Post: #1

Next month I'm starting a USA tour that will take me throughout the country. What are some sights, places, cafes, restaurants, parks, tours, and churches you highly recommend for me that will help me feel proud to be an American?

I just have two requirements:

1. It should be somewhat close to my route below.
2. It should not involve more than one night (e.g. a 3 day hike somewhere).

   

I'm also not too big on big sights that I look at for 5 minutes, take a picture, and leave. I don't mind an experience that is not photogenic.

Post: #2

My suggestions that are directly on this path:
Richmond, Virginia- there are many old confederate monuments/buildings
In Pennsylvania- flight 93 memorial or Falling water (frank Lloyd Wright’s home)
In Louisiana- New Orleans

Post: #3

Maybe you can read this book for inspiration:

Book: In America: Travels with John Steinbeck (by Geert Mak).

I thoroughly enjoyed this and all books I’ve read of him.

Post: #4

"October 5: San Diego"

La Jolla was a rather slick place for a day visit (2014).
Plus I had reason to be there for the one Comedy Store.

Post: #5

US 101 is a nice route from Seattle to SF.

The Oregon to San Francisco part is especially scenic if you're pressed for time.

Post: #6

On the way from "P" to "Q", you should check out the Carlsbad Caverns. Really cool place.

Post: #7

Being from the PNW, I’ll only speak on that. Seattle has a lot to offer and isn’t all that bad. The summers are amazingly perfect weather. The Olympic national forest and mount rainier are absolute musts and same with some of the islands in the pudges sound. You could spend months hiking in these areas and not get bored. If you want more specific advise for the PNW, PM.

Post: #8

Not sure how picky of an eater you are. I'd recommend getting some BBQ when you're in the South. Every state does it a little different.

It's not hard to find. Lots of guys sell off a trailer or in a Church parking lot. You'll see lots of fried peanut stalls, and other local crops, on all the big interstate exits.

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New Orleans has a lot of old Cathedrals. Not as old as Europe, obviously, but still very pretty. St. Louis Cathedral is my favorite one in NOLA.

Louisiana also has gumbo and po' boys. The seafood is great all over southern Lousiana.

Café du Monde, in the French Quarter, has good beignets and a good location.

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Make sure to fill up at Buc-ee's when you go through Texas. Best gas station chain in the country.

Lots of pumps, lots of lights, huge convenience store, famous for having clean bathrooms (!!!), and friendly employees.

The one in New Braunfels is actually the biggest convenience store in the world, but they're all massive.

Post: #9

If you are in Miami, drive all the way down to key west. The drive is amazing, there are some great seafood shacks along the way. Key west is interesting and fun, even if you are not a lib. Bahia Honda state park is just before key west and you can camp there.

Driving between Atlanta and nashville is a nice drive through the mountains. Great white water rafting outside of chattanooga, Ocoee river.

When you go from Nashville to Charlotte, try to take a detour and drive part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Asheville is a very liberal city, lots of crazy feminists and wicca people, but also tons of great microbreweries.

Outwest, Jackson Hole / Grand Tetons / Yellowstone are all adjacent to each other, I would hit those instead of Salt Lake especially if you there in the summer rather than ski season.

If you haven't been to New Orleans, definitely stop and see it, if even for just the food.

Not sure of your schedule, but if you are back in Florida during college football season, stop in Tallahassee even if you don't like football. Thank me later.

Out in LA, Malibu and the Pacific Coast Highway are nice. Also, cut across Topanga Canyon from Malibu up into the valley. Also drive Mulholland drive up in the hills.

Post: #10

When you pass through Demning, New Mexico I recommend going to eat at the Adobe Deli. It’s a little bit outside of town and you drive through some farm fields and then come to an old school complex with a windmill. That’s the place-

3970 Lewis Flats Road Southeast
Deming, NM 88030-1964

It wouldn’t be too far off your route, and if you can swing it you should go see White Sands National Monument. Stay for the sunset. You can collect yourself in deep thought. It’s very peaceful. You will be surprised how quiet it is there. You don’t hear anything.

Post: #11

- keep frowning in every city you go
- write about feminism on your blog and its hard to get laid now
- work on that frown and grow that beard

Post: #12

(05-12-2019 11:25 AM)captain_shane Wrote:  On the way from "P" to "Q", you should check out the Carlsbad Caverns. Really cool place.

Carlsbad Caverns isn't too bad of a diversion on the Phoenix to Dallas route. Driving from El Paso to the Caverns, he would pass Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which is where Guadalupe Peak is, which is the highest point in Texas. This is one hour from the Caverns. Going up and down the trail to Guadalupe Peak is about 5-6 hours, so that might not be enough time to do in conjunction with Carlsbad Caverns.

Post: #13

When you're in Colorado. If it's not too far off your path, take a trip to Hanging lake. It's a beautiful day hike.

Post: #14

Newport, RI.
Athens, GA.
Walk across the bridge from downtown El Paso to Ciudad Juarez and back.
Carlsbad Caverns as has been mentioned
Salt River Canyon in AZ.

Post: #15

(05-12-2019 10:32 AM)bobmjilica Wrote:  My suggestions that are directly on this path:
Richmond, Virginia- there are many old confederate monuments/buildings
In Pennsylvania- flight 93 memorial or Falling water (frank Lloyd Wright’s home)
In Louisiana- New Orleans

You're USA trip sounds very exciting. You have a lot of time to see things in between your talks which are a week apart. I have to agree with New Orleans which is one of the most colorful cities in the country. Richmond is very historic and nice too. I would also add Savannah, GA before you get to Atlanta. Many cities on your route are like your home city of DC, and have serious traffic problems: Atlanta, Orlando, Austin, LA, etc. If you want to see sights you should stay off the interstates when ever possible.

Are you planning on making this into a book? You could call it "Travels with Roosh" or if you find a sorry state of affairs you could call it "Dead Rat in the USA."

Post: #16

Everybody here is listing some great choices for Roosh, I like that! The Southeast is the only region of the country I'm familiar with, so I'll stick to that. I'm also focusing on general cities to stop at, so for nature, I'd have to defer to other posters for suggestions.

From your drive from Texas to Florida along the Gulf Coast, I second Tallahassee as a cool place to stop. If you need a stop between New Orleans and Tallahassee, for a quick bite and some rest, I heard decent things about Baldwin County, Alabama, especially Fairhope. These are the nicer, more upscale suburbs of Mobile, AL.

Additionally, you should stop in at least one of the towns in the Deep South. Across the state line from Tallahasee, I recommend Thomasville, GA. It has that old money, old southern vibe that's almost like stepping back in time. I know quite a few hot girls from that area. Thomasville is a small town without a major college, so nightlife likely close to nonexistent. I would stop there for a bite and a walk around its quaint town center. Another, somewhat bigger, option in the same area is Valdosta, GA, but I still think Thomasville has a more authentic southern culture.

When driving up to Atlanta from Miami on I-75, a good stop is Macon, GA. It's a small city with a gentrifying town center just big enough to support nightlife and a decent open-air mall. The downsides is that crime is high. Just like most smaller places in the Deep South, there's a very distinctive southern culture and is rather racially segregated. Hipsters have generally not found out about the city. Tifton, GA is another decent town in Middle/South GA, but its small.

Atlanta isn't an authentic southern city so its not that much of a cultural experience. Its like DC but more sprawled out, less international, and much bigger black cultural presence. Its most likely not your thing, but Atlanta is a great place to catch good hiphop music, good strip clubs, and hot black girls. Stone Mountain is a cool sight that showcases American history. The food in Atlanta is nothing that special, just standard fare that you would expect in a big American city. I still recommend exploring the city. Virginia-Highland is a nice neighborhood, so is the Beltline. Heard good things about Athens: Should be a decent place to swing by for a daytrip from Atlanta.

I second Chattanooga, TN as your stop between Atlanta and Nashville. I don't know much about that city, but I heard its pretty outdoorsy and has that southern Appalachian culture.

When in Nashville, make sure to enjoy the live country and Americana music. There's good music being played on Lower Broadway and Midtown Nashville bars almost every night. Catch a concert at the Grand Ole Opry if you can. On weekday nights, I'm a big fan of Whiskey Jam Monday night and Revival 615 Tuesday night, both are acoustic shows showcasing top country/Americana talent in Nashville that take place in Midtown bars. Quality of girls in that city is high for US standards. Good restaurants to try are Hattie B's and Arnold's. Don't waste your time in the lines at Biscuit Love or Pancake Pantry, although there's plenty of eye candy hungover bachelorettes.

On your drive from Nashville to Charlotte, consider hitting up Knoxville, TN. Make sure to hit up the Blue Ridge as Hypno mentioned if you like nature and mountains.

Post: #17

(05-12-2019 02:44 PM)Sp5 Wrote:  Salt River Canyon in AZ.

If you delay your Seattle tour by a couple days you could attend the Pendleton Roundup. It’s a cool rodeo. Might be worth checking out for a day. The Umitilla tribe and Yakima tribe ride in for it too. It’s got a cowboy feel, like the old west. Small town folk.

Depending on what day you go through Portland, I recommend the OMSI detailed submarine tour. If you like history and are curious about how things work, then you will enjoy the tour. When I went, there was hardly anyone in the group and it was pretty much a private tour just for me. It is limited to every other Sunday. If you can’t get the detailed tour, then skip it.

https://ticketing.omsi.edu/ItemList.aspx?node_id=1120#

The I-5 corridor between Seattle all the way down to the 505 junction to San Francisco is pretty dull. It’s great for making good time, but otherwise there isn’t a lot to look at. I’d recommend either going east of the Cascades, or jump over to the coast. I’d probably go over to the coast and see the Oregon dunes. Start with Astoria and go do the bunker tour at Ft. Stevens. During WW2 the US was afraid the Japanese would raid Portland which was a major ship building center at the time. Ft. Stevens was built to stop a Japanese attack. A Japanese sub did shoot a couple shells at the fort.

Otherwise, if you do take I-5 south, cut over to highway 199 when you hit Grants Pass and take into California. You’ll be able to see the redwoods. Even if you aren’t a nature lover, you will still appreciate the size of the trees.

Salt River- as mentioned by Sp5 the Salt River area is beautiful. Your mind will be at ease and it’s a more peaceful drive vs the pressure of the main interstate. Head east out of Phoenix and get to Globe, and then head up to Show Lo. You’ll pass through San Carlos Apache lands and White Mountain Apache lands, and from there the Gila forest down to Silver City. Go see the Cliff Dwellings. Otherwise, see below.

If you don’t take that route and head through Tucson, go see the Pima Air and Space Museum. Be sure to do the Boneyard tour. There’s a huge storage yard of old warbirds that are either used for parts or ready to be reactivated in the event of WWIII.
http://www.pimaair.org

Boneyard Tour
http://www.pimaair.org/tour-boneyard

Then go see the old mission at San Xavier. It’s actually on an Indian reservation but just outside of town. It’s beautiful inside and still used as a church.
http://www.sanxaviermission.org

If you like history then you should see the Titan missile tour. It’s just south of the San Xavier church. When you do the tour, remember that all of his was built in the early 1960s!

https://titanmissilemuseum.org

And if you are down there, you might as well go and see the working copper mine-
http://www.asarco.com/about-us/our-locat...ine-tours/

If you are down that way you might as well go see the border. You can go to Nogales and there is a parking lot right against the border wall and you can pay $5 and it’s pretty safe. You can walk into Mexico with no passport controls. Go eat at this place-
http://www.larocarestaurant.com

When you heard back north you will go through a border patrol checkpoint on the highway heading north. Those checkpoints can get kind of interesting. Sometimes they wave you through, and sometimes they pull you to the side and run dogs through your car.

Another detour on the way to New Mexico is down in the southeast corner of Arizona- the Chiricahua National Monument. It’s pretty easy to see in less than a day with some easy hikes.

Post: #18

In general, I'm big into eating and drinking well when I travel, so I will throw out some food and drink recs. When you come here to TX, you'd be doing yourself a damned disservice as an American to not have yourself some proper TX BBQ. Austin area probably has the most per capita but you gotta do beef brisket and/or a giant beef rib. Nobody does it like TX. I'll throw out a few random highlights in no particular order:

Austin:
BBQ
-Black's
-La Barbecue
-Kerlin
-Styles Switch

Houston
BBQ
-Pinkerton's
-Truth
-Killen's (Pearland)
-Corkscrew (Spring)
Coffee
-Boomtown
-Cavo
-Southside Espresso
Misc
-Pappasitos for some proper Tex Mex
-Memorial Park for getting your outdoor workout and daygame on
-Miller outdoor theater for free live music - they have some sweet live acts sometimes
-get the special banh mi at Roostar
-hit Chinatown and get a legit $20/hr reflexology massage

Seattle
Beer
-Reuben's Brews for some world class craft beer

CA
Santa Rosa
-hit Russian River Brewing and sample some world class brews if it's on your way
Paso Robles
-hit a fairly underrated wine country for a day; if you're not feeling the wine tours, hit Albertson's and load up on some killer affordable local wines
Misc
-Take the detour through Redwoods National park - park and get out and walk amongst those trees, it will raise the hair on your arms

AZ
PHX
-Walk around Mill Avenue in Tempe and day game some stunners

LA
-on your way to NOLA, there's this little place called the Best Stop and you have grab some of their spicy crackling and boudin balls
-also kind of on your way to NOLA, stop for a cold beer sampler in Broussard, LA and wet your whistle at Parish Brewing Co.
-in NOLA, grab yourself a Muffaleta at Cochon Butcher, then check out a ton of live music happening on Frenchman St. area

Denver
-Take shrooms and have a paradigm-shifting trip on a nature walk in the mountains - they are decriminalized now, right?
-Drink a lot of great brews basically everywhere you turn (Odd13, New Image, Oscar Blues, etc.)
-Get in the mountains and do some hiking/biking - there are some great trails around Boulder area and out west further on I70 and stunning views and natural beauty

Post: #19

I recommend doing an airboat tour in the Everglades when you're in Miami.

You'll see some wildlife and riding on an airboat is fun. You can also watch a guy wrestle an alligator. Plenty of outfitters on 41, which isn't far from Miami.

Post: #20

(05-12-2019 02:33 PM)YetiECV Wrote:  When you're in Colorado. If it's not too far off your path, take a trip to Hanging lake. It's a beautiful day hike.

There are a million stops you could make in Colorado. I'd suggest taking I-70 west to Grand Junction even if it costs you a few hours to Salt Lake. The heart of the American Rockies is less than two hours from Denver. I can give a lot more detail if you like.

Also, don't go more than 7 MPH over the speed limit in Wisconsin. I grew up in Madison and went to college in La Crosse. I almost always get a speeding ticket when I visit family. There isn't shit from Beloit until Madison. The only point of interest on your map is the Wisconsin Dells about 45 minutes northwest of Madison if you like gimmicky shit. Otherwise La Crosse/Eau Claire have some outdoorsy shit to do if your interested. If not expect your drive between Chicago and Minneapolis to consist of super friendly people with a surplus of beer and cheese.

Post: #21

On the trip from Colorado to Seattle, try to stop and camp in Oregon. From San Diego to Phoenix try to stop by the Grand Canyon of course, or Zion.

They are touristy but who cares; it's still the great American west and will clear your soul of the deadness of the Eastern seacoast.

In general, a cross-country road trip is a blast.

The drive from SF to San Diego is entirely crappy. Just go the fastest route possible. Southern California is a apocalyptic wasteland as you'll see when you arrive. Get out of Calif as soon as possible and focus on northern Arizona.

Post: #22

(05-12-2019 11:41 PM)VNvet Wrote:  I recommend doing an airboat tour in the Everglades when you're in Miami.

That is a great experience if you have never done it. You can do this in central florida as well.

Post: #23

If you like stuff that flies, the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte has the actual fuselage and wings and other wreckage from the Airbus A320 that ditched in the Hudson River in 2009.

Also the USS Intrepid Museum in NYC is an interesting combination of aircraft carrier, submarine, space shuttle and bunch of aircraft. Only annoying things are the lineup and the bitchy middle aged NYC staff shrews who think they're saving the world by yelling at people not to touch the planes.

Finally in addition to BBQ in the south (be warned, there are both great and disgusting BBQ places down there, Sonny's in Charlotte I would recommend), be sure to try seafood grits in Tennessee.

Post: #24

Boston:
Cathedral Church of St. Paul
Cathedral of the Holy Cross
Paul Revere's House

Washington:
Lincoln's Memorial

Post: #25

In Seattle, the Ballard locks have a salmon ladder that’s very cooll. The salmon are starting to make their migration for spawning in June and continue through the fall and you can seen them swimming upstream from an underground cave. Last time I was there the rangers were throwing bits of dynamite in the water to scare off predator sea lions.
Seattle Aquarium is also world class.

On the other end of the country about an hour and a half outside of New Orleans is Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It’s a college town with a good southern vibe. There’s a music joint called the Thirsty Hippo that’s worth checking out. Owner’s name is Dan.
Also great for music...Minneapolis. Maybe check out something at First Avenue (the place Prince plays in Purple Rain) or it’s smaller sister club around the corner- 7th Street Entry. Turf Club in St Paul is a cool spot. Also Bryant Lake Bowl. There are lots of restaurants and bars along Hennepin in the Uptown neighborhood.

In NYC, come uptown and take a walk along 5th Avenue to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Central Park right behind it. The Guggenheim just a few blocks north can be done in a couple hours, a little less overwhelming than the Met. Chinatown in Manhattan is awesome. I can recommend some great non-touristy spots.

If you feel like checking out Brooklyn the new Domino Sugar factory park on the East River is nice.