What's the best trip you've taken in the U.S.?

1DisneyNut;2460846 wrote: Oddly enough as prior to taking the trip we never would have expected it, a trip that included Washington DC for several days, then Williamsburg (also hit Busch Gardens while we were there) and then to Virginia Beach ended up being one of the best and most memorable trips we have ever taken.

Washington DC is a trip every American should make if possible. So much history and the Smithsonian's are great. The monuments are cool too. Williamsburg is such a beautiful area and Busch Gardens and it's waterpark Water Country USA are not to be missed. Colonial Williamsburg is a great place for people who like history.

The Cruise I took to Alaska as a teenager is probably my favorite. We went all over the place when I was growing up (Boston, Philadelphia, NYC, North Carolina, St. Louis, Florida, Puerto Rico) but Alaska really left an impression on me, even as a young person.

I now live near Washington D.C. now and frankly, can't stand it. I am NOT a history person at all, but I can see how it is a really great destination for a lot of people. We have done all the museums and monuments and they were all "once and done" for me, personally, although I visited a few several times when family came to visit. I can't wait to get the heck outta here. ;) If my parents had brought us here as kids, I would have DIED from boredom. :blush:

BrerGnat;2460900 wrote: I now live near Washington D.C. now and frankly, can't stand it. I am NOT a history person at all, but I can see how it is a really great destination for a lot of people. We have done all the museums and monuments and they were all "once and done" for me, personally, although I visited a few several times when family came to visit. I can't wait to get the heck outta here. ;) If my parents had brought us here as kids, I would have DIED from boredom. :blush:

I love DC proper. It's all the surrounding I could do without. :yes: Although I am a history major, DC is more about patriotism to me. For me, not a lot can compare to the feeling of standing at the war memorials and reflecting on those sacrifices, or staring up at the giant Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln in their beautiful memorials and remembering what great men they were and how they shaped our nation. But you know, I'm a sucker for Hall of Presidents and the American Adventure as well.

All that said, I know Maryanne has done DC, and lives close enough for weekend trips.

I will say though, Williamsburg is indeed a great trip. Besides Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, we went to Busch Gardens for the first time last summer and really enjoyed it. I like it better than it's Florida counterpart.

Melanie;2460907 wrote:
I will say though, Williamsburg is indeed a great trip. Besides Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, we went to Busch Gardens for the first time last summer and really enjoyed it. I like it better than it's Florida counterpart.

We liked Busch Gardens quite a bit as well. The rest of Williamsburg, the colonial stuff...LOOKED cool but as we were walking the area, a canon blast completely paralyzed my younger son and he lost his freaking mind. We basically had to run back to the car with him covering his ears and crying the whole way. So, yeah...

When we travel in the U.S. we always include a national park--there are so many beautiful ones! Our most memorable trip was flying into Vegas, driving to Sedona, AZ (stopping at Hoover Dam on the way), staying there a few days for the scenery and hiking. The red rocks are absolutely stunning! We then drove up to the Grand Canyon, spent the day on the South Rim and then drove around the east side of the canyon and up to the North Rim, where we stayed in a cabin 20 feet from the canyon! From there we went up to Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park. The latter is one of my favorite parks ever. We hiked the "narrows" (the Virgin River enclosed on either side by a canyon--you hike in the river) and the resort we stayed at, the Desert Pearl Inn, was an amazing place. Our room had a private terrace overlooking the river and the red cliffs. I want to go back there someday for sure! We then drove back to Vegas for the flight home.

Other favorite places--Maine, San Francisco/northern California (including Yosemite), Yellowstone/Grand Teton, Washington D.C. and Gettysburg.

Everyone has their likes and dislikes but some of my picks would be:
Glacier National Park - quite bit like Yellowstone but worth the trip to see it too.
Brice and Zion National Parks - beautiful and not as crowded as Yellowstone.
Anywhere north of Santa Barbara along the California coast - even though I was born and raised in LA I hate what the area has become in the last 20 years and won't be going back unless it was a family emergency.
Charleston & Hilton Head, SC, Savannah, GA and I'd also throw in Saint Augustine FL too - we have made this area part of our trips down to WDW.
A bit out of the US, Vancouver, BC with a trip over to Victoria - we just got back from an Alaskan cruise with 2 days in this area and spent more time there in years past. We are really wanting to go back and spend more time there. Alaska not so much, was a "once and done" for us.
Hawaii - any island, any time!
Mary Anne, have a great time planning your next trip in this great big wonderful country of ours.

New Orleans!

Man, i'm lucky I grew up in, and have moved back to, Virginia. All of our field trips were to Williamsburg, Richmond, Washington DC, Monticello, Kings Dominion, etc. This past week I got to hike for three days on the Appalachian Trail with my daughter.

When I was a kid, we drove across the country *every year* because my Dad (from Richmond, VA) promised my Mom (from Boonville, CA) that he would get her home every year. And he did. And so we took a different route each time. At this point, the only continental states I haven't been to are Connecticut and Rhode Island.

That said, I don't have any one favorite US trip. I really enjoyed a family vacation we took a few years ago where we hit DC for a day to catch the "Art of Video Games" exhibit at the National Museum of American Art, then hit Gettysburg, Upstate New York and Niagara Falls. That was a great trip.

Tomorrow we're heading to Charlotte, NC to see Weird Al Yankovic in concert, then flying out to Las Vegas the next morning so that we can drive into Southern Utah and go hiking in Zion National Park. I expect this to be a great trip as well.

Favorite trip so far has been our road trip to Wa from SoCal and back. Started with a week in Seattle, drove up and around the northwest part of the state, I guess the start of Hwy 101, down through Oregon, and Northern California....through San Fran back inland and home....it was 2 amazing weeks that I could do again and again(actually could've spent less time in Seattle for more of the "nature" part of our drive!)....and we will be again next week, just a condensed version!

Close second was Southern Utah....hiking the Narrows in Zion, Bryce Canyon, North Rim Grand Canyon, horseback riding and ATV trail rides in the state parks near St George. Soo much fun and ridiculously affordable!

Then I would say Grand Canyon, just stayed 4 days with a few days getting there and back in April. We stayed in the Yavapai Lodge in the park and it was awesome! Everyone needs to go to the Grand Canyon at least once....its incredible!

Dinosaur National Park in Maybell, UT is a have to see. A lot of people have mentioned places in California but another must see is to take a walking tour through the Redwoods at Trees of Mystery in Klamath, CA.

When my girls were almost two, four and seven we spent three weeks driving cross country. Started in pittsburgh, on to kansas to visit with family. Then across southern kansas to boulder colorado. You spend two days driving toward the distant rockies! From Boulder to Pikes Peak, seven veils falls, garden of the gods. North to rocky mountain state forest, moose, great back country cooking and crazy hairpin turns up the pass. Next we decided to visit family in grand junction and discover dinosaurs for a while. Since the push was on, we went north through cattle farms with no fences and plenty of long horn cattle to stand in the middle of the road. In extreme nw colorado the plateus looked like the surface of the moon. We finally pulled into jackson hole and then yellowstone. The wildlife and scenery are unbeatable. The tetons are truely spectacular! In southern montana we saw fields of prairie dogs, where custer has his last stand and the badlands. Mt rushmore is also something to be seen on this trip. And last, but not least....the wall drug signs!
We had been on the road for three weeks. About 4 hours from the house my two year old started yelling, "stuck!" And trying to get out of her seat. Other than that and the one flea infested hotel room, it was great!

Sorry I went MIA on this thread that I started! I truly appreciate all the input. I did say US, but Canada is a possibility as well. My DH just refuses (for now anyway) to fly anywhere overseas.

To address some of the questions/comments...
-These would need to be 4-5 day adventures for the most part. We don't really want to do much location switching. We did 4 days at Yellowstone/Jackson Hole and switched locations and it was a hassle, so we all agreed that on shorter trips we would stay in one place and just do things within driving distance.
-DH and I are the only ones with a kid, who will be 1 1/2 by the time our next trip rolls around. The rest of the family are adults ranging from 23-63!
-I grew up in Philly and have been to DC many times. I do love historical stuff. -Everyone else in this particular familial group has done Hawaii, (except for me, waah).
- DH has always wanted to do a cross-country road trip, but that's not in the cards for the foreseeable future.

We are spending 4th of July with DH's family and plan to discuss all of these, so I really appreciate all of your input!

Good grief! How could I have forgotten the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon is on the list, but it's looking like these are going to be summer trips, so we thought we might hold off on that one until DD is a little older due to the difficulty of handling the heat and crowds with a little one.

PirateLover;2461762 wrote: Sorry I went MIA on this thread that I started! I truly appreciate all the input. I did say US, but Canada is a possibility as well. My DH just refuses (for now anyway) to fly anywhere overseas.

To address some of the questions/comments...
-These would need to be 4-5 day adventures for the most part. We don't really want to do much location switching. We did 4 days at Yellowstone/Jackson Hole and switched locations and it was a hassle, so we all agreed that on shorter trips we would stay in one place and just do things within driving distance.
-DH and I are the only ones with a kid, who will be 1 1/2 by the time our next trip rolls around. The rest of the family are adults ranging from 23-63!
-I grew up in Philly and have been to DC many times. I do love historical stuff. -Everyone else in this particular familial group has done Hawaii, (except for me, waah).
- DH has always wanted to do a cross-country road trip, but that's not in the cards for the foreseeable future.

We are spending 4th of July with DH's family and plan to discuss all of these, so I really appreciate all of your input!

After reading this I would either go with Las Vegas or Niagara Falls.
Stay on the Canadian side (Embassy Suites was very nice with a great location) but make sure you spend a day on the NY side. The town in NY might not be great but the NY park is very nice and had a lot of cool things you can't do on the other side.