Absolutely, positively, without any question, visit the Grand Canyon.
I’ve been all over the world and it is - without a doubt - one of the most breath-taking sites that planet Earth has to offer.
I don’t know or care if you are young or old, short or tall, straight or gay, black or white, male or female, skinny or fat — fly into Phoenix and I will drive you there if need be.
It is an absolute must.
To be fair, it can be done, fairly easily, if you drive 10 hours a day and plan not to stop and see anything…
If you’re thinking horse-drawn carriage, you actually can rent one to tour the downtown Chicago area. The same outfit will rent you a riding horse, but they want you to stay in their ring with it, not take it out on the streets.
I agree completely with the Grand Canyon recommendation, especially if you’re going to be in Vegas anyway. But if you’re coming in May or June, you’ll be in a lot of hot weather for much of the trip. If it were me, I’d point my car northeast toward Colorado from the Grand Canyon and see the mountains. New Orleans is a blast, but it’s a really hot humid place in the summer.
You have lots of hot flat bleak land in Oz, so if you want to feel right at home, drive across Texas in June. 
All in all, a trip across the continent looks like a good idea on a map, it might not be the best thing on the ground. What would you think if I told you I wanted to do Madrid to Moscow in a month?
It can be done, but it would not be the best way to handle things.
I would propose finding a single city (or area, there is more than cities in the US) that you like and home basing there. When you do (say) Washington for a week, you can head on down to Orlando (for example).
You should also look into a flexible pass from Greyhound, our national bus company. Usually they have some sort of unlimited travel for a period of time deal. Buses are pretty frequent and so it is a good way to get out of town when you decide to move on.
LA to Las Vegas - 435 km / 270 mi
Las Vegas to Austin - 2226 km / 1383 mi
Austin to Atlanta - 1558 km / 968 mi
Atlanta - New Orleans - 785 km / 488 mi
New Orleans to NYC - 2108 km / 1310 mi
NYC to Boston - 348 km / 216 mi
Courtesy of Expedia, just to give you a bit of perspective. I suggest picking a coast and concentrating on just that area. For example, LA would be a good west coast home base, and then make a trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is about an 8 hour drive from Los Angeles, and about 6 hours from Las Vegas.
If you visit the Grand Canyon, be aware that the South Rim is *very * crowded during the summer. I’ve heard the North Rim is less crowded but a bit more difficult to get to. (I prefer Canyon de Chelly myself.)
If you really are planning to be in Boston next May or June you could theoretically catch a baseball game featuring the current World Champions (Red Sox).
You would want to buy a ticket soon though. Like, February at the latest.
Vagus - America is roughly the same size as Australia. San Francisco to New York is about the same as Perth to Sydney. American and Australia are both very big countries. Compare them to Europe. The distance from Perth to Sydney, or San Francisco to New York, is about the same distance as it is from Madrid to Kiev, or from London to Moscow.
It’s a lot further, in fact - more like London to Baghdad.
Excellent opportunities abound!
[COLOR=Blue]Blue Man Group![/COLOR], in either Las Vegas or Boston.
Also, go to the Grand Canyon. Do NOT skip this!
Another thing to keep in mind - driving in LA and NYC is very difficult. I love driving in Chicago & wouldn’t dream of trying to maneuver a car through Manhattan. YMMV.
waaah!
Sorry I blooped in your thread.
Blue Man Group
GorillaMan - Right you are. I looked it up, and London to Moscow is a measly 1600 miles or so. This is a useful tool for checking distances.
Looks as if you plan to fly between your hub cities. If you skip everything between Atlanta and NYC you’ll miss some real Americana. If you drive that link, try to go east to Savannah, Georgia, the first planned city in the US, with many pocket parks in its rectilinear downtown, full of antebelllum (before the US Civil War) mansions. Then 100 miles north is Charleston, South Carolina, where that war began, with more fine historic architecture. Then, 100 miles north is Myrtle Beach, SC, a burgeoning tourist attraption, then, 75 more miles is Wilmington, North Carolina, with the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial (the most visited tourist attraction in the state). Then 200 more miles is Norfolk, Virginia, a navy town, with another battleship memorial (USS Wisconsin) and a large naval museum. The outer banks of NC would be a nice alternate, but will take more time. Then you can drive across the 17-mile bridge/tunnel complex ($10 toll) across the Chesapeake Bay, then up the Delaware/Maryland/Virginia Peninsula to the New Jersey Turnpike and NYC (I do recommend flying from NC or VA to NYC versus driving the incredibly-heavily-traveled toll freeways, though. It’s often white-knuckle time if you’re not used to it. Day trips from Boston should include one to the North Shore at least as far as the old section of Marblehead and then Salem, with much architecture from the 1600’s and 1700’s. Marblehead has the most beautiful harbor this side of Villefranche-sur-Mer, France and will have several thousand boats at anchor in it. Google Marblehead and Marblehead Magazine for more on that town. You can catch a tour bus from Boston that goes that way. Are you from the coast or inland?
You left out Bryce Canyon which can be viewed as a drive-by. Very unique and camera-worthy. Please note if you’re driving on the North side of the Grand Canyon you may find yourself in the middle of no-where. You can travel for an hour in desert like conditions and not see civilization. Might toss in Hoover dam as a side stop. Definitely stop in Sequoia National Forest. They have trees that are 80 meters tall.
If you like museums you might want to specify what floats your boat. The Ford Museum in Michigan is pure Americana as is the Smithsonian in Washington DC.
Could you do a combination of driving and flying? Personally, I’d drive from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. This would let you see the canyon, along with Hoover Dam and some high country. Also, if you do get to the Grand Canyon, walk down into it! Don’t try to go to the bottom. They advise against it, and it’s harder than a lot of people think. Just walk a few miles into it. It’s hard to gain a sense of the size of the canyon from the rim. I did this once, leaving Vegas at about 10:00 at night. I got to the Grand Canyon at 3:00 or so and napped a few hours in the parking lot before seeing daybreak over the canyon. Phoenix is about three hours south of the canyon (and a nice drive in it’s own right.) You could pick up a flight at Sky Harbor Airport.
If possible, I’d also rearrange your itenerary and drive between Austin to New Orleans. It’s only eight to ten hours of driving, all on interstate or divided highways through the Texas countryside and over the Louisiana Swamp, and it would let you stop off in Houston or Baton Rouge if you wanted. I’d take U.S. 290 out of Austin and I-10 from Houton to New Orleans.
If you drive any leg of your trip, check this out.
Admittedly, I’ve never been to Elgin for barbecue and barbeque is a personal thing, but I’d suggest driving about an hour west to Llano and pigging out at Cooper’s, or driving thirty minutes down Camp Ben McCullough road to eat at the Salt Lick (not bad at all and all-you-can eat.) Also, Kreuz’s in Lockhart is famous (Economist Magazine even used to use their receipts to track activity in the Texas oilfields), but it’s a dull drive. Besides, the best barbecue in Texas is just an hour further down the road at Luling City Market. That said, the road to Kreuz’s goes past Austin’s airport, which might be convenient. Just remember that Lockhart is twenty five minutes south of the airport.
By April or May, Texas will be warm enough that an afternoon spent tubing will be time well spent. Drive an hour south on I-35, almost to New Braunsfels (pronounced “New Bronfuls”), and go tubing on the Guadalupe. There are several tube rentals on state highway 306, and the river makes a bend there so you can tube a few miles of river, get out, walk a few hundred yards (or meters) and do it all over again. After you’re done, you could either eat dinner in Gruene (pronounced “Green”) or go dancing at Gruene Hall, or go for a drive through the Hill Country and end up at the aforementioned Salt Lick for dinner.
You could also drive west to Cooper’s barbecue then onward to Enchanted Rock, but that would be a big letdown after seeing the Grand Canyon.
Yeah - personally, I’d skip either Austin or Atlanta & concentrate on Washington, D.C. instead. That is one fantastic U.S. city. Almost makes up for South Dakota, the Mississippi River, and Chicago (which is the route I’d recommend). 