IMHO those sister-fuckers need to be booted out anyway.
Agree. :mad:
mew
Quote from: Caliga on June 13, 2011, 08:22:44 AM
Quote from: Zeus on June 13, 2011, 08:15:26 AM
Your best bet would be to leave Kentucky. IMHO those sister-fuckers need to be booted out anyway.
Agree. :mad:
Aiming to be the first president of the Republic of Kentucky Cal?
Quote from: Valmy on June 13, 2011, 08:26:56 AM
Quote from: Caliga on June 13, 2011, 08:22:44 AM
Quote from: Zeus on June 13, 2011, 08:15:26 AM
Your best bet would be to leave Kentucky. IMHO those sister-fuckers need to be booted out anyway.
Agree. :mad:
Aiming to be the first president of the Republic of Kentucky Cal?
I'd hope he'd be capable of setting his sights a
tidbit higher than Kentucky.
Quote from: Zeus on June 13, 2011, 08:28:55 AM
I'd hope he'd be capable of setting his sights a tidbit higher than Kentucky.
:hmm:
Well, high altitude does make it harder to get oxygen to the brain, so maybe he'd have better luck in Wyoming.
Quote from: Valmy on June 13, 2011, 08:26:56 AM
Aiming to be the first president of the Republic of Kentucky Cal?
:shifty:
If you can spend some time in DC, it is well worth it. And if you can get to DC, you can get to Gettysburg, which is also very worth it.
If you decide to visit Niagara Falls, let me know - you can swing by Rochester for a visit!
Quote from: alfred russel on June 12, 2011, 09:47:46 PM
I like St. Louis as a town and a place to visit, but the tourist attractions in the city tend to suck. It is one of the best places to catch a baseball game--probably the best after Chicago (Cubs), New York (Yankees), and Boston. Other than that, it has good food and good people (though only if you stay out of the rougher areas). Cahokia gets surprisingly little press and tourist investment--I think that is because it is outside the city and actually in another state so it doesn't have a business community to lobby for it. Be sure to get the ipod tour if you go. There is another major mississippian culture site outside Atlanta (Etowah) which is not nearly as impressive, but I enjoyed seeing both. If you go to Cahokia, Etowah is going to be on your way into Atlanta and (at least to me) is interesting to see the cultural continuity between sites so far apart.
I was recommending Chattanooga, but that is because it will be right off the interstate as you drive into Atlanta. I've been to Chattanooga, and if you are interested in Civil War sites, it really doesn't compare to the east coast battlefields such as Gettysburg. The east coast is probably well out of your way, but I've heard that the Shiloh battlefield is very well done and is in Tennessee.
Perhaps rather than heading south from Ohio into Kentucky it would be better to head east to Washington DC? That is where they will have the best museums and has a cluster of the best civil war sites. If you want planes, they have the Air and Space Museum, which is going to be better than anything in Ohio. You will still get to see the south as you go into atlanta, and could even stop to see the arguably the best southern city (charleston) on your way.
Thanks again. I'll add Shiloh to the list of possible places to visit. I feel like this trip is meant to be to the interior of America and that the coast is out of the way, but that's not much of a reason to avoid it. I guess we'll see what things look like when we get to Ohio.
@Berkut - thanks very much indeed, but I probably won't make it up there. I lived in Toronto for a year and a half, and saw the falls a few times from the other side.