I think New York City. The fashions at Top Shop will make her happy. The people are great, the restaurants are amazing, and baseball will be in full swing. The Met, MOMA, the Frick are all great museums. She will thank you forever. Plus it's easy for you to get to it.

I live in the South and we have all that too, but I'm not sure you'd enjoy the heat in July. My birthday is in July too. We will celebrate with many cool drinks

There are a lot of options. Both the east and west coast have a good combination of great museums, national parks, and beautiful coastal areas. The east coast in July can be hot and humid. The west coast in July has very nice comfortable weather. My first choice would be California, but is that too far of a flight for you?

Does she want to see Disneyland or Walt Disney World?

Agree to ehad to NYC. It will be hot in the summer - but not as helishly hot and humid as the south (family in FL don;t go outdoors between late May and mid Oct - just form AC house to AC car to AC shops and restaurants etc). Some retired come back north for the summer to stay with kids' families to get beter weather.

Hotel prices should be moderate - you will have incredible museums, shopping of all types at all prices and two major league baseball teams. And the food is excellent if you avoid chain places - and you can find restauants of every possible ethnicity to explore. With the food prepared from real ingredients by locals of each partiular country (Queens, one of the counties of NYC - has immigrants from more than 110 countries). And if you come before July 4 you can help us celebrate our birthday too.

And if you're here for a whole 2 weeks you might want to spend a few days at the beach. (Many people don't realize but NY has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world - from Jones Beach State Park - which can be done be train as a day trip - to a few days mid week in the Hamptons - if you feel like driving - not just for great beaches - but to watch the ultra wealthy and famous doing their thing).

LOL - New York City prooooooooooobably isn't going to meet the real friendly wish, but if your daughter has never been to America, then you really should go to NYC for at least a chunk of your time.

The weather could be any degree of 'summer' in early July... but you should probably expect to be doing your New York tourist spots in uncomfortable heat then.

There just isn't another spot which really lets you grab so much of "America" as does NYC. The alternatives for cooler weather aren't too predictable and certainly aren't going to be any easier to get to, from Scotland.

Every state in America except two had a warmer-than-average 2011 and every state in America except one had a warmer-than-average April of 2012.

That's what you're up against, and early July will test it a great deal.

I think NYC is probably the greatest city in the world. I love it there and I think it should be your top choice -- but I think two weeks is too long.

I agree that it would be a good idea to include some days at the beach. I'd include a day trip to Brooklyn to explore the Russian section ("Little Odessa"), Brighton Beach, and maybe Coney Island.

I haven't been to the other NY beaches, but I'd look into them.

Hmm, with 2 weeks you can prob. squeeze another stop. Besides NYC. I might suggest Cooperstown, NY, Kent, CT, Nyack, NY, Beacon, NY, Rhinebeck, NY, Williamstown, MA etc.

Denver/Boulder/Colorado Springs/Estes Park/RMNP - 300 days of sunshine

*Pearl Street Mall - pedestrian only mall in Boulder (a college town)
*Shakespeare in the Park (Boulder)
*DCPA - "the Denver Performing Arts Complex is the largest performing arts center under one roof, and the second-largest center of its kind in terms of number of venues and seating capacity."
*16th Street Mall and movies at the Denver Pavilions
*Cherry Creek Shopping Center and Restaurants
*Bonnie Brae Ice Cream
*Rockies Baseball in a FRIENDLY city with tickets that are reasonable
*White Water Rafting
*Factory Outlet at Castle Rock
*Cog Railway to Pikes Peak where America the Beautiful was conceived
*Seven Falls
*Manitou Springs
*Royal Gorge
*Colorado City
*the shops and restaurants of Estes Park
*Going thru Rocky Mountain National Park and over Trail Ridge Road "The highest continuous auto road in the United States"
*The coloradoirishfestival in Littleton July 13-15

Or come in September an see all the Scots at the Longs Peak Scottish Irish Festival.

Another option would be Boston and either Cape Cod and the islands or north to Maine. You could spend several days in the city for great food, Red Sox game, museums, etc, then head to the Cape or north on the coast.

I would think New York City would be on the top priority list. I live outside oh Philly, and a trip down to Philly would be good as well. There is the Liberty Bell and a lot of history to be seen. I think an entire 2 week in just new york alone will be to much. I visit the city of New York for plays and I have always encountered very friendly people. I have never met an unfriendly person. I also like the idea of going to Maine maybe cape cod martha's vineyard Nantucket, or perhaps a few days in Boston. You will have the time.

If you're not going to go as far as California, then Manhattan and environs, hands down. (SueWoo, TopShop is a London-based company, with thousands of locations, just not in the US LOL!)

I know, but that NY one has cooler shoes!

From NYC you can do beaches - if you're so inclined. Take a bus from Port Authority to the Jersey Shore. Or, go on day trips (as another poster has mentioned), with the Long Island Railroad to LI beaches. Yes, going to Brighton Beach in Brrooklyn you'll get beach, ocean and Russian neighborhood. Beach + ethnic, two for one.

You could also go upstate to the "country" (as we New York City-ers like to call it). Take Metro North (railroad at Grand Central Station), or rent a car, to any towns along the Hudson river. Can stay over night. Really lovely trip.

Can spend a week or a little more in NYC and then take a train to Boston and spend 4 days there. Boston has much American history. About 4-4/12 hours from NYC. (There's new fast train between the two cities, but I don't remember the name of it.)

Well, when some of our Scottish friends brought their daughter (I believe also 16, maybe 17) to the US for the first time, they wanted to make sure that she saw more than just big cities. New York was an obvious choice (she was really into shopping) but then they flew out west for the second half of the trip. In their case they went to San Francisco, then hired a car and drove down the California coast to LA, then flew home from there. As I recall they spent 4 or 5 days in New York, then a day flying, then 3 in SF, 3 on the road (one too many IMO) and 3 or 4 in LA.

Their idea was to give the daughter the big city experience, but also to get her familiar with the geographic and cultural diversity of the USA. In NYC she shopped, saw the main sights and some of the lesser-visited ones (for first timers, anyway.) They went to a Broadway play, ate at a deli, visited Strawberry Fields in Central Park, went to a couple of museums, and generally did touristy things.

Then in SF the same sorts of things - cable cars, Chinatown, Golden Gate Bridge, etc., before driving down California Hwy 1 and seeing the Monterey aquarium, Big Sur and the gorgeous central coast, the Hearst Castle, and Santa Barbara.

In LA they went to the beach, walked around Hollywood and Beverly Hills, and ate a lot of Mexican food, for which the daughter evidently discovered she had a passion. And more shopping. They offered Disneyland but she declined.

It was a full fortnight, but not so full as to be exhausting, and it primed the daughter for future travels, of which she's subsequently done quite a lot.

This is just one possibility, of course. Another would be to fly from NYC to Vancouver and explore British Columbia and the US Pacific Northwest - fabulous cities and even more fabulous countryside; or to one of the great national parks - fly to Phoenix, for example, and visit the Grand Canyon... the list is very long indeed. The point being, see something of the countryside.

Good thinking! Traveling with your 16-year-old daughter is the perfect excuse to bond with her. I suggest you go to the countryside where she can smell and watch nature in its purest form. That way, you won't feel rushed and haggard at the end of the day trying to mingle in the streets of a big city. Explore nature, have fun trekking in the woods. Just make sure you get nice walking shoes so you don't have to want to go to bed with aching feet and body. Believe me the whole experience is like going to the gym and feel proud after a hard-earned workout!

Countryside is fine if that's what you like - frankly I'm a city person and quickly get bored at the shore or in the mountains unless there's something to do besides look at rocks and grass and trees.

Obviously ifyou want to see a major sight - such as hte Grand Canyon - that's worth spending some days in the west. But for baseball games, good food and the real USA you need to visit some major cities - preferably at least New York.

The poster doesn't say if she's from a city in Scotland or the countryside. Just like in the U.S. these are very different experiences. However, having traveled to Scotland and being from NYC, the cities in Scotland are not NYC. Very different.

It might be nice to do cities, as I suggested, NYC and Boston and also go out to the countryside; in just 1 1/2 - 2 hours from NYC you're in the country. Rolling hills. Can do it as a day trip.

AND, you can definitely bond with someone while "doing" NYC. There's so much to see and so many experiences that you will have together and remember for the rest of your lives. (Just seeing the Statue of Liberty is thrilling.) Bonding is not just a countryside experience. (And for "nature" there's always Central Park for trees, lakes, ravines, birds, people watching and the ever popular squirrels.)

New York or San Francisco would fulfill those requirements......(sorry if this info is redundant, I was too lazy to read all of the replies).

What about flying into NYC and staying for a week then taking the train to Boston and exploring Boston for a few days and then renting a car and going to Cape Cod for a few days. The Cape is a very different experience and has lovely beaches. You could stop at Plimouth Plantation on the way down and see how it all started. Would she like a whale watch? They run out of Provincetown. Or you could just take the ferry from Boston to P-town for the day.

Whatever you end up doing I hope you have a wonderful time with your daughter!

I meant to add and fly home from Boston.

Since many people say NYC, so since you asked for a STATE, New York is the obvious choice! There is so much to do, it is impossible to recommend all, but you could see NYC and then go "upstate" into the Adirondacks, or all the way to the Canadian border where Lake Ontario flows into the St Lawrence River - there you will find the "Thousand Islands" of salad dressing fame. Over a thousand islands with boating, fishing swimming, etc and a lot of natural beauty. I think you can get a bus from NYC to Syracuse for like 55$ round trip (friend of friend told me) Baseball game in Syracuse right off HWY 81 at the Park Street exit. cheap, good atmosphere!

New York and washington DC. Fly into one city and out of the other by checking "multiple stops" when looking for tickets on internet. Tons of free museums in D.C.

Take the boat over to Alexandria. Soak up some history.

You will have so many options it will be difficult to decide how to spend these two weeks. Have fun! What a lucky girl!

It is true that New York State is very beautiful overall - and if you want ome time outdoors - besides the incredible beaches alredy recommended - there is plent to do in various areas update - from historical sights to beautiful lanke and the enourmous adirondacks park - for hiking, boating etc. But to do any of these things you really need to rent a car - they just' no doable otherwise.

If you want to do NYC plus I would add either DC or Boston, The more is largee and has more to do but the weather does tend to be VERY hot and humid - even more so than NYC. Boston is smaller, charming, and still has a lot to see and do, but tends to be a little cooler.

And just so you're prepared - do look at the average weather - and the forecast - before packing. Some years ago I flew from London back to NYC in June and happened to be sitting next to a yuong woman rom Scotland. She was wearing a pair of cords, long-sleeve shirt and sweater. I mentioned that I hoped she had summer clothes with her - and she said yes, she had some lighter sweters. She seemed amazed when the pilot did the weather shortly before landing and said the forecast was for 92 that day. Definitely be ready for hot and humid - although everything has AC.

I think with two weeks I would follow Gardyloo's suggestion of NYC and the west coast. Two different experiences in every way. I think you would also welcome the cooler west coast weather after your time in NYC. You could even attend baseball games on both coasts, again, totally different experiences. Whatever you decide, have fun!

Just visted Edinburgh last week and the Scots are among the nicest people we have met. But you do have an unuual defintion of summer, 40's, rainy, and windy.

I am native NY'er and NYC is the greatest city in the world. The only problem with visiting both coasts is the amount of time you will lose traveling.

As far as freindly is concerned, there are 8 million people in NYC and 17 million in the metropolitan area so we just do not have time to say hello to everybody. But if you stop us individually, you will see that your sense of humor and ours are very similar.

adu...why do we dsagree so much when we have actually worked together enjoyably...The answer is L.A. is the most fascinating city in the world, bar none. I'm so far removed (55 years) from Massachusetts, but Boston would rank second among American cities. Let's argue over email..everyone ids getting sick of us constant bickering. You know, the humorless Fodorite crowd!

How about San Diego? Great baseball experience at Petco Park, and the Padres are at home July 5,6,7 & 8.

Super friendly people, great museums and parks and your daughter would love the beach and shopping.

Tower

LA is just a company town with a sun tan. The problem with LA, is LA (except for Tower, his family and a few of my relatives who live in Encino.)

The museums in NYC and DC are incomparable and there are over 25,000 restaurants in NYC. Last year 50 million visitors came to NYC while they had 50 million tummy tucks and boob jobs just in LA.

the lady said a 'state' so I still would say New York - great city, relative proximity to UK, HUGE variety of things to do. Of course COlorado and California would be excellent choices too. Adu and Tower I have seen some of your other posts and find the 2 of you entertaining... is there something wrong with me?

Adu and Tower I have seen some of your other posts and find the 2 of you entertaining... is there something wrong with me?

I do not know, what are your symptoms?

I say Boston. It's a relatively quick flight. You won't need a car.

Seeing the Boston Pops on the 4th of July is awesome!!

See the Red Sox.

Take a Duck Tour.

Follow the Freedom Trail.

Shop Newbury Street.

Ride the Swan Boats.

Rent a car for just a few days and visit Cape Cod or head north to Maine.

Tower, LA a "city"? - only by government definition! (I love the LA area, but it's an "area", not a city in the NY-London-even San Francisco sense of the word).

Probably about time for the OP to reappear and give some feedback.

I'll just add my vote for a week in New York and then going up to Boston or down to Philadelphia and/or Washington, if this is a first trip to the U.S.

unless this is just another of the tens of trolls last week.

It's endemic to Fodors I believe...OP writes a post and elicits many sensible responses, never to be aheard from again. Wilma has left the building. Crass manners sums it up.

I agree with everyone on Manhattan and surrounding area. The beaches off Long Island will give you the city experience AND the beach experience too. Baseball, shopping, museums, and just being in NYC is a trip in itself. Unless you have unlimited funds, I wouldn't travel across to California...but stay along the eastern seaboard utilizing trains, cars etc. The whole Boston, Cape Cod thing sounds great as does Washington DC. Huge options for museums (free) there. Good luck

tower, Wilma is new to Fodors, and may have trouble getting back to the site and/or not know that you are expecting her to respond or may be without computer connection for a couple of weeks.

Malloy...yes, perhaps I've been a bit harsh..but it's all too common the last few years on Fodors. We who contribute to almost every post where we can help, begin to chafe when OP's don't respond. In this case, Wilma has had 38 replies to her quest, many in great detail. That's sort of a non-response record I'll bet.
stu

troll.. writing style is the same as tens of other posts. short.. sweet to the point .

What a shame that someone who can write "short, sweet [and] to the point" must be a troll.

It's a virtue more of our regulars should practice.

Quick story . . .

they are all so similar.. but,yes.. you are right! A real virtue! (Who knows. I may be wrong of course!!) Just saw so many new posters the past week or so .. it seemed pretty strange.