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Baltimore, USA22261 Posts
Hey guys, I'm looking for some suggestions.
I'm getting married in about 5 months, and one of the few things we haven't figured out yet is where to go for a honeymoon. TBH, I never really liked the idea of going to some tropical resort or something... yeah, it'd be nice and all, but that's what everyone does. Other ideas, like traveling abroad and visiting places in, say, Europe sounds nice, but involves a bit too much $$$.
Well... driving home tonight my fiancee had an awesome idea (I think she said it as a joke, but I think it's awesome): Rent a convertible and drive around the US for a couple weeks. This is honestly something I have always, always wanted to do for as long as I can remember, and who better to do it with (while we're still young and without huge obligations, ie, kids)?
So, even though it's an idea we're toying around with, I turn to the Americans of TL.net (or anyone who has visited) to recommend me some MUST SEE places our country has to offer. Already I have a few things in mind, the standard things like Niagra Falls, Yellowstone, I'd like to see the giant redwoods, she mentioned driving down the coastal highway, things like that.
So tell me guys... what are the sites one just has to visit before they die in the good ol' USA?
Edit - Yeah, Grand Canyon is an obvious one too that I forgot to write (we actually joked about having insurance incase someone tries to push the other over the edge). Anyways, we'll be starting out around Baltimore, MD. Doesn't really matter where we start though, since the things we're looking at already are all over the place. 
Anyways, thanks so far guys, keep 'em coming!
Edit2 - This will be right in the middle of summer
 
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Grand Canyon? That might be standard actually.
Sounds like an awesome honeymoon though. Congrats on getting married
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IMO, one of them has to be the Grand Canyon. It's unreal. The drive up the California coast is beautiful too, you could easily detour to Sequoia National Park or whatever it is called. Where are you in America? Might be easier to map something out from wherever you are now.
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Not really a convertible friendly place, but NYC...? Or do you mean mostly nature?
What's your starting location? That might be helpful.
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The best drive in the entire world.... happends to be in california.
Highway 1, coastal highway.
You can start anywhere south of san fran and drive north, and end up at the the muirwoods (giant redwoods).
I myself have driven all the way up from southern california three or four times with my sons mom, and I think it is the nicest drive around. Note that you are driving at sometimes on very high cliffs above the ocean, on pretty fast roads, but the roads are well kept so its fine.
Along this route you can hit halfmoon bay, monteray, santa cruz, san fran, badega bay (not in the order at all!)...
I highly recommend you spend a couple days exploring californias coastline, from south to north imo, (north and south are competely different climates). For more details just ask  . I can even recommend some very nice (although expensive) hotels for couples along the coast.
Congrats on the looming wedding!
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field of giant corn ears in Dublin, Ohio
gogogogogogogo
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Baltimore, USA22261 Posts
On February 21 2009 15:36 Cambium wrote:
Not really a convertible friendly place, but NYC...? Or do you mean mostly nature?
What's your starting location? That might be helpful.
I'm the nature lover, she'd like to see some sites in NYC I'm sure (even though she has been there before)... so honestly, throw out any suggestions.
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Baltimore, USA22261 Posts
AttackZerg, a drive exploring completely up and down the coastal highway is exactly the type of thing I'm looking for... ANY suggestions, from specific sites to stop at to places to stay are extremely welcome. 
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United States22883 Posts
You've gotta do the coastal highway from mid/north CA, it's nothing special around Socal.
Mackinac island in Michigan, and the Great Lakes in general
Colorado is extremely beautiful, especially near the continental divide.
North and South Dakota
Santa Fe, NM
There's some beautiful places in Georgia (Savannah) and South Carolina (Charleston)
Vermont/New England, especially during Autumn
There are some very beautiful parts of Appalachia as well.
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i went up highway 1 on the west coast in october, it was a blast. LA to vancouver, canada. it was one of those drives i will always remember. i would say do that most definitely.
i am fortunate enough to live in a hub of touristy, beautiful places in the southwest. i live 1 hour south of the grand canyon, 40 minutes north of sedona + Show Spoiler +
las vegas is about 5 hours away, hoover dam about 4 hours in the same direction. there are a lot of little places near here that arent too well known, but are interesting to see if you come this way for a day trip.
montezumas castle and well
jerome an old mining town, now has like 300 people living there. art gallerys, bars, restaurants dot this little town (4 miles from my hometown)
just tossing out ideas for you.
congrats again, ETT ^_^
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I'm not American, and I haven't been to too many places in the US but I went to Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone national park, to see Old Faithful. Let me tell you this, Mount Rushmore was pretty sweet obviously, but I was just like "cool, well.... let's go now". Yellowstone was okay, there were some nice sights and wildlife, but Old Faithful itself was lameeeeeeeee. If you plan on going there just for that, I wouldn't. If you are passing by the by all means go for it, but don't make it a destination. Although if you want to go for the whole park area, rather than the geysers, it's pretty beautiful.
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Baltimore, USA22261 Posts
Thanks for the suggestions Jibba!
The Continental Divide is something I personally also had in mind, wasn't too sure if there was a specific 'place to go' though.
Same deal with Georgia, which is a place she really wants to visit... if you have anything specific in mind, please share.
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On February 21 2009 15:49 EvilTeletubby wrote:Show nested quote +On February 21 2009 15:36 Cambium wrote:
Not really a convertible friendly place, but NYC...? Or do you mean mostly nature?
What's your starting location? That might be helpful. I'm the nature lover, she'd like to see some sites in NYC I'm sure (even though she has been there before)... so honestly, throw out any suggestions.
Central Park.
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Baltimore, USA22261 Posts
Thanks Binky, that picture is beautiful btw (again, I'm the nature/scenary nut of the two of us). She likes the old-timey kinda stuff, so even that small mining own is very interesting to us. How long was the LA to vancouver drive, just out of curiosity?
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Baltimore, USA22261 Posts
Grobyc, yeah, I definitely didn't want to go to Yellowstone JUST for old faithful, I'm actually more interested in seeing the natural springs and other things like that. Same with Mt Rushmore - if it's on the way, great, otherwise, I wouldn't go completely out of my way for it. 
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it was nearly a 24hour drive if we drove nonstop.
we stayed in just the major cities like vegas, LA, san fran, seattle, vancouver. we stayed a day in each city, and a few more in vancouver/seattle
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As a person who has lived in Michigan his whole life, I can say that I -REALLY- enjoyed roadtripping out West. Driving through Colorado/Arizona/NewMexico/Nevada was just awesome... But then again I'm more of the kind of person who enjoys the ride more than the destination itself. Apart from that, Vegas is always awesome, even if you're not staying long... Although it's tough to go there and not stay long, haha.
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FuDDx
United States5018 Posts
Im in arizona Grand canyon is great.
White mountains.
Tombstone
Legends of the Old West live on in the national historic landmark of Tombstone, “The Town Too Tough To Die.” Walk along the town’s wooden boardwalks, browse in the many shops that offer western souvenirs and apparel, then sip a sarsaparilla in an authentic saloon.
Old Tucson(many old western films filmed here)
Sedona :As well as having a solid reputation as an artists’ enclave, Sedona offers visitors a wealth of trails ranging from leisurely jaunts to long, challenging backpacking treks. New Age spiritualists come to the area for its celebrated vortexes, mystical sources of energy
Bisbee
During its late 19th-century mining heyday, Bisbee was the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco and was known for such bawdy locales as Brewery Gulch, then a stretch of rowdy saloons. Today, Bisbee is known for its stunning Victorian architecture, mild year-round climate and abundance of galleries and one-of-a-kind shops.
Flagstaff
Visitors to this exciting mountain town can experience shopping, dining or live music in Flagstaff’s vibrant downtown area. . Lining the streets of Flagstaff is an array of shops and cafes that complement the fine art galleries and lively microbreweries.
info stolen from travel Arizona site
Colossal Cave
Kartchner Caverns
Kept secret since its discovery in 1974, Kartchner Caverns, 12 miles south of Benson, Arizona, was announced to the world in 1988. Still virtually pristine, this massive limestone cave has 13,000 feet of passages and two rooms as long as football fields. Finally opened as a state park November 12, 1999, this underground wilderness will remain protected while offering visitors a rare tour through multi-colored cave formations.
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Baltimore, USA22261 Posts
Mikilatov - One of my favorite quotes is, "The journey is the reward", so yeah, I agree
FuDDx - that's exactly the type of stuff I'm looking for (and as our most prominent Arizonian, I was actually hoping you'd see this thread), thanks!
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intrigue
Washington, D.C9935 Posts
driving across the us is amazing. i did this the summer after high school with old friends, going from dc to san francisco through the northern states and back through the southern ones. all the famous places and national parks are absolutely AWESOME with the exception of mount rushmore, which i found really disappointing and shamelessly commercialized. new england may be a bit out of your way but there's some really gorgeous places up there; my favorite is acadia national park in maine with its adorable town of bar harbor. vermont is really really nice too. what hasn't been mentioned... the badlands in sd only if you're really into that kinda stuff, all the major cities, especially CHICAGO and new orleans. salt lake city is boring. spend a while in cali, it's huge and nice north to south. i love SF if you've never been there and LA is a huge piece of shit, disgusting place.
i suggest you guys not go with a strict timeline. you'll be driving more than five thousand miles and it's best to not be in a rush anywhere. you will have time to enjoy the unexpected awesome places and walk around the small towns. wyoming (who thought there'd be anything interesting there?) ended up being my favorite state to drive through. the taco bells in georgia are a lot better than the ones in md. get a chalupa there. sorry my memory sucks and i can't give real specifics, hope this helps anyway.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/images/oh/OHDUBcorn02.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Devil%27s_bridge_Sedona_Arizona.jpg)
