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I am planning a trip to US...

#21
In Houston you could go and tour NASA if thats your thing, but other wise I can't think of anything that would be of interest besides history and BBQ. The traffic in Houston is not as bad as other cities, but it does depend on the time of day. Between Houston and Albuquerque there is lots of scenery and landscape changes that are beautiful if you follow interstate 10. You could stop in San Antonio and see the Alamo along the way if you follow Interstate 10 through Texas and go through El Paso on the way to New Mexico as opposed to going through the Dallas area. I find the drive to New Mexico through Dallas very bland and boring in regards to landscape. Depending on your interests it may be best to skip Houston and Dallas. Just a warning, Texas is a HUGE state and can take an entire day to drive across. Texas is a beautiful state with many different landscapes, and lots to do and see if you like history. However, it is not everyone's cup of tea. I would add Sante Fe, New Mexico to your list as well, it is beautiful.
 
#22
TOOL460002 said:
+1 Go to a national (or state) park like Yellowstone or Yosemite. You could visit San Francisco and the rest of the bay area (plenty of museums, Alcatraz, Angel Island, etc). From there you could go up to Yosemite pretty easily. Or maybe start in San Diego and go up the Pacific Coast Highway (hwy 1), which is beautiful, and has beaches and wineries along the way. Go up to San Francisco on hwy 1, and cross the Golden Gate Bridge. That'd be a good way to do the West coast, and Oregon/Washington are nice, but you could skip those two. SD to SF to Yosemite (camping etc) would be a great week.
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I've done the West Coast trip (plus bits of NV and AZ) by car a few times. The best route I took was fly from here to Vegas and stay a few days (including a day trip out to the Canyon by plane), then across through Death Valley and up the east side of the Sierras, through Yosemite (not straight through, of course!), SF, Pacific coast, LA, San Diego, back to Vegas. Very good way to see the SW corner of the US, and you'll need ideally about 16-21 days to do it.

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Last time I did this was about nine years ago and cost for two of us then was about £6000 ($9-10k) all in.

Then you could fly over to NYC for a few days (including maybe another fly trip out to Niagara if you're into that) to round off the trip, maybe? You won't need a car in NY. :D

Having said all that, I'd love to get to Wyoming and Yellowstone Park.

I'm envious, I'd love to go back and do it again even though that would be my fourth time. Have a great trip!
 
#26
Truth is; landscape looks just about the same in every country. So you're going to see similar landscapes along the highways that you can see just about anywhere.
But the USA has some amazing natural and man made wonders.

Try to hit places like the R & R Hall of Fame, etc. whichever of the halls of fame you have interests in. Stax recording studio. Tennessee is maybe the most beautiful state in America, and in the Spring it will be amazing. Try to visit the Blue Ridge Parkway in Tennessee. When you get to Texas Forget Southfork Ranch in Dallas...it's a big let down, just another ranch house, and looks much grander on TV. Texas Stadium is gone and Jerry's new Cowboy Stadium is just another stadium so keep on driving till you get to Amarillo and try the 72 oz steak at The Big Texan. Stop at the corner in Winslow Arizona and crank up Take It Easy on your iPod and sing loud so the locals can hear you. Check out the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, All of Utah, San Francisco, Napa Valley, and head up to Seattle....then cross back over the North corridor thru the Dakotas, Chicago, Philly, and NYC. just to name a few highlights along the way.
 
#27
Biggbass said:
Truth is; landscape looks just about the same in every country. So you're going to see similar landscapes along the highways that you can see just about anywhere.
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Not sure quite what you mean here, Bigg - landscapes in a lot of the southern parts of the US are very different to Europe. We haven't got any desert over here!

One of the things that made the biggest impression on me on my first trip to the States twenty years ago was driving through the Mojave desert. REALLY weird stuff... and at one point we had the heaviest rainfall/thunderstorm that I have ever seen in my whole life.
 
#31
You are probably aware that driving a motor home in some urban areas is going to be a challenge. In San Francisco it is almost better to drive and park somewhere on the outskirts like Daly City and take the Bart( our subway system) into San Francisco. Our mass transit is pretty good and you can get all day passes. Maybe drive into the city one day and if that doesn't work out try mass transit. I noticed you are driving up route 5 between L.A. and San Francisco. I would change that to route 101 which is a lot more scenic unless you are planning on going to Yosemite. I live right in San Francisco and would be glad to show your family around. Let me know if you want to hook up when you are here.
 
#32
baba said:
You should absolutely skip Atlanta and Houston. I'm sure to ruffle some feathers here from residents, but there is absolutely nothing redeeming about visiting either of these places....especially Houston.
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Houston is an excellent place to live. Boring place to visit though. Summers here are brutal no matter how you slice it. We have a few world class museums (the Rothko Chapel is stunning, IMO) and an amazing theater district, but most people go "Oh, wahhh, it's too hot" and leave. Maybe that was you?

Dr. Cheese said:
I think you meant there is nothing redeeming there that you value. I've only been to Hoution once, but ther is a lot of history, especially African American history in Atlanta from Dr. King's tomb to all the historic Black colleges.

As for Houston, it is home to NASA mission control. I don't know if it is open to tourism, but if it is, it would make for a cool trip.:)
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I used to be a tour guide for NASA. The historic (Apollo era) Mission Control is on permanent display, however modern mission control is at the whim of NASA hierarchy...when I left a few years ago, it was a no-go on weekdays but usually open on weekends.
 
#33
My .02: skip Atlanta and hit Nashville or Memphis, skip Houston and hit New Orleans. Regardless, you've mapped out a great trip. There are some long stretches there that will be less interesting, especially across the Southwest, but all in all you'll see a very wide variety of what the USA has to offer.

Someone earlier mentioned going North so you could see the Badlands, and while that part of the country is pretty cool, its out of the way and not worth missing the Gulf Coast, Texas and the Southwest.
 
#34
If you like desert check out Joshua Tree National Park near Indio, California. Beautiful high desert with eerie sand blown windstone, great for hiking and climbing. Just watch out for rattlesnakes.

http://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm
 

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#35
A lot of people are commenting on traffic, and I would make the basic point: IMO, visiting urban centers and driving a camper cross-country don't mix. If you're going to take a camper, plan the trip around outdoor, natural sights and experiences. If you want to hit urban centers, rent a car and stay in hotels. I live near Boston now, I used to live in New York, and never in a million years would I drive a camper around either city for love or money.

If you're doing urban centers, I would probably favor a more northern route; work down the east coast to Washington, then head for Chicago, then probably aim to spend two days driving via Kansas City to Denver and on to Las Vegas and Los Angeles from there.

If you do want to do the campers, aim for the great national parks, and I'd worry less about the east coast, though it has its beauties. Here's an idea; fly into Washington instead of Boston, see the national monuments there, THEN rent your camper and head up into West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, going through the mountains. Once you get past Arkansas you have the long flat expanse of the great plains with not much to see or do, and from there go on to the south western canyons etc. as you had planned.

The other thing that comes to mind; you have your work cut out for you as parents taking young kids on the trip. I think it's a great idea to bring them, but remember that kids don't find the same things interesting that adults do. History means very little to them and a landscape usually isn't interesting for more than two minutes. Aim for places that will give them activities to do, and bring things for them to do in the car for those looooong drives.
 
#37
that's one ambitious trip. i don't want to imply that i think you're ignorant, but 2 and 3 are really tough ages for that much driving. for example, like stated earlier, texas alone can take a whole day to drive through. your route seems like a decent one for a european-- you are skipping alot of the types of landscapes that you can see where you live. the southwest is a great place to visit. but also consider how much "nothing" you will be seeing-- hours and hours of sand and cacti. i'd suggest maybe a hybrid of a few ideas here-- some car stuff, some camper stuff, and a little bit of flying. realistically (having never been to the other side of the pond) i would imagine that NYC isn't really too much different in general to any major city in europe, maybe just bigger. same with Boston, LA, etc. sure there are sights and places unique to every city, but it is really all concrete, glass, traffic and huge crowds and lines, no matter the city. i think unless there is something specific you're wanting to see, skip MOST of the big cities and stick with state routes and highways, not interstates. you'll see more of AMERICA this way, although less of the US. does that make sense? hell i think a good portion of the people that live here in the states would pick VEGAS or somewhere in HAWAII and just stay there for a month!!! oh, and what's your tolerance for heat? springtime in the southwest is an awful lot like summer in other places. plan for that. i wish you all the best. i hope you have the very best experience here in the states, and memories (at least for the two grown-ups) to cherish. take loads of pics of the kids, they probably won't remember the vacation very well.
 
#38
OP, I was lucky enough to have a gig in Copenhagen last year, it's one of my favourite cities I've ever been to. You're a lucky fellow living in that neck of the woods.

I've driven the USA a number of times from canada down the east coast, from canada down the west coast, and all the way across the north. To me, the best trip by far is through the west. In my mind the Sierra Nevadas are probably the most scenic place in the world.

I think if you want an outdoorsy landscape viewing camping focused trip like I'm assuming you do if you're in an RV, the west and west central is the place to be. You can still hit SF, Seattle, LA, Vegas, etc to get a taste of some great US cities. I agree that if you want to spend time on the east coast and in the cities then an RV probably isn't the best way to do it, I'd rather have a car and a hotel on that side. In my experience hotels are pretty cheap in the US compared to most other countries so once you factor in the difference of fuel consumption, it might be worth it.
 
#39
nicoli said:
I think if you want an outdoorsy landscape viewing camping focused trip like I'm assuming you do if you're in an RV, the west and west central is the place to be. You can still hit SF, Seattle, LA, Vegas, etc to get a taste of some great US cities. I agree that if you want to spend time on the east coast and in the cities then an RV probably isn't the best way to do it, I'd rather have a car and a hotel on that side. In my experience hotels are pretty cheap in the US compared to most other countries so once you factor in the difference of fuel consumption, it might be worth it.
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I have to agree with this. I'm not sure I'd want to even attempt to drive an RV around a major city, find somewhere to park it and then sleep in it overnight with my family. :eek:
 

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