Coming to America (No, not the movie - but hopefully an epic nonetheless)

[grimpixie]

So, at long last all the plans and schemes are starting to come to fruition, and grimpixie and his pixie-love are going to be traveling around North America in Jan/Feb/Mar of 2002. Starting in Colorado with a spot of skiing, then a giant clockwise sweep through (amongst others, and funds permitting) Dallas, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, L.A., San Fransisco, Yosemite, Eugene (Oregon), Vancouver, Toronto, Niagra, Boston, N.Y. and then back to Colorado for a Wedding.

Well, that’s the plan anyway…

And now, I appeal to you, dear Dopers, to assist us in this undertaking by recommending things to do, places to eat, sites to see and experiences to … well … experience. They need not be in the places I mentioned above, but suggestions there (or nearby) would be most helpful as these places have been chosen for their supply of family/friends/free accomodation. Budget is not huge (we will certainly be in debt when we return to the UK anyway, but that is niether here nor there…) so please keep that in mind.

Our interests include: nature/outdoors, music, wine, art, history, etc

Thanking you in advance

Gp

[Soda]

You’ll be a travelling dopefest! Yay for you!

Can’t offer any advice though, as I’m not American. But, when in BC, be sure to swing by Whistler for some skiing. You’ll never regret that.

[iampunha]

Faneuil Hall while in Boston. The entire North End is a front for the mafia (or so say most of the people I’ve ever known from around there). The pizza is quite spectacular and the ovens date pre: America’s military intervention in WWII (i.e. pre-1942).

The nougat’s pretty cool, too, and if you’re into art there’s an art gallery around there somewhere (I cannot for my life remember the name).

[Caiata]

I suggest looking into hostels for lodging. They’re fairly inexpensive ($110 for three nights for two people) and though normally you have to share your room and bathrooms with other people, at that time of year they are fairly empty. Thus you have your own room with like 3 beds, and will probably be the only one on your floor around to use the bathroom.

However unless you like snuggling up under 8 blankets with the “pixie-love” a whole heck of a lot, you might want to stay away from the Littleton hostel when you’re near Boston. The Caiata-love and I stayed there when we visited Boston last February and it didn’t have proper heating, to “save costs” of course. It gave us a fantastic reason to snuggle up lots, but um, it was still pretty cold

Niagara Falls is -beautiful- when frozen over. Just know that there isn’t much on the US side that’s open in February (we were there February 21st), no observation towers, no restaurant, nothing except the visitor’s centre. That’s fine if you have very heavy winter gear, but if you’re not properly prepared for winter you will freeze your arse off walking around. I don’t know what’s open on the Canadian side because I wasn’t over there Lodging on the NY/USA side is cheaper, but it is less classy.

Also if you’re interested, and you do decide to stay at the Littleton hostel - I can come back and link later if you’re interested - the famous Walden pond where Henry David Thoreau contemplated long and hard is located about 20 minutes from there. Boston subway’s “Alewife Station” - their subway systems are -excellent- by the way, if you’re not staying in the city don’t bother trying to drive through it, the subways are clean, well-lit, and you can get anywhere in the city with $1 because transfers are free - is only about 25 minutes from the Littleton hostel.

Might I also add the the Museum of Bad Art while you’re in the area? Faneuil Hall is also an excellent area in Boston; I also suggest going up in the Prudential tower, and perhaps a visit to the Christian Science Centre - they have a supercool world globe you can walk into! It’s very spiff - a maparium I think they call it? Boston Aquarium is also very nice, and there’s a nice place (Joe’s American Grill) to eat fairly nearby, if you’re not afraid of a little walk along the shore there. Boston is a lovely city at night, as well, and there’s a -lot- of American history you can look into whilst there by walking the “freedom trail” - marked by a line of red bricks through the normal streets and sidewalks of the city and about 3 miles or so in length (I think).

I don’t live in Boston but I did a lot of research on its attractions when I was writing for a vampire-oriented MUD, and when my SO and I went to Boston we didn’t need subway maps or anything to get around and see the cool stuff. It’s wonderful there, really!

Toronto … well … just don’t miss Yonge Street or you’re missing out on some sort of Torontonian legend.

[Caiata]

Okie, I just went back and saw that you were staying with free accomodations So nevermind all that hostel stuff then! Colour me a poor reader

But you can still get to Walden pond from Boston! And gah, there’s so much there! I’ll try to find some links tomorrow before or after work about the freedom trail and such. I should still have them bookmarked … somewhere … I think …

[Sunspace]

An Ontario Doper checking in:

I’ll assume you’re driving. If not, please correct me.

If you’re coming from the west, don’t miss Highway 17 as it goes North of (Lake) Superior. Incredibly beautiful. Between Wawa and the Soo (the city of Sault Ste Marie), Lake Superior Provincial Park is pure balm for the soul: a two-lane highway wandering through mountainous terrain, where vast cliffs drop sheer to the water, and no billboards mar the land.

Unfortunately, this will be midwinter, and the most dangerous time for travel in the Near North. The road may be closed due to bad weather, there is no cellular service of any sort between Thunder Bay and the Soo, and the area is thinly populated. Please take time to prepare for winter travel. The preparations may save your life.

Closer to home, the Niagara Fruitlands are great for wineries, but unfortunately they’ll be frozen solid when you arrive. (I suggest icewine. )

I understand that Niagara Falls is beautiful in the winter. Lots of stuff on the Canadian side, including the butterfly conservatory, and also Casino Niagara if you want to lose money.

I also suggest as a beginning, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto for your history fix, the CN Tower for your quota of Tall Pointy Things with Great Views, and the Art Gallery of Ontario for a dose of art. Let me do some digging around for more…

Outdoors? Visit the Mountain Equipment Co-op, great outdoors supplies in funky ecologically-designed buildings. Then go to Algonquin Park, part of the soul of Ontario. Breathteakingly beautiful, and deserted in the winter. You may want to take care on the roads.

You will then be on the way to Ottawa. It’s a beautiful stylish city, and not too large. You may be lucky enough to hit the winter festival, which is excellent. There’s the National Gallery, the Museum of Civilization in Hull, and lots of other great things, including Rideau Hall, where the GG lives.

Then less than two hours from Ottawa is Montréal, another stylish and interesting city (not the least because of matt_mcl, the only Doper I know of who ran for Parliament…)

[grimpixie]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks - any more are welcome…

[meyer]

Vancouver, BC Doper here:

Vancouver offers so many things to do, its really hard to know what to recommend when I don’t know what you’re into. There is great skiing near here, at Whistler, although I must confess I have never been there.

There are some good museums around, like the Pacific Space Centre, the Science Centre (yeah, it’s for kids, but it’s still cool!), the Vancouver Art Gallery, etc, if you like those things.

The shopping here is okay, but beware the Canadian dollar. If you’re used to the British pound/American dolar exchange rate, the incredibly low Canadian dollar will bite you in the ass.

IMO, you should go for the natural attractions. Capilano canyon is really cool, but I don’t know if its open in the winter. Stanley Park is 1000 acres of forest. Pacific Spirit Park, Vanier Park, and Horseshoe Bay are beautiful. You can always go to Wreck Beach and marvel at the incredibly hardy naked people.

Having said all that, the best part of visiting Canada is driving across it. There is nothing more amazing than the rocky mountains, vast open prairie, and windy tundra that characterize a drive from Vancouver to Toronto. If you are going to drive, my one biggest suggestion is to get off the #1 highway (TransCanada) and onto the #401. This can be done in Calgary, I think, and the highways meet up again in Winnipeg, so you won’t get lost. This way you can drive right through the central prairies, which are undescribably beautiful and spacious to one who is used to Britian. You might even get to see the Northern Lights, which will make your whole trip worthwhile. Just stop when you’re outside of a city on a clear night and look up. Withstand the cold, its worth it.

Be aware of the weather though, and remeber that white outs or blizzards are the norm in almost all of Canada East of Central BC, and in many parts of the US. Carry a kit in your car with blankets, canned food, flares, etc, and if at all possible a cell phone.

And take lots of pictures.

[Sunspace]

If you’re going to get a cellphone for emergencies, get an analogue one. The largest coverage, and you can get prepaids as well.

In Canada, the cellphone companies are licensed coast-to-cost, even if the coverage is not continuous. In the USA, there is a bewildering patchwork of companies. I have the impression that prepaid cellphones do not usually work on both sides of the border.

Your mobile provider in the UK may be able to arrange an analogue phone which will work in both the US and Canada, and be linked to your UK number.

Yes, the Prairies afe definitely amazing. My mom was born in Saskatchewan, and she always talked about the sky there. When I fanally say them, I realized what she meant: the sky is so vast and open and all-encompassing and beautiful, in a way that it just isn’t in the crowded East. You will never be able to take a picture that does justice to the Prairies.

A prairie note: the bus station in Rosetown, Saskatchewan (which is also a diner and gas station) has excellent turkey sandwiches. At least it did when we passed through on the way to Edmonton in the early nineties.

Keep in mind that if you’re not hurrying, it’ll take a week at a minimum to get from Vancouver to Toronto (~4000 km). As an example, six of us went from Toronto to Edmonton, we took turns driving through the night one night, and it took us four full days to do it. And we were hurrying.

Useful links:

Trans-Canada Highway road trip planning & travel information

http://www.travellingcanada.com/
http://www.foundlocally.com/index.htm

But we still took time to visit the geographic centre of North America (Rugby, North Dakota, across the road from the Hub Motel…)

Also, don’t miss the banana farm outside Osoyoos, BC. It’s in the Okanagan valley just north of the US border, and in the northern tip of the Sonoran Desert biome–very unusual microclimate. Nobody will believe it exists.

[grimpixie]

*Originally posted by Sunspace *
Yes, the Prairies afe definitely amazing. My mom was born in Saskatchewan, and she always talked about the sky there. When I fanally say them, I realized what she meant: the sky is so vast and open and all-encompassing and beautiful, in a way that it just isn’t in the crowded East. You will never be able to take a picture that does justice to the Prairies.

Yes - this is definately one of the things that I am most looking forward to - the sense of space. As one who grew up in Africa, I feel incredibly cramped in the UK - things are all so close together and crowded that there is no space to see the sky at all. ::Sigh:: I get homesick just thinking about the sky… and the colour - even when it’s blue here, its an insipid blue, not the true deep blue of home. I had better stop

**Also, don’t miss the banana farm outside Osoyoos, BC. It’s in the Okanagan valley just north of the US border, and in the northern tip of the Sonoran Desert biome–very unusual microclimate. Nobody will believe it exists. **

Bizarre - although I guess that there won’t be that much to see in Feb/March??

[Sunspace]

Keep in mind meyer’s words:

…remeber that white outs or blizzards are the norm in almost all of Canada East of Central BC…

The Okanagan is Central BC. It’s an arid region to the east of the Coast Mountains, in the rainshadow between them and the eastern ranges whose name I don’t recall at the moment.

The eastern ranges serve as barriers to the mid-continental cold; I’m not sure whether the area is significantly sunnier than the coast, but if it is, the valleys would trap a lot of warmth form the sunlight. I wouldn’t be surprised to see temperatures above 10 degrees in Feb.

Canadian joggers go around in shorts and T-shirts no problem at 10 degrees, especially if it’s sunny. Heck, the more determined ones don’t stop until they personally see frost.

Okay, here’s a basic info page. Apparently, an average high of 4 for February is usual.

The Okanagan Valley runs north and south between two high plateaus. The climate of the Okanagan Basin is atypical compared to the rest of the interior of the province. The area has warm summers (with hot days but cool nights) with an average maximum temperature of nearly 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit), and fairly low humidity. The winters are relatively mild compared to areas north and east of the Valley, with more cloud than in summertime and with dry fluffy snow. Thaws [i.e. temperatures above freezing] occur at Valley bottom on about one-half of the days in January. The southern Okanagan is the northern end of the Great Basin Desert and even grows bananas. The Central Okanagan has an annual average of 200 hours of bright sunshine per year, one of the highest in Canada.

I guess the bananas are more robust than I expected. I know that there are palm trees in Victoria, and on some of the Gulf Islands; they have a roughly similar situation, being in the rain shadow of Vancouver Island (although the presence of the Strait of Georgia changes things).

If you’re driving east from Vancouver, you’ll probably go through the Okanagan, either along Highway 3 through Osoyoos, or further north along the Trans-Canada, Highway 1 through Salmon Arm. There are only a limited number of southern routes across the mountains.

map of the Okanagan

Mountain roads rated by pucker factor. Amd a safety guide to a US/Canadian holiday. Amazing what you can google up…

[grimpixie]

*Originally posted by Sunspace *
**The eastern ranges serve as barriers to the mid-continental cold; I’m not sure whether the area is significantly sunnier than the coast, but if it is, the valleys would trap a lot of warmth form the sunlight. I wouldn’t be surprised to see temperatures above 10 degrees in Feb.

Canadian joggers go around in shorts and T-shirts no problem at 10 degrees, especially if it’s sunny. Heck, the more determined ones don’t stop until they personally see frost.

Okay, here’s a basic info page. Apparently, an average high of 4 for February is usual. **

Are those real-world, scientific, Celcius-type degrees or heathen, outdated, Farenheit-“degrees”?

Gp

[Sunspace]

They are indeed real-world broad-shouldered Celsius degrees, rather than those adorably picturesque yet quaint and somehow awkward Fahrenheit degrees.

[Scribble]

You seem to be planning to cover a lot of territory on this trip. How long are you planning to stay, and are you planning to drive or fly from place to place?

[grimpixie]

Yes - a LOT of territory!! We are doing some flying, some driving (hire car) and some training ( ) and also spending a whole whack of money - but what the hey, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience!! At least, we’re hoping so…

The whole trip is going to be about 9 weeks, as we have booked skiing in Brekenridge on the 14/1 (or 1/14 since it is the U.S) and have to be back in Colorado for a wedding on the 16/3 after which we head home…

Gp

[Sunspace]

Actually, I was wondering about that too, grimpixie. Interludes of flying make a lot of sense–you’ll be able to cover distance and avoid many of the Nasty Bits, like winter whiteouts in mountain passes. My stepfather drove from Toronto to San Fransisco to Vancouver and back: 12000 km in 3.5 weeks. And they got caught in a blizzard in the mountains in Wyoming. In May.