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We avoid Saint Louis like the plague. We won't even take the Interstate/freeway through the city when we have to travel past it. We go around even though it takes longer. We visit KC almost every spring for my birthday week end.
It all depends on where you go, what you do, who you meet, and what your experience has been. Someone mentioned earlier about Omaha being full of rude people and terrible restaurants. We visit there every year (at least once and usually more often) and have never found either to be true. Go figure.
My wife was in phoenix last fall for meetings and I went with. I hadn't been there since the late '60s. It was still a dirty town, as is any desert town by location. I drove to Tucson and south almost to Mexico to see one of my brothers. I was amazed by two things. The amount of trash along the road (and I assume it's everywhere else as well), and the increasing number of border patrol vehicles (and the number of vehicles they had pulled over). Didn't give me a warm fuzzy at all. Mrs Tek had a really, really, really bad allergic reaction to something while she was there. All in all we were not impressed any more than I was in the '60s when I lived there. People we know that live in Phoenix love the place. It's all about preferences and what you like in a city.
Never been St. Louis. I've heard it's nice and that Kansas City is the pits. Is that true?
We loved St. Louis, but then again we love cities that are more like real cities (NYC, Chicago) and not these country type places! (think Bismarck, Omaha)
Kansas City was ok, but not something I'd ever want to see again. Once was enough!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tek_Freek
We avoid Saint Louis like the plague. We won't even take the Interstate/freeway through the city when we have to travel past it. We go around even though it takes longer. We visit KC almost every spring for my birthday week end.
It all depends on where you go, what you do, who you meet, and what your experience has been. Someone mentioned earlier about Omaha being full of rude people and terrible restaurants. We visit there every year (at least once and usually more often) and have never found either to be true. Go figure.
My wife was in phoenix last fall for meetings and I went with. I hadn't been there since the late '60s. It was still a dirty town, as is any desert town by location. I drove to Tucson and south almost to Mexico to see one of my brothers. I was amazed by two things. The amount of trash along the road (and I assume it's everywhere else as well), and the increasing number of border patrol vehicles (and the number of vehicles they had pulled over). Didn't give me a warm fuzzy at all. Mrs Tek had a really, really, really bad allergic reaction to something while she was there. All in all we were not impressed any more than I was in the '60s when I lived there. People we know that live in Phoenix love the place. It's all about preferences and what you like in a city.
That's the thing, we all have different travel experiences! But, you're yet another that disliked Phoenix. So we can all safely agree that Phoenix is not a good place to visit, given that it's the top choice in this thread!
Honolulu - (largely due to 'cursed attitude' of locals who often treat tourists like dirt). I hope your reception is better than mine.
Oahu has some redeeming features, but in several return trips to HI, I only schedule enough time in Honolulu to visit Pearl Harbor.
I've heard a lot of bad stories about Oahu and the Big Island with regards to reception of tourists and seems to be a lot of petty crime and other issues. Maui I have heard is a little better.
Watching Dog the Bounty Hunter is appears all the beaches in Oahu have alcoholic bums and meth users lounging around everywhere. Doesn't look all that appealing to me.
I'd say most dissapointed, in towns I visited on a cross country road trip. Towns that were rated as "best places to live" online or in magazines. I purposely planned my route to make stops in these towns in various states. High expectations. I was searching for a Norman Rockwell retirement town and left thinking, "huh?"
Mt. Rushmore is a bit dissapointing. I think it's awesome, no doubt. But a lot smaller than you'd think by looking at pictures. I wish I could live long enough to see the Crazy Horse Memorial finished, that's going to be insane.
I like Omaha, NE. I've visited a few times. I've never been bored there and the people are super friendly. "Forwardness" with the opposite sex seems to be part of the culture there, which was a refreshing constrast to California.
Mt. Rushmore is impressive but one can only sit and look at it so much.
However I really liked the Black Hills and drove around quite a bit through there. Some of the towns like Rapid City and Keystone are a bit tacky, but Keystone had one of the best pizza places around so you can't beat that.
You know...it is possible to not have enjoyed someplace without insulting the people who actually live there and those who actually enjoy these places.
You've lost all credibility with me.
Wasn't really an insult, just my perspective. And I know people in both towns(Orlando and LV) and that doesn't change the fact both places have sparkly light superficial entertainment and a lot of people that couldn't make it elsewhere ending up there.
Kalamazoo. Not that I expected much out of Kalamazoo, but one of the country's most renowned breweries is located there and it's a relatively short drive, so I decided to visit. I swear everyone in that town was a dick -- including the employees at the brewery. The gas station attendant was a dick. The grocery checkout lady was a dick. The cab driver was a dick (he smoked in the cab -- while we were in it!!!). People who you asked for directions were dicks. The whole town was just one big dick. The two exceptions were: 1) the people at Olde Peninsula (too bad their beer was blah) and the people at the B&B where we stayed.
I don't care if Kalamazoo is the town Jesus picks for his return to Earth -- I ain't ever steppin' foot in that town again for any reason.
Highlights of Camden: people lining up to buy hard liquor at 8 AM, bums everywhere, needles and drug baggies everywhere littering the streets.
I was in downtown Camden once, at the height of what would have been rush hour if there were any jobs there. What struck me wasn't the dilapidation -- honestly downtown didn't look that awful -- but how empty the downtown area was, at a time when people should have been streaming out of the buildings and into the streets on their way home. There was this shiny, brand-new looking PATCO station and not one soul was standing on the platform, at 5pm on a weekday.
1. Amarillo, Texas. George Strait made it sound so romantic and interesting.
2. The Alamo. Could have taken a few pictures outside and been just as happy.
3. Grand Turk. Glittery, touristy cruise ship dock area surrounded by poverty. Unfriendly people except for the enthusiastic bike-tour guide who did his best to make it interesting. Really would only appeal to scuba divers. This was a cruise ship port of call, and I'm glad we weren't staying longer. Most people hung out at Margaritaville but that's not our style. Did have a short swim at a very nice National Seashore beach. Enjoyed the wild donkeys and horses that roam through town. Wish I could send these unhappy people a few tourism dollars but probably won't be back...
St. Louis is in terrible shape. I did enjoy Gateway Arch and the surrounding area (Old Courthouse), but the city is downright scary.
Another disappointment I had was going through Montpelier, Vermont. I enjoy New England, but I was surprised at how small Montpelier was and the poor quality of much of lodging in the area.
Portland, Oregon has many nice features, but be prepared to deal with a huge homeless population that is constantly panhandling. Also, the climate takes some getting used too. It seems to rain practically all the time.
Sacramento, California gets very, very hot in the summer. Sections of the city are quite rundown. The area around the river doesn't ever look or smell as nice it ought too.
Houston, Texas. Hot, humid, and ridden with crime. Poor zoning laws result in sights like churches sitting next to oil refineries.
Louisville, Kentucky. Hot and humid in the summers. Very little to see except for the place where they run the Kentucky Derby. Very blue collar town with lots of cheap chain restaurants. Probably the fat and obese person capitol of the USA. A heavy concentration of tobacco smokers as well. Not a place I plan on returning too.
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