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 p.4 #13 · Best Locations to shoot/visit in the USA for a visitor. | |
airfrogusmc wrote:
But we are talking about CHICAGO in this case and to get into really bad areas in Chicago you would have to go pretty far from the areas most go to see.
I was nearly killed (pushed under a moving train) on the downtown Loop--the "Jackson" stop. It's one of the busiest downtown spots on the system, and this was in front of nearly 40 people who did absolutely nothing to help wife & I. Anyway, my point is the one Chez is making: while (some of) us have become used to relatively high levels of crime, those coming from other countries probably have no idea what they might be getting into. I lived a couple of decades in Kansas City and am reasonably "street wise" and still was attacked in a high traffic tourist area, while staying with the crowd. Anyway, on to some more suggestions.
The country is very, very large, as well as varied. There are two basic strategies I think you could use depending on what kind of experience you want. The first is what I'll call the "Road Trip." Fly into San Francisco, rent a car, and drive east. Big month long road trip ending in New York? Florida? The advantage is you will see a lot more than just cherry picking the best spots. You will meet a lot of interesting characters (mostly good.) This kind of trip is highly flexible and you can take advantage of weather conditions, and adjust how much time you spend in one place. Downside is you will spend a lot of time just driving, and there are a lot of desolate areas or plain uninteresting sections to drive long hours through. Another downside is there will likely be a big "drop off" charge for not returning car to location rented from. Also a chance you might lose track of time and make it all the way across.
Idea number two is what I call "movable base camp." For this, select one spot and stay there for a week. You pick the very best locations, which will reduce time lost to driving. You can do this in a way that modifies the Big Long Road Trip. Pick four spots in different parts of the country. I would put Yellowstone as the number one priority--nothing else like it on Earth. I personally really love the giant redwoods in northern California--hard to explain without experiencing them. They can be found at Yosemite, Sequoia NP, and Kings Canyon NP. A regional favorite is the extreme northeast corner of Minnesota, from Duluth up to the Canadian border. Finally, either a week in New York City or central Florida. Some detail:
1. Fly into San Francisco, drive to Yosemite and spend a couple of days, and then drive back to the coast to stay at some of the little coastal towns like Half Moon Bay as well as the Coastal Redwoods state park. This might be too much driving, though.
2. From San Franscisco, fly to Salt Lake City, Utah or Missoula, Montana (that flight will be more expensive.) Drive to Yellowston, stay at Old Faithful Inn (6 months advance reservations.) Spend week two there.
3. Drive back to airport, fly to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Visit Mall of America, Cathedral of St. Paul. Drive to Duluth, Minnesota and on north. Easy drive back to Minneapolis airport.
4. Fly to either New York City or Orlando, Florida. New York City is a place you can easily spend a week in by itself. In Florida, visit Disneyworld for a day or two, then either the east coast (St. Augustine and Cape Canaveral) or the west coast (Sanibel Island and St. Petersburg, Sarasota, etc.) Fly home from Orlando.
One of the problems I've often seen on these message boards are foreign visitors who write something like, "I want to see Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Lake Superior, New York City, New Orleans, and oh, visit Disneyworld in Florida. I have a week and a half." I suggest picking a very few locations and spending time in just a few that sound most interesting. The person that tries to see everything ends up seeing nothing. With that in mind, a more "compact" itinerary would be 1. Yosemite from San Francisco, 2. Yellowstone from either Salt Lake City, Utah (Missoula if air fare not too high), 3. Rocky Mountain National Park, Mesa Verde, etc. from Denver, Colorado, and finally Grand Canyon from Las Vegas, Nevada. This will all be in the western third of the country only, but it will reduce travel time and probably expense.
Time of year. Most public schools are not in session from the end of May until the first of September. During the summer the popular places will be flooded with people. Those without children might consider picking the month of May, but in the mountain parks (Yosemite, Yellowstone, Rocky National Park) they will still be partially under snow, and it will be fairly cool, almost cold. The Southwest parks (Grand Canyon etc.) will be starting to get hot but not horribly so. There is a big national holiday the last week of May, and the first weekend in September. I would avoid those. So, my suggestion for the "best" month is second week of September through the second week of October. The leaves on the deciduous trees will be turning in the North then, the weather will mostly be moderate, and crowds will have dramatically thinned by then.
Kent in SD
Buffalo, Yellowstone
Antelope, Yellowstone
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