Someone mentioned Burning Man - a weeklong art celebration in the Nevada desert. Total anarchy from what I can tell. Could be a really interesting destination if you can time it right. Search around and I’m sure you’ll find something on the web.
Las Vegas is pretty cool - with a lot of shows and things to do. Can get a little pricey for show tickets. But if “early 20’s” means less than 21 you might want to skip it - most of the temptations would be off limits to you. The town never sleeps…
If you want to “party and get wild” - you might try to schedule a few Spring Break parties. Lake Havasu is pretty close to Vegas, Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, etc. (Dang - you make me long for the “early 20’s” again!)
I might recommend things like Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico or Karchner Caverns in Southern Arizona.
Tell us where you’re arriving… San Diego/LA (close enough to be considered virtually one place if you have a car), San Francisco, Seattle? If you have a car, you should plan a rough clockwise or counterclockwise loop around America.
Most of the interesting suff is along our coasts or borders, or with a couple hred miles of them. Notice that nobody’s suggesting Kansas, Nebrask, Indiana, Atkansas, etc.
Much easier to plot out a route with a Starting point.
Well, I’ll tell ya mate…no bullshit. If you are coming to the US and want to party your ass off. You gotta make spring break in Florida. Where at in Florida? It doesn’t really matter, once you get there just listen for the party!
You say money’s not a problem? You just start in Florida…say Daytona Beach. Try that for a couple of weeks. If you’re still alive and WANT to leave. Go pick y’all out a couple of Harley’s and get some bedrolls and stuff. Head up the East Coast that should take at least a couple of weeks if you do it right…cont’d.
(I would have advised you to start here in Texas at San Antonio and check us out for awhile then make Mardis Gras in New Orleans next. Then head over to Spring Break in Florida but I’m not sure how the timing would work.)
cont’d…Anyway, after going up the East Coast cross into Canada and enjoy the beauty as you head west to Washington State or maybe even Alaska. South to California (oops a detour, be sure to hit Vegas) back to California…down the Baja, slip over into Old Mexico for a few days…whatever, or skip Baja and ease down the west coast of Mexico. Hit Acapulco, then cross over into Cancun and maybe see some Pyramids while you’re down there.
Hell, your at Panama now…load those damned Harley’s on ship crossing the canal and cruise back home w/ one HELL OF A ROAD TRIP and a couple of nice rides too! You can probably get your vacation money back on the bikes when ya get back down under.
Sure wish I could go w/ ya I haven’t been on a road trip like that in awhile. Whatever ya do, enjoy yourself and take care.
pssst…wacha bet he stays once he gets a taste, imagine 100,000 bikini clad, some naked, mostly loaded, definitely horny, college girls, white sands, surf, free beer, 24 hr party…ha-ha-ha…yeah he’s gonna leave on purpose!
I don’t know what would provoke TVGuy to make such a suggestion, but NO NO NO. I grew up in the Midwest U.S., and really, you don’t want to waste any of your three months there. yojimboguy seems to agree with me:
Ok, I’d pick half a dozen cities, each one distinctive, representing a very different region, and famously ‘american’, say, NewYork, Miami, Austin, SanFrancisco, Seattle, and Chicago, then plan a couple of driving trips of a week or two in length, so that you can take in the natural beauty and also have a chance to stop in some of the small-town USA places and get some ‘local color’, maybe one driving tour along the pacific coast in N. California and through the wine country, then the other driving tour in the east coast, catching some of the blue ridge parkway and then across Virginia, finishing in Washington, D.C., to see the nation’s capital and some memorials.
There’s a pretty cool bar in Detroit called Bomac’s that I’d recommend. Detroit is also the home of electronic music, along with putting out a few trendy music styles such as the latest garage band craze. It’ll also give you the chance to visit Leonardo Da Vinci’s horse which sat an unrealized dream for about 500 years. There’s two in the world, one in Milan and the other is in Michigan, a couple of hours from Detroit. Detroit also has some strong German influence left over from the WWII POWs in the area. It’s an okay place to visit.
Don’t forget that the coolest people in America are from the midwest. West coasters tend to be inconsiderate and not at all funny, whereas East coasters are way too self-centered & high-maintenance.
moc.liamtoh@rorrim, how about some dates? That’d make a big difference. E.g., if you’re here for St. Patty’s Day, then go to Chicago, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, etc.
Oregon is pretty cool. It has the only snow skiing 12 months out of the year in North America, IIRC, plus the coast and Mt. Hood are really fantastic. Portland is a pretty cool city to visit, and its rose garden.
Honestly, if you want to see America, rent a car and drive it; do a loop up from NY, then west to stop at Detroit & Chicago, the out to Oregon, then down to L.A. (though I’ve lived there and, no offense, there is no point in visiting), then east across Nevada and the south. You’ll be able to party and have fun anywhere you go–when people hear your accent, just tell them you think Americans are great and you wanted to see the country.
I’ll join the others in reccommending Yellowstone, but don’t forget Glacier: It’s at the other side of the state (Yellowstone straddles the Wyoming-Montana border, Glacier straddles the US-Canadian border) and it’s completely different: Glacier is the Rockies, essentially, the most rugged and most beautiful mountains outside of Asia. And when you’re in Montana, go see Flathead Lake around Missoula. It’s absolutely beautiful, glacier-fed and crystal-clear (and, if you’re planning on swimming, bring a wetsuit: it’s ice cold).
Plus, Missoula is a great city for the more worldly: Unlike most of Montana, it’s a liberal university town and it caters to that kind of eclectic taste while being only a little while from the more traditional Montana and within viewing distance of the Rockies. Visit Rockin’ Rudy’s, a great record store and head shop, while you’re in Missoula.
But I must warn you, though you may already know: Eastern Montana is a semi-arid region (high plains, actually, and in a massive rain shadow, which means it’s hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and dry all the time) and is as boring as driving through the outback. Worse, even: Deserts have a little more scenery than dry, brown fields and rugged hills, punctuated by the occasional mesa or badland. I have grown to like it, but it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, especially if that someone is expecting Western Montana’s Rockies.
Oh, I almost forgot: While you’re in the Rockies, seek out Going-to-the-Sun Road. It offers the most beautiful driving in the whole continent. Be warned: Only fools attempt Going-to-the-Sun when it’s icy or wet. Try it in the summer for best results.
No for museums, go to Washington. The Smitsonian museums, the National Gallery of Art, and the Holocaust Museum (powerful but admittedly a real downer) could easily suck up a week of your time, or more if you’re museum nuts. They’re just about all free, or at least they used to be.
You really should tell us more about a good time means to you. Is it night clubs, natural wonder-type things, museums, what? Like AFAIC the only reasons in the world I would suggest you go to Dayton, Ohio would be if you were airplane buffs and would enjoy the Air Force Museum – or that you are some kind of history buffs that want to visit a site of obscure international treaty signing…
Hey, check my location, js_africanus, I’ve lived here all my life. And yeah, there are some pretty cool things, but Detroit isn’t usually known for its tourism industry.
Are you still with us, moc.liamtoh@rorrim? I’d love to hear more about your plans and what has sounded interesting to you so far.
If you’re going to head up north to see Mt. Rushmore, see the Crazy Horse Monument. http://www.crazyhorse.org
See Mt.Rushmore first so you can be impressed with it. It’s great but seems like small potatoes after Crazy Horse, which is being carved out of a whole freaking mountain.
I’ve done a couple of cross country trips by car and have enjoyed them thoroughly, but be forewarned that whatever route you take, there will be a day somewhere mid-country where you will think you are going to die a painful brain death before the scenery changes.
I thought that Wisconsin was the most beautiful state. And the amount of corn growing in Iowa is truly mind boggling.
I haven’t been on a road trip like that in awhile. Whatever ya do, enjoy yourself and take care.