Imaginary Trip

If you like nature you might skip all the cities and just head for the wide open spaces to explore.  If you are person who loves history, then your choices might be to follow in the footsteps of the original settlers through the cities of the East Coast.  If you are into Art, then your ideal trip would be to see all the Art Museums you could find.  Since this is MY imaginary trip for you then I will choose the places I think would best show our country to you. 

There are many ways to travel and I think all of them are wonderful but I am going to suggest you fly to the United 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.  These are very valuable resources for planning your trip as most of them cover the places to stay, to eat and things to do or see.  There are 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.  I 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.

There are so many places to see and each city could be a place to explore for a week but I am picking and choosing only the must see or top places to visit. These are places that are unique or so very popular that you don’t want to miss them.  There are so many places to choose from that you might find other places that YOU don’t want to miss.  So bear with me as I take you on my list of Must Sees.  Washington DC is quite a city but now it’s time to move along.  The south may still be quite warm even during the spring so we will head south and then west along the Southern States.



St. Augustine Spanish Buildings



Many people from other countries think of the US as Disney World and Coca-Cola.  Florida will be our next stop and it’s up to you to decide if the fantasy world of Disney is your destination or if you prefer to explore the Everglades, the Keyes or the beaches of Miami.  Cape Canaveral Launch Site is also in Florida along with the oldest United States city of St. Augustine.  Take your pick of these and then we will start west.



French Quarter in New Orleans



Next stop is New Orleans and is a city more European than most US cities.  The architecture comes mainly from the Spanish and French influences long before Louisiana became a State.  The wrought iron balconies and courtyards found in the French Quarter remain a large part of the charm of New Orleans.  If you arrive for Mardi Gras you will have to be here in late February or early March and the weather at that time can still be quite chilly because of the high humidity.  Since we are traveling a little later than that, we will enjoy New Orleans as it is normally (without it’s make-up on).  It still is unique and I suggest you explore more of the city than just the French Quarter.  The Superdome is not far across the downtown area.  Audubon Park is near Tulane University and the surrounding area has many remarkable older homes that have remained or been restored after Hurricane Katrina.  A trolley ride from the French Quarter can bring you to this area. Again, like most large cities, New Orleans is a place where you could spend your entire vacation as there are so many wonderful places to enjoy.  We are headed west now and the train is waiting.

Texas is a huge state and the first one we will pass through on our way to our next stop.  We are also crossing New Mexico before we reach Arizona, the home of the Grand Canyon.  From the view outside the train windows you can understand why so many people enjoy exploring the United States on a motorcycle or in a car or RV.  There is a lot of country and it takes a while to get from one place to another and there is so much to see in between. 

The Grand Canyon is the natural wonder that is known throughout the world as one of those places that you can’t believe until you see it.  I have been there twice.  The first time I was too young to really appreciate what I was seeing and my family was in a hurry as we were moving.  The last time I was there, I had grown too old to hike down and back up.  How I wish I had been there when I was in my young adult years.  Many ride the mules but I am not comfortable with placing my trust in a mule when I don’t like heights.  The scenery is spectacular but you do need to be cautious as it is a very long way down and not all areas are protected.  Helicopter rides are also available for those who love risk taking.  Every time you look into the Grand Canyon the light has changed just a bit to make the scene different. The photos above are ones that I took while we were there. You can gaze at it for hours.  My suggestion is to go while you are young and make the most of it by taking a trip to the bottom instead of just looking from the rim.  

If you just have to go to Las Vegas, it will have to be a side trip by bus, plane, rented vehicle or some other means than the train.  Otherwise we will continue on our way to California to see the world’s tallest or oldest trees.  They are located in several parks.  The Sequoia National Park is one of the least visited but most spectacular due to its location.  Depending on the weather the roads are sometimes closed so it is wise to check first.  Not only the oldest (largest) tree is here, so is Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the lower US and Kings Canyon, the deepest canyon, along with caverns and caves.  If Sequoia National Park is closed, the tallest redwoods are in the Redwoods National and State Parks in northern California.  You have to see the redwood trees to believe how big they really are. 

We have skipped past Death Valley, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Yosemite National Park.  All of these are wonderful places to visit depending on your time and budget.  We will talk more about them in the State descriptions later.  It is hard to not see everything but at least you are getting an idea of where some of these places are! To see the Great Salt Lake in Utah you can take a train from the San Francisco/Sacramento area and even continue on to Denver, Colorado to see the Rocky Mountains and the ski areas nearby.  (Not much snow there during the summer months though.)   

By now it must be almost summer and we have headed north with many places to see along the way.  We are going through Oregon and then Washington State.  Seattle is the jumping off place to head into Canada and on to Alaska.  Seattle and the area around it are some of the most interesting places to see but for now we are heading back to the east. 

We will cross the Rocky Mountains to Glacier National Park where we will get off.  We can explore it if you choose and then take a side trip down to Yellowstone National Park, one of the most unique geological sites in the world.  Geysers, hot springs, plus rivers, mountains, wilderness and bison, wolves, bears and deer are waiting for you.  Back country hiking and camping can be arranged if you want to get really up close with nature at its best.   

Back to the train so we can cross the wide open great plains of the United States until we get off to see Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.  The four Presidents carved in stone are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.  Only by standing in front of this great carving can you truly appreciate the artistry and engineering skill involved in creating the grandeur on the mountain.  There are other tourist sites nearby to make this area a destination for travelers.  

Vintage Chicago Night Skyline



You will see the headwaters of the great Mississippi River from the train windows and we will be going through Minneapolis (home to Mall of America) and then on to Chicago where there are many museums, the Navy Pier, Millennium Park, and many other sites to see.  We will change trains again here to go south a bit to St. Louis, the city along the Mississippi River where so many pioneers left for their covered wagon treks across the west.  The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, more commonly called The St. Louis Arch, is a memorial to those people with the vision to settle and expand this vast country.  The view from inside the top of the Arch is worth the tiny elevator trip.



Niagara Falls at Night



From St. Louis we return to Chicago and board a new train heading east again to Niagara Falls.  From there we will return to New York for your plane trip home. 

I can’t believe how many places you didn’t get to see and I’m sure my choices might not be your choices.  We didn’t see the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia or Cape Cod or where the pilgrims landed in Massachusetts. 

If you have plenty of time and money, it would be easy to spend a year or more wandering around any country to get to know the people and enjoy the food, culture, and “places to see”.   The United States is almost like 50 countries joined together as one so you need about 50 years to explore them all.  Each state is unique and has places that are interesting to see, regional foods, people with different lifestyles and cultures.  The state descriptions in future writings will tell you about many of these places.