well, let me address the baseball part of the question. Baseball season goes till the end of September, so you definitely have time to fit it in. To my mind, the best places to see a game would be the 2 historic parks...Wrigley Field in Chicago, home of the Cubs, or Fenway Park in Boston. Of course, you have tons of other opportunities, San Diego, Anaheim, Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Washington, Houston, Miami, Toronto and Denver all have major league teams. But Fenway and Wrigley are special.

That said, the Giants ballpark in San Francisco is gorgeous. And Camden Yards in Baltimore is quite lovely too.

Oh, and I suspect you have too much stuff on your trip. Have you done a 3 month trip before? remember that you need to build in some down time, when you are not driving or sightseeing, you are just enjoying your surroundings. And time for laundry...

I'd pick one or two spots during this trip where you can rent something for a week. and then stay put for a little bit. Sure, it will cut down on the amount of stuff you can see, but I think you will enjoy it more.

A major trip -
You wrote of History;
Our Civil War was brutal. Most of the battlefields are now national parks. We've been to most of them. The best is Gettysburg. http://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm This is where President Lincoln gave his famous speech (Gettysburg Address) on the war/nation.
Google - YouTube - Gettysburg Address Pick the one where Lincoln face is shown.

Washington D.C. is, obviously historic. Their museums are fabulous. Visit President Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Also Vietnam/Korea/WW II memorials where Australia also fought.

And, when at a State capitol city, have a tour of that capitol building. All free. Texas is impressive as it had 5 different nation flags flying over that state (US, France, Spain, Mexico and their own before joining US)

Do not ignore Bourbon Street at New Orleans (and their flea market) History - it was here in 1803 where President Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon that doubled the size of U.S. Added 2,144,000 square kilometers.
The original intent was to simply buy New Orleans shipping port, but Nap need money for his endless European wars.

When you publish an itinerary, I'll comment more

Vaga

Thank you all for your replies.

There are many great suggestions and helpful tips in the posts.

Thank you to emalloy for the link to the trip report. It was so inspiring to read. I spent most of the day reading it.

I ran out of time when I was writing the original post as I was being harrassed by short people. I have fleshed out a lot more of what I want to do in each location from reading many many threads on Fodors.

I have written things in multiple notebooks around and I cant find all my notes but I managed to find some more today.

We were originally going to do an around the world trip but was going to do it in the same time frame but we decided that it did not do any of the places justice to race through them to tick off boxes, so we decided to concentrate on the US first.

Disneyland and Disneyworld are a must for my children. I did find a tip somewhere to go straight to Anaheim when we get off our flight and stay there for a few days before travelling further afield.

The average rate that I gave for rooms was in US$ and I should have specified that. I have done a lot of research on rooms and most places I have found rooms that fit us all in the US$100 - $150 range but I upped the amount to allow for inflation over the next few years. I have budgeted more like US$400 per night in the major cities of New York, Washington, San Francisco, Boston and I think LA. I am hoping to only spend a maximum of 4 nights in each though.

I have got a few quotes for the car and it is approximately US$60 per day and I have allowed $10000 for petrol for the trip. We currently live in a country area that we travel to the city at least twice a week which is a minimum of 200kms round trip so we are used to driving long distances.

I am really struggling with the crossing from Yellowstone to Toronto. I threw Chicago in as it seemed like a logical stop but am happy to skip it for somewhere else on the way. I have been using Roadtrippers.com to try and figure it out.

I had thought that maybe after Yellowstone to go to Salt Lake City then on to Colorado and then across to the east coast somehow but I am really not sure which way would be best as this route seems a bit like going backwards.

I would love suggestions of where to stop for a week in a couple of places. I was looking at Missoula on the way to Yellowstone to stop for a few days and just rest, and then maybe somewhere on the east coast like Myrtle Beach? After reading the trip report I was thinking of going to San Diego at the end of our trip instead of the beginning.

El Paso was a place that Roadtrippers had a road going through between locations that seemed interesting.

I had planned on stopping at Savannah, and hopefully Nashville as well. New Orleans was to be visited on the way to Texas. We want to see Niagara Falls and it seemed logical to see some of Canada at the same time.

If we cant get the plan to fit Disneyworld in October than we will find somewhere just as awesome for my son for his birthday.

There are plenty of beaches worth seeing along the east coast, if you are into beaches, Myrtle Beach is not one of them.

If you want to get more out of the historic aspects I would rent a couple of historic movies (and get kids to watch them) that will give you more of a flavor of US history.

The musical 1776 is the story of the writing of the Declaration of Independence by the 2nd continental congress - all of the negotiations necessary to get agreement for all the states explains why slavery was allowed in this of all document

There is also The Crossing - a movie about Washington and the tiny remains of the continental army (freezing and shoeless and about to be obliterated by the british) and how they attacked the Hessian (german mercenary) camp by rowing the entire army across the ice filled river. Capturing the hessian's supplies, food, ammunition and clothing allowed the army to continue on through spring and an eventual victory over Cornwallis a couple of years later

Finally Gettysburg should be a must visit and there is an excellent miniseries of the same name which provides an overview of this incredibly bloody battle, including a couple of the most important commanders and how it changed the course of the war. More than 50,000 men were lost in this one battle - almost as many as the US lost in the entire Viet Nam war, and it broke the back of the confederate army in the east. Unique in that this was a war fought not just to save the union - but really primarily to end slavery in the south.

Sorry - in MA be sure to see Lexington and Concord (Boston suburbs) where the minutemen (local militia of farmers, shopkeepers, teachers, etc) defeated the British regulars in the first battle of the revolution.

One thing with rental cars is the one way fee. Make sure you account for that. Some agencies charge by the mile. Others it is a set fee. Averaging $60 per day seems real low to me but hopefully it is true.

Driving San Francisco to Portland stop- I would encourage you to make a stop along the Oregon coast - maybe Bandon or Gold Beach- if you would stop at Gold Beach you could look into Jerrys Jet Boat Rides which is a very fun thing to do however it would take most of a day.

If stopping along the coast does not work for you, then I would suggest a stop in Ashland Or- home of Shakespeare Festivals in Oregon. It is a beautiful little city but very busy in the summer with people attending the plays- so book a reservation early for a hotel.

Quote NYtraveler: "More than 50,000 men were lost in this one battle [Gettysburg] - almost as many as the US lost in the entire Viet Nam War..."

If by "lost", you mean no longer available for battle, that is correct.

Many people confuse the commonly-sighted "casualty" number of 50,000 as being the number of soldiers killed at Gettysburg - in fact, it is not. The term "casualty" in battle terminology includes killed, wounded, captured, and missing (those who beat feet to the rear). Thankfully, the actual death rate was a fraction of 50,000 at Gettysburg.

Sorry -

According to US Army records there were more than 51,000 fatalities at the battle of Gettysburg out of approximately 150,000 participants.

My understanding is the the cause was that military weaponry was advancing much more quickly than tactics (the Civil War was the first war of modern warfare) and so many soldiers suffered severe injuries that did not occur once tactics caught up to weaponry (never mind more modern medical care in the 20th century).

I hate to say this, but I would delete Texas and see Arizona. Grand Canyon: if it's on your list, I missed it.

DisneyWorld in October, right up to the very end, is wonderful. Halloween is huge and exciting there. I would not miss Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party if it is your son's birthday. It was memorable for me, and I didn't think I'd even like DisneyWorld.

I think San Diego at the end of your trip is a great idea. It's beautiful with so much to see and do.

>>tchoiniere: One thing with rental cars is the one way fee. Make sure you account for that. Some agencies charge by the mile. Others it is a set fee. Averaging $60 per day seems real low to me but hopefully it is true.

>I suspect you have too much stuff on your trip....... remember that you need to build in some down time<

As someone who tends to get greedy and overplan, I think this advice is critical, especially with kids. It would be a good idea to plan at least a half day, or better yet, an entire day, in each destination for downtime. This will enable everyone to decompress and relax if needed so you won't be exhausted and grumpy.

I would also delete Texas and include Arizona and Utah. Lots of great national parks in both. Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, Arches, Monument Valley, Sedona.
And what about a week in Hawaii on the way home, just to RELAX.

"I hate to say this, but I would delete Texas and see Arizona. Grand Canyon: if it's on your list,"

"I would also delete Texas and include Arizona and Utah. Lots of great national parks in both."

Coming at the end of their 3-month trip, might there be the possibility of snow at the Grand Canyon South Rim in mid-November?

_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

If you are renting a car, it is almost always much, much cheaper to do a round trip than to rent one-way. Given the number of places you're looking at, making a big circle probably makes more sense than trying to fly around, unless you are really anti-driving. You'd be surprised how fast you can get across the country if you are willing to just drive and not stop much. Of course, that doesn't work for everyone, you'll have to judge how well your family can tolerate that. Besides, there are some pretty incredible things to see along the way in most states. There are a few exceptions, but even in the sparsely populated places, like the stretch between Washington and Minnesota, there are some things worth stopping at. Yellowstone is well worth a visit, but personally, I found Glacier NP even better. And Teddy Roosevelt is an under-appreciated gem. There shouldn't be any issue taking the car into Canada if you rent from one of the bigger places. Check the company before you do, but most have no issue with Canada, at most you need to let them know. Mexico would be a different story, but I didn't see you indicating you're going there.

I've been to every state in the contiguous 48, and have been to most multiple times, and quite a few places in most. I'm also currently planning a 33 day trip where I'll drive to CA, although not at all in the quickest route, seeing many things along the way there and back, and flying from CA to HI. The driving portion, not counting HI, will be over 10K miles, and I just did a 7300 mile trip last fall to New England in 16 days, of which 12 days were by myself. So I have a pretty good idea of how to plan a trip of your scope, although three months is more than am currently able to take off work at one time. Your trip sounds incredible, I'm a bit jealous. But I might have some advice that could make it better.

With the whole country to chose from, I could go on for a long time about the things to see and do, so I'll just start with a few places that I think are worth seeing that might be overlooked. This is far from an exhaustive list, just a few starters. I already listed two of my favorite places from the Montana/ND region, I'll continue clockwise around the country. I think the UP Michigan is another place in my top five American places I've been for natural beauty (along with Glacier), and you could conveniently drive through on the way to your destinations in eastern Canada. Lancaster county (Amish country), while insanely boring if you've been there as many times as I have (I grew up near there), is definitely worth one visit. It's a different world. Going on an airboat ride in any of the swamps that line the Gulf of Mexico is worth doing. While I agree that the four corner states should take more of your time than TX, you have to drive across the state, given your plans, so you might as well make the most of it. Two things that are worth stopping at, and are on the way, are the Alamo for the history, and Big Bend NP, another under-rated part of the National Park System. There are many great things in the four corner states, many of which have been mentioned, but the best one I've been to so far is Chaco Canyon. It contains the Anasazi buildings from before they began the cliff dwellings (and a few of those, too). It's not easy to get to, but well worth it (especially since it's nearly deserted, which really drives home the history in a way that overcrowded Mese Verde, for example, can't).

If you're going to many of the National Parks (which as you can see, I recommend), you'll want to get an annual pass, which is a very affordable $80 (as of right now). You can easily save many times that amount if you go to many. As for hotels, while it is true that some hotels will frown on 6 people in one room, and most will charge at least a little extra, I don't think you'll have a problem getting rooms for $100-$150 per night on average with even a modest amount of planning. I usually average under $100, although that is more difficult with 6 people (I have taken one or two long road trips recently with that many, though, and it wasn't much higher of an average), and that includes large cities. I have found a decent place in downtown SF for $50, a great place just outside NYC for under $100, and those are two of the most expensive cities for housing on the planet. You might want to spend a little more than I am usually willing to, in order to have the right location, but even then, if you look for bargains most nights, you can afford to splurge a little on the nights when you can't find them. Even without prior reservations, I usually have found places for a decent price, although it definitely helps to at least have some options printed out ahead of time that you can call ahead to while driving, and have researched whether the place is decent. I agree that TripAdvisor is a good source for that. Of course, having reservations brings peace of mind, and tends to save money, but at the cost of quite a bit of flexibility, which is a huge benefit on a trip like that, where you can't predict obstacles, much less the great places you decide to visit on the spur of the moment. I still think one of the best trips I ever took was when I traveled by myself through 10 European cities in 7 countries I'd never been to, and I had no plans beyond a tentative list of cities to visit, until the last two cities, where I was meeting someone (so I guess those two were not tentative). I even went as far as just hopping on random city buses to see where I wound up in one city. I would NOT recommend doing that in the US, but in Europe, it can be fun (although not with children, even there).

kjaerlighet7: I didn't read your whole post (really looooong paragraphs and hard to follow). But >>If you are renting a car, it is almost always much, much cheaper to do a round trip than to rent one-way.

Thank you all again for all your thoughts and suggestions. It has encouraged a few conversations of what to do and how.

Texas is on the really really really want to see list.

We are really looking forward to exploring the east coast and all of the history there. We homeschool so this is an amazing lesson for us all. There is so much history over your whole wonderful country and my oldest son is getting very excited about it all. We were looking at Canada for a bit of french immersion to test our skills as well.

I have been looking at VRBO to see if we can find an alternative to a hotel and have found some lovely places on there to investigate further.

Another thought we had was to meander up the coast to Seattle then catch the train to Vancouver then fly to Toronto and continue the journey from there.

I have been trying to find my notes about why I picked certain places.

Are there any holidays I should be aware of to make sure I have booked accomodation early? I know Halloween but not sure of others.

Checking the costs in New York City are coming up with hotel costs for us at approximately US$500 per night. There seems to be cheaper options in Queens and from what I can see a trip on the metro is about $3 each way (children free) and dependent on location about 30 mins ride. Is that a reasonable distance or too far to be feasible? I am trying to take parking into account as well as I may or may not have a car at that point (dependent on best options with car hire) and the parking costs are really high and that would add to my hotel cost. Note- I have absolutely no plans to drive in NYC just park at our accomodation.

Problem is too many wonderful things to see and do over there. Choosing is the hard part for sure. If I had more money I would get the longer visa and stay longer to see more.

>>I know Halloween but not sure of others.