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#11
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driving across the USA - provisional itinerary
"rob tyler" wrote in message ...
We have now put together a rough outline of the itinerary for our drive across the USA from New York to San Francisco via New Orleans and Santa Fe. This is my first trip to the USA. ... I agree w Bvaughn; you're just driving and driving. If that's what you want to do, fine. But you should spend more time in fewer places. His/her suggested schedule is better except, of course, two days in Philly! How about 1/2 a day there? Also, Williams burg only warrants one day. Add to your time in NYC or DC. If you want to get away from the east coast figure a way to add in Chicago (even though I'm mad at Mayor Daley over the Meigs debacle). Or go up to New England or Boston. |
#12
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driving across the USA - provisional itinerary
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#13
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driving across the USA - provisional itinerary
The freeways here are much the same as the freeways in the United Kingdom.
If I was to visit London how many days would you recommend I stay? I have spent a week in New York and it wasn't enough. Why not visit New York for several days. Then take a train to Washington DC for a few days. Then fly to Las Vegas for several days. Rent a car and go see The Grand Canyon. If you have a week or so drive thru Monument Valley and visit Mesa Verde. Return to Las Vegas and fly to San Fransico for several days. When I visited London I had problems driving. I even had problems walking. Every time I stepped off a curb I was looking the wrong way. Next time you come do it in the summer. Fly into Denver and spend a month driving around the Rockies. |
#14
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driving across the USA - provisional itinerary
"B Vaughan" wrote in message ... On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 08:48:28 -0000, "rob tyler" wrote: We have now put together a rough outline of the itinerary for our drive across the USA from New York to San Francisco via New Orleans and Santa Fe. This is my first trip to the USA. We have had many useful suggestions from the newsgroup and our route and places to stay are rough guides as to the final journey. We would love to hear of any recommended towns along the route that would offer more interesting stopping places; and any other suggestions or comments. We are a bit wary now as to the weather conditions in the South West in particular. And the important question is: What should we not miss? Which features along the route or involving a reasonable detour would you recommend we include. 13th December, Saturday Fly to New York JFK drive to Philadelphia PA 106 miles 14th December, Sunday past Washington to Roanake VA 378 miles 15th December, Monday to Knoxville TA 260 miles 16th December, Tuesday Chattanooga TA 112 miles 17th December, Wednesday Tuscaloosa AL 204 miles 18th December, Thursday New Orlreans LS 291 miles 19th December, , Friday New Orleans LS 0 miles 20th December, Saturday Beaumont TX 261 miles 21th December, Sunday Austin TX 248 miles 22th December, Monday Sheffield TX 317 miles 23rd December, Tuesday Carslbad, NM 210 miles Christmas Eve, Wednesday Santa Fe NM 267 miles Christmas Day, Thursday Santa Fe NM 0 miles 26th December, , Friday Gallup NM 198 miles 27th December, Saturday Flagstaff AZ 185 miles 28th December, Sunday Flagstaff & Grand Canyon 77 miles 29th December, Monday Las Vegas NV 275 miles 30th December, Tuesday Bakersfield CA 286 miles New Years Eve, Wednesday San Francisco CA 288 miles New Years Day, Thursday San Francisco CA 0 miles 2nd January, Friday explore the Californian coast 3rd January, Saturday day off 4th January, Sunday San Francisco: Fly back to London Approximately 4000 miles for the trip It sounds like a pretty brutal pace to me. There are only four days where you aren't on the road, and you hit the road immediately on arrival, when you will surely be tired and maybe also jet lagged. (In addition to the driving time, there is the checking into and out of hotels, finding places to eat, etc., that add significantly to the stress level.) I would have suggested a day or so in Philadelphia, and at least three days in New York, but it would only make the pace more intense further on. the idea was to bypass New York this time - and visit New York and New England as a separate adventure - i am also interested in what the rest of the US thinks about NY .............. |
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driving across the USA - provisional itinerary
"Brian Wickham" wrote in message ... On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 08:48:28 -0000, "rob tyler" wrote: We have now put together a rough outline of the itinerary for our drive across the USA from New York to San Francisco via New Orleans and Santa Fe. This is my first trip to the USA. We have had many useful suggestions from the newsgroup and our route and places to stay are rough guides as to the final journey. We would love to hear of any recommended towns along the route that would offer more interesting stopping places; and any other suggestions or comments. We are a bit wary now as to the weather conditions in the South West in particular. And the important question is: What should we not miss? Which features along the route or involving a reasonable detour would you recommend we include. 13th December, Saturday Fly to New York JFK drive to Philadelphia PA 106 miles Consider NY to Front Royal VA if you have the time. From there take the Sky Line Drive through the Blue Ridge, but if it's closed due to weather you can drive through the Shenandoah Valley and on to Roanoke. Either way it's a pretty drive. All of I-95 from NY to FL is deadly boring. Unless you must go to Philadelphia I would take I-78 to Harrisburg, PA and then I-81 to Virginia. 14th December, Sunday past Washington to Roanake VA 378 miles 15th December, Monday to Knoxville TA 260 miles 16th December, Tuesday Chattanooga TA 112 miles 17th December, Wednesday Tuscaloosa AL 204 miles You can make up time in this Roanoke to New Orleans leg if need be. 18th December, Thursday New Orlreans LS 291 miles 19th December, , Friday New Orleans LS 0 miles Maximize your time in New Orleans Minimize your time in Texas 20th December, Saturday Beaumont TX 261 miles 21th December, Sunday Austin TX 248 miles 22th December, Monday Sheffield TX 317 miles Once out of Texas be mindful of where you need to cross mountain ranges. This is not the best time of year for that sort of thing. Stay on top of the weather reports! 23rd December, Tuesday Carslbad, NM 210 miles Christmas Eve, Wednesday Santa Fe NM 267 miles Christmas Day, Thursday Santa Fe NM 0 miles 26th December, , Friday Gallup NM 198 miles 27th December, Saturday Flagstaff AZ 185 miles 28th December, Sunday Flagstaff & Grand Canyon 77 miles Be at Grand Canyon when it opens in the a.m. 29th December, Monday Las Vegas NV 275 miles Unless you have a particular reason for stopping in Bakersfield you might consider traveling through to Fresno or Merced. That would give you time to see a National Park the next morning before driving into San Francisco. 30th December, Tuesday Bakersfield CA 286 miles New Years Eve, Wednesday San Francisco CA 288 miles New Years Day, Thursday San Francisco CA 0 miles 2nd January, Friday explore the Californian coast 3rd January, Saturday day off 4th January, Sunday San Francisco: Fly back to London Approximately 4000 miles for the trip At least you have a plan. I'm sure you will find that you need to be flexible and it seems to be that you have padding in there to allow for it. If you need to do hard driving to make up time then 600 miles per long day is easily done on Interstate highways. It isn't fun but it could put you back on schedule. Brian Wickham thanks for all the advice there - it will be an interesting trip - i thought the long day would be tedious in the Texas bit where you eat up miles - but that's probably good for the soul as welL... |
#16
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driving across the USA - provisional itinerary
"Charles Hawtrey" wrote in message ... Brian Wickham staggered to the nearest keyboard and wrote: Consider NY to Front Royal VA if you have the time. From there take the Sky Line Drive through the Blue Ridge, but if it's closed due to weather you can drive through the Shenandoah Valley and on to Roanoke. Either way it's a pretty drive. All of I-95 from NY to FL is deadly boring. Unless you must go to Philadelphia I would take I-78 to Harrisburg, PA and then I-81 to Virginia. The Skyline Drive / Blue Ridge Parkway is slow but very nice (this part of the country is my ancestral homeland so I may be biased). Unfortunately you will be traveling in December when the leaves will be gone. Heavy truck traffic on I-81 makes the drive south through the valley from Front Royal not much fun. Consider an alternate route even if slower. US 29 will bring you close to Charlottesville and Monticello (Thomas Jefferson country) and Appomattox (where the, erm, War Between the States ended). From Lynchburg you could take US 460 over to Roanoke to catch I-81 south into Tennessee. As others have mentioned the weather may not be pleasant at this time of year. hambu n hambu ta hambu - do you know Roanake? |
#17
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driving across the USA - provisional itinerary
"Smiley" wrote in message ... rob tyler wrote: We have now put together a rough outline of the itinerary for our drive across the USA from New York to San Francisco via New Orleans and Santa Fe. This is my first trip to the USA. We have had many useful suggestions from the newsgroup and our route and places to stay are rough guides as to the final journey. We would love to hear of any recommended towns along the route that would offer more interesting stopping places; and any other suggestions or comments. We are a bit wary now as to the weather conditions in the South West in particular. And the important question is: What should we not miss? Which features along the route or involving a reasonable detour would you recommend we include. 13th December, Saturday Fly to New York JFK drive to Philadelphia PA 106 miles 14th December, Sunday past Washington to Roanake VA 378 miles 15th December, Monday to Knoxville TA 260 miles 16th December, Tuesday Chattanooga TA 112 miles 17th December, Wednesday Tuscaloosa AL 204 miles 18th December, Thursday New Orlreans LS 291 miles 19th December, , Friday New Orleans LS 0 miles 20th December, Saturday Beaumont TX 261 miles 21th December, Sunday Austin TX 248 miles 22th December, Monday Sheffield TX 317 miles 23rd December, Tuesday Carslbad, NM 210 miles Christmas Eve, Wednesday Santa Fe NM 267 miles Christmas Day, Thursday Santa Fe NM 0 miles 26th December, , Friday Gallup NM 198 miles 27th December, Saturday Flagstaff AZ 185 miles 28th December, Sunday Flagstaff & Grand Canyon 77 miles 29th December, Monday Las Vegas NV 275 miles 30th December, Tuesday Bakersfield CA 286 miles New Years Eve, Wednesday San Francisco CA 288 miles New Years Day, Thursday San Francisco CA 0 miles 2nd January, Friday explore the Californian coast 3rd January, Saturday day off 4th January, Sunday San Francisco: Fly back to London Approximately 4000 miles for the trip I have looked at your trip its nice and slow about 5 hour only per day average which is a good pace but it does not give you much time to see the sights it is off season. If you must see California fly across and stay a few days it will be cheaper than the drive. I recommend staying longer in Washington DC or east coast. What kind of sights are you thinking of looking at? - thank you .. i wondered about how to visit the US for the first time; a wide ranging take on your world - i am going to bypass your Eastern side because i think that would be a visit in itself - for another time - and i will ask the rest of your country what they think of you........... - i would like to see big natural phenomena and traditional rituals.... |
#18
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driving across the USA - provisional itinerary
"fishman" wrote in message ... "rob tyler" wrote in message ... We have now put together a rough outline of the itinerary for our drive across the USA from New York to San Francisco via New Orleans and Santa Fe. This is my first trip to the USA. We have had many useful suggestions from the newsgroup and our route and places to stay are rough guides as to the final journey. We would love to hear of any recommended towns along the route that would offer more interesting stopping places; and any other suggestions or comments. We are a bit wary now as to the weather conditions in the South West in particular. And the important question is: What should we not miss? Which features along the route or involving a reasonable detour would you recommend we include. 13th December, Saturday Fly to New York JFK drive to Philadelphia PA 106 miles 14th December, Sunday past Washington to Roanake VA 378 miles I like your itinerary. More Early American and Civil War history than you can shake a stick at - do some research and pick one or two. 15th December, Monday to Knoxville TA 260 miles 16th December, Tuesday Chattanooga TA 112 miles There is a place you must stop on I-75 in Philadelphia, TN, albout halfway. It's a small family dairy that started making cheeses and has some really nice varieties. It's about 5 miles or so off the interstate and a nice stop. http://www.swee****ervalley.com/ We found it a few years ago when they were just starting, I'm sure they have expanded; their website says they have tours now. I don't know much about the West, sorry. Have a great trip. Chris what a sweet description.... - i'll have to tell you about the west. |
#19
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driving across the USA - provisional itinerary
"Nile" wrote in message ... 200 miles a day is less than 4 hours' driving time on the interstate highways (I-95, e.g.) If you drive longer days between your main interest points then you can spend an extra day or two there, instead of using whole vacation days driving just four hours to get to your next intermediate stop. As a comparison on distances, the state of Alabama alone is about the same size as England. You do have a good route. Highlights that you might consider: - Great Smoky Mountains near Knoxville, the most-visited national park in the U.S. (Gatlinburg is mostly an eyesore but the mountains are great; you can just drive through without staying if you want, Hwy. 441, Gatlinburg to Cherokee or vice-versa. You will be seeing mountains again out west, plus other, smaller ones on your drive in the east, so decide what you have time for); - New Orleans for sure. Go to Preservation Hall in the French Quarter, open in the evenings ($5) for jazz. Take the trolley out to the Garden District and look around; Magazine Street has interesting stores (antiques mostly), and the zoo is out that way. The Fairgrounds is in season if you like horse racing. Any restaurant will be good. - Galveston near Houston is on the Gulf; a day or two at the Gulf might be a good option for a break from driving; - You named Austin, a good choice, but said nothing about nearby San Antonio. Conde Nast called San Antonio one of the four unique cities in the U.S.; - Santa Fe / Taos is good. The loop around Taos is a well-known drive; - Grand Canyon for sure! Rest of trip sounds fine. You'll miss the Saguaro cactus country (southern Arizona) by heading north but will see plenty of other desert. The Hoover Dam is literally on the road between the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas (Hwy. 93). It would be a really good topper to your trip if you could work in Yosemite National Park, not too far from San Francisco, but time may not allow it this trip. oh - brilliant - thanks for the oking - wasnt quite sure if we were mad - but it should be a great trip - will fit in the Great Smokey - it'll be the first attempt.... - yes: north or south in Arizona is a big question............ |
#20
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driving across the USA - provisional itinerary
"TheNewsGuy(Mike)" wrote in message ... On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 08:48:28 -0000, "rob tyler" wrote: I agree with the other post. It sounds like you are just "driving" throught the USA and not seeing anything. WHY? It has been my experience, and others see it too on this newsgroup, tha tpeople from the UK just can't fathom the vast distances in North America. Your trip is almost all behind the wheel. By the time you check out of a hotel, hit the road, get to where you are going - since it is winter - it will be dark when you get there - What will you see? Who will you meet? If you haven't booked your flights, Iwould suggest: ==================== New York - 4 days Philadelphia - 2 days Washington - 3 days Williamsburgh - 2 days Savannah - 1 day New Orleans - 2 days Miami - 3 days for New Years, Orange Bowl parade, et al.... Back to New York and return flight But, hey, that's just me - BTW Do Vegans breastfeed? - and do they swallow etc.. - i like driving - it's like watching an allday movie - but live! - so it's a holiday - but it's also visiting without imposing - i only like to go where i feel welcome - and the US has always had good reports back - i was just talking to a friend down the pub tonight who had been to your country a dozen times including spending 6 month in 1978 driving around it in the anti-clockwise direction - reverse of my route - he was enthusiastic about the people - but emphasised:' always listen to what the locals tell you' - there are places it isnt safe to go ........ |
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