13 Days in the US: What To Do?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Grand Canyon–a must see! It’s just so incredible.

San Francisco–a must see! It’s absolutely unique, beautiful, fun, interesting. Take the trip to Alcatraz (book in advance). It’s fascinating and creepy and you get a boat ride, too! Also, take a walk over the Golden Gate bridge.

Las Vegas–I hear it’s quite the spectacle. I’m dying to go. The contrast between the natural Grand Canyon and the entirely man-made Las Vegas is supposed to be quite startling.

If you like hiking, there are plenty of great day trips to be done. You don’t need to carry overnight camping gear–just boots and a daypack.

For cheap hotels, I’ve had good luck with Motel 6. They’re cheap and clean and common. That’s about all they have going for them, but if you just need a place to lay your head at night, they’re great.

As far as whether you should book flights within the U.S.–just depends on your travel style. I, personally, like to explore one place thoroughly. If I were in Australia, however, I’d definitely make sure to see more than just one city. It sounds like if you did the California/Grand Canyon/Las Vegas thing, you’d cover a lot of ground, but won’t be too stretched out. (You could swing through Arizona on your way up to the Canyon. I love Arizona.)

You’ll notice that people haven’t recommended much to do in LA. I’ve never been there myself, but as far as I know, it’s not the most interesting tourist city. I suppose a Hollywood tour would be fun, right? Anyone? Anyway, it just depends on what you’re looking for.

22

I’m going to assume that you’ve never been to America, and you’re interested in things that are specifically “American”.

You’re in LA; OK, if you have interest in the film or TV industries, do a studio tour; if you do Universal, skip the theme park if you have theme parks where you live. (But Disneyland is probably worth it.)

Even if you don’t care about film, you need to visit Hollywood. I haven’t been in so long, I don’t know if it’s particularly safe these days; it goes up and down. Anyway, don’t miss the cement foot- and handprints at Mann’s (formerly Graumanns’) Chinese Theater.

Beaches – you’ve got beaches where you’re at, but Santa Monica pier and the adjacent beach is pretty picturesque. The pier has an old-timey arcade and rides. Venice, nearby, is somewhat more adult-oriented and worth seeing too. (Rent rollerblades.)

Definitely do go to San Francisco. It’s incredible. The drive up is about 6 hours if you take the freeway, but you should drive up the coast. Most of it is amazingly rocky and wild, dotted with what used to be little fishing villages. Spend the night at San Simeon and do the short tour of the Hearst Castle. It’s worth the view even if you don’t care about the mansion.

For natural wonder, the Grand Canyon; it’s about the most spectacular physical feature in America. If you’re in Arizona, find old Route 66 (it’s largely covered by I-40 now, but intact in some places) and put in a few miles on the Mother Road. Eat at a cafe, stay in a motel shaped like a teepee.

Hope you have fun. You’re going to need a car, by the way. There’s no getting around it.

23

A good Los Angeles travel link:

24

No problem. The altitude adjustment can be shocking at first, even if you expect it. For example, I’ve grown up here in Albuquerque, but I go to school back east, at an elevation of less than 1000 feet, so the 4000 foot elevation gain throws me when I come back. Take it kinda easy and keep yourself hydrated.

Also, it dries out a lot as you head east. If you’re used to high humidity you might have some problems at first, especially if you have sinuses that have trouble in low humidity. The good part is, the shade is probably 10 degrees cooler and feels like it since the air is so dry.

Two other health things to watch for, besides altitude sickness, heatstroke, sunstroke, and so on, occurs mostly in the Four Corners area, especially New Mexico and Arizona. (Four Corners is where the boundaries of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona touch at right angles, so it’s possible to be in four states at once. It’s pretty silly once you’re older, but you might want to check it out if you’re in the area.) These are bubonic plague and hanta virus.

Now, I have no idea how much experience doctors in your part of Australia have with plague. It’s an easily treatable bacterial infection, but it can kill you, after all, if not caught or misdiagnosed.

The other is hanta virus. This is a much nastier thing to catch, as there is no medical cure. The death rate is higher.

Both come from rodents, either transmitted by fleas (plague) or droppings (hanta virus). Luckily, they’re generally easy to avoid. Just stay away from brush piles and such places where rodents might like to hang out, and you should be okay.

I’m not trying to scare you or anything, just inform you. The same way I hope you would inform me about blue-ringed octopi and box jellyfish in case I already didn’t know about them and said I was going to that part of Australia…

25

Aww…it brings a tear to my eye to see people singing the praises of my home, San Francisco. Usually I’m reluctant to say too much about the City, because I tend to brag and gush uncontrollably.

There have been a number of good threads about what to see and do here – I’ll let them speak for themselves:

Going to San Francisco, must see places?
Trip to San francisco

and for lodging:

Where should I stay in San Francisco?

Please come and visit! I love meeting Dopers From Foreign Lands, so let the BADs (Bay Area Dopers) know if you’re interested in getting together.

26

Oh! And be sure to wear a flower in your hair…

27

If you are going to do song cliches, go to Winslow, Arizona. I’m afraid there’s not all that much in Winslow, so go, stand on a corner, maybe take a picture, and then head to Flagstaff or wherever you’re going.

28

I think I’d drive to Vegas first and spend an evening there. Great shows, good food, lots places to see…who knows, maybe get lucky and hit the jackpot.

I’d probably head back to LA via the scenic route, pick one. Spend a few days there checking out the local stuff. Then I’d probably catch a Saturday night in Tijuana (3-4 hour drive)

http://hotellavilla.biz/hotellavilla/los_angeles.html

There’s plenty to do, don’t worry about it, just play it by ear. You can’t help but have a good time…if you know how. Just be careful and enjoy.

29

In Santa Monica (LA suburb I suppose is the best way to describe it) check out the 3rd Sreet Promenade. Tourist junk galore, and the best people-watching imaginable.

Then, get a vehicle, drive 2 hours north (take 101) to Santa Barbara. I live there, and there doesn’t seem to be much to do (at least for those of us in the under-21 crowd), but there are always a smackload of tourists. We gots beaches, we gots mountains, we gots stuff in between.

30

Vegas is particularly cheap at the moment. There are great rooms available on the strip for 50 dollars or less midweek. I stay here a lot…

http://www.imperialpalace.com/

If you’re lucky it’ll be over 115 degrees F and you can tell your grandchildren about the time your shoes melted in Vegas.

The only “must do” thing I’d recommend in Vegas is eating a 3/4 pound MegaDog at Westward Ho. Don’t eat more than one per day, that’s asking for trouble.

http://www.westwardho.com/deli_page.aspx

I’ve stayed there a few times too, not bad for the money but not the finest we have to offer. Very cheap rooms.

31

I’ve always found Hollywood to be a bit scummy. But then, I like scum. :wink: Graumann’s Chinese Theatre was renamed Mann’s Chinese a while ago, but it got its original name back in 2001 or 2002; so it’s Graumann’s again.

And don’t try to pet the diamondback or Mojave green rattle snakes either. :wink:

Ye Olde King’s Head is a nice pub on Santa Monica Blvd. at 2nd Street. Great fish’n’chips, and excellent bangers’n’mash. Very popular with pommy tourists (sorry, “British” :stuck_out_tongue: ) and locals. We’ve had a couple of Dopefests there. (Hey! You’ll be here… Dopefests…! :smiley: )

Don’t look at me. I hate the place! I had a visitor from England many years ago. He assumed that he could go downtown and visit hte city from there. Nope. Not unless you like looking at street people and wandering around shady neighbourhoods! L.A. has been described as “a bunch of suburbs in search of a centre”. Downtown is mostly industrial, with import-export shops had high-rises. Not exactly a fun – or even safe – place to be. Still, it does have its attractions. Olvera Street is one of the primary destinations. There’s also Little Tokyo and Chinatown.

Huell Howser has a couple of shows on public television (KCET, channel 28, 19:30 weekdays) called Visiting or California’s Gold. In one episode he visits St. Vincent’s Court, a narrow street with the flavour of Old Europe. There is a large Armenian community there, with markets and delis. I’ve been meening to get there to sample their basturma.

So even though I don’t like this city, even in the summy middle there are a lot of great places to visit. One of the biggest problems is that you can’t get anywhere unless you have a car. You’ve probably heard of the atrocious traffic in this area. You not only have to drive virtually everywhere, but it’s so spread out that it takes a while to get anywhere. And then you have to find parking. We do have buses, but they seem a painfully slow way of getting anywhere. There is limited rail service between downtown and Hollywood. But really, you’re better off with a car or motorcycle. (BTW: Splitting lanes on a motorcycle is legal in California as long as you do it safely.)

32

Oh, yeah… If you go to the 3rd Street Promenade, be sure to look for Psychic Cat (actually, there are two cats). As you can see in the photo I found on the web, they are displayed on a make-shift table. Their handler is an Eastern-European-sounding guy. The cats are trained to pick up a scroll in their little paws and hand offer them to you. Very cute. Their owner bribes them with little spoonfuls of food. Lest you think the cats are being seriously exploited, they appear to be quite content and well-fed.

33

Go to Vegas. It will be hot, but you won’t be spending that much time outside anyway. Don’t stay there for less than 24 hours or more than three days. Visit these two sites for more info.

www.vegas.com Super-cheap room rates. I usually find cheaper rates here than at the casino pages.

www.cheapovegas.com Great review site with maps. Amusing and informative.

Other than that, I’ll second the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. If you want to be stupid like me, check out Death Valley (it’s kind of on the way to or from Vegas). I camped there last August. The heat was unbeleivable (128 F, or 53 C). Joshua Tree Nat. Park can be a fun day-trip from LA as well. Lots of wierd looking trees.

34

Not sure that I agree with this. Of course, this varies depending on where you go. If you stick around the coastal areas in California (LA basin, San Franciso) you’re not that much higher than sea level. The highest peak in the San Gabriel Mountains is around 6000 feet. I grew up along the coast and the elevation was 10ft. above sea-level. If anything, you may have to get used to the haze and smog in LA (which isn’t nearly as bad as it used to be, but during the summer it can be pretty yucky). But if you’re going to do any sort of physical activity like running, your body will probably revolt at first.

35

If you spend any time in LA itself, you should really choose EITHER San Fransisco or Las Vegas/Grand Canyon. Otherwise, you’ll be rushing around and not really be able to just enjoy yourself.

If you go up to San Fransisco, consider taking Highway 1 up the coast–hitting San Simeon, Monterey, Santa Cruz, etc. Then, after seeing the Bay Area, head east, check out Yosemite, go all the way across the Sierras on Hiway 120, and back down to LA on Hiway 395.

A good loop including Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon could include both the North and South Rims,a section of Route 66, and Zion National Park. However, many people get to the Canyon, hit a few of the overlooks, and drive on. If you’re that type of tourist, that’s a long way to go to ‘see’ the Grand Canyon. If you want to experience that kind of scenery, Zion and Bryce might be a better combination.

If you want to sample the beaches, the water is warmest in the southern half of California…head down to San Diego!

As someone who just got back from Oz, I understand your dilemma…I had just two weeks to sample YOUR country! A good resource for travel info is AAA site:
http://www.aaa-calif.com/

36

I think it’s a crying shame for any Aussie to spend too much time in LA or San Diego. It’s just sooo similar to home. They even have Eucalyptus trees fer crying out loud!

I think the drive along the coast on the PCH is spectacular, esp. 17 Mile Drive and Big Sur - You can make a pit stop at San Simeon to check out the Hearst Castle. Not sure what your budget is, but the Highlands Inn in Carmel is wonderful to spend the night. I think parts of San Francisco can be a lot like Sydney.

Seattle is cool if you like the mountains. It’s very pretty if you get sunny weather, which hopefully you will in August. It’s almost like a quainter San Francisco. Think sapphire blue water surrounded by snow-capped mountains, with one huge ice cream cone mountain (Rainier) looming on the horizon. And Vancouver BC is a couple of hours drive one direction, and Portland, Oregon is a couple of hours away the other direction. (I would personally choose Vancouver).

I hear Yosemite is awesome, although I have never been.

I think Arizona is too far to travel just to see the Grand Canyon, which, however impressive it may be, looks pretty much like every picture of it you’ve ever seen.

Everyone has a BLAST in Vega$!

Too bad you can’t check out the East Coast, cuz that’s where you will find many cultural differences. I think you would have a total BLAST in NYC! You would love Niagara Falls, and Washington DC is cool:) Maybe next trip.

37

This is some great advice, and it should leave enough time to go to Lake Tahoe from the bay area. This is a place you really should see. The weather should be perfect in august. From Tahoe, its about 5-7 hours to Vegas (depending how fast you go!) and a short trip from Vegas back to LA.

This is a loop that can be done in 10 days easily with plenty of chance to do stuff.

My place in on the route, stop by for some homebrew beer! :smiley:

38

Yeah, but without natural predators, the eucalyptus trees here are HUGE! (Well, compared to the ones I saw in Oz.)

39

For what it’s worth, Peg, I meant to type east. And while it is a bit of an exaggeration, it’s true after all.

40

Go up the coast to SF (Pier 39, China Town get some duck, Haight/Ashbury get some…for the road trip, Lombard street, cable car ride); then Napa (Wine Train for good food, drink, sights); then head west to Yosemite (Tioga Pass recently opened, BIG ASS TREES and Water Falls); then head to Vegas (Boulder Dam, Bellagio, Stratosphere, Venetial, Treasure Island); Grand Canyon.

Have Lots Of Fun!