Welcome to my world - the USA!

Welcome to my world – the United States of America!

I am writing this especially for my friends from Postcrossing.com.  For those of you who have landed here by accident, Postcrossing.com is a neat website for people from all over the world to send postcards and receive one back – from all over the world.  It’s free – the best things in life are free!  The postcard below is the first one I received - from Australia!  Since then I have sent and received almost 100 postcards.  Each one is special and they have helped me learn more about our world and the wonderful people who live on it. 

Many questions from postcrossers have prompted me to write this blog, showcasing the many wonderful places I know about in the USA.  I’m going to assume my reader is someone young, active and interested in travel and the many wonders of the world.  I’m old now, but if I were younger and more able, I would travel everywhere I could to see as much as I could.  I have been fortunate in my almost 73 years to have been in or lived in 48 of the United States.  I have not yet been to either Hawaii or Alaska although I know each is a special place to visit.  I have also been able to make trips to Canada, Mexico and to fulfill my husband’s lifelong dream – a trip to China.  I would enjoy seeing almost every place again since the world is always changing and there is always something more to see. 

I will write in depth about each state (in alphabetical order) but to begin I am going to give you my idea of an ideal trip for someone visiting from another country who has the time, the energy and a little bit of money. 

There are many ways to travel and I think all of them are wonderful but I am going to suggest you fly to the states and then travel mainly by train (Amtrak).  They offer USA rail passes that allow you to see a great amount of the country and travel between many of the major cities.  Most allow bicycles in lieu of one piece of luggage.  Check prior to your trip to be sure of how this would work for you.  Their website is Amtrak.com and they have schedules, rates and routes on their website.



Arizona desert



You must figure out when you plan to visit to know the best time to see each area of our country.  It is a very large country with everything from desert to swamp to beach to mountains, not to count all the rivers, lakes, waterfalls and wild animals.  If you travel across the Southern States during the summer you will suffer from the heat but the winter is very mild.  The Northern States are usually very cold, snowy or icy during the winter but the summers are pleasant. 



Rocky Mountains



Parks and camping facilities are scattered across most of the USA.  Most states have a website with information about availability, fees and other facilities in each of their parks.  There are also some chain private camping sites (KOA for example) but my preference would be to stay either in a National or State Park.  Many of the parks have cabins if you prefer not to carry equipment with you.  State Park cabins are usually reasonably priced but some of the National Park cabins can be pricy.  If you plan to visit a major National Park like Yosemite, Yellowstone, or the Grand Canyon, reservations may be needed even for camping sites, and some of the reservations fill up a year or more in advance. 

What do you want to see?  Everyone has different preferences: historical sites, nature, night life, major tourist attractions, famous cities or just the wide open spaces.  You have to make these decisions since it’s your trip.  Planning and preparation for a great trip takes time! 



60's New York Skyline at night



The lighter you can pack, the more you can enjoy your trip without lugging around tons of “stuff”.  Jeans and tee shirts are accepted in most places except for fancy restaurants, etc. and Laundromats are available in most towns. I always pack enough undies and socks to last for a week or two and keep the outer wear to a minimum.  Definitely wear comfy shoes! 

Okay, you’ve done all your prep work, saved all your money, packed all your gear and you’re ready to go!  I have a few suggestions of the places I would most like to show to those from other countries. 

 It is tempting to just stay in New York City for your entire trip as there is so much to see and explore there.  If you are secretly wealthy, then by all means, take your time.  If you are “just a regular person” then you may have to allocate only a day or two and realize that you may spend a big chunk of your money on a hotel for the night and food for the day or two.  Now if you find a good cheap hotel or a special discount price – wonderful!  Food is something else and depends on you.  You may want to eat in a famous place or you may only want to have something to fill that hunger in your belly.  Food vendors are common on the streets of New York and there are many little restaurants that don’t charge a fortune for a good meal.  I always thought it was fun to eat at the Automat but I understand that it is no longer open.  It was a restaurant that had vending machines for all the food long before “fast food” became popular. 

Anyway, the things in New York City that you really must see are The Statue of Liberty and the site of The Twin Towers.  Those are two places that are in the hearts of Americans everywhere even if they have never seen them.  The Empire State Building, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Wall Street, Yankee Stadium, the UN Building, Times Square, Union Station…the list goes on and on so you must select. These are the things you should research and decide before you leave home.  Once you are in the city it will be difficult to choose.   


Washington Monument with
Cherry Trees in bloom



Now that you have SEEN New York! And boarded your train, which direction are you going?  We’ll pretend you have arrived in the spring so the first place I would head would be to Washington DC to see the cherry blossoms in bloom and enjoy mild weather while exploring all the historical places here.  If you can, two days should allow you enough time to see almost everything.  Again, you must decide how many monuments you want to see.  The Smithsonian Institute and the National Air and Space Museum are both close to The Mall that runs in front of the Capitol Building.  The majority of “sites” are fairly close together and the Metro subway/bus system offers passes to help you navigate around to see everything.  Again, let me suggest you go to Washington.org before your trip and check out the 100 Free (or almost free) things to do and see in DC.

Tomorrow we’ll start on the rest of your trip.  Hope you come along for the ride! (Some of the postcards on this blog are from my personal collection or from my postcard store.)

Mary Jane, also known as Greatgma, Olgramma, Lilolady and Shrimp (since I'm old and I've always been short I guess they are all good nicknames)