Amuricah

[The Venerable Bogatir X]

Newark is gorgeous this time of year

LMAO....so wrong.

[The Venerable Bogatir X]

4 days is a shitload of Vegas. I would plan on three.

Yep.

Make a trip to the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon @ the see through balcony over the canyon.

Can't you hook them up with a well broken-in BNSF car complete with filthy blanket and not too much in the way of stale hobo piss? That would be better than a road trip.

[Pinky]

...it's the space in between (Great Plains, western deserts, central coast of California) that I think you will remember.

What you'll remember most about driving through the Great Plains is the overwhelming boredom. Don't do that.

[seeahill]

You are invited to Montana. We got a couple of people from England living here, so they could translate for you.
Serious invite if you get anywhere near Yellowstone.
It's a shame your wife doesn't want to do a road trip. It's the American thing to do. Especially out west of the Mississippi where there is little traffic and beautiful country.

[Grandpa's Spells]

+1 on not driving the Midwest/Great Plains, it is painfully flat and un-scenic.

It would be a pretty big mistake to do Vegas and skip the Grand Canyon. I liked the drive out to the Hoover Dam, but desert is a novelty for me.

[The Venerable Bogatir X]

...it's the space in between (Great Plains, western deserts, central coast of California) that I think you will remember.

What you'll remember most about driving through the Great Plains is the overwhelming boredom. Don't do that.

A buddy of mine and I flew out to Aspen and drove back a Jeep Liberty for his wife and we did so non stop. The drive fucking sucked.....we drove through Colorado in the middle of the night and then kept right on moving until we got back to the Twin Cities....I used to think those signs about not picking up hitchhikers as they might be escaped convicts were a joke, but those signs seemed to be pretty regular on that trip, IIRC.

[Beer Jew]

Seahill, thanks for the invite. She's not against doing a roadtrip - she loves the idea. It's just that if we're only there for two - three weeks (which would take up most our annual leave for the year), she'd rather not spend a week of that in the car.

[johno]

I'd advise you fly into O'Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois, then take a commuter plane to Davenport, Iowa, on the scenic Mississippi River. From there, drive west on Interstate 80. After an eternity, you will find Des Moines, Iowa, and then Omaha, Nebraska. Then on to Grand Island, then North Platte, Nebraska. This drive is akin to an extended meditation in a sensory deprivation chamber. During it, you will experience nothing but vast cornfields, annoying drivers, speed traps and Seven Elevens. You will explore the deepest recesses of your persona, and your wife's. You will come to hate yourself, and off your wife. On the plus side, it's easy to hide a body out there. Bring a shovel.

[The Venerable Bogatir X]

I'd advise you fly into O'Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois, then take a commuter plane to Davenport, Iowa, on the scenic Mississippi River. From there, drive west on Interstate 80. After an eternity, you will find Des Moines, Iowa, and then Omaha, Nebraska. Then on to Grand Island, then North Platte, Nebraska. This drive is akin to an extended meditation in a sensory deprivation chamber. During it, you will experience nothing but vast cornfields, annoying drivers, speed traps and Seven Elevens. You will explore the deepest recesses of your persona, and your wife's. You will come to hate yourself, and off your wife. On the plus side, it's easy to hide a body out there. Bring a shovel.

Johno's bullshit cloaking device must have a dead battery as he keeps nailing absolute truth.

[JohnDoe]

I'd head to Seattle and do the San Juans, North Cascades, Portland, Rainer, Hood, and up to BC/Vancouver. But I wear Chacos a lot.

[Jay]

Chicago Pizza at Giordanos

You will have an orgasm

[The Ginger Beard Man]

Chicago Pizza at Giordanos

You will have an orgasm

He's been to Brooklyn. He's had real pizza.

[The Ginger Beard Man]

With all the advice you're getting, you need to keep the phrase "flyover country" in mind. It's called that for a reason.
Keep it brief in Vegas. Go to the Grand Canyon, then California. Consider flying to Vegas from Philly. It's got a lot of history and good food and is worth an overnight stay.

[TerryB]

Got your message BJ.

$2000 to throw bologna at you isn't going to work for me.

[Beer Jew]

Got your message BJ.

$2000 to throw bologna at you isn't going to work for me.

$2250. And I'll piss on you whilst you throw it, as requested.

Final offer.

[Jay]

Chicago Pizza at Giordanos

You will have an orgasm

He's been to Brooklyn. He's had real pizza.

I am partial to NYC pizza being that I lived there for a long time, but Chicago pizza is also damn good

[The Ginger Beard Man]

Chicago Pizza at Giordanos

You will have an orgasm

He's been to Brooklyn. He's had real pizza.

I am partial to NYC pizza being that I lived there for a long time, but Chicago pizza is also damn good

I was shocked by your traitorous post.

[Turdacious]

If you're doing the eastern seaboard, take the train. Most of the stuff worth seeing is in cities anyway. Delaware is nice if want to rent some kayaks and spend some time on the water.

For the west coast, it all depends on what you want to see. For natural stuff, the Salt Lake City area is incredible. Yosemite is nice in Cali, and the road trip up the coast is a nice one. The cali coast is nice all year, the Oregon coast is incredible in the summer (camp near a beach) and only in the summer, the Washington coast is shitty all year. San Fran is nice, but the traffic is a nightmare. See Crater Lake on your way up north. Portland and Seattle are nice. Take a couple of days and go to Mt. St. Helens. If you plan it out, you can climb up to the summit as an relatively easy day hike. The Lava Canyon is great too. Don't spend much time on I-5 once you hit the Oregon border, take some other routes. Vancouver BC is overrated; Victoria is not.

[Fuzzy Dunlop]

2 nights in Vegas is a blast, 3 nights is pushing it but could be OK for your first time, 4 nights will be overkill on your mind body and wallet

Driving across the country is retarded. Heed the advice... it's called "flyover country" for a reason. If you want to see something in the midwest fly to Chicago on your way to Vegas. If you don't pretend those weird saucepies are a pizza then they're actually pretty tasty.

[nafod]

Beer Jew, use the googled mapper and get directions from New Orleans to Vegas. It is a mere 25 hour drive. Doing the speed limit. You leave New Orleans at 10:00 PM, drive through the boring stuff in the dark, bury the needle on your rental car past 100 on a straightaway that is LONGER THAN YOUR COUNTRY IS WIDE, watch the sun rise over the Great Plains, watch the Rockies appear on the distant horizon and imagine Lewis & Clark ganging on Pocahontas the first time they saw the mountains in the distance, eventually crossing the dark, dark desert as night falls so you arrive in Vegas in the car, hopped up on red bulls and monster drinks to the point of hallucinating, at night, where it appears like some crazed Xanadu temple to the gods of fluorescent lighting in the middle of complete darkness. Don't worry, it will be open for business.

[Jay]

Chicago Pizza at Giordanos

You will have an orgasm

He's been to Brooklyn. He's had real pizza.

I am partial to NYC pizza being that I lived there for a long time, but Chicago pizza is also damn good

I was shocked by your traitorous post.

#allpizzasmatter

[stosh]

JMO, because that's all I have, you need to do a few days in the Rockies. Southern Colorado (Durango), the Tetons, Bitterroots, etc.

[Cave Canem]

Newark is gorgeous this time of year

LMAO....so wrong.

Wrong would have been if he said Camden. Although they do have a nice aquarium.

[Beer Jew]

So finally planned our itinerary...

We need to start in New Jersey for a couple of days for my BIL's wedding.

New Jersey - Washington DC, spend a couple days touring Washington.

From Washington, fly to Las Vegas. Arrive in Vegas on Wednesday, leave Sunday morning.

Pick up the mustang on Sunday morning in Vegas, and drive up to Yosemite Valley for 3 days.

From Yosemite, drive to San Francisco, rest up for the night, and then drive down the coast to LA. Spend a few days in LA, and then head home.

So... tips needed.

1. Is it worth renting a car for DC? I feel we would spend more time stuck in traffic than actually sightseeing.

2. Where to stay in Vegas? I want a buzzing hotel on the strip with great room for the money.

3. Where to stay in Yosemite?

4. Where to stay in San Francisco (as in which area, not which hotel).

5. Where to stay in LA? Again, area, not hotel.

[DrDonkeyLove]

So finally planned our itinerary...

We need to start in New Jersey for a couple of days for my BIL's wedding.

New Jersey - Washington DC, spend a couple days touring Washington.

From Washington, fly to Las Vegas. Arrive in Vegas on Wednesday, leave Sunday morning.

Pick up the mustang on Sunday morning in Vegas, and drive up to Yosemite Valley for 3 days.

From Yosemite, drive to San Francisco, rest up for the night, and then drive down the coast to LA. Spend a few days in LA, and then head home.

So... tips needed.

1. Is it worth renting a car for DC? I feel we would spend more time stuck in traffic than actually sightseeing.
Not worth renting a car. Uber, taxi, subway, and/or Grayline tour where you can hop on and hop off. Will be hotter and more humid than Satan's ball sack in August.

2. Where to stay in Vegas? I want a buzzing hotel on the strip with great room for the money.
Central strip best suits your requirements. MIrage, Caesars, or TI for good and happening hotels in the middle of everything. Flamingo, Harrahs for cost savings but still in the heart of things. Bellagio, Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn for higher end. Go to hotel web sites for pricing. Expect rapings on Friday/Saturday. If you want better pricing on the weekend, you may need to go off strip or extend your operating area to south/north strip.

3. Where to stay in Yosemite?
Get on it soon of you'll end up in Modesto or some such hell hole and commuting in.

4. Where to stay in San Francisco (as in which area, not which hotel).
Avoid airport area = boring. Go to Hotwire and look at their SF neighborhoods. Not recommending Hotwire as their service has deteriorated substantially lately but they'll have a good list of neighborhoods. Quite a few lesser known hotels that cater to international tourists in the areas you want to be. I've stayed at The Opal (old but not bad) and The Hotel Whitcomb (older, not as good, and surrounded by homeless, but not horrible). SF can be surprisingly chilly in the summer. Much more scenic, interesting, and accessible than LA

5. Where to stay in LA? Again, area, not hotel.
Airport & Downtown = no. The rest is too big for recommendings. Depends on what you want to do.

BRING $$$$$$
You're packing a lot in but you've picked great areas to visit. The ride from SF to LA along Hwy 1 is superb - one of the most scenic in America. Might want to give yourself an extra day doing that. More beauty along that road than the law allows. Will be an unforgettable part of your trip. Hwy 101 & Hwy 5 to LA are ugly and boring but they're quicker.