Around the U.S.A. in Forty Days
May 31st, 2010, 04:23 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 303
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Around the U.S.A. in Forty Days
My partner, our dog and I recently did a 40-day road trip around the U.S.A. We started from our home on the CA central coast and drove across the middle of the country then drove up the east coast and then came back west along the upper part of the country.
We spent a few nights with friends along the way but mostly stayed in hotels. I found the website www.dogfriendly.com and the AAA book Traveling With Your Pet to be very useful. We had a general plan from the start and I made a list of potential places to stay,but we did make some changes as we went along.
The most amazing thing about the trip to me is just how smoothly it went. We never had car trouble, always found places to stay and most amazing of all: managed to stay civil with one another and the dog the entire time.
I had a good atlas and several guidebooks handy at all times. Our car (2002 Saab convertible) does not have a built-in GPS so we bought one and it was well worth the money.
Since we only had a finite number of days we could be gone, we had to leave out some places we might have wanted to go. For example, we both grew up in the south so we primarily skipped the southern states because we had already seen most of them although I'd love to do another trip exclusively in the south. Since we live in California we didn't spend much time here except at the very end when we drove back down from Oregon. We also go to New York City frequently so skipped it on this trip. Because of the time of year we were traveling (we left April 11th and returned May 20th) there was not much opened at Glacier National Park so we decided to skip that. We did go to Yellowstone although the entire park was not yet open but there was still plenty for us to see.
Bottom line: we had the time of our lives! We have both traveled fairly extensively but almost all of the trips have been by air. We have done a couple of trips in Europe where we did some driving from place to place but nothing to the extent we did on this trip.
I will go into more detail in further chapters under this post and I'm happy to answer any questions.
We spent a few nights with friends along the way but mostly stayed in hotels. I found the website www.dogfriendly.com and the AAA book Traveling With Your Pet to be very useful. We had a general plan from the start and I made a list of potential places to stay,but we did make some changes as we went along.
The most amazing thing about the trip to me is just how smoothly it went. We never had car trouble, always found places to stay and most amazing of all: managed to stay civil with one another and the dog the entire time.
I had a good atlas and several guidebooks handy at all times. Our car (2002 Saab convertible) does not have a built-in GPS so we bought one and it was well worth the money.
Since we only had a finite number of days we could be gone, we had to leave out some places we might have wanted to go. For example, we both grew up in the south so we primarily skipped the southern states because we had already seen most of them although I'd love to do another trip exclusively in the south. Since we live in California we didn't spend much time here except at the very end when we drove back down from Oregon. We also go to New York City frequently so skipped it on this trip. Because of the time of year we were traveling (we left April 11th and returned May 20th) there was not much opened at Glacier National Park so we decided to skip that. We did go to Yellowstone although the entire park was not yet open but there was still plenty for us to see.
Bottom line: we had the time of our lives! We have both traveled fairly extensively but almost all of the trips have been by air. We have done a couple of trips in Europe where we did some driving from place to place but nothing to the extent we did on this trip.
I will go into more detail in further chapters under this post and I'm happy to answer any questions.
May 31st, 2010, 05:13 PM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 303
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Chapter 1: The Destinations
We spent at least one night in each of the following: Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Santa Fe NM, Denver CO, Columbia MO, Lexington KY area, Raleigh NC, Alexandria VA (Washington DC area), Old Saybrook CT, Brewster MA, Ogunquitt ME, Saratoga Springs NY, Niagara Falls, ONT, Pittsburgh PA, Ann Arbor MI, Traverse City MI, Holland MI, Madison WI,Sioux Falls SD, Deadwood SD, Billings MT, W. Yellowstone MT, Coeur d'Alene ID, Seattle WA, Portland OR, Bandon OR, and Ukiah CA.
We chose most of the stops because they were places we wanted to see or near places we wanted to see. A few were chosen simply because they were located on the way to somewhere and were as far as we wanted to drive in one day. I think our longest driving day was 13 hours from Denver to Columbia MO. We discovered that Kansas is a very wide state! There wasn't much interesting scenery but there were some fairly interesting billboards to read.
One thing that kept parts of the drives interesting was that we were determined never to eat in a fast food chain along the way (actually we were determined not to eat in chains period) so around lunchtime we were busy trying to find local places to eat. If were on a big highway it usually meant making some detours but that made it interesting and we saw lots more this way. We used the book Roadfood by Jane and Michael Stern as a useful guide to finding many of these places. There were some occasional "misses" but for the most part we managed to eat very well and never once settled for a fast food chain.
Our first night was in Las Vegas. Originally we thought it would be fun to stay in one of the strip hotels but we could not find one that would take a dog. I think the casino hotels want you in the casino and not out walking your dog. But we found a La Quinta (all La Quintas take dogs) not far from the strip and it worked out fine. We went to see the show La Reve and greatly enjoyed it.
After Las Vegas we went to the Grand Canyon. Along the way we stopped to check out some of the old Route 66 towns which were quite interestig-especially Seligman AZ. It was a beautiful, sunny day when we arrived and we were able to walk the dog along part of the south rim. When we were about to the end of the walk it started getting very windy and then started snowing. We spent the night just outside the park at a place called the Red Feather Lodge which we would not recommnend. It wasn't the worst place I've ever stayed but there must surely be better places in the area. When we left the area instead of taking the road we'd come on from Williams, we took Hwy 180 through the Coconino National Forest and it was a beautiful drive.
Our next destination was Santa Fe but we spent much of the day stopping at places along the old Route 66 such as Winslow AZ, Holbrook AZ and Gallup NM. When we arrived in Santa Fe we were very happy with our room at the Old Santa Fe Inn. We spent 2 nights there and loved the city. It's also very dog-friendly. All the galleries along Canyon Rd welcomed our dog as if he was a major art buyer!
After Santa Fe we headed to Denver and spent a night with family. Then we took the longest drive of the trip which I described earlier. Our final destination that day was Columbia MO which we chose because that was as far as we wanted to drive but it turned out to be a charming college town and we had great burgers at a place suggested in Roadfood called Booches.
We then headed to the Lexington KY area to spend a couple of days at our friends' farm. On the way we stopped in St Louis MO just to check out the downtown and to see the Gateway Arch. The highlight of our stay in the Lexington area (besides catching up with old friends) was going to the races at Keeneland. It was a beautiful day and it is such a lovely place. The only time we betted our horse came in dead last but it was fun anyway.
Raleigh NC was our next stop where we spent the night with a relative. The drive to Raleigh was very scenic.
After Raleigh we headed to the Washington DC area but spent a good part of the day in beautiful Charlotteville VA. We had lunch there and visited some of the gorgeous campus designed by Thomas Jefferson. Even though I had tried to book in advance everything in DC was either booked or way too expensive so we ended up staying in Alexandria VA. This turned out fine because it's a fairly easy drive to DC and Alexandria is a nice place itself. Because we wanted to go inside some of the DC attractions we thought it best not to take the dog. Since he couldn't stay in the hotel room all day we found a dog day care for him to visit. We took him to a place called A Dog's Day Out and he seemed to enjoy having a play day with other dogs and we were free to go anywhere we wanted.
After a couple of days in the DC area we drove to Old Saybrook CT. We have some friends who live in the area and we wanted to check out some fo the CT coastal towns. It is a beautiful area! We spent lots of time driving through the various little towns along the way and then getting out and wandering around.
Charm continued to be a theme when we drove from Old Saybrook to Cape Cod. We spent 2 days with friends on Cape Cod in Brewster MA. While there we visited several other great places such as Chatham and Provincetown.
After Cape Cod we continued the "charm tour" in Ogunquitt ME where we spent a couple of nights visiting friends in the area.
We spent at least one night in each of the following: Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Santa Fe NM, Denver CO, Columbia MO, Lexington KY area, Raleigh NC, Alexandria VA (Washington DC area), Old Saybrook CT, Brewster MA, Ogunquitt ME, Saratoga Springs NY, Niagara Falls, ONT, Pittsburgh PA, Ann Arbor MI, Traverse City MI, Holland MI, Madison WI,Sioux Falls SD, Deadwood SD, Billings MT, W. Yellowstone MT, Coeur d'Alene ID, Seattle WA, Portland OR, Bandon OR, and Ukiah CA.
We chose most of the stops because they were places we wanted to see or near places we wanted to see. A few were chosen simply because they were located on the way to somewhere and were as far as we wanted to drive in one day. I think our longest driving day was 13 hours from Denver to Columbia MO. We discovered that Kansas is a very wide state! There wasn't much interesting scenery but there were some fairly interesting billboards to read.
One thing that kept parts of the drives interesting was that we were determined never to eat in a fast food chain along the way (actually we were determined not to eat in chains period) so around lunchtime we were busy trying to find local places to eat. If were on a big highway it usually meant making some detours but that made it interesting and we saw lots more this way. We used the book Roadfood by Jane and Michael Stern as a useful guide to finding many of these places. There were some occasional "misses" but for the most part we managed to eat very well and never once settled for a fast food chain.
Our first night was in Las Vegas. Originally we thought it would be fun to stay in one of the strip hotels but we could not find one that would take a dog. I think the casino hotels want you in the casino and not out walking your dog. But we found a La Quinta (all La Quintas take dogs) not far from the strip and it worked out fine. We went to see the show La Reve and greatly enjoyed it.
After Las Vegas we went to the Grand Canyon. Along the way we stopped to check out some of the old Route 66 towns which were quite interestig-especially Seligman AZ. It was a beautiful, sunny day when we arrived and we were able to walk the dog along part of the south rim. When we were about to the end of the walk it started getting very windy and then started snowing. We spent the night just outside the park at a place called the Red Feather Lodge which we would not recommnend. It wasn't the worst place I've ever stayed but there must surely be better places in the area. When we left the area instead of taking the road we'd come on from Williams, we took Hwy 180 through the Coconino National Forest and it was a beautiful drive.
Our next destination was Santa Fe but we spent much of the day stopping at places along the old Route 66 such as Winslow AZ, Holbrook AZ and Gallup NM. When we arrived in Santa Fe we were very happy with our room at the Old Santa Fe Inn. We spent 2 nights there and loved the city. It's also very dog-friendly. All the galleries along Canyon Rd welcomed our dog as if he was a major art buyer!
After Santa Fe we headed to Denver and spent a night with family. Then we took the longest drive of the trip which I described earlier. Our final destination that day was Columbia MO which we chose because that was as far as we wanted to drive but it turned out to be a charming college town and we had great burgers at a place suggested in Roadfood called Booches.
We then headed to the Lexington KY area to spend a couple of days at our friends' farm. On the way we stopped in St Louis MO just to check out the downtown and to see the Gateway Arch. The highlight of our stay in the Lexington area (besides catching up with old friends) was going to the races at Keeneland. It was a beautiful day and it is such a lovely place. The only time we betted our horse came in dead last but it was fun anyway.
Raleigh NC was our next stop where we spent the night with a relative. The drive to Raleigh was very scenic.
After Raleigh we headed to the Washington DC area but spent a good part of the day in beautiful Charlotteville VA. We had lunch there and visited some of the gorgeous campus designed by Thomas Jefferson. Even though I had tried to book in advance everything in DC was either booked or way too expensive so we ended up staying in Alexandria VA. This turned out fine because it's a fairly easy drive to DC and Alexandria is a nice place itself. Because we wanted to go inside some of the DC attractions we thought it best not to take the dog. Since he couldn't stay in the hotel room all day we found a dog day care for him to visit. We took him to a place called A Dog's Day Out and he seemed to enjoy having a play day with other dogs and we were free to go anywhere we wanted.
After a couple of days in the DC area we drove to Old Saybrook CT. We have some friends who live in the area and we wanted to check out some fo the CT coastal towns. It is a beautiful area! We spent lots of time driving through the various little towns along the way and then getting out and wandering around.
Charm continued to be a theme when we drove from Old Saybrook to Cape Cod. We spent 2 days with friends on Cape Cod in Brewster MA. While there we visited several other great places such as Chatham and Provincetown.
After Cape Cod we continued the "charm tour" in Ogunquitt ME where we spent a couple of nights visiting friends in the area.
May 31st, 2010, 05:38 PM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 303
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Chapter 2: More Destinations
Leaving the charm of New England we headed to Saratoga Springs NY which ranks pretty high in the charm department too. We enjoyed walking around the nice downtown and through some beautiful parks. We had a wonderful southern dinner (I know it's in NY--go figure) at a place called Hattie's.
We then went international and crossed over to Canada to see Niagara Falls. The falls were more spectacular than I'd imagined and we were so glad we decided to go there. We stayed at the Best Western Fallsview and it was one of the most dog friendly places we stayed on the entire trip.
Our international journey only lasted a night and then we returned to U.S. soil and headed for Pennsylvania. Our destination was Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. We took separate tours because it was a warm day and we didn't want to leave the dog in the car. Dogs are only allowed in the parking area so one of us sat on a rock with the dog in the parking area while the other toured. We spent 2 nights in the Pittsburgh area and enjoyed visiting the city. We loved the Riverwalk area and the Strip District with all its food shops was great. Our dog got lots of attention in Pittsburgh-almost everyone we passed wanted to pet him so I'm sure it's on his list of favorite places.
Our next few days were spent looping around the state of Michigan. We started in Ann Arbor then went over and up to Traverse City and then to Holland where we attended some of the Tulip Festival activities.
We drove from Holland to Muskegon where we took a high speed ferry to Milwaukee. We had lunch in Milwaukee and then spent that night in Madison WI which is a very nice city.
Our next drive was a pretty long one: we went from Madison to Sioux Falls SD. This wasn't our most scenic or interesting drive but we made up for that the next day. We spent the next day visiting the Badlands which were amazing and also saw Mt Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial...all that and Wall Drug in one day! We spent that night in Deadwood SD. The downtown looks very charming but behind almost every facade is a smoky casino. We went there because it was listed in an article in Forbes as being one of the most beautiful towns.
Our drive westward continued with an overnight stop in Billings MT. The next day we headed to Yellowstone. We spent 2 nights in West Yellowstone. The town's not much but it's right next to the west entrance to the park. The park was everything I imagined it would be and more. Even though the entire park was not opened yet we saw some amazing scenery, interesting sights and lots of animals.
Our next stop after Yellowstone was Coeur D'Alene ID. It is a pretty town right on a beautiful lake.
Leaving the charm of New England we headed to Saratoga Springs NY which ranks pretty high in the charm department too. We enjoyed walking around the nice downtown and through some beautiful parks. We had a wonderful southern dinner (I know it's in NY--go figure) at a place called Hattie's.
We then went international and crossed over to Canada to see Niagara Falls. The falls were more spectacular than I'd imagined and we were so glad we decided to go there. We stayed at the Best Western Fallsview and it was one of the most dog friendly places we stayed on the entire trip.
Our international journey only lasted a night and then we returned to U.S. soil and headed for Pennsylvania. Our destination was Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. We took separate tours because it was a warm day and we didn't want to leave the dog in the car. Dogs are only allowed in the parking area so one of us sat on a rock with the dog in the parking area while the other toured. We spent 2 nights in the Pittsburgh area and enjoyed visiting the city. We loved the Riverwalk area and the Strip District with all its food shops was great. Our dog got lots of attention in Pittsburgh-almost everyone we passed wanted to pet him so I'm sure it's on his list of favorite places.
Our next few days were spent looping around the state of Michigan. We started in Ann Arbor then went over and up to Traverse City and then to Holland where we attended some of the Tulip Festival activities.
We drove from Holland to Muskegon where we took a high speed ferry to Milwaukee. We had lunch in Milwaukee and then spent that night in Madison WI which is a very nice city.
Our next drive was a pretty long one: we went from Madison to Sioux Falls SD. This wasn't our most scenic or interesting drive but we made up for that the next day. We spent the next day visiting the Badlands which were amazing and also saw Mt Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial...all that and Wall Drug in one day! We spent that night in Deadwood SD. The downtown looks very charming but behind almost every facade is a smoky casino. We went there because it was listed in an article in Forbes as being one of the most beautiful towns.
Our drive westward continued with an overnight stop in Billings MT. The next day we headed to Yellowstone. We spent 2 nights in West Yellowstone. The town's not much but it's right next to the west entrance to the park. The park was everything I imagined it would be and more. Even though the entire park was not opened yet we saw some amazing scenery, interesting sights and lots of animals.
Our next stop after Yellowstone was Coeur D'Alene ID. It is a pretty town right on a beautiful lake.
May 31st, 2010, 05:46 PM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 303
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Chapter 3: The Final Destinations
After Coeur d'Alene we drove to Seattle. This was my first visit to Seattle and I loved it! We spent 3 nights there. We put the dog in a dog day care 2 of the days. The place was called Central Bark and he loved it. We were lucky to have beautiful sunny weather while we were there. One highlight of our visit was taking a Savor Seattle tour of Pike Place Market.
We hated to leave Seattle but we were nearing the date we had to be home and there were other things to see! Our next stop was Portland OR where we spent 2 nights with friends. Portland is another very nice city and we had a wonderful visit there. After Portland we drove down to Eugene and then over to the coast. We spent one night in Bandon OR which is a very charming little town with a beautiful coastline complete with lighthouse.
Our last night on the road was spent in Ukiah CA after a day of driving down the southern Oregon and northern California coast.
We stopped in San Francisco for lunch and then came home to our own beautiful spot: San Luis Obispo CA.
I'll try to post some info on some of the food and sight seeing highlights later.
After Coeur d'Alene we drove to Seattle. This was my first visit to Seattle and I loved it! We spent 3 nights there. We put the dog in a dog day care 2 of the days. The place was called Central Bark and he loved it. We were lucky to have beautiful sunny weather while we were there. One highlight of our visit was taking a Savor Seattle tour of Pike Place Market.
We hated to leave Seattle but we were nearing the date we had to be home and there were other things to see! Our next stop was Portland OR where we spent 2 nights with friends. Portland is another very nice city and we had a wonderful visit there. After Portland we drove down to Eugene and then over to the coast. We spent one night in Bandon OR which is a very charming little town with a beautiful coastline complete with lighthouse.
Our last night on the road was spent in Ukiah CA after a day of driving down the southern Oregon and northern California coast.
We stopped in San Francisco for lunch and then came home to our own beautiful spot: San Luis Obispo CA.
I'll try to post some info on some of the food and sight seeing highlights later.
May 31st, 2010, 07:27 PM
#8
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,465
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Great post, looks like an amazing trip!
You really got to see a lot in forty days and I love that you hit NO fast food restaurants (a sacrifice I often end up making when travelling)!
And thanks for sharing your dog's opinion on things too. Lurking dogs on Fodor's Forums I'm sure will appreciate all the advice: art galleries in Santa Fe very accepting, Best Western Fallsview super-dog-friendly, got petted lots in Pittsburgh, loved Central Bark in Seattle and "seemed to enjoy" a Dog's Day Out in Alexandria. Any problems crossing the border with dog in tow? Anyhow, I thought it was great, dog opinions and even worse, cat opinions on travel get embarrassingly little coverage on Fodor's Forums.
An enjoyable read! Thanks! Daniel
You really got to see a lot in forty days and I love that you hit NO fast food restaurants (a sacrifice I often end up making when travelling)!
And thanks for sharing your dog's opinion on things too. Lurking dogs on Fodor's Forums I'm sure will appreciate all the advice: art galleries in Santa Fe very accepting, Best Western Fallsview super-dog-friendly, got petted lots in Pittsburgh, loved Central Bark in Seattle and "seemed to enjoy" a Dog's Day Out in Alexandria. Any problems crossing the border with dog in tow? Anyhow, I thought it was great, dog opinions and even worse, cat opinions on travel get embarrassingly little coverage on Fodor's Forums.
An enjoyable read! Thanks! Daniel
May 31st, 2010, 08:17 PM
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 303
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Chapter 4: Some Details
First, to answer a few questions: the dog is a miniature Labradoodle (weighs about 30 lbs) and was 15 months old when we started the trip. We had to get a health certificate for him to cross the border but they didn't even ask for it either way. But it was helpful to have when we put him the dog day care places because they all require that the dog be current with its shots etc.
Someone asked about "duddy things" and I would have to say there were very few. We had a few not so good meals along the way(an "Amish buffet" somewhere in Indiana comes to mind) but the good ones far outnumbered the few bad ones.
Our Hotels:
Since we were traveling with a dog our choices were somewhat limited and since we were spending almost 40 nights in hotels so was our budget. We were really pleased with the LaQuinta chain. All of them allow dogs and they don't charge an additional pet fee. Each individual hotel has its own rules but you can count on all of them accepting dogs. So generally if there was a LaQuinta in one of our destinations we stayed there. I was already a member of their rewards program and we were often upgraded to a better room. The nicest one we stayed in was in Madison WI which looked almost brand new and we were upgraded to a really nice one bedroom suite. But all of them were fine.
We also stayed in quite a few Comfort Inn and Suites. They seemed to be a little more hit or miss than the La Quintas. For example the one in Ukiah CA was really nice while the ones in Ann Arbor MI and Alexandria VA left something to be desired.
Most of the mid-priced chain hotels offer some sort of free breakfast which saved us a few bucks on breakfast costs.
Our favorite place to stay was not part of a chain. It was the Old Santa Fe Inn in Santa Fe NM. Our room was not large but was nicely furnished and very comfortable. The location was great--just a pleasant walk to the plaza area and there was a little park just down the street where we could walk the dog.
The Food:
Since we were determined not to eat at fast food chains, our meals tended to be more interesting than most. I mentioned earlier that the book Roadfood was a big help. Among the finds from the book were: good fried chicken in Hays Kansas at a place with the great name of Al's Chickenette, good burgers in Columbia MO at Booches, amazing sandwiches called "beef on wek" at Charlie the Butcher's Kitchen in Buffalo NY, the most delicious candy called "sponge candy" at Parkside Candy also in Buffalo, a nice lunch and friendly folks at Enrico Biscotti in Pittsburgh, good sandwiches at Benji's Deli in Milwaukee and also in Milwaukee mighty fine sundaes at Leon's.
We also discovered places to eat in other ways. I read a Food and Wine Magazine article about Traverse City Michigan and it mentioned a place called the Cooks' House and it sounded like someplace I'd like. And it was indeed. It's a tiny place that just seats 20 people at most. The food is almost all locally sourced. The woman who took our order is married to the man who cooked our food. The food while not at all pretentious is very sophisticated. It was a wonderful meal.
Seattle proved to be a foodie paradise for us. We loved touring Pike Place Market, having a good lunch at Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar and good dinners at Tin Table and Lola's. Not to mention the doughnuts at Top Pot and the ice cream at Molly Moon's.
Portland is another foodie wonderland and we had good beer and food at Henry's Tavern and a nice dinner at Clyde Common topped off with doughnuts from the strange Voodoo Doughnuts.
First, to answer a few questions: the dog is a miniature Labradoodle (weighs about 30 lbs) and was 15 months old when we started the trip. We had to get a health certificate for him to cross the border but they didn't even ask for it either way. But it was helpful to have when we put him the dog day care places because they all require that the dog be current with its shots etc.
Someone asked about "duddy things" and I would have to say there were very few. We had a few not so good meals along the way(an "Amish buffet" somewhere in Indiana comes to mind) but the good ones far outnumbered the few bad ones.
Our Hotels:
Since we were traveling with a dog our choices were somewhat limited and since we were spending almost 40 nights in hotels so was our budget. We were really pleased with the LaQuinta chain. All of them allow dogs and they don't charge an additional pet fee. Each individual hotel has its own rules but you can count on all of them accepting dogs. So generally if there was a LaQuinta in one of our destinations we stayed there. I was already a member of their rewards program and we were often upgraded to a better room. The nicest one we stayed in was in Madison WI which looked almost brand new and we were upgraded to a really nice one bedroom suite. But all of them were fine.
We also stayed in quite a few Comfort Inn and Suites. They seemed to be a little more hit or miss than the La Quintas. For example the one in Ukiah CA was really nice while the ones in Ann Arbor MI and Alexandria VA left something to be desired.
Most of the mid-priced chain hotels offer some sort of free breakfast which saved us a few bucks on breakfast costs.
Our favorite place to stay was not part of a chain. It was the Old Santa Fe Inn in Santa Fe NM. Our room was not large but was nicely furnished and very comfortable. The location was great--just a pleasant walk to the plaza area and there was a little park just down the street where we could walk the dog.
The Food:
Since we were determined not to eat at fast food chains, our meals tended to be more interesting than most. I mentioned earlier that the book Roadfood was a big help. Among the finds from the book were: good fried chicken in Hays Kansas at a place with the great name of Al's Chickenette, good burgers in Columbia MO at Booches, amazing sandwiches called "beef on wek" at Charlie the Butcher's Kitchen in Buffalo NY, the most delicious candy called "sponge candy" at Parkside Candy also in Buffalo, a nice lunch and friendly folks at Enrico Biscotti in Pittsburgh, good sandwiches at Benji's Deli in Milwaukee and also in Milwaukee mighty fine sundaes at Leon's.
We also discovered places to eat in other ways. I read a Food and Wine Magazine article about Traverse City Michigan and it mentioned a place called the Cooks' House and it sounded like someplace I'd like. And it was indeed. It's a tiny place that just seats 20 people at most. The food is almost all locally sourced. The woman who took our order is married to the man who cooked our food. The food while not at all pretentious is very sophisticated. It was a wonderful meal.
Seattle proved to be a foodie paradise for us. We loved touring Pike Place Market, having a good lunch at Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar and good dinners at Tin Table and Lola's. Not to mention the doughnuts at Top Pot and the ice cream at Molly Moon's.
Portland is another foodie wonderland and we had good beer and food at Henry's Tavern and a nice dinner at Clyde Common topped off with doughnuts from the strange Voodoo Doughnuts.
May 31st, 2010, 08:34 PM
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 303
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Chapter 5: More Details
The Sights and Experiences:
We did want to see some of the "biggies" in the sight category. Starting with the Grand Canyon which is for sure in the "big" category and so awe-inspiring.
We really enjoyed seeing Niagara Falls. My expectations were somewhat low but we thought it was very beautiful and we enjoyed taking the Maid of the Mist boat ride.
One place we loved was Badlands. We really didn't know what to expect and it was so magnificent! I think the fact that you actually can get so close makes it even more wonderful.
We certainly enjoyed seeing Mt Rushmore especially when you realize just how difficult it was to do. While there we also went to the Crazy Horse Memorial which is also interesting.
Yellowstone was even better than I expected and I want to return again.
Ever since I first saw a picture of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater I've wanted to see it person and I was almost in awe that I finally was there.
And there were some amusing sights as well such as the well-publicized Wall Drug, the Mitchell Corn Palace and the kitschy displays in Siligman AZ.
But probably even more than the sights we just loved seeing the changes as we drove along. The different topography, different architecture, different roadsigns etc. And the difference in people along the way-some places seemed more formal, some more relaxed, in some places we saw lots of people smoking cigarettes (I'm talking to you Kentucky) and in others almost no one. Some differences were subtle and others more pronounced. But I can't remember a single person who was rude or who made us feel in anyway uncomfortable. Some people were certainly more friendly or helpful than others but we did not have one bad personal experience.
We loved every minute of the trip and would do it again in a heartbeat.
The Sights and Experiences:
We did want to see some of the "biggies" in the sight category. Starting with the Grand Canyon which is for sure in the "big" category and so awe-inspiring.
We really enjoyed seeing Niagara Falls. My expectations were somewhat low but we thought it was very beautiful and we enjoyed taking the Maid of the Mist boat ride.
One place we loved was Badlands. We really didn't know what to expect and it was so magnificent! I think the fact that you actually can get so close makes it even more wonderful.
We certainly enjoyed seeing Mt Rushmore especially when you realize just how difficult it was to do. While there we also went to the Crazy Horse Memorial which is also interesting.
Yellowstone was even better than I expected and I want to return again.
Ever since I first saw a picture of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater I've wanted to see it person and I was almost in awe that I finally was there.
And there were some amusing sights as well such as the well-publicized Wall Drug, the Mitchell Corn Palace and the kitschy displays in Siligman AZ.
But probably even more than the sights we just loved seeing the changes as we drove along. The different topography, different architecture, different roadsigns etc. And the difference in people along the way-some places seemed more formal, some more relaxed, in some places we saw lots of people smoking cigarettes (I'm talking to you Kentucky) and in others almost no one. Some differences were subtle and others more pronounced. But I can't remember a single person who was rude or who made us feel in anyway uncomfortable. Some people were certainly more friendly or helpful than others but we did not have one bad personal experience.
We loved every minute of the trip and would do it again in a heartbeat.
Jun 1st, 2010, 06:33 AM
#13
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,465
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi sequess.
Thanks for the additional details and addressing my question about bringing a dog across the border.
I've never done a road trip all the way across, but have done two cross-country train trips and I agree with you that the changes in topography (and I'll add flora and fauna), architecture, and people as you move across the continent is FASCINATING, and one of my favorite parts of such trips!
Best wishes again, Daniel
Thanks for the additional details and addressing my question about bringing a dog across the border.
I've never done a road trip all the way across, but have done two cross-country train trips and I agree with you that the changes in topography (and I'll add flora and fauna), architecture, and people as you move across the continent is FASCINATING, and one of my favorite parts of such trips!
Best wishes again, Daniel
Jun 1st, 2010, 10:57 AM
#14
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I loved every word of your story about America. I needed it because at this moment, I'm discouraged about finding a solution to the problem of seeing the famous 4th of July fireworks in New York. We have hotel reservations but now we realize that the sea of humanity along the Hudson River can be a very intimidaing experience for a senior citizen and a baby boomer. We were hoping that we could see them from an upper level guestroom at the Millenium UN Plaza Hotel, but I have received two forum responses that it isn't possible. Has anyone reading this had a favorable experience at this hotel regarding fireworks? Or does any New Yorker have a suggestion? Any advice would be welcome.
Jun 1st, 2010, 11:52 AM
#15
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,439
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi sequess! I loved reading this! Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed and interesting trip report! Most interesting was to hear how the states changed as you drove in terms of appearance and personality.
Jun 2nd, 2010, 09:55 AM
#18
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 319
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What a wonderful report! I am in the very early stages of planning a cross-country road trip (the cat is staying home!) and I am sure your informtion will be helpful.
We expect to manage expenses by buying groceries along the way for breakfast and lunch, having dinner in local places (never fast food or chains!) and staying in modest motels. May I ask what you budgeted for the trip for gas, motels and food?
We expect to manage expenses by buying groceries along the way for breakfast and lunch, having dinner in local places (never fast food or chains!) and staying in modest motels. May I ask what you budgeted for the trip for gas, motels and food?
Jun 2nd, 2010, 12:21 PM
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 303
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sluggo, We budgeted a bit on the high side because we knew in some places we'd want to spend more on nice meals so we had a figure of about $300 per day in our heads. I think we came out considerably less than that. Almost all the mid-priced hotel chains offer some sort of free breakfast which usually satisfied that need. The hotels in smaller, less touristy places were usually less expensive than those in larger cities and those near major tourist attractions. Since you'll have a car you can often save money by not staying right in the heart of a city or right next to a tourist attraction.
