# Where should my family travel to in your state? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910 "2012-06-03T02:12:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/62 "2012-06-10T11:27:02Z")
Just north of San Antonio is Fredericksburg Texas. IMO, it’s one of the most interesting and fun destinations in our state. Lots of quirky bars and restaurants and it’s nothing like the “cowboys and yahoos” image one sometimes associates with us. If you’ll bear with me for a brief aside: During WWII, the Pacific war between Japan and the US was in some ways a contest between Admiral Togo, and Admiral Nimitz. When the war ended, Japan dismantled and rebuilt an exact copy of Togo’s [meditation garden](http://www.pacificwarmuseum.org/JapaneseGardens.asp) in Nimitz’ birthplace (Fredericksburg). As I understand it, it was even done by the same craftsmen who constructed the original in Japan. I find it kind of impressive that this garden has been kept raked, trimmed, and essentially perfect for over 60 years now as a symbol of peace. Ymmv, but stuff like this always impresses me. I try to visit it every time I’m near there. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/63 "2012-06-10T12:46:05Z")
In Tennessee, stop in Chattanooga & [See Rock City!](http://seerockcity.com/) Then, the [Tennessee State Aquarium](http://www.tnaqua.org/Home.aspx) is a first-rate attraction, as good as if Disney designed it. The [Ruby Falls Cavern](http://rubyfalls.com/) is a natural wonder, not to be missed. [The Hunter Museum Of Art](http://www.huntermuseum.org/) is well-worth a visit. [The Creative Discovery Children’s’ Museum](http://www.cdmfun.org/) is good for the kids. [Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park](http://www.lakewinnie.com/). 🙂 [The Tennessee Valley Railroad](http://www.tvrail.com/) has a working steam locomotive line. [Take A Riverboat Cruise, for fun, entertainment, & great food!](http://chattanoogariverboat.com/chattanooga-attractions/) Fall color tours are popular with the locals, reservations needed. Chattanooga’s amphibious attraction: [Duck Rides!](http://www.chattanoogaducks.com/) Lots more to see & do there, too. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/64 "2012-06-10T23:06:05Z")
I know enough about New Hampshire and Vermont to speak for them as well. You may not want to go too far north in New Hampshire or Vermont if you want to do all of New England at once. The six New England states are small but driving distances can still be long if you go to the isolated parts near the Canadian border. Almost all of New Hampshire and Vermont are gorgeous especially if you go in the summer. I would recommend Hanover, HN as a great place to stay. It is home to Dartmouth college and is a small but thriving college town that is as picture perfect as you will ever find. Talk about idyllic! and it is right on the Vermont border so you get a two for one combo. For a quick but memorable trip, hit Hanover and then go right over the Vermont border to the Quechee, VT gorge and Woodstock, VT to get a taste of real Northern New England. Note the rather severe cultural differences between the Southern New England states and the Northern New England states just a couple of hours drive away. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/65 "2012-06-11T00:21:39Z")
**Where should my family travel to in your state?** The nearest exit. Don’t worry, this is only 10 miles away tops. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/66 "2012-06-11T21:33:41Z")
Sorry I got back to this thread late. I live in New York City, so you probably have plenty of ideas where to travel to there. But my wife and I went to all 50 states and all 10 Canadian provinces in the first 5 years of our marriage, so we know how to cover ground. I don’t know what your vacation-time situation is like, but we managed to do most of it in a trio of two-week trips. On one trip, we headed west to Los Angeles on I-40 (slight detour to hit Las Vegas), then south to San Diego and back east on I-10 until New Orleans, then trending back north through the Deep South states until we hit I-95 to get ho,e. Trip # 2 took us west on I-70 until it ends at I-15, that north into Idaho (which is one of those states that easily falls between the cracks), turned east, went through Yellowstone National Park, followed US-16 across Wyoming and into the Black Hills, hooked up with I-90, went south on I-29 to pick up I-80 near Omaha, which took us the rest of the way home (with a detour to Indianapolis). Trip # 3 was across I-94 west to Montana, then northward until Edmonton, further west to Banff and Jasper, south to the Trans-Canada Highway, east until Niagara Falls. These three “strips” can probably serve your purposes well also. Here (in no particular order) are some specific non-obvious things to try not to miss - I’m not bothering to mention the more iconic, well-known attractions, you probably have them on your agenda anyway: [Scheer’s Lumberjack Shows](http://scheerslumberjackshow.com/) in Wisconsin [Tommy Bartlett’s Show](http://www.tommybartlett.com/), also in Wisconsin [American Computer Museum](http://www.compustory.com/) in Montana [City Museum](http://www.citymuseum.org/site/) in St. Louis [Black Hills Reptile Gardens](http://www.reptilegardens.com/) in South Dakota, right near Mount Rushmore. I’d recommend going soon, while your child is small, because there are few things cuter than a little kid riding a giant turtle - but only while that kid is little enough. [Cole Land Transportation Museum](http://www.colemuseum.org/) in Maine [Squirrel Cage jail](http://thehistoricalsociety.org/jail.htm) in Iowa (just across the river from Omaha, we covered Nebraska and Iowa in a single day) [National Music Museum](http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/) in South Dakota I’d also recommend the following: In Idaho, if you want to do something relating to potatoes (being somewhat iconic to the state), try the [Idaho Potato Museum](http://www.potatoexpo.com/), in Blackfoot. North Dakota is not the most interesting place in the world, but you might enjoy (as we did) a tour of the Pilot Training facilities at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Finally, I cannot recommend Arches National Park in Utah enough. I think it’s the most beautiful of all the national parks I’ve been to. I’m sure there’s a ton of stuff I’ve left out. I love travelling the USA. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/67 "2012-06-11T22:20:16Z")
in MA: Walk the Freedom Trail in Boston (to paraphrase Dorothy,“Follow the red line”.) Plimouth Plantation ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/68 "2012-06-11T23:57:51Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > A minor hijack if I may but might I suggest you avoid this “monument” at all costs? > > I remember making the drive through the U.S. southwest and seeing road signs indicating your distance from the Four Corner monument. Whilst on our road trip to the Grand Canyon, it was determined that making a stop at 4-corners wasn’t that much out of the way and gosh, who wouldn’t want to see the meeting point of four US states? > > Granted our visit was some 20 years ago so times may have changed and maybe they’ve added laser shows and uptempo pop music but when we went through, the spectacle was a major disappointing. > > The ride into the ‘monument’ area was lined with trailers where Native Americans were advertising, god I think it was something like fried bread, then you could see vendors showing off their wares which appeared to be an assortment of worthless trinkets and doodads. Quite depressing. I’d suggest ignoring the actual 4 corners but definitely buy some fry bread and have a Navajo taco. They’re excellent, but don’t look at the calorie count. That will be an excellent memory of your trip, far more than trinkets or pics of you in 4 states at once. ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/69 "2012-06-12T13:56:29Z")
If you like a challenging drive and others in the car don’t get carsick easily, you can always try [Tail of the Dragon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tail_of_the_Dragon). It covers parts of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee and has some GREAT scenery along the way! ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/70 "2012-06-12T14:11:00Z")
My only suggestion is that when you take the inevitable trip through Kansas to the mountains of Colorado, you bring, I dunno, a three ring circus for the kid. Or a tranq gun. That 12 hour I-70 stretch is one of the most boring pieces of non-scenery known to man. And this has been confirmed by a thread on the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/71 "2012-06-12T15:26:40Z")
Texas: I’d cruise through Fredericksburg around bluebonnet season, March to May. And Fredericksburg is a nifty little town. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/72 "2012-06-12T17:04:41Z")
Enderw24: > [@](#): > > My only suggestion is that when you take the inevitable trip through Kansas to the mountains of Colorado, you bring, I dunno, a three ring circus for the kid. Or a tranq gun. That 12 hour I-70 stretch is one of the most boring pieces of non-scenery known to man. And this has been confirmed by a thread on the Dope. The trick for long drives with little children is to do them at night. Granted, there are some long, desolate places which you can’t possibly do in a single night. Kansas, though, has towns in between where you can find local museums and points of interest to make a stopping point that breaks it up into two drivable nights. Worse stretches, in my experience, are: I-10 from El Paso to San Antonio, and the Trans-Canada Highway from Winnipeg to Toronto (or at least Sudbury). ---
**Author:** ![dflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dflower/32/3270_2.png) [@dflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dflower)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/73 "2012-06-12T19:59:59Z")
In South Carolina do not go anywhere except Charleston. Not Hilton Head Not Myrtle Beach They could be anywhere USA Charleston is lovely, historic and unlike any other city. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/74 "2012-06-12T20:39:05Z")
One place I’d avoid is the Red River Valley, generally Northwestern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. I’ve driven a lot of boring places and this is by far the most boring unless you like pancake flat wheat fields. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/75 "2012-06-13T17:41:28Z")
Arizona: Chiricahua National Monument: > **[Chiricahua National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/chir/index.htm)** > > CHIR Because no one ever goes there and they should. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/76 "2012-06-14T04:38:25Z")
Not from there, but I thoroughly enjoyed the Biltmore Estate in SC. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/77 "2012-06-15T20:46:27Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > Aren’t the Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri , and Arkansas borders close, too? Not like 4 corners but fairly close in proximity. Yes, but it’s 34 miles away from where Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas join to where Arkansas can be joined. Coincidentally it’s about 34 miles away from where Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico join to where Texas can be joined on the other side of the state of Oklahoma. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/78 "2012-06-15T20:52:18Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > **Not from there,** but I thoroughly enjoyed the Biltmore Estate in SC. Bolding mine. And the first part of your post validates the rest.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910/79 "2012-06-15T23:40:26Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > Not from there, but I thoroughly enjoyed the Biltmore Estate in SC. > [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Bolding mine. And the first part of your post validates the rest.😃 :smack: NC :smack: I did live for 4 years in Charlotte, so can I get partial credit? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-my-family-travel-to-in-your-state/623910.md?page=3)