# What should I do in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 22, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393 "2016-05-22T20:08:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/61 "2016-05-24T19:30:53Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > a restrictor-plate race I thought we already covered boredom with a baseball game. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/62 "2016-05-25T07:18:44Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Should you happen to be in the SF area, or if OP is interested, there is a major observatory in the Bay Area too: Lick Observatory, at the top of Mt. Hamilton, near San Jose. Yes we know and that one is on the bucket list as well! ---
**Author:** ![Artemis\_Tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Artemis\_Tardis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemis_Tardis)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/63 "2016-05-25T18:52:32Z")
I can’t drive. I have a place sto stay already, and I will be there between the 16th and 20th of june. I was planning to use UBER and public transportation. Tickets are already bought. ---
**Author:** ![Artemis\_Tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Artemis\_Tardis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemis_Tardis)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/64 "2016-05-25T18:53:34Z")
Oh yeah! I would like to shoot some guns - that is the most AMERICAN thing I can think of. Can I do that in San Francisco? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/65 "2016-05-25T19:11:19Z")
Sure. Then you can experience the inside of an American jail. If you want to shoot, head to Vegas. San Francisco is about the most gun- **unfriendly** city in California. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/66 "2016-05-25T19:54:25Z")
Yes, for personal use (thank goodness). But a quick google shows several ranges within the San Francisco Bay area, one in South SF. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/67 "2016-05-25T20:01:50Z")
> [@Artemis\_Tardis](#): > > But the city is so amazingly kitsch that I have to go there one day. My mom and her husband liked to go to Laughlin, Nevada. They said it was like Las Vegas was back in the '60s. (My dad won $100,000 in Laughlin once.) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/68 "2016-06-01T13:07:13Z")
> [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > You don’t have to gamble to enjoy Vegas. Each casino tries to outdo the next, so just walk the strip & enjoy the white tigers & dolphin habitat at the Mirage, lions in the lobby of the MGM (go at feeding time), the fountains at Bellagio, the list goes on and each attraction is more absurdly spectacular than the next…and free. You can see it all in 24 hours & if you go mid week, hotel prices are a steal. Also, Hoover Dam is just an hour away and quite a sight (and there are places near there where you can swim in Lake Meade); Valley of Fire State Park is also just an hour or so out of town and has stunning rock formations. Be warned that in June, the area will be hot - I don’t know if it’ll be as hot as when we went in July a few years back but it’ll be close. Flights to other parts of the country may be affordable if you go for one of the really cheap airlines that attempt to make RyanAir look luxurious (Typo Knig just got a round trip on Spirit Air when he went to visit his parents), or if you use Priceline or the like to “name your own price” (best if your dates are flexible). ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/69 "2016-06-01T13:19:13Z")
> [@Artemis\_Tardis](#): > > Oh yeah! I would like to shoot some guns - that is the most AMERICAN thing I can think of. Can I do that in San Francisco? There are legal [firing ranges](http://www.jacksonarms.com/) in the San Francisco bay area where you can rent a gun and fire away. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/70 "2016-06-01T13:54:45Z")
Eat. don’t forget to eat. All kinds of places, from touristy to kitschy to divey to can’t get in if you didn’t reserve last year. some of my fav SF spots are Farallon, Slanted Door, TerraCotta Warrior. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/71 "2016-06-01T14:53:00Z")
> [@4d3fect](#): > > Eat. don’t forget to eat. All kinds of places, from touristy to kitschy to divey to can’t get in if you didn’t reserve last year. some of my fav SF spots are Farallon, Slanted Door, TerraCotta Warrior. On the other end of the scale (in more ways than one), there’s [Tommy’s Joynt](http://tommysjoynt.com/). It’s not to everyone’s taste\*, but I make it a point to go there when I’m in SF. \*Finalist for the 2016 “Understatement of the Year” award. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/72 "2016-06-01T23:06:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Hitchhike to Saginaw. > [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > Doesn’t that take four days? That depends. Is he going to be boarding a Greyhound in Pittsburgh? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/73 "2016-06-02T00:56:46Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Just don’t fall into the trap of thinking America is like a European country in scale. Sure, that other city you think you’ll pop over to is in the same state. But it could easily be 300 miles away. According to a noted critic of our transportation infrastructure, it could take 16 hours just to get to L.A. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/74 "2016-06-02T02:45:17Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Sure. Then you can experience the inside of an American jail. If you want to shoot, head to Vegas. San Francisco is about the most gun- **unfriendly** city in California. There are plenty of gun users even in San Francisco. As long as you do your shooting on a range instead of the Golden Gate Bridge you should be fine. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/75 "2016-06-02T03:21:00Z")
I was very impressed with Death Valley but the end of June would be a little toasty. I don’t know the best way to do it (I did it on the back of my designated driver’s motorcycle so probably not the best way) but I spent a wonderful afternoon and golden evening hitting some wineries north of San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/76 "2016-06-02T03:52:28Z")
> [@Artemis\_Tardis](#): > > Oh yeah! I would like to shoot some guns - that is the most AMERICAN thing I can think of. Can I do that in San Francisco? You can even shoot [machine guns in Vegas](http://www.therange702.com/) > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Also, Hoover Dam is just an hour away and quite a sight (and there are places near there where you can swim in Lake Meade); Valley of Fire State Park is also just an hour or so out of town and has stunning rock formations. Be warned that in June, the area will be hot - I don’t know if it’ll be as hot as when we went in July a few years back but it’ll be close. > > Flights to other parts of the country may be affordable if you go for one of the really cheap airlines that attempt to make RyanAir look luxurious (Typo Knig just got a round trip on Spirit Air when he went to visit his parents), or if you use Priceline or the like to “name your own price” (best if your dates are flexible). They also run helicopter tours where you can see the Grand Canyon in just a few hours. Very cool with amazing views. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393/77 "2016-06-02T04:15:00Z")
If you’ve got money to burn and are willing to travel around the western US spy school in Utah can be exciting. [http://spyescapeandevasion.com/](http://spyescapeandevasion.com/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-in-the-us/755393.md?page=3)