Planning a holiday to the States

[afleitch]

I get a bonus next month which will more than cover the cost of flights from Glasgow to the States for two, so I'm now planning a trip either late this year or next summer (Hopfully Chris will agree to come, but I may attempt a 'short' break myself) I have relatives in San Diego so if went that far, with internal flights I may end up there.

Direct flights from Glasgow (to cut the cost) go to;

Boston Logan
NYJFK
Philadelphia
Chicago O'Hare
Orlando
Las Vegas

But flying from other cities (even London) is a good option. However Orlando and New York tend to be the cheapest.

Any advice? I shall keep you updated!

[paul718]

Definitely don't go to Vegas.  It's so boring there. 

[afleitch]

Definitely don't go to Vegas.  It's so boring there. 

It's one of the cheapest options actualkly However people I know have simply stayed a few days then connected to LA or San Francisco.

I'm getting Glasgow to JFK via Amsterdam at a good deal now, for early December. I'll look into that.

[phk]

Let me know if you decide to come to San Diego.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

To borrow a slogan from WWII, "Is this trip necessary?"  What precisely is it you hope to do here that you couldn't do in Britain without engaging in a CO₂ binge by flying and sabotaging the War on Climate Change?



Or alternatively, what other things might you do with the bonus as you spend it all like an ant instead of saving it like a grasshopper?

[Ban my account ffs!]

If you've already been here before, I'd suggest seeing places you've never been before.  Go to New Orleans or Denver...

You could book a weekend in Door County, Wisconsin on Lake Michigan.. it's beautiful and cheaper than somewhere on the coasts.

Of course I'd also suggest Minnesota.  The Twin Cities are one of the best spots in the U.S. for museums and theater (more theater goers per capita than any other city behind New York) as well as excellent food.  You could book a weekend along the North Shore of Lake Superior around Lutsen or Grand Marais.. and it'd be just you, your date, and maybe a bear or moose or two... plus it would be incredibly quiet with incredible sunrises over the lake.

If you come in mid-late September, the fall colors are amazing.  The cooling effect of Lake Superior along the North Shore supports huge sugar maple forests and the cool weather loads the trees up with pigment so they burst into yellow, orange, and red in the fall.. and it's nothing but those colors as far as the eye can see.



So yeah, my little tourism commercial is over.

I just challenge you not to be the typical tourist.  Go off the beaten path a little and explore "fly-over country"... trust me, you'll enjoy it a lot more.

[ilikeverin]

You should come visit me when I'm at college!  You can see... economic depression... economic depression... and... economic depression.

Michigan is such a lovely state to visit

[Hash]

You should come visit me when I'm at college!  You can see... economic depression... economic depression... and... economic depression.

The Ontario Tourist Board is not pleased by competition!

[??????????]

Orlando. Their are tons of UKers there, especially in the winter.

[JSojourner]

You mean you haven't even considered beautiful Fort Wayne, Indiana?  I am aghast!

Seriously, if it's good food & drink you want...Chicago.  If it's art and culture...New York.  If it's an immersion in American history...Washington.  If it's sun, sand and surf...California.  If it's mice who can talk and rollercoasters...Orlando.  If it's sports...Pittsburgh!

I know you won't be, but if you and Chris should ever come through Fort Wayne...you are more than welcome in our home.  The Mrs. and I would be delighted to have you.

[John Dibble]

Definitely don't go to Vegas.  It's so boring there. 

It's one of the cheapest options actualkly However people I know have simply stayed a few days then connected to LA or San Francisco.

I'm getting Glasgow to JFK via Amsterdam at a good deal now, for early December. I'll look into that.

I'm going to disagree with Paul and say that Vegas is fun, at least for a few days. I went there for my final spring break in college and had a blast. Just going around and seeing the various theme casino/hotels on the strip is fun, and will take you a couple days at least. I did that largely on foot. There's also a lot of great shows to go see. There's tons to do and see, so you don't even have to gamble, though gambling can be quite fun if you're not stupid about it.

Staying a few days and then taking another flight like those people you know have done might be a good option too.

I'm planning to take a vacation some time in October. My first choice is a cruise, but getting my birth certificates so I can get a passport is taking longer than I would like, so that option might not work. I'm thinking of another Vegas trip as an alternative.

A few tips for gambling and shows if you decide on Vegas:

1. This applies to any place you might go gambling, not just Vegas - set aside how much money you are willing to lose in advance. That's your gambling money, and under no circumstances should you ever withdraw more from your bank account for this purpose. The house always has an edge, so go in thinking that you will lose it. Gambling has a chance to win, but primarily you should have the attitude that you are getting an entertainment value from it. This is THE most important rule. (note - winnings don't necessarily count, you can gamble those back into the casino if you want) For me $700 was enough for three full days.

2. If you hit a decent sized win on a slot machine it's time to cash out and move on. "Decent" in this case means about $100 or so. The machine will likely just take it back if you keep playing.

3. For slots in general, try to find a high-payout machine. The machines today are based on random numbers, and each one is programmed to pay out at a certain frequency. Some pay out higher than others, so if your "luck" on a certain machine sucks try another one. You can Google more information about this - these machines are usually in certain places in the casino, so knowing where to find them helps.

4. In general if you get a nice payout, from slots or otherwise, rather than putting that back into your gambling pool take a bit out and use it for your food expenses.

5. Get a comp card of some kind - groups of casinos use these, especially at slots, so you might get a few freebies when you lose money on gambling with these.

6. For a show, I recommend seeing the Blue Man Group at the Venetian. It's a really fun show.

7. One last thing - if you want to save a bit of money stay in a hotel off the strip. They tend to be a bit cheaper, though many of them are still very nice. I recommend this one for that purpose: http://www.southpointcasino.com/

[paul718]

You mean you haven't even considered beautiful Fort Wayne, Indiana?  I am aghast!

Seriously, if it's good food & drink you want...Chicago.  If it's art and culture...New York.  If it's an immersion in American history...Washington.  If it's sun, sand and surf...California.  If it's mice who can talk and rollercoasters...Orlando.  If it's sports...Pittsburgh!

I know you won't be, but if you and Chris should ever come through Fort Wayne...you are more than welcome in our home.  The Mrs. and I would be delighted to have you.

Okay, here's my serious response.  I haven't been there, but the one place I've consistently heard "That's my favorite city," is Chicago.  And, more importantly, I've heard it from different types of people...yuppies, artsy-types, regular guys, etc. 

So, Chicago is my vote.

[J-Mann]

If you haven't been before, I'd recommend Washington, DC. If you have been, there's a lot you probably didn't see the first time around, but I'd go for something entirely different -- someone mentioned Denver, and I think that's a decent option with lots to do in the surrounding area.

It all depends on what you're looking for. Do you want to come here for some peace and quiet, or are you looking for a more active, touristy spot?

[Bacon King]

New Orleans!

[fezzyfestoon]

What might be fun is a night or two in Vegas and a classic American road trip through the desert to the coast and stop at a couple places in California.  That way you could also visit your relatives in San Diego and maybe spend a little time in TJ.  If you have time, you can go up to Santa Barbara, too.  That or New Orleans would be pretty awesome.

[afleitch]

Thank you guys

Okay, here's my serious response.  I haven't been there, but the one place I've consistently heard "That's my favorite city," is Chicago.  And, more importantly, I've heard it from different types of people...yuppies, artsy-types, regular guys, etc. 

I've been strongly reccomended to go to Chicago too; and spread out from there. I know alot of people who like city breaks (as I do) that it's a great place.

You mean you haven't even considered beautiful Fort Wayne, Indiana?  I am aghast!

Seriously, if it's good food & drink you want...Chicago.  If it's art and culture...New York.  If it's an immersion in American history...Washington.  If it's sun, sand and surf...California.  If it's mice who can talk and rollercoasters...Orlando.  If it's sports...Pittsburgh!

I know you won't be, but if you and Chris should ever come through Fort Wayne...you are more than welcome in our home.  The Mrs. and I would be delighted to have you.

And one of the people who went to Chicago slipped across to Indiana Turned out to be quite easy on the wallet too; so it's certainly one to consider.

[The Man From G.O.P.]

Austin.

1. Right in the middle of a million "Texas" type things to do.
2. As much music events to go see that you could ever want.
3. The best Mexican food and BBQ
4. Downtown has wonderful hotels and pubs, 6th nighttime is infamous.
5. Five star place for gay folks
6. Texas Capitol Building, and Texas History Museums
7. Texas Longhorns American football (105,000 seater stadium)


Brits and Aussies tend to be quite common taking pictures in their short shorts in July, August, and December.

[ilikeverin]

Thank you guys

Okay, here's my serious response.  I haven't been there, but the one place I've consistently heard "That's my favorite city," is Chicago.  And, more importantly, I've heard it from different types of people...yuppies, artsy-types, regular guys, etc. 

I've been strongly reccomended to go to Chicago too; and spread out from there. I know alot of people who like city breaks (as I do) that it's a great place.

You mean you haven't even considered beautiful Fort Wayne, Indiana?  I am aghast!

Seriously, if it's good food & drink you want...Chicago.  If it's art and culture...New York.  If it's an immersion in American history...Washington.  If it's sun, sand and surf...California.  If it's mice who can talk and rollercoasters...Orlando.  If it's sports...Pittsburgh!

I know you won't be, but if you and Chris should ever come through Fort Wayne...you are more than welcome in our home.  The Mrs. and I would be delighted to have you.

And one of the people who went to Chicago slipped across to Indiana Turned out to be quite easy on the wallet too; so it's certainly one to consider.

Oh, God, "slipped across" implies a short trip just over the border, which means Gary... no, no, no.

You are perfectly free to take a trip into Indiana, to drive around Indiana, to enjoy the fact that everything is cheaper in Indiana (I would recommend against going anywhere more south than Indianapolis and even that's pushing it, however, because rural southern Indiana=rural Alabama), visit my birthplace (obviously a National Historic Landmark by now) and JSojourner—it's about a three hour drive, incidentally, which is about the same distance to East Lansing, MI to see me —but your main objective in Gary, the town that's right across the border, is to leave.

FWIW I've also heard good things about Chicago from outsiders.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I've been through Indiana.  All I remember from Indiana was freeway and McDonalds.  How sad is that?  Oh, and lots of farm fields.

If you go to Chicago and drive north into Wisconsin, you could visit Milwaukee and head up the lakeshore.  Milwaukee is a seriously underrated city that has seen a nice renaissance.  It is home to a large German population, so its staples are beer and bratwurst... and plenty of sauerkraut I'm sure.

Here are some insider guides to the Twin Cities from local "celebrities"...

http://www.minneapolis.org/page/1/insider-guides-maps.jsp

You can try new cuisines... we have large, vibrant Ethiopian, Somali, Eritrean, Hmong, Laotian, and Vietnamese communities and the food they offer is amazing.

[JSojourner]

Ilikeverin and Snow are essentially correct.  Indiana can best be described as follows.

Northern route, east to west:  a little corn - medium sized city - lots more corn - industrial cesspool -- Chicago

Middle route, east to west:  lots of corn -- large metropolis - lots more corn -- central Illinois

Southern route:  banjo music -- "Boy, you shore got yourself a purty mouth..."

[Bacon King]

New Orleans!

elaborating further:

According to Travel+Leisure's national survey, New Orleans has the best live music in the country, as well as the best restaurants and "cheap eats." It also has the #2 late-night scene and the #3 lounge scene. It's also rated as a top location for a "romantic escape," so it'd be great for you and Chris! Also, New Orleans is easily the most gay-friendly part of the US outside of San Francisco. It's also apparently the top spot in the county for "vintage stores/flea markets" if you're interested in that.

It's a great place to visit; there's honestly something in this city for everyone. With this New Orlean's unique culture and huge variety of things to and places to see, it's honestly just awesome in every way imaginable. Plus you can feel good knowing that your hard-spent dollars will be going to help this city reassert itself in the aftermath of Katrina!

wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans#Culture_and_contemporary_life



Don't mind me, just reppin' my city.

[JSojourner]

New Orleans!

elaborating further:

According to Travel+Leisure's national survey, New Orleans has the best live music in the country, as well as the best restaurants and "cheap eats." It also has the #2 late-night scene and the #3 lounge scene. It's also rated as a top location for a "romantic escape," so it'd be great for you and Chris! Also, New Orleans is easily the most gay-friendly part of the US outside of San Francisco. It's also apparently the top spot in the county for "vintage stores/flea markets" if you're interested in that.

It's a great place to visit; there's honestly something in this city for everyone. With this New Orlean's unique culture and huge variety of things to and places to see, it's honestly just awesome in every way imaginable. Plus you can feel good knowing that your hard-spent dollars will be going to help this city reassert itself in the aftermath of Katrina!

wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans#Culture_and_contemporary_life



Don't mind me, just reppin' my city.

No, I agree with the King.  I visited New Orleans for a convention back in 96 and I had an absolute blast.  The party/bar scene didn't interest me that much but the food was great, the music was amazing, the people were impossibly nice (aside from one street preacher...but that's another story) and then there's all the historical stuff.  A vastly underappreciated city!

Hated the airport, though.

[Ban my account ffs!]

If you wanted a great tour of middle America, you could start in Chicago and then head to St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans. 

I think New Orleans and Chicago would be my two top recommendations for cities you have to visit.

[Хahar 🤔]

Is this the part where we plug our home cities?

In that case, flights from here to Southern California are relatively cheap.

[memphis]

A word on America: be wary of the slums. Nearly every Anerican city has a sizeable area that is practically third world. Of the cities people have been suggesting, this is particularly true of Washington DC and New Orleans.