Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm leaving raleigh NC may 12 and so far my destinations are charlotte atlanta new orleans to houston to dallas
i plan to eventually make it to vegas and the entire west coast but it seems the potential leg of the trip between dallas and phoenix would be 16 hours of nothing. Is there anything out there?
My stop interests are likely amusement parks, mlb parks, local food, and anything else interesting.
Any suggestions would be welcome.
I will post an itinerary and keep things updated on here
So far my keys will be cities, ballparks, amusement parks and friends
It will be pretty random but heres my schedule so far ~ means hypothetical. the only places I know I'm going are charlotte and atlanta.
may12- depart raleigh to concert in charlotte @7pm -head to atlanta around 10pm (4 hour)
may13-visit cousin in atlanta, six flags-depart to n.o. (7 hour)
~may15-head to houston/gavelston (5.5 hour) to corpus christi (4 hour)-
~may 16 to san antonio (2 hour) to six flags to austin (1 hour) to dallas (3hour)
~may17 six flags arlington rangers vs angels @2pm to...god help me! el paso i guess? (9 hour)
~may18 to phx (6 hour) to vegas (6 hour)visit friend
~may19 to san diego(5 hour)
~may 20to la (2 hour)
~may 23 to san fran (6 hour)
~may 24 to portland visit friend (10 hour)
~may 25 to seattle (3 hour)
~may 26 fly home (car rental companies have crazy drop off fees. thrifty is 1500. if i can't find an alternative it willbe cheaper to loop back around the north)
Last edited by socrates; 04-10-2009 at 12:02 PM..
Reason: rental car
Check out minor league baseball, in Albuquerque and Midland TX. Also check out the schedule for the Northwest League for cities you'll e nearby. Pioneer League is a short-season league, and won't strt until June.
i plan to eventually make it to vegas and the entire west coast but it seems the potential leg of the trip between dallas and phoenix would be 16 hours of nothing. Is there anything out there?
Sante Fe is worth stopping at for a few hours and the drive from there to the Grand Canyon is really something and a must see.
In SF alcatraz island + the Giants ball park sre 2 places I've been and were huge highlights of my cross country trip. The drive along the pacific coast highway is really something and the oregon coast I hear is spectacular. I'd look in the atlas and travel secodary highways instead of the interstates when possible because of what you'll see and bump into. Yosemite park a few hours east of SF is where I'd stop too and don't undersestimate the natural beauty that's out there. In fact after leaving vegas you could shoot through Death Valley Park then head north to Yosemite and west over to SF.
That is great info tripod. I think the way I will do it is across death valley to sand diego, and after seattle back down to yosimite before heading back east across the north/central portion of the country. I'm not really into minor league baseball.
I'm leaving raleigh NC may 12 and so far my destinations are charlotte atlanta new orleans to houston to dallas
i plan to eventually make it to vegas and the entire west coast but it seems the potential leg of the trip between dallas and phoenix would be 16 hours of nothing. Is there anything out there?
~may 26 fly home (car rental companies have crazy drop off fees. thrifty is 1500. if i can't find an alternative it willbe cheaper to loop back around the north)
Let me save you a lot of money. Fly Southwest OW from RDU to any major airport in Florida. The rental car companies are looking for people to drive cars out of Florida. Alamo has a deal for $10/day up to 28 days; Hertz has a $3/day deal up to 14 days. You can drop the car off with NO fees.
As for the Dallas to Phoenix leg of the trip, that is a LONG drive. Personally, I would drop down to El Paso (Class AA Diablos) and check out Tucson which has an independent minor league team as the Class AAA franchise relocated to Reno this year.
Between Dallas and Phoenix, you might consider Carlsbad Caverns in Southeast New Mexico. Also, in the same general vicinity, abot 2 hours away is White Sands National Monument-worth the visit. Other potential destinations are Bisbee Arizona-historic copper mining town. You can tour the old mine on a narrow gauge railroad-very interesting tour led by former miners who worked there. Then, within an hour's drive is Tombstone, if you're into the really cheesy touristy sort of place. Another hour northwest will get you to the Sonoran Desrt Museum just west of Tucson. Really interesting, especially if you have kids. Also, if you have the time, the Pima County Air Museum (also in Tucson) is a must-see. Turns out there's an abundance of retired military in the area who fondly donate their time to restoration of old planes.
Ya know, I've travelled across the country a few times in my life and, until recently never cared much for the desert. In fact, being from Northern CA, just resigned myself to two days of driving to get thru the desert to something more visually appealing. However, with my son in the USAF and stationed in Tucson, we've spent a little time in that area over the last 3 years. I must say that the Sonoran Desert has truly grown on me. It is stunningly beautiful.
Tucson's about 2 hours or so southeast of Phoenix. From there go north up to Sedona and then on to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.
Yosemite should not be missed. Other CA attractions include Lake Tahoe and of course the redwoods of the north coast. A slow paced trip up 101 along Oregon's 300 mile long coast is well worth the time. Take a jet boat ride up the Rogue River-from Gold Beach.
That is great info tripod. I think the way I will do it is across death valley to sand diego, and after seattle back down to yosimite before heading back east across the north/central portion of the country. I'm not really into minor league baseball.
Death Valley AFTER the Grand Canyon? Because that's how I'd do it From the Grand Canyon get on historic rt 66 for a short distance in western Arizona since it'll be on your way to Death Valley anyways. If you plan on going all the way up to Seattle it would be wiser to stop at Yosemite while you're up around San Francisco (being it's just a 3 hr trip east of there). The SF Giants are MAJOR league baseball and they play in the best stadium there is as it's situated right on San Francisco Bay and is just a great place to see a night game even if you're not a big fan . Also in SF make sure you go over to Alcatraz where the famous prison island is because it's a great visit and defintely pay the few extra bucks for the audio tour as it really brings the wole thing to life (rent the movie 'escape from alcatraz' before going there). Now if you are going all the way up to Seattle you might want to consider heading east from there to Glacier National Park and take the awesome 'Going to the sun' road that traverses the rockie montains there in picturesque Montanna as it's certainly a spectacle of a drive OR you could make a bee line from Seattle to Yellowstone park (geisers, buffalo walking down the street, etc) as it's in the top 3 must see places in the US right up there with the Grand Canyon. In fact if you had to pick between Yosemite or Yellowstone go with the latter. Just south of Yellowstone by a few miles is Grand Teton national park and with 14,000+ ft peaks is really something and that whole area with those 2 parks will absolutely blow you away I promise. After that consider heading southeast to Rocky Mountain national park in Colorado where the bulk of the highest mountain peaks of the Rockies are concentrated (60 peaks above 12,000 ft with the highest at 14,100+ and the country's highest countinuos raod going right through the middle of it all and that's about 1-2 hrs frm Denver. To me that was the Grand finale of my trip as nothing could top that literally and figuratively.
Enjoy the ride and when possible travel secondary highways where the speed limit is plenty fast and you'll come across small towns and out of the way places and get a feel for the distinct regions of the country. Plus there is nothing to see on the interstates as they're mainly for making good time only so if possible slow it down a bit and enjoy
Oh, didn't notice you'll only be here for only 2 weeks. To see all the places I listed would take a good month but hope some of the suggestions are helpful. One thing I did notice was your time from LA to SF of 6 hrs and if possible at all you would love the scenic Pacific Coast Highway that runs along the coast with the gorgeous and breathtaking views of the ocean on 1 side and at places mountains on the other. They film many tv commercials along there as it's probably the best stretch of scenic driving the country has to offer and it goes all the way from san diego up to SF and beyond.
The thing about rental cars is i'm 21 so can't rent from alamo at all and the hertz deal would force me to fly home after 14 days. Any idea how much they charge extra for underage?
Starting to second guess this trip because of expenses. It seems that despite the exchange rate, a trip to Europe with a rail pass would be cheaper.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Suggestions
From the Grand Canyon get on historic rt 66 for a short distance in western Arizona since it'll be on your way to Death Valley anyways. If you plan on going all the way up to Seattle it would be wiser to stop at Yosemite while you're up around San Francisco (being it's just a 3 hr trip east of there). The SF Giants are MAJOR league baseball and they play in the best stadium there is as it's situated right on San Francisco Bay and is just a great place to see a night game even if you're not a big fan . Also in SF make sure you go over to Alcatraz where the famous prison island is because it's a great visit and defintely pay the few extra bucks for the audio tour as it really brings the wole thing to life (rent the movie 'escape from alcatraz' before going there). Now if you are going all the way up to Seattle you might want to consider heading east from there to Glacier National Park and take the awesome 'Going to the sun' road that traverses the rockie montains there in picturesque Montanna as it's certainly a spectacle of a drive OR you could make a bee line from Seattle to Yellowstone park (geisers, buffalo walking down the street, etc) as it's in the top 3 must see places in the US right up there with the Grand Canyon. In fact if you had to pick between Yosemite or Yellowstone go with the latter. Just south of Yellowstone by a few miles is Grand Teton national park and with 14,000+ ft peaks is really something and that whole area with those 2 parks will absolutely blow you away I promise. After that consider heading southeast to Rocky Mountain national park in Colorado where the bulk of the highest mountain peaks of the Rockies are concentrated (60 peaks above 12,000 ft with the highest at 14,100+ and the country's highest countinuos raod going right through the middle of it all and that's about 1-2 hrs frm Denver. To me that was the Grand finale of my trip as nothing could top that literally and figuratively. 
