I am from the North East. I am planning a road trip this summer with some friends. We are planning to drive south, then west across the south, then up the california coast, and then drive back across the north. We are planning to take about 6 weeks in the summer.


Since everyone here is from all over this great US, I was wondering .....where do the locals think I should stop? What are my "must sees?"

San Diego.

Lots of stuff here. Beaches obviously. Lots of night life. Zoo. Sea World. Shopping.

On your way up the coast stop at Newport Beach. They have a ferry that you take across to the island. There's a ferris wheel and all kinds of little shops. They have like arcades and places that sell fair foods like funnel cakes. We sometimes go up there for the day.

Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Plan to tour the caverns by day, and then watch the bats come out at night.

Arizona: the Sonoma Desert, the Grand Canyon, and all those cliff dwellings of the early Indians.

There should be lots of Civil War battlefields and museums along the first leg of your trip. If you're going through western Kentucky, the Bardstown Civil War Museum is outstanding.

On the trip back, Yellowstone is not to be missed! And the Badlands of South Dakotah are awesome. (Wall Drug, a huge giftstore near the entrance of the Badlands, has great spice-cake doughnuts, which you can wash down with coffee that only costs a nickel a cup.) Take lots of film, or several memory cards if you have a digital camera. Several large-capacity memory cards.

Have a great trip. It sounds like a lot of fun.

All great ideas....anymore?

What about great resturants (hey if I am going to eat my way across the country the points had better be worth it!)

oh yes I agree about the grand canyon it is awesome of course it is
busy during the summer oh and in california if you get to spend some time in
san diego try the san diego zoo it is adjacent to balboa park. gosh it sounds like fun and yes ditto on carlsbad caverns it is in the small little town but
the caverns really rock.

I agree with my cross-town friend STACYLAMBERTwhen you are in southern California must see things are Sea World, The San Diego Zoo which (already mentioned) is next to Balboa Park with wonderful museums, for night life you have Gaslamp downtown San Diego, Petco Park where the Padres play if you are into catching a baseball game ~ for cool shopping areas there is downtown La Jolla ~ further north Laguna Beach is a must see if you are into beach, artsy crafty shopping ~ as well as further north in downtown Santa Barbara ~ and San Luis Obispo. Of course in Anaheim/Los Angeles you have during the summer the Dodgers and Angels, again if you like baseball ~ also Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm ~ north of all that Carmel and Hearst Castle ~ then at the top of our state we have San Francisco ~ Golden Gate Bridge ~ Fishermans Warf ~ Pier 39. The trip up old 101 is a ton of fun especially if you have the time to stop and site see!

Sounds great......
I am enjoying planning my trip...it is offical I watch tooo much Food Network TV!! Half the places I want to go are food related!

Not diet Friendly...Good Grief!!

That's why the National Parks (Yosemite, Yellowstone, Badlands, Glacier, etc.) are such a good idea. You have to get out of the car and walk a little bit to see all the best scenery, and although many of them do have a restaurant or two within their borders, the emphasis is definitely not on food. (Oh, and they're a lot less expensive than, for example, a day at Disneyland.)

I booked my stay at the grand canyon...all my guide books say that needs to be booked 6 monthes in advance for a good reservation. I am so excited!!

So far it looks like my major time is spent in Texas, CA, NM and CO. I am having a ball planning!!

I have never been further west than PA!

Keep those suggestions coming!!

Mari

Nobody has mentioned Oregon yet. I live in southern oregon and if you are coming up I-5 you have to stop in Grants Pass Oregon and take a **** Gate Jet boat excursion. They take you on a flat bottom jet boat and you go down the river to a restaurant that is only acessible by river and they feed you a buffet style meal that is to die for. After your meal you continue down river and then back up again. The drivers of the boats are great and give you a guided tour down the river and you go fast and get wet. The trips start around $40 per person to $60 and most include the meal. You get to see the famous Rogue River, where parts of the Meryl Streep film "The River Wild" was filmed. The river is also popular for it rafting trips. http://www.hellgate.com/Index.asp here is there website, check it out you won't be disappointed. I am a local and I still like to do this every summer.

Deep South....good food, great sites, it will be really hot so the earlier in the summer you go, the better.

If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area, I recommend Joe T. Garcia's for Mexican Food - lots of food that tastes good and is only $10 for dinner.

Check out the food network website for Rachel Ray's $40/day places she's stopped at. That will help give you some ideas of where to stop along your journey!