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

NJGIRL;2461951 wrote: 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.

So funny you mention this... This is the hard part about this particular vacation is finding a place unique to all or a place people want to visit again. We were out to dinner and DH mentioned he wants to go to Niagra Falls, but his brother got engaged there and he and his wife just did another trip and they are part of this group. MIL has also been and doesn't care if she ever goes back. So maybe just the 3 of us will make it there one day. By the way I've stayed in a few Embassy suites, they are usually pretty nice and a good price!

Now that I've gone back through again and have a little more time, I wanted toile a few additional comments and ask some questions.

NJGIRL;2460708 wrote: Here's another one if you don't mind moving a couple of time during the trip.

Newport Rhode Island.....Mansions
Boston MA....Freedom Trail & Much More...Stay at the Omni here
Salem MA.....Witches, Witches & More Witches

We did this years ago and it was very cool

This is a big potential option for us. I think Boston area may be #1 for Dh. At least for next summer, we would like to stay within reasonable driving distance (we live right outside of Philly) and also somewhere that's hopefully not sweltering. We are both history lovers... We will see what the rest of the family thinks.

Hammer;2460751 wrote: My favorite trip in the US would have to be visiting San Francisco/ Napa/ Sonoma. San Francisco has to be one of my favorite cities in the US (along with NYC, Boston, and New Orleans).

Sadly, my brother in law says he will not visit California because of earthquakes! Honestly, there were 2 earthquakes when DH and Visited and we were on rides and didn't feel a thing. BIL has hiked volcanoes in Hawaii, and last year he came with us to Yellowstone (although he was slightly paranoid about the whole thing erupting whole we were there, lol). I hope we can change his mind because DH and I absolutely want to see more of California.

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.

NJGIRL;2460891 wrote: 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.

Busch Gardens and Water Country are so fun! I did Vanish Point at Water Country and it was the most terrifying ride I've ever done. I was shaking for 20 minutes after! We haven't adding to Williamsburg. As a history major, a lot of pHD historians rip it apart for being "fake" history, but to me, anything that gets people interested in the past is a-ok.

MNNHFLTX;2460930 wrote:
Other favorite places--Maine, San Francisco/northern California (including Yosemite), Yellowstone/Grand Teton, Washington D.C. and Gettysburg.

What was your Maine trip like? Where did you go?

Lots of history in Charleston and Savannah. [emoji6]

Melanie;2462083 wrote: Lots of history in Charleston and Savannah. [emoji6]

Oh, I'm not discounting these locations for future trips. Actually I made a list of all the places that have been mentioned. But for the next trip, (again, it has to be in June and we'd prefer to drive), those locations are a bit too far for a road trip, especially with MIL most likely in the car with us, and the average June temps are 10-15+ degrees higher than Boston.

Also please excuse my typos. I've been on my phone and since its last update, my autocorrect has been really weird. I see now that I missed a few "corrections" it made that were totally off.:blush:

We spent 3 days in Boston and didn't see everything....Also Salem is just 45 mins away. We were in Salem for 2 days. Since they are so close you can just stay in Boston and drive to Salem. We switched hotels but you don't have to. It's such a cool city. Stay at the Omni in Boston. It's a great hotel....formerly the Parker House.....here's a little history for you....This is where Boston Crème Pie was first served and John Wilkes Booth stayed there a few days before killing Lincoln. The Omni overlooks the Boston Commons so you are at the start of the Freedom Trail. The beds are heavenly!

I love Niagara Falls...I don't know when your MIL went but....We were there 14 years ago and had a great time, then we went back 4 years ago and there were so many changes...so much more to do, especially for families.

We have stayed at Embassy's in Salt Lake City, Niagara Falls, Phillly, and in Mass (for a wedding). We have enjoyed each one. So nice to have a separate bedroom when you have kids, a living room, and Mini "kitchen" is great too! Free buffet breakfast & snack at night are an added plus.

Did you do Hubba Bubba Highway at Water Country USA.....we loved that.

Gaitlenburg TN is very nice. Lots of water parks, beautiful scenery and FOOD!! I love the national park and history. Beautiful hiking, waterfalls, and driving trails. Also, St. Louis and Chicago have a lot of great museums and are both family- friendly cities. Our favorite trips were exploring Chicago.

I agree everyone should go to DC at least once. Good trip for older kids. I have enjoyed exploring Philly/NYC since moving to the east coast.

And a drive out west is always an adventure. We have not made this trip with our daughters and I regret it. New Mexico and Colorado were fun trips for us when we lived in Texas.

PirateLover;2462068 wrote: What was your Maine trip like? Where did you go?

We love, love, love Maine! We lived in New Hampshire years ago and used to go up the Maine coast on weekends, so our trip last summer to Maine was a homecoming of sorts. We stayed for a week on the St. George Peninsula in mid-coast Maine in a wonderful rental vacation cottage:

Riverwatch, Maine

The views from Riverwatch were amazing; I can't tell you how many mornings and evenings we sat out in those Adirondack chairs watching sunrises and sunsets! With the cottage came some unexpected surprises, like kayaks to take out on the water, and raspberry bushes with loads of berries on them. It made a good home base for day trips up to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Maine (very charming little town) and down the coast to Boothbay, as well as nearby Camden, Rockland, Belfast--all lovely coastal Maine towns. Lots of rentals on the Maine coast, but you have to do some homework to make sure that it will have everything you need as far as bedrooms, bathrooms, amenities, etc. We found that mid-coast Maine rentals were more reasonably priced than some further south along the coast.

We combined our Maine trip with some time in Boston too. That is a fun city--so much to do. Sights to see would include the Freedom Trail, Faneuil Hall, Boston Commons and the Public Gardens, the USS Constitution, the North End (best Italian food in New England, IMO) and the Aquarium. Of course, if you are into baseball you have to go to Fenway and the Duck Tours are a lot of fun.

I just thought of a place that might be perfect for your trip. I have never stayed there, but hear wonderful things about it. And the pictures are just stunning!

Look up Mohonk Mountain Resort in NY......This place is on my bucket list!

The rate seems high at first but it includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, afternoon tea, and most activities.

MNNHFLTX;2462581 wrote: We love, love, love Maine!

Us too! :thumbsup:

I have been to most of the places that have been mentioned. So many beautiful places in the US and Canada. I wanted to add that both Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard are both are really wonderful places to visit and perfect for a summer vacation in the North East.

My favorite vacations besides WDW and DL. were Branson, which I loved and could see going back every year. The shows were great, the scenic ozarks, silver dollar city, etc. We also had a great vacation to Colorado Springs, saw garden of the gods, pikes peak, royal gorge and went white water rafting. Would love to do it all again.

If you're looking at an east coast trip, we had a wonderful time driving from Michigan, up into Canada, stopped at Niagara Falls for a couple of days. Then drove to Bar Harbor, Maine which was beautiful! Especially Acadia National Park. Did the whale watching trip. Stopped in Salem, MA on the way home.

Otherwise our favorite trip was driving from Michigan to Montana to visit family, then staying in Yellowstone for several days before driving home. Did every touristy stop we could on the way, Corn Palace, Wall Drug, Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Black Hills, Devil's Tower. It was all awesome!

Another great trip was Michigan to St. Louis for a few days. Saw the arch, zoo and science cntr. Then on to Petit Jean state park in Arkansas where we rented a cabin. It was beautiful and had great hikes! We took day trips to Hot Springs and Crater of Diamonds state park. No diamonds found unfortunately. But we did find a rock that looks exactly like a potato.

NYC! Love going there, visiting the different boroughs, since there is much to do in each. Love staying at hotels right on Time Square. Great Broadway Shows to see and of course plenty of restaurants and shopping to do.

After, WDW? New Orleans. Visited The French Quarter and a couple of the old mansions.

I am so jealous.