Travel Guide to the USA

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Fri Apr 19, 2002 6:36 pm

Then let me be the first to invite Minerva and all of our other friends from overseas to come visit us in the United States. There's a lot of stuff to see, a lot of places to go and a lot of things to do.

We're also not as arrogant, ignorant or homophobic as some people would have you believe. Plus, you'll be close enough to go visit Aegis and get some of that cool coloured Canadian money to go with the stuffed jackalopes, rattlesnake-skin boots and Mickey Mouse ears that you'll be taking home to all of your relatives who wanted you to bring them something back from North America.

fable · Post by **fable** » Fri Apr 19, 2002 7:05 pm

It's actually pretty difficult to find a single series of adjectives to define Americans. It's simply too big a country, made up of too many sub-cultures, too fit easily into a stereotype. To be sure, there are quite a few people who are white, Anglo-Saxon moderates, with low attention spans, who mean well and think a great deal about the economy. But there's also a series of very different black cultures, an extremely large Amero-Hispanic population (now said to exceed the black population) made up of different Central and South American cultures, and various people of different age, background, wealth and view from at least twelve different large ecosystems. An Inuit who lives in a small fishing community in Alaska is just as much an American as a black lesbian who is an executive in NYC on Madison Avenue.

VoodooDali · Post by **VoodooDali** » Fri Apr 19, 2002 7:20 pm

Austin, Texas--where I lived for 10 years is a lot of fun. Great live music scene--a lot better than Bourbon street. Be prepared to sweat. Incredible Tex-Mex food. I sure miss it. No one in NYC can make good Tex-Mex. I've gone to every restaurant suggested to me in NYC and they all suck.

While you're at it, go to San Antonio. The Riverwalk is nice, and it's a very unique American city, since it's so Mexican. Plus you can visit the Alamo.

Missouri--my home state. The Ozarks are incredibly beautiful. Best caving in the US, IMO. Go to Round Springs for great caves and rafting. Elephant Rocks is not to be missed--giant pink granite rock formations--never seen anything like them anywhere else. I've been meaning to re-visit Cahokia Mounds across the Mississippi river in Illinois, ancient indian mounds with ball courts (like the Maya???).

New York City--everyone goes to Manhattan. Also check out Coney Island. I love it's seediness. They still have a Freak Show every summer. The Cyclone roller-coaster is a real thrill, since it's over 70 years old, made of wood, and you have the additional adrenaline rush that comes from the feeling it might collapse at any time. DO NOT go to SoHo. It's just a bunch of Gap stores and Mac cosmetics stores, etc., now. The art scene moved out of there a long time ago. If you want to see art, go to Chelsea or the Lower East Side.

fable · Post by **fable** » Fri Apr 19, 2002 7:49 pm

New York City--everyone goes to Manhattan. Also check out Coney Island. I love it's seediness. They still have a Freak Show every summer. The Cyclone roller-coaster is a real thrill, since it's over 70 years old, made of wood, and you have the additional adrenaline rush that comes from the feeling it might collapse at any time. DO NOT go to SoHo. It's just a bunch of Gap stores and Mac cosmetics stores, etc., now. The art scene moved out of there a long time ago. If you want to see art, go to Chelsea or the Lower East Side.

The Lower East Side stays open almost 24 hours a day. My cousin lives perhaps 20 minutes by subway from it, and loves to go there, sit in an outdoor Italian restaurant, and move across the street to one of the bakeries for a quick cholesterol fix. There are also some excellent used bookstores, there.

Manhattan *does* still have its attractions, though, if you know where to look. For instance, virtually all of 25th Street on up to 35th, between 5th and 6th Ave, is what was once the Garment District. It was a bastion of liberalism and unionism when unions were still young, new, and untouched by gangsters. These were factory workers, frequently Irish, German, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, etc, who put in long hours. Quite a few of the buildings are still standing, along with some impressive artwork that came in during the Roosevelt years through the WPA Administration. Small businesses are there, now, along with a few struggling clothiers.

Down in Brooklyn is a district of about 5 commercial blocks called Little Russia. It's mostly made up of emigrees who left the Soviet during the Brezhnev years, along with some newer ones. A few speak English.

The restaurant food is all of the area, and so are the fresh market produce and store goods. Interesting stuff. And if you like that, up in Manhattan around 70th St. on the Green Line, I believe, are a series of 3-4 block districts with Korean then Indian neighborhoods. The Indian has decent Indian food (nothing exceptional), and some fine shops selling Indian clothing. My wife picked up a wonderful sari, there. (She's not Indian. Her Missouri ancestors came from Bavaria. But we love the food, and I've been exposing her to the music.)

VoodooDali · Post by **VoodooDali** » Fri Apr 19, 2002 9:34 pm

@Fable: if you really want to have the international experience, visit Jackson Heights, Queens. Most diverse population in NYC. Great restaurants of every cuisine imaginable.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat Apr 20, 2002 4:41 pm

Originally posted by VoodooDali
@Fable: if you really want to have the international experience, visit Jackson Heights, Queens. Most diverse population in NYC. Great restaurants of every cuisine imaginable.

Really? I'll make a note of that. I don't expect us to go anywhere near NYC until possibly late October, but who knows...? Thanks.

Word · Post by **Word** » Sat Apr 20, 2002 8:21 pm

How 'bout Acadia up in Maine or the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado

Gruntboy · Post by **Gruntboy** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 3:08 am

Gruntboy's travels in the USA

This is from the perspective of a Brit (by legal status only

).

If one must visit Florida (

) there is stuff outside of the Magic Kingdom. I got a kick out of Daytona Beach and Miami.

Mobile, Alabama. IIRC, the Battleship Texas is moored here. And a monument to the battle of San Jacinto?

New Orleans - a bit cliched but the Old Quarter is fantastic - very European. Also, the National D-Day museum is now there (not when I went).

Texas - Austin is a beautiful city, and the Ft. Worth Stockyards are a must see if you don't mind getting sh*t on your boots.

A real cowboy town. Don't forget the Grassy Knoll, the book depository houses one of the US' finest historical showcases. LBJ's memorial library is round here somewhere too. Waco has more than infamy - check out the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame.

New Mexico and Arizona are just gorgeous to drive through (pun intended). Avoid Roswell!

California - Napa valley for any wine lovers and sight seers. The Pacific coast highway just has to be seen to be believed.

Vermont - New England is one of my favourite places. The White Mountains are so plush and green or the perfect hues of brown and yellow and red at the right time. Any place who's major news channel declares that the local chinese laundry is closed and you have 6 weeks to collect your things just can't be missed!

Boston - great city. Watch you don't miss the Bunker Hill memorial. The Hanc*ck Tower and freedom trails are musts. Don't go on 3rd July if you're a rabid monarchist.

Washington DC - it may be built on a swamp but it has a high concentration of things to see - smithsonian, white house, arlington cemetery, lincoln memorial... too many!

New York - You could live a whole life here and not see it all. I am only just scratching the surface with this beautiful city.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 9:28 pm

Re: Gruntboy's travels in the USA

Originally posted by Gruntboy
If one must visit Florida ( ) there is stuff outside of the Magic Kingdom. I got a kick out of Daytona Beach and Miami.

Well, I had no choice since my husband used to live in Miami

What I liked best in Florida was the Keys and the 100 m/300 feet tower in Orland you could make sort of a bungy jump from.

Since much of my travelling has been directed by my interest in climbing and my love for the sea and the moutains, I so far liked Alaska best

However, this comes from a person who also loves Greenland

Minerva · Post by **Minerva** » Wed Apr 24, 2002 3:03 am

My sister lives in the outskirt of LA at the moment. She said it's more scary and feels dangerous in LA than NYC where she was living before moving (she had no choice. My brother-in-law was sent there by his company). I was actually surprised to hear that, and wonder if that is actually true.

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Wed Apr 24, 2002 7:05 am

I think that all depends on where you live. There are parts of LA and its suburbs that are very nice, and there are other parts that are overriden with poverty, crime, drug dealers and squalor. Parts of NYC, Washington and nearly every other major US city that are like that, too.

If your sister feels unsafe in her own home, I'd suggest that she move to another part of the city; that is, if she and her husband can afford to and if they don't mind adding to their commute.

When visiting or travelling thoughout the US (or anywhere in the world, for that matter), it is important to remember that parts of the country are nice and some parts are not-so-nice. Personal security should always be a concern, not to the point of paranoia, but you should never think or act that you are ever 100% safe.

I will say that the vast majority of the country is not a war zone and most of the time visitors and residents are not in any danger whatsoever. However, it only takes one or two bad incidents (like the time about 10 years ago that some German tourists were shot and robbed at a rest area in Florida) to generate a little bit of bad press to spoil things for the rest of us.

fable · Post by **fable** » Wed Apr 24, 2002 7:19 am

Originally posted by Minerva
My sister lives in the outskirt of LA at the moment. She said it's more scary and feels dangerous in LA than NYC where she was living before moving (she had no choice. My brother-in-law was sent there by his company). I was actually surprised to hear that, and wonder if that is actually true.

NYC deservedly had a wide-spread and terrible reputation for lawlessness from the 1960s until the last decade. Imagine an area the size of a mid-sized city being nothing but derelict houses on unpoliced streets. These sections of the city were occupied by a new wave of extremely poor immigrants and drug/prostitution/weapons/smuggling gangs. Ed Koch, mayor in the 1970s, didn't help matters. He drove out the middle-class by removing rent controls, effectively turning NYC into a metropolis for the extremely wealthy and the extremely wretched. Laws went uninforced. It was an extremely unsafe place to visit, let alone live.

Giuliani, to his credit, turned this situation around by focusing his attention on law and order. Although the side effects of his policies raised the hackles of human rights organizations, he cleaned up the neighborhoods and made NYC's public areas safe again. I've repeatedly visited NYC over the years, and returned for the first time (in more than a decade) last year. The contrast was extraordinary between "then" and "now." Panhandling was gone. Central Park--a gorgeous place, too long famed for its muggers--was constantly patrolled, filled with smalltime musical performances, parents wheeling their infants, etc. My cousin, who has lived in NYC all her life (and she's in her sixties, now) says the city has completely turned around.

Although NYC's reputation for danger will probably remain for many years, it's really quite a safe place to visit at this time. Whether the new mayor continues these policies will have to be seen.

Minerva · Post by **Minerva** » Wed Apr 24, 2002 10:09 am

@HLD: I don't think she feels unsafe at home, though she found it more difficult going to local shop. In NY, she went out to museum & shops by herself, taking tubes (sorry, subway) without any fear. (Except occasional racial abuse at home, as they lived where there are more Japanese people are around in the surburb.)

@fable: I heard the clean-ups by Guiliani past few years, particularly London is in a mess and trying to sort out in NY style. I hope the city won't go back the day it had been.

Weasel · Post by **Weasel** » Wed Apr 24, 2002 10:21 am

Re: Gruntboy's travels in the USA

Originally posted by Gruntboy
This is from the perspective of a Brit (by legal status only ).

Mobile, Alabama. IIRC, the Battleship Texas is moored here. And a monument to the battle of San Jacinto?

Gruntie @#%$*@...That is the USS Alabama. Plus there is a "Black Bird" spy plane there as well.

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Fri May 03, 2002 11:34 am

I am bumping this thread because Ned Flanders has been making me homesick over on the Food you might miss most thread.

If you have the time, energy and money, you should drive across the United States. Get a Rand McNally atlas, get in the car, put the top down and head out. At no point should you ever 1) get on an Interstate (as much as I love the Eisenhower Interstate System, it's no way to see the country), 2) eat in a chain restaurant, or 3) sleep in a chain hotel. You will be amazed at what our country has to offer.

An addition to my list of places to go or visit:

The coasts of the United States are riddled with shacks or cinder-block buildings that house the most magnificent seafood establishments on the planet. They often don't look like much, the staff is often rough around the edges, and I'm sure some of them pay off FDA inspectors, but the food is fresh and more often than not, excellent.

My two recommendations are on the upper end of the scale (both in terms of atmosphere and price, but it's still cheaper than Red Lobster). In Panacea, FL, in the Panhandle near Appalachicola is a restaurant called Angelo's by the Sea (as opposed to just Angelo's which is in Tallahassee). It's right on the Gulf and you can watch the boats dock and unload their catch in front of you.

The second is Clark's Fish Camp in the Mandarin area of Jacksonville, FL off of Old St. Augustine Road. You have to drive quite a ways off the main drag to get there, but it's worth the drive. There area also a couple of divey places up near NAS Mayport and up in Fernandina Beach, but Clark's is my favourite.

I've seen a lot of these places and they're not just in Florida, but all over. Ask locals where they go to eat, and you'll usually wind up eating at a place far from the eyes of the main strip, but where the food and atmosphere is far better than any place else.

nael · Post by **nael** » Fri May 03, 2002 11:46 am

also related to food places to go.
Kreuz's barbecue in lockhart texas, it's southeast of austin.
their coals have not gone out in over a hundred years. there is no sauce served or cooked with, the meat is so unbelievably tender it literally melts as soon as it touches your mouth. no plates or napkins, just butcher paper, meat, cole slaw, potato salad, and a roll of paper towels.

i spent an entire summer driving around texas eating BBQ, so if anyone is going there and wants some good pointers, just let me know...