driving across the usa: the beginning

thank you for all the advice and ideas - i've come up with this as an
itinery (and would welcome comments) - arrive Ney York 13th december
(preferably Newark)(preferably leaving london early morning and getting to
the US with some light) - pick up car and drive not far south (i'm ignoring
New York-see before) - the general idea of the trip becomes triangular: New
York; New Orleans; Los Angeles
- so i thought of this:
it's the 14th: washingtom - and then out into the wilds of West Virginia
(it's the music - and the look of the country..)by the 16th i'm heading down
the road to Knoxville - down thru Birmingham and Jackson - to arrive at New
Orleans 7 days later - 20th december - spend a couple of days there - i was
wondering where to spend christmas day - and thought of NO originally - but
the momentum carries on out thru Hueston - to Austin (a friend has been
there this year and appreciated the music) and it's 23rd - the deadly 550
miles from san antonio to El Paso - christmas in El Paso! - on the Mexicon
border - sounds interesting.........
- and then a week to see the wonders of SW USA - i've denitely included the
Carlsbad Caverns - and if weather permits foreys into the national parks - i
was toying with hiring a motorvan - nice idea about being able to drive to a
place and sleep there - but they are very expensive when you leave them
where you dont pick them up - so i would then head north towards Las Vegas
and Yosemite Park and either do New Year there or in San Francisco - back
to LA by sunday 4th to fly home to london (and the going rate at the moment
seems to be $900 - cant be right..)
- and i presume that doesnt include route 66 - i want to do the southernmost
route - i come from the southwest of england and feel happier in that
quadrant - so i think the seeing of the Pacific will be a Big Moment - where
is the best place to see the Pacific for the first time?
- the desolation of the NM/east texas road leading up into the SW deserts
and mountains -
- so the second part would be a week from El Paso to LA via the best
way...............
- any advice appreciated ...

Big Sur,,Monterey, either one is a winner.

http://www.jzphotos.com/images/ca/mo.../pinetree.html

On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 23:27:00 +0100, "rob tyler"
wrote:

where
is the best place to see the Pacific for the first time?

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 00:30:09 +0100, "rob tyler"
wrote:

up near san franscisco - where would you recommend for a good New Year
celebration? - i'm going to be in that area as it stands - is the city
safe? -

San Francisco has a big New Years Eve blowout party on the
Embaradero. Not sure of the mechanics of attending, but it's
quite a do.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

rob tyler wrote:
thank you for all the advice and ideas - i've come up with this as an
itinery (and would welcome comments) - arrive Ney York 13th december
(preferably Newark)(preferably leaving london early morning and getting to
the US with some light) - pick up car and drive not far south (i'm ignoring
New York-see before) - the general idea of the trip becomes triangular: New
York; New Orleans; Los Angeles
- so i thought of this:
it's the 14th: washingtom - and then out into the wilds of West Virginia
(it's the music - and the look of the country..)by the 16th i'm heading down
the road to Knoxville - down thru Birmingham and Jackson - to arrive at New
Orleans 7 days later - 20th december - spend a couple of days there - i was
wondering where to spend christmas day - and thought of NO originally - but
the momentum carries on out thru Hueston - to Austin (a friend has been
there this year and appreciated the music) and it's 23rd - the deadly 550
miles from san antonio to El Paso - christmas in El Paso! - on the Mexicon
border - sounds interesting.........

Let me know if you want recommendations for vegetarian restaurants in
Houston, Austin, and El Paso. Your friend is right about our music
scene. Austin really is the "live music capitol of the world." Whatever
you want to hear, we have it.

- and then a week to see the wonders of SW USA - i've denitely included the
Carlsbad Caverns - and if weather permits foreys into the national parks - i
was toying with hiring a motorvan - nice idea about being able to drive to a
place and sleep there - but they are very expensive when you leave them
where you dont pick them up - so i would then head north towards Las Vegas
and Yosemite Park and either do New Year there or in San Francisco - back
to LA by sunday 4th to fly home to london (and the going rate at the moment
seems to be $900 - cant be right..)

Are you looking for airfare online or by phone? It may be worth a gamble
if it's $900 now to do one of the online services at the last minute as
they scramble to fill vacant seats. I realize that may not be reassuring
if you *must* be back on a date certain, but it's often much cheaper.

- and i presume that doesnt include route 66 - i want to do the southernmost
route - i come from the southwest of england and feel happier in that
quadrant - so i think the seeing of the Pacific will be a Big Moment - where
is the best place to see the Pacific for the first time?

You may want to head from Yosemite to San Fran and take Highway 1, aka
Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), south if you're in no hurry. You'll have a
really long and scenic glimpse of the Pacific along that road. One of my
favorite drives is PCH around Monterey Bay.

- the desolation of the NM/east texas road leading up into the SW deserts
and mountains -
- so the second part would be a week from El Paso to LA via the best
way...............
- any advice appreciated ...

El Paso to LA without Vegas, Yosemite, and SF is just a decision between
I-10 and I-40 and possibly running north and south a bit between the two
to catch some sites, or possibly US highways (60 and 70 and everything
between) between them. It comes down to what you really want to see.

You can visit some Indian reservations whichever route you decide to
take; I recommend you decide which tribes you'd be most interested in
visiting if you're interested in doing that. Just looking at my map, I
see several within thirty miles of either interstate, and US 70 runs
right through one (which happens to be adjacent to Fort Apache). Casa
Grande, just south of Phoenix, is an Indian ruin you might (or not) want
to visit. The National Parks link is below. Some reservations may have
'historic sites' open to the public, and you can check their websites to
see. That said, they really seem to emphasize their casinos and tax-free
tobacco products over museums, ruins, and such.

http://www.nps.gov/cagr/

If you take I-10, you'll also be able to hit the Grand Canyon (which I
recommend you see if you're in no hurry). If you want to hit SF and
drive PCH south to LA, go ahead and take I-40 and make your leap to
Vegas and Yosemite and so on. Or take I-10 to Phoenix, US 93 to Vegas
(which I've only driven once and it was late at night, but there's not
really that much to see since it's like a straight line through the
desert), and so on to Yosemite and then to PCH.

Hope this helps. Let me know if anything needs clarification or if I can
be of further assistance.

"richard" wrote in message
...

Big Sur,,Monterey, either one is a winner.

http://www.jzphotos.com/images/ca/mo.../pinetree.html

On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 23:27:00 +0100, "rob tyler"
wrote:

where
is the best place to see the Pacific for the first time?

up near san franscisco - where would you recommend for a good New Year
celebration? - i'm going to be in that area as it stands - is the city
safe? -

On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 16:53:33 -0600, Hatunen
wrote:

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 00:30:09 +0100, "rob tyler"
wrote:

up near san franscisco - where would you recommend for a good New Year
celebration? - i'm going to be in that area as it stands - is the city
safe? -

San Francisco has a big New Years Eve blowout party on the
Embaradero. Not sure of the mechanics of attending, but it's
quite a doo.

Damn...

EmbarCadero
EmbarCadero
EmbarCadero
EmbarCadero

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

rob tyler wrote:
where
is the best place to see the Pacific for the first time?

up near san franscisco - where would you recommend for a good New Year
celebration?

There will be several events in the area, but Hatunen's recommendation
of the Embarcadero is probably one of the best and least expensive.

- i'm going to be in that area as it stands - is the city
safe? -

Relatively safe. Just don't bend over in public. ;-)

I wrote:
snip
If you take I-10, you'll also be able to hit the Grand Canyon (which I
recommend you see if you're in no hurry).

Meant to say, ...you'll also be able to hit the Grand Canyon IF you run
back up to I-40 somewhere before Flagstaff. Sorry for the error, but I
got in too big of a hurry.

snip

Hatunen wrote:
"rob tyler" wrote:
up near san franscisco - where would you recommend for a good New Year
celebration? - i'm going to be in that area as it stands - is the city
safe? -

San Francisco has a big New Years Eve blowout party on the
Embaradero. Not sure of the mechanics of attending, but it's
quite a do.

Do they still do the Castro & Market event? It was much more lively (and had
a lot more character) than the Embarcadero.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
Site remodeled 10-Sept-2003: Hundreds of new photos, easier navigation.

I don't know how things are in England, but be advised that in the US
*NOTHING* (well almost nothing) will be open on Christmas Eve and/or
Christmas Day. Therefore, make certain that you are stocked up on food,
supplies and gasoline. The same applies (generally speaking) to New Year's
Day. Particularly in El Paso, where New Year's Day is a BIG Catholic Church
day and most certainly anybody who is Catholic and has a business - the
business wil most probably NOT be open.

Have fun on your trip.

SD