01-07-2009, 05:05 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-07-2009, 05:24 PM by Concillian.)
My experiences are with the West. I've not been to the east coast, but I've done a LOT in the western half.
Having grown up in San Diego and now living in the San Francisco area (but almost an hour from the actual city), I'd say there is more interesting stuff in the immediate SF area.
San Diego has some really nice beaches, and Mission Beach in particular is really easy to access and has some cheap touristy things around, but the whole west coast has cold-ish water compared with the east coast (West current flows down from Alaska, east current flows up from Gulf of Mexico.... New York beaches often have warmer water than San Diego beaches.) Once you're done with beaches, all that's left in San Diego is one (rather drab) bridge, and Sea World / San Diego Zoo / Wild Animal park. The Wild Animal park is very cool, but I'm not sure I'd plan that into a trip from Europe to something in the US. There's bay watersports and ocean watersports. I just never liked doing that kind of thing in salt water. I much prefer water sports in a lake. It's warmer than the Pacific Ocean, and when you biff it and take a mouth / nose full of water it's a lot easier on you when that water isn't full of salt.
There are very nice coastal areas south and north of LA (stay away from anything too close to LA) The southern Orange County area is very nice, with some relatively easy access to hiking, though IMO the southern CA hiking is much less interesting than the northern CA hiking. Redwoods are a lot cooler than the southern CA flora (which has some of the same staple trees, minus redwoods and plus more of the 'scrubby / shrubby' plants like sage and manzanita.) Santa Barbara is similar, but north of LA instead of south. The town is a little more interesting IMO than most of the Orange County coastal towns.
San Francisco area has no comparable beaches to the southern CA beaches of San Diego / Santa Barbara. The wind and the water that is that much colder totally kill the beach experience for me in the bay area, but maybe I'm just spoiled by the southern CA beaches. However, it does have the tourist landmarks like the bridges, and redwood areas and wineries are a short drive away. I might suggest staying somewhere else, like Oakland, Berkeley, or Emeryville and using public transit or car to access the city itself and rental cars for the outlying area. You'll save a ton this way. Hotels inside SF are at least double what something just a few miles away will cost you, and there's enough not in the city, that you probably want a car anyway, saving on a hotel makes the cost of a rental car easier to swallow.
Lake Tahoe is a pretty nice destination in the summer. As was mentioned, you have the gambling aspect on the Nevada side of the border if that's your thing, you have lake watersports available, mountain scenery, and reasonably cheap hotels available. You are a ways away from anything urban or any hallmark landmarks, but it's a nice place. Hiking & nice mountain wilderness is very close by.
Vancouver (Canada) is very nice and I like the diversity of things to do in a very small area, with urban environment very close to the Capilano bridge area and the Tram up to the top of the mountain for leisurely wilderness exploration (like hiking without so much work, there is hiking up there too, but there's a lot to see if you don't hike). Ocean vistas and such as well. Overall the most "compact" between ocean / urban / nice mountain areas of the cities I've seen on the west coast. Then you can hit Victoria for a couple nights, it's an easy Ferry ride away. Do not discount Vancouver as "like the US but watered down" I really enjoyed my time in Vancouver. Victoria is definitely a unique experience as well, and the Ferry rides between destinations are kinda fun if you don't usually experience that kind of thing.
I wasn't particularly thrilled with Seattle, it was nice. Space Needle wasn't my thing. Urban environment wasn't enough different from others for me to really care much and the fish market was barely different from any other quaint set of shops I'd visited (just the fish tossing really, which, I don't know, just watch it on Youtube). IMO this is a better destination if you're hiking. The climate is quite nice in the Summer and there is a LOT of Washington wilderness available for hiking. It's a little different from California hiking, but not too much. Perhaps something in Seattle with a ferry ride across the sound to some wilderness areas would be good. Maybe I haven't pushed my brother enough to show me the areas over there (he lives like an hour north of Seattle, along the coast).
If you plan early enough, you can do something relaxing and very Cheap (relatively) on the Colorado River. Something like renting a houseboat for a couple nights and just piddling around onone of the huge lakes (Havasu, Powell, Mead) or coupling that with a dam tour on your way in or out. These are the kind of vacations we did when I was growing up, and it's pretty nice. Warm (but dry) and any time you get too hot, you can just jump in the lake. You can rent jet-skis or a motorboat for water skiing / inner tube riding / wakeboard fun. It's kind of a go at your own pace kind of thing. Most of those watersports are available at Lake Tahoe too, but this environment is different (much warmer, less hiking... unless you like hiking in the desert in the summer, but the grad canyon is a day trip away and the mixture of dry hot days and watersports works very, very well.) It's close enough that you could couple this with a stint in Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, or a ranch / cowboy type thing. It might be nice contrast to do Ranch / Lake / Las Vegas split among 2 weeks.
Having grown up in San Diego and now living in the San Francisco area (but almost an hour from the actual city), I'd say there is more interesting stuff in the immediate SF area.
San Diego has some really nice beaches, and Mission Beach in particular is really easy to access and has some cheap touristy things around, but the whole west coast has cold-ish water compared with the east coast (West current flows down from Alaska, east current flows up from Gulf of Mexico.... New York beaches often have warmer water than San Diego beaches.) Once you're done with beaches, all that's left in San Diego is one (rather drab) bridge, and Sea World / San Diego Zoo / Wild Animal park. The Wild Animal park is very cool, but I'm not sure I'd plan that into a trip from Europe to something in the US. There's bay watersports and ocean watersports. I just never liked doing that kind of thing in salt water. I much prefer water sports in a lake. It's warmer than the Pacific Ocean, and when you biff it and take a mouth / nose full of water it's a lot easier on you when that water isn't full of salt.
There are very nice coastal areas south and north of LA (stay away from anything too close to LA) The southern Orange County area is very nice, with some relatively easy access to hiking, though IMO the southern CA hiking is much less interesting than the northern CA hiking. Redwoods are a lot cooler than the southern CA flora (which has some of the same staple trees, minus redwoods and plus more of the 'scrubby / shrubby' plants like sage and manzanita.) Santa Barbara is similar, but north of LA instead of south. The town is a little more interesting IMO than most of the Orange County coastal towns.
San Francisco area has no comparable beaches to the southern CA beaches of San Diego / Santa Barbara. The wind and the water that is that much colder totally kill the beach experience for me in the bay area, but maybe I'm just spoiled by the southern CA beaches. However, it does have the tourist landmarks like the bridges, and redwood areas and wineries are a short drive away. I might suggest staying somewhere else, like Oakland, Berkeley, or Emeryville and using public transit or car to access the city itself and rental cars for the outlying area. You'll save a ton this way. Hotels inside SF are at least double what something just a few miles away will cost you, and there's enough not in the city, that you probably want a car anyway, saving on a hotel makes the cost of a rental car easier to swallow.
Lake Tahoe is a pretty nice destination in the summer. As was mentioned, you have the gambling aspect on the Nevada side of the border if that's your thing, you have lake watersports available, mountain scenery, and reasonably cheap hotels available. You are a ways away from anything urban or any hallmark landmarks, but it's a nice place. Hiking & nice mountain wilderness is very close by.
Vancouver (Canada) is very nice and I like the diversity of things to do in a very small area, with urban environment very close to the Capilano bridge area and the Tram up to the top of the mountain for leisurely wilderness exploration (like hiking without so much work, there is hiking up there too, but there's a lot to see if you don't hike). Ocean vistas and such as well. Overall the most "compact" between ocean / urban / nice mountain areas of the cities I've seen on the west coast. Then you can hit Victoria for a couple nights, it's an easy Ferry ride away. Do not discount Vancouver as "like the US but watered down" I really enjoyed my time in Vancouver. Victoria is definitely a unique experience as well, and the Ferry rides between destinations are kinda fun if you don't usually experience that kind of thing.
I wasn't particularly thrilled with Seattle, it was nice. Space Needle wasn't my thing. Urban environment wasn't enough different from others for me to really care much and the fish market was barely different from any other quaint set of shops I'd visited (just the fish tossing really, which, I don't know, just watch it on Youtube). IMO this is a better destination if you're hiking. The climate is quite nice in the Summer and there is a LOT of Washington wilderness available for hiking. It's a little different from California hiking, but not too much. Perhaps something in Seattle with a ferry ride across the sound to some wilderness areas would be good. Maybe I haven't pushed my brother enough to show me the areas over there (he lives like an hour north of Seattle, along the coast).
If you plan early enough, you can do something relaxing and very Cheap (relatively) on the Colorado River. Something like renting a houseboat for a couple nights and just piddling around onone of the huge lakes (Havasu, Powell, Mead) or coupling that with a dam tour on your way in or out. These are the kind of vacations we did when I was growing up, and it's pretty nice. Warm (but dry) and any time you get too hot, you can just jump in the lake. You can rent jet-skis or a motorboat for water skiing / inner tube riding / wakeboard fun. It's kind of a go at your own pace kind of thing. Most of those watersports are available at Lake Tahoe too, but this environment is different (much warmer, less hiking... unless you like hiking in the desert in the summer, but the grad canyon is a day trip away and the mixture of dry hot days and watersports works very, very well.) It's close enough that you could couple this with a stint in Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, or a ranch / cowboy type thing. It might be nice contrast to do Ranch / Lake / Las Vegas split among 2 weeks.
Conc / Concillian -- Vintage player of many games. Deadly leader of the All Pally Team (or was it Death leader?)
Terenas WoW player... while we waited for Diablo III.
And it came... and it went... and I played Hearthstone longer than Diablo III.
Terenas WoW player... while we waited for Diablo III.
And it came... and it went... and I played Hearthstone longer than Diablo III.