AUSSIES travelling the East Coast
Feb 4th, 2000, 05:46 PM
#1
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AUSSIES travelling the East Coast
"Goodday" My wife and I will be traveling the East Coast, "Key West to Maine", 20 days in a Motorhome in June July.
Any info on must see and must avoid destinations would be very appreciated. We will also be spending 5 days in New York city at the end, any helpful thoughts or info on our stay (the Pennsylvania Hotel)would again be appreciated, thankyou.
Any info on must see and must avoid destinations would be very appreciated. We will also be spending 5 days in New York city at the end, any helpful thoughts or info on our stay (the Pennsylvania Hotel)would again be appreciated, thankyou.
Feb 4th, 2000, 06:08 PM
#2
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Charleston, SC is one of the most historic cities in the US - but be forewarned that it is hot and humid here in June and July! Another beautiful, historic town is Savannah, Georgia (2 hrs. away) and also well-worth a one day visit.
If you want more info on the Charleston area, please post directly to me. I promise that you will love this town...
Carol
If you want more info on the Charleston area, please post directly to me. I promise that you will love this town...
Carol
Feb 4th, 2000, 07:35 PM
#3
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I'd attempt to get at least a glimpse of:
Key West
Orlando (for the theme parks, not the town)
St. Augustine, Florida
(I'm not a big fan of Savannah, but a lot of people like it for its history)
Charleston, South Carolina
consider driving up the Blue Ridge Parkway in western North Carolina
Washington DC
Baltimore
I would think twice about driving a motor home too far into NYC.
Boston
will you have time to drive into Vermont or New Hampshire? Worth a pass if you can swing it.
will you get up as far as Acadia National Park in maine? worth an attempt.
These would constitute the basics.
Hope the trip is rewarding and fun.
Key West
Orlando (for the theme parks, not the town)
St. Augustine, Florida
(I'm not a big fan of Savannah, but a lot of people like it for its history)
Charleston, South Carolina
consider driving up the Blue Ridge Parkway in western North Carolina
Washington DC
Baltimore
I would think twice about driving a motor home too far into NYC.
Boston
will you have time to drive into Vermont or New Hampshire? Worth a pass if you can swing it.
will you get up as far as Acadia National Park in maine? worth an attempt.
These would constitute the basics.
Hope the trip is rewarding and fun.
Feb 5th, 2000, 03:07 AM
#4
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Dear Randall,
My husband and I spent 6 weeks in the east coast of the USA 2 years ago. We started in LA and flew to New York, Niagara Falls, Pittsburg, Charleston, Train to Savannah, flew to Orlando, hired a car and drove down the Gulf Coast, Everglades etc to Miami. We then took a trip to the Bahamas, flew to New Orleans and Memphis and then back to LA. All the above places were fantastic to visit and had a lot to see. New York was amazing and very safe. We stayed at the Sheraton so can't comment on your hotel. Feel free to email me for more specific info.
My husband and I spent 6 weeks in the east coast of the USA 2 years ago. We started in LA and flew to New York, Niagara Falls, Pittsburg, Charleston, Train to Savannah, flew to Orlando, hired a car and drove down the Gulf Coast, Everglades etc to Miami. We then took a trip to the Bahamas, flew to New Orleans and Memphis and then back to LA. All the above places were fantastic to visit and had a lot to see. New York was amazing and very safe. We stayed at the Sheraton so can't comment on your hotel. Feel free to email me for more specific info.
Feb 5th, 2000, 05:56 PM
#6
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Feel free to email with nospam removed for info about Virginia, DC. I have a good friend from Adelaide who lives in charlottesville VA now, and we have helped host several of his Aussie friends over the years. I would suggest: Everglades/Florida keys, Orlando (go to deb Wills unofficial site at www.wdwig.com for must-sees), drive from Orlando to Daytona to get on Highway A1A and go north, stop at Saint Augustine for view of Spanish colonial heritage of Florida. Continue north, Savannah and Charleston are nice stops for history and house tours. Get on Interstate 95 and go north until you reach 'South of the Border'(between the North & south Carolina borders), absolutely the most Tacky Tourist stop on the east coast! It is really impressive to approach it at night, the neon sombrero watertower is unlike anything else you will experience. (I firmly believe to get the TRUE American experience you MUST include at least one stop in exquisite bad taste, and this fits that description!) work your way over to Asheville North Carolina and see the Biltmore mansion and gardens, a gilded age masterpiece. You can get on the Blue Ridge parkway & drive north thru the national park, work you way to Virginia. The parkway is kind of twisty and you may get tired of it after a half-day or so, it is easy to get over to the interstate and continue north. Charlottesville, VA - monticello, then East on Route 250 to see pretty country. Williamsburg & Jamestown VA are worth a day, and if you include that in your itinerary please do email me, we live close there. Washington DC of course, and continue your northward trek.
Feb 6th, 2000, 03:53 AM
#7
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That's a lot of territory to cover in 20 days but I would definitely visit Charleston and the Blue Ridge Parkway and Washington DC. Boston is way too congested for large vehicles so you could find parking in a suburb and take the train and/or subway into the city. If you enjoy history, Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts is wonderful and so is Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth NH. Portsmouth is a nice seaport with some nice harbor cruises and an interesting downtown area, small enough to cover on foote. If you don't have much time for the Maine coast, I would get on Rt 95 in Portsmouth and stay on the hwy until I was north of Portland. The traffic is less congested on Rt 1. Head for Camden. Bar Harbor is beautiful but that is as far north as I would go given your limited time. For New England sites to see, Yankee Magazine has a great website at www.Newengland.com. Have a great time.
Feb 6th, 2000, 10:25 AM
#8
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Hi,
It sounds as though NYC will be your last stop. If this is correct, why not get rid of your RV somewhere in the Boston area if your rental co. has an office there. Once you've seen what you'd like to outside Boston, you won't want that big vechicle in the city. I suppose if you're staying outside the city you could take public transportation into Boston. I would then take the new high speed train from Boston to NYC. As a prior poster said, you don't want to drive the RV (or anything else) into NYC!!!!!!!!!!
Boston is a "must see." There's a lot of history here that involves England, as well as many American statesmen, writers, painters, etc. We have many science/art museums, as well as waterfront activities.
My husband and I will be going to AU Oct/Nov. Can't wait.
Enjoy your trip up the east coast!
Elsa
It sounds as though NYC will be your last stop. If this is correct, why not get rid of your RV somewhere in the Boston area if your rental co. has an office there. Once you've seen what you'd like to outside Boston, you won't want that big vechicle in the city. I suppose if you're staying outside the city you could take public transportation into Boston. I would then take the new high speed train from Boston to NYC. As a prior poster said, you don't want to drive the RV (or anything else) into NYC!!!!!!!!!!
Boston is a "must see." There's a lot of history here that involves England, as well as many American statesmen, writers, painters, etc. We have many science/art museums, as well as waterfront activities.
My husband and I will be going to AU Oct/Nov. Can't wait.
Enjoy your trip up the east coast!
Elsa
Feb 7th, 2000, 06:24 PM
#10
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There have been some good suggestions, I want to add some in places not yet covered. It may sounds almost un-American but with the amount of time and great things to see, I actually suggest missing Orlando. What I would suggest is Cape Canaveral instead of the studios and Disney.
Already mentioned that I consider musts - St. Augistine, Monticello, Williamsburg, Skyline Drive/Shanendoah Park in VA, Acadia if you have time to get that far north. Sturbridge is a good suggestion. Also consider the Shaker Village in Mass. Washington DC has a lot of museums and the whole mall is something to see.
Other ideas - totally go around NYC the first time through with that motor home. Instead I'd suggest the Pensylvania Dutch country through Lancaster PA, up north and due north of NYC to the Hudson Valley. The Vanderbuilt and Roosevelt mansions are worth a stop and then you can head over to Mass. and up to Bennington VT. home of Grandma Moses. Or continue due north and visit Fort Ticonderoga before crossing over to Vermont on the ferry. (pretty areas of Vermont as well) Then head through NH on your way to Maine. You can then head down the coast again to Boston, drop off the camper and spend the time in the city, and take a train or bus to NYC.
While you're in the Virginia area, I suggest stopping at one of the Civil War battle fields for American history. Appomattax or Spotsylvania perhaps. If you decide on the Lancaster PA route, you can go up from VA to Gettysburg PA to Lancaster. The Gettysburg battle field is one of the most historic. Philadelphia is quite over looked. It has an excellent historic center with the Betsy Ross and Ben Franklin houses, Penn's Landing, the original Continental Congress, and the Liberty Bell.
South of the Border is exactly as described. It only takes 15 minutes to pit stop there, and why not. It is unfortunately quite American.
Places I would miss - Mystic CT (too expensive and nicer places in the area), Atlantic City (dirty, run down), Busch Gardens in Williamsburg because it's so crowded (but not as bad as Disney/Studios) and probably much of Cape Cod at this time for the same reason even though it's a dynamite area and well worth it in the shoulder seasons.
Already mentioned that I consider musts - St. Augistine, Monticello, Williamsburg, Skyline Drive/Shanendoah Park in VA, Acadia if you have time to get that far north. Sturbridge is a good suggestion. Also consider the Shaker Village in Mass. Washington DC has a lot of museums and the whole mall is something to see.
Other ideas - totally go around NYC the first time through with that motor home. Instead I'd suggest the Pensylvania Dutch country through Lancaster PA, up north and due north of NYC to the Hudson Valley. The Vanderbuilt and Roosevelt mansions are worth a stop and then you can head over to Mass. and up to Bennington VT. home of Grandma Moses. Or continue due north and visit Fort Ticonderoga before crossing over to Vermont on the ferry. (pretty areas of Vermont as well) Then head through NH on your way to Maine. You can then head down the coast again to Boston, drop off the camper and spend the time in the city, and take a train or bus to NYC.
While you're in the Virginia area, I suggest stopping at one of the Civil War battle fields for American history. Appomattax or Spotsylvania perhaps. If you decide on the Lancaster PA route, you can go up from VA to Gettysburg PA to Lancaster. The Gettysburg battle field is one of the most historic. Philadelphia is quite over looked. It has an excellent historic center with the Betsy Ross and Ben Franklin houses, Penn's Landing, the original Continental Congress, and the Liberty Bell.
South of the Border is exactly as described. It only takes 15 minutes to pit stop there, and why not. It is unfortunately quite American.
Places I would miss - Mystic CT (too expensive and nicer places in the area), Atlantic City (dirty, run down), Busch Gardens in Williamsburg because it's so crowded (but not as bad as Disney/Studios) and probably much of Cape Cod at this time for the same reason even though it's a dynamite area and well worth it in the shoulder seasons.
Feb 7th, 2000, 06:57 PM
#11
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Here's a very specific piece of advice: do anything it takes NOT to drive I-95 between Richmond and Baltimore on any Fri., Sat., or Sun. -- or any other time for that matter. If you are determined to see DC in the van, try to arrive between 10 am and 3 pm or after 7 pm on a weekday. Look on a map at where US 301 goes and consider using that. It looks like it's out of the way, and there are some lights once you are in Maryland, but I guarantee you that I-95 will be the longest parking lot you've ever seen from Fredericksburg into downtown Washington almost any time during the summer. It's unforgettably awful.
