Started to dream about USA

Woke up not long ago & realised I'd been dreaming about travelling across the USA by train & car visiting small town USA. :flag_USA_ww2:
A few members from here cropped up.

Maybe it's because I've been spending alot more time here since the new forum to get used to it when we get it at the ''other place''.

Should I be worried ?



Everyone was really nice .
Daughter keeps asking if we can go to USA for holiday , I cant affford to take 5 of us over there .
Mrs & I not been since 1996.


Also gives me chance to start a thread & see what that is like with the new style forum.

 

A great mid-point would be the National Nuclear Museum in Albuquerque New Mexico and it is also along historic "Route 66".....if traveling by rental auto, the cheapest way usually.

 

Greyhound is a "must" It's much cheaper to use it. For instance I once bought a PARIS-Milwaukee and paid a fortune . It included a stop over via Detroit or O'Hare (Chicago ) . I then realised I could go from Chicago to Milwaukee via Greyhound (bus ) for a few dollars only and it only too kabout two hours. Then a London- chicago or Paris Chicago can sometimes cost only 300-400 dollars, so I had a deal. I later used this to go all the way to Florida. Also when traelleing to the East Coast yo ucan easilly go to Boston or New york on a day trip when based in Rhode Island for instance. Hotels are way cheaper there and place slike Newport are worth visiting. On the other hand Amtrack soemtimes has good deals and when I wanted to visit Saint Louis , it cost me less by train .
Most Amercans are good people but keep in mind that the large majority has not been abroad and they can sometimes ask silly questions related to clichés, don't be offended it's just the way it is . it's only by living there that you will learn that ther is a rivalry between Wisconsin and Illinois and that it is normal to ask you for an I.D when you order a beer even when you are 40 .

 

A good cross sample of the US is the Midwest. Big cities and small towns. The spring and fall seasons have festivals regarding their local history.

 

I confirm , some of the best festivals I went to were in the Midwest. The Great lakes are is an awesome place for parties. Chicago for Jazz, Milwaukee, for the Summerfest , Michigan (and other places of course) for ethnic festivals (for instance Dutch , German , Irish etc.. ) .Minnesota is great if you like shopping Malls and Saint Louis will bring you back to the Tom Sawyer area with the River boats and great bars with different bands in almost any of them . .

 

Occasionally Greyhound will have a deal where you can buy a monthly pass. Last time I looked it was $100 and you could take any Greyhound bus anywhere during that month.

Amtrack prices are time dependent now. If the train is fairly empty close to departure prices will be very low. If it's nearly full they will be pretty high. Prices more than 6 months out are set to a median I believe. There have also been some good deals if you travel on both Amtrack and the Canadian rail system. Such that it would have been significantly cheaper for me to drive over to Windser and take the Canadian train across the continent to the west coast then down to the US and board an Amtrack train for anywhere on the West Coast than it would have been to go directly there via Amtrack. Amtrack is online and you can see schedules and make reservations on site. Also watch sleeper cars. Sometimes they have alow occupancy if so the prices for them go down as well. Even at the reduced price they may look expensive you get meals for every one in the "room" and food is suppose to be pretty good on the trains now.

 

Thanks Skipper !

You could fill an itinerary on local fairs, festivals, and celebrations from us down home folks in the Midwest. They're safe, fun and gives visitors the true idea of America. From what I hear, the European's love the steamboat cruise on the Mississippi River. Old time luxury with tours in the local ports for a day.

 

Everything except the river boat turned into a Burger king. That was crime de Lese Majesty

 

That's a funny way of spelling CANADA.

 

If your itinerary takes you through the Midwest, be sure to stop in Dayton, Ohio and visit the U.S. Air Force Museum. Allow a full day...

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/

 

I don't want to belittle the midwest, especially since I came from there myself, but... it's boring as hell!

If I was going to spend all that money to fly across, I'd head straight to the southwest: New Mexico, Arizona, southern Utah, Colorado - maybe Las Vegas. The scenery is spectacular and the food (especially in New Mexico) is wonderful. There's a thread around here somewhere on Road Trips that talks of some of the back roads in that part of the world that take you into some magical places. You can rent a car for about $25 a day (we drive on the RIGHT side of the road!) which is probably cheaper than a bus.

Ah, here's a link to that thread: http://www.ww2f.com/topic/47958-road-movies/

 

The West Coast has very spectacular scenery as well. All the way from the Mexican border to the Artic. There's the coast and then there's the Cascade, Siera, Rocky mountains.

 

If you like Kansas, You'll love Iowa!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyeY0hWU28I

 

My list of states that it doesn't hurt to miss would include oklahoma, kansas, New Jersey, and probably Iowa. I suspect it would include Rhode Island but I've never been there. On the otherhand it's 1/3 the size of the county I grew up in.