Where is the USA.....

[Eamonn]

This year I'm going to be busy.

I will be in the UK for the summer Olympics. My little Sister keeps a house in Putney while she is living in the Land Down Under. She is trying to see if she can join me. Which would be wonderful. Odd as it might seem her law firm has done a better job of getting tickets for events than I have been able to do.

I'm also buying a house in Ireland. Since their economy went down the tubes house prices have fallen and it's just too good a deal to pass up.

Next year HWMBO wants to go down South.

I'd like to visit the gulf and see if BP really has did a good a job of cleaning things up as they say they have.

While we are there I really want to try as many local food dishes as I can take in, other than grits!

I've cooked and served gator tail, but have heard that the inside of the paw / foot is the best part, but I wasn't able to buy it in the area where I live.

It would be great to find a small local restaurant in Louisiana that serves traditional food and if they also had a few local beers! I'd be in pigs Heaven.

Ea.

[whitepine]

I highly suggest you come to North Carolina.

 

We have 600 years of Anglo history, big cities, small towns, southern cookin', nature, mountains,beaches, and anything else you can think of.

You can fly in to one of our airports and then take a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, taking sidehikes and history tours along the way. Or, you can go to the Outer Banks, see the Atlantic from a different perspective, visit lighthouses, and take history tours as well.

So basically, you can fit a wide variety of adventures into a 3-4 hour radius of airports in the cities of Raleigh, Charlotte, or Greensboro.

[Papadaddy]

What we in Virginia call the "Historic Triangle" - Williamsburg, Jamestown (dating to 1607) and Yorktown, where the British were defeated (sorry, Mate). You would be 2 hours from Washington DC and one hour from the beach and about 3 hours from the Blue Ridge Mountains.

[sailingpj]

I know you said you wanted East Coast, but I have to make a pitch for San Francisco. There are non-stop flights into SFO, we have lots of great food, boating, the Golden Gate Bridge, GREAT!!!! views, sailing, coast, and you can drive less than an hour north to see some huge trees. Just south is Monterey with a cool aquarium, and the coastline both north and south is beautiful. There is also plenty of history if that is what you want. The pace can be whatever you want it to be, and we are only 3 hours behind the east coast.

[SpencerCheatham]

Gotta agree with Poppadaddy and add that you would also be in the heart of where the War of Northern Agression (uhm, sorry, the Civil War) took place. With the 150th anniversary ceremonies, they have some great programs going on now. Throw in Mount Vernon, Monticello, etc. and you would see a great deal of American history.

[Tampa Turtle]

Forgot the 150th ACW anniversary (touchy subject with my southern wife our great great grandfathers were on opposite sides in several battles)so yeah if you could hook up with a good reenactments that's usually good fun. And you thought scouters are crazy!

 

Eamonn's comment's are true and funny--I guess we all are kinda proud of our areas!

 

Cambridge, if you did NYC last time I would go out in the country somewhere to get a different feel. Its like a visitor who only spends a week in central London and thinks they have visited the UK.

 

The "historic triangle" is a good choice. But all the suggestions are pretty good. I don't know about anybody else but I got a few good vacation ideas.

[Deaf Scouter]

Just a question.. how far is the Pennsylvania/ Philadelphia from the Virginia history triangle mentioned by PapaDaddy? Thinking can do both histories belts since they are not that far apart. Can even do the camp route in Gettysburg section as there is a nice Scout camp there too.

 

I have to laugh at the different perceptions on hectic and slow paced. Being a city gal from the NYC/LI area, DC is right up there with NYC but Boston will never come close that is if one is driving their own car. Boston is still s l o w paced.. *grins

 

Wondering Cambridge if you got all these wars of ours straight that is being mentioned??... *teasing laughter

[Peregrinator]

Do you want to see natural features? Maine, vermont and New hampshire are very nice. Urban type of trip? New York, Philidelphia, DC, Miami, Boston, Charleston, are nice choices.

 

Actually, Philadelphia is good for natural features as well thanks to the Wissahickon Valley.

[DLChris71]

I would recommend Washington, DC and a visit to the National Gallery of Art and the Memorials. If you are looking more at beaches then perhaps Savannah or Charleston.

 

Edit- Saw that you were into biking. DC has some nice features in this regard. There is the C&O Canal and Rock Creek Park are both very nice for biking. Depending on if you are athletic cyclist there is also Skyline Drive in Virginia. DC is also nice in that you can visit the islands in the Chesapeake Bay, Annapolis.

 

If you're casual cyclist then the National Mall is good and I believe the Metro (public transit) buses are cyclist friendly. Not exactly sure though. When I was a boy living in DC I could ride my bike from NW DC down to the National Mall, generally taking Massachusetts Ave (Diplomacy Row) without much trouble.

 

Anyway I hope you have a great trip where ever you go.(This message has been edited by dlchris71)

[Papadaddy]

The Virginia sites are about 6 hours south of Philadelphia via I95.