If I ever come over to the USA for a couple of months...

you mean you're actually going to that shithole on purpose?

Sure. Just as there's shit everywhere, there's great stuff everywhere. I like to see it.

Better than a porison colony turned into a loony bin.

You know I work with an Australian guy, an engineer actually. Sad to say he is the most incompetent asshole I have ever met. He doesn't even understand basic physics principals. Judging by the amount of Aussie trash on this site I am am guessing that this isn't a problem with one kangaroo fucker, but with them all.

Please don't hijack this thread with a stupid pissing contest. I would like to hear serious tips about what to see and what to do.

The make doesn't matter but GET A CONVERTIBLE. Spend the extra cash, but it'll be sweet you'll have a nice view.

The south? Well what kind of food? texmex, is of course south west Texas. Chicken and biscuits? Tennessee/Kentucky. Ribs? Memphis. St Louis. I guess it depends on the style you want. Fish fry and drinks? New Orleans or down to the keys. Party like you are in Europe? Miami Beach, of course.

All the great southern rockers are long dead. so their graves are tourist traps.

Maine? Not much going on there, but check out Porland... it's the only city worth a damn, but not much. More interested in Stephen King? hit the RR's (Rural roads).

Navy stuff? San Diego, and New York have good stuff.

You need to be more specific.

And of course

Don't forget about Las Vegas. See the wasteland of the 1+ million empty houses and abandoned casino's with the rise of Macau.

As an american that loves driving I second this since you don't have a big family :)

Everyone should drive with the top down along the pacific ocean at least once in their life.

I did it every day commuting in Miami. Even in the rain. You know if you are going 70Mph, the wind sheer keeps the water off of you.....

Fun times.

I almost miss my 330i. But the roads are too small here. I mean Dade county is 6x larger than Hong Kong. How's that for crazy?

I was going to be so sarcastic and awful, but since you seem to be serious, I'll let it pass.


Economical on gas (which, while you may think is cheap here, compared to prices in Germany, it still adds up.

Or, ask the rep for something that screams pure sex. The fact you have a girlfriend indicates to me that you should stick with economical.


Watch man vs food/food nation/man finds food. He's actually very good at finding good places.


Honestly, unless you like pine trees, pass.
Martha's vinyard, much more popular and trendy location. I rather like cape cod. Although, I must admit, Maryland sea food was the bomb.


None. NYC has some floating old boats, but just hit Washington DC for the patriotic "here's how we blow things up" museums.



Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt and the thing you shake up inside. Trust me, it'll look just like any other sea front.

Now the deserts of southern california. That was some "make you feel insignificant" scenery. Make sure you cross the mountains to the east.

Now, if you want to get your freak on, Lousiana is the way to go.

AH. one more thing. Stop in a truck stop. Nice local one. None of these Flying-J places. If it's got a whore house across the street, you're in the right place.

Look the waitress square in the eye and ask in your best German accent, "What's a grit?" Look wide eyed and innocent. They will explain what it is, and you may get free grits.

Thanks. :)

I like all kinds of food. I'd love to taste both modern and traditional southern foods (gumbo, for instance) and I'm a fanatic for all things spicy and hot. Seafood, ribs, chicken, texmex,... I'm not that much into partying/clubbing, but would enjoy great food, drink and music (rock, jazz, blues, americana).

In the north east, I'm interested in the history of the Puritans, the early colonies in the region, and horror authors like H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King and Poe. I've heard that the nature's very beautiful especially in the autumn.

In addition to Navy stuff, I would be very interested in aerospace stuff (rockets, shuttle, U-2, SR-71, combat aircraft from different era...) and armor. Wikipedia and tourist sites give me a huge list of museums, but I'd like to narrow it down to the very best ones. It would also be fun to discover a conspiracy theory museum, but the only one I found on the net seems to have been closed...

I'm definitely visiting Las Vegas.

Ok, I'd totally avoid Las Vegas personally. Interested in the South and military..... If you plan trips around Civil War battlefields from Virginia down you'll also get a good dose of the true south. There's a Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Va. I'd put Savanna, Charleston, New Orleans, and Memphis on my "quick tour of the South" list. Try to get off the main highways and drive through the small towns.

Virginia is really beautiful, Shenandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Parkway with funky little small town stops available. (Some quirky old bluegrass music stops along these paths as well, check out Floyd, Va for example)
Never been to Maine, to far North for me. LOL, but do think a weekend in Boston would be interesting.

If also suggest that's it worth the extra time to detour up and take the more northerly route through Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Sedona, Arizona should not be missed and West Texas is just god awful boring, seriously. Sorry Texans, I'm sure there's good people and some nice towns but the drive through.....makes me want to shoot myself.

Save the cost of the convertible for the West Coast leg, heat, humidity, dirt and bugs in the south and southwest. Take the Pacific Coast Highway up Cali. Start no farther South than San Clemente. (Southern Orange County). Avoid LA and hit the smaller beach towns instead. Make sure to hit an In-n-Out burger joint while there. :)

Let us know when your coming, GLPers could give you more advice if your hitting up their area. Enjoy!!

Winnebago or similar camper RV...one that you an drive.
.... save yourself a load of hotel/motel money and see the country.

Oh. two things:

1. Don't trust anyone in the north east US in a city. We will cut you and take your stuff.

2. The drier it gets and the more rural it is, the less likely someone is to cut you and take your stuff. Deserts in Texas have very nice people who almost never cut you.

I wanna shoot guns.

Powerful guns.

I don't have much to add to this thread, although I'm an American living in the South (Georgia).

However, to the OP - nice thread. You presented yourself really well, and got some good answers here.


I wish I could afford a trip throughout the US. I love this country (not the people or government so much....just the country itself). We do have an amazing history.

Once before I die, I definitely want to take a trip across the US, visit the big cities (I'm from Chicago and live right outside Atlanta, so the other ones), and see the scenic routes.


Enjoy yourself! When are you planning on visiting?

You have a point

I can't really speak for the rest of the country but for the south?? Try Nashville and surrounding counties. Come in the fall during football season if possible and drive thru Knoxville on gameday! You will NEVER forget the sea of orange in the city or the Volnavy on the river...walk around where everyone is tailgating and you will eat some of the best southern food in the south.

Hit Nashville for the music..you don't have to see a country star, just walk down Broad St. and you'll hear fantastic music from those trying to break into the industry. For good food make sure you visit Loveless Cafe. World famous for it's biscuits and country ham...after you eat get on the Natchez Trace parkway. It follows the historic Trail of Tears..it is a beautiful drive and lightly traveled..

Fort Campbell is just north of Nashville and they have a decent military museum. 101st Airborne is stationed there and the museum is full of their history. You would enjoy it.

That's about all I can tell you. Make sure you are here for at least a month in order to do all you want. When I lived in Germany one of my German friends was going to come over and do all this and drive coast to coast...He was only going to be here a week...

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your trip. If you decide to come to TN and drive the "Trace" let me know, I live not far off the Trace, and I'll feed you the BEST food you'll get in the south:-)

If you make it to North Carolina, hit me up, I'll show you around.

Just wanna say, have a dear German friend who has lived in the states for more than 15 years including Hawaii. She is simply fascinated by the south, curious as to what the connection may be. She much prefers rural America and roadside Bar-B-Q stands.

campervan

campervan

Start in South Florida and do the Florida shit then zig zag west across the south and the Southwest to California New Orleans, Nashville, etc.. You HAVE to drive across Texas on I-10 ... boring as shit, but gives you an idea as to the size of the US, and you will get so bored with Texas that you will be THRILLED to leave Texas for boring New Mexico. Arrive in Arizona down south, go north up to the Grand Canyon ... must see, and take a day hike down into the canyon (maybe to first water station).

Arrive in California in San Diego ... after visiting there (nice aircraft carrier and some submarines btw, including an old Soviet one), continue up the Coast highway to LA. I hate LA ... but you HAVE to see it. Do the Getty Museum, great view - so so collection, Venice Beach, etc.. Leave LA and continue N. up the coast highway (do NOT go inland ... the beauty is on the Coast Highway) to San Francisco. Do all the tourist crap up there ... then head inland to Yosemite National Park. GORGEOUS!! Stay in the park if at all possible. While there do the side trip to see the 2000 year old redwood trees.

You then have an option ... continue N. to the Pac. NW or head East towards Nevada. If you head E. to Nevada you MUST see Las Vegas. Nothing quite like it anywhere. Don't gamble ... just soak in the sights and the crazy people.

After Vegas head up to Utah and see Bryce Canyon National Park, head east into Yellowstone National Park (stay at least three days INSIDE the park - it is HUGE - stay at Yellowstone Lake if you can, best views for accomodations in the park). Yellowstone is where HERDS of American Bison still roam ... and you WILL get delayed by them as you try to drive on the road along the Yellowstone River.

If you are skipping the Pac NW (beautiful also) you will then be heading east across the plains. For the full flavor of nothingness you need to visit the Black Hills (where Mt. Rushmore is) and then cross the BADLANDS of the Dakota's. Hot, Bleak, and they go on forever!! (have to stop at Wall Drugs (store) if you do it ... sort of an institution).

As you arrive back in the Midwest /agricultural belt you then have lots of options. Chicago of course, the Greenfield Village in Detroit (Henry Ford's great living museum celebrating the inventiveness of the US in the late 1800. The Air Force Museum in Dayton is well worth the visit too ... if you are into military museums (it is located on the grounds of the largest AF base in the US).

Cedar Point in Northern Ohio has the greatest collection of roller coasters in the world .... lots of fun. From Ohio it is a one day drive to the East Coast (Washington DC or NYC). You HAVE to visit NYC (don't drive there though! If you still have your car park it elsewhere and take the train or ferry in). Central Park, Times Square, the boat tour, the Museum of Modern Art (a lot more than art), Museum of Natural History - particularly the Hall of Dinosaurs (you have seen this museum in many movies).

LOTS of stuff to see and do in NE US. Boston is a driving nightmare ... but neat stuff.

Have a GREAT TRIP!!

Fort Campbell is just north of Nashville and they have a decent military museum. 101st Airborne is stationed there and the museum is full of their history. You would enjoy it.


lmbo
Ft Campbell's soup is full of Koreans and jar heads. Hit grandpa's and bug out.

Even tiny town is more interesting.

Barely.

To really appreciate south Louisiana you have to work on a shrimp boat with a bunch of coon asses. Nah just kidding but that's what I do and I love the culture. I also love working with the Mississippi and Alabama shrimpers also. The south has a certain charm to it that still survives in the smaller towns and cities. If You come through south Louisiana make sure You stick to the mom and pop restaurants and avoid the corporate chain restaurants at all cost. You also need to hit the mom and pop gas stations and grab some boudin and cracklings before You leave. They have a real good place in Scott LA just outside of Lafayette that sells the best boudin and cracklings.

If you lp want to see southern arts and culture, but skip tourist spots and see the real shit, travel through the MS Delta.

You need to see
The West: The Redwood Forests,Death Valley, Gila Cliff Dwellings, Grand Canyon, Taos, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Petrified Forest, Petroglyph National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, Tombstone and anything else you can squeeze in. New Mexico & Arizona are incredible, and will give you a vast change/experience from Europe.

Louisiana: My stompin' grounds ~ let me be the first to offer you a hearty "Bienvenue en Louisiane!"

Don't miss Poverty Point! It's amazing, if you are at all interested in Pre-History.

Of course go to New Orleans & Natchitoches, plus lots of off-the-beaten-path small town museums and curiosities.
Small towns offer a more genuine flavor of the South, but you need to plan for them rolling up the streets at dark.

[link to www.roadsideamerica.com]

Civil war sites in La
[link to www.louisianatravel.com]

Don't miss Charleston, SC! It's Old South, plus modern military stuff, esp. Navy.

I'll let others give ideas on other parts of the country.

Last Edited by DeadManWalkin' on 04/16/2015 09:41 AM

If you are touring by yourself, just rent something cheap. Look at it before you rent it to make sure it has good ground clearance, because many of the good places to see take minor offroading and if you rent a sports car you can forget that.

A Toyota Corrola would be fine.

If you want an aerospace museum the SAC museum in Nebraska is pretty interesting. It's smack dab In the middle of the country. Nebraska is a beautiful state. Flat, but gorgeous. You can also make a trip to see car henge. It's a tourist attraction. And then go west to see the Grand Canyon and see the power of Mother Nature and Time.

While in Germany I noticed a lot of locals were interested in my mustang. Plenty made offers to buy it. Renting one of those would be fun. I also have a chevy Cruze, not bad on gas, and the inside is made for pampering if it's an LTZ like mine.

If you want to see and experience colonial and puritan america, come to massachusetts. I live here and can give you a couple good recomendations. There are still small towns scattered across the area that still look just like they did in the 1600-1700's minus the telephone poles, cars, and pavement.

The best place to check out colonial America is Plymouth Plantation. check it out. It is an entire outdoor living history museum. Really cool. we used to go on field trips there all the time in school and I still go every now and then. If you want history this is the place to be. One of the original colonies in America.

Also Boston is a great city. Great food and bars. PLenty of touristy history tours, including the Freedom Trail, which is a walking tour around the city to all historic sites. Thats really fasinating if you like that kind of stuff.

I could go on and on. If you want more recomendations from this area just ask.