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Taliesins (hypothetical) whirlwind USA tour

Discussion in 'Tilted Life and Sexuality' started by Taliesin, Sep 10, 2013.

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  1. Taliesin

    Taliesin Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Western Australia
    *I was looking for Tilted Travel? Did I imagine its existence? *
    Anyway, in keeping with my theme of today...
    I announced this morning on Facebook to all my friends & family that I'm probably going to go to America next year. I'm thinking about August. I told them anyone is welcome & I named about 5 people I know are bitten by the travel bug. So I'm committed now.
    My loose plan so far is I want to attend a Gathering. It's a kinda concert put on by the Insane Clown Posse. Rumor places it at Indianapolis next year.
    Here is my challenge to the TFP.

    Where should I go in America? Should I scoot up to Canada or down to Mexico?

    Imagine a tight budget. Give me three to five weeks. Keep me around Indianapolis sometime in August.
    And Go...

    Maybe share some travel stories of your own?
    I'm easy
     
    Taliesin, Sep 10, 2013
    #1
  2. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    You should go to Toronto. Lots of TFPers there, plus it's awesome. Since you're on a tight budget, that's also a reasonable distance to go from Indianapolis. Chicago is also really awesome. TFPers there too, and it is possible to live on hot dogs. Accommodations in Chicago can be spendy, though. Detroit has a couple, but I've never been to Detroit, so there's nothing to recommend it to me other than their presence :) I'd also say from there that the dunes in northern Indiana/western Michigan are really beautiful.

    I love traveling. Going to Toronto for six days this summer was a wonderful experience. I want to go back. It's a really neat city. People are generally polite and friendly (it IS Canada, after all), it's really clean, and there's lots to do. I've been pushing anyone who asks to go visit Toronto. I think I have my parents just about convinced that they need to go. Chicago has similar things going for it, plus some of the best pizza in the world, and the museums are not to be missed. I loved the Museum of Science and Industry and the Field Museum. The Shedd Aquarium was also super cool, and we got to see a real star show at Adler Planetarium, which was neat, since all the star shows have been ripped out of museums out here in favor of Laser Floyd shows and Omnimax movies.

    I'd also say visit the Pacific Northwest, if you had the inclination and budget to do so. It would be a drastically different change in scenery from Western Australia. August is usually pretty pleasant, not particularly rainy (if it does rain, it's short), and a great month to get up into the mountains, as typically mosquito season has passed in the mountain lakes at that time. REI rents camping gear if that's your bag. There are also some hostels out here in interesting places. I've been to 26 states (at last count) and two provinces, yet my favorite place is still Oregon.
     
    snowy, Sep 10, 2013
    #2
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Taliesin

    Taliesin Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Western Australia
    Excellent. Thanks Snowy. That's the kind of insider information I want. I'll spend a few days looking at the cities you mentioned on trip advisor. I'll throw together a rough itinerary & see if it's achievable with my current funds. It's been a couple of years since I got outta Australia.
    I visited the UK & Europe for the old buildings & scenery, I think my American trip will be about the people...
    I enjoyed random museums in the UK and the science museum sounds like my kinda thing. (I'm basing my judgment entirely on the name)
    "Drastically different" is what I'm after. I imagine America is much like Australia or Europe. A huge patchwork of vaguely related, but mostly different, environments & industries...
    I'd like to see see a selection. It might be my only trip to America.
    I'm almost looking for a wife & kids in my life soon. This could be my only chance to explore the states
     
    Taliesin, Sep 10, 2013
    #3
  4. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    What type of traveler are you? Backpacker, road tripper, itinerary, or destination?

    Here is my suggestion, and look up the prices of these tickets to see if it makes a difference. getting domestic and international together is more expensive going the other way. Just don't miss your flights like I did and almost got screwed over.

    First fly on a round trip ticket from Western Australia to Sydney. Give yourself plenty of time for a layover, maybe even a day or a few if you have never been to Sydney.

    Then I would get a round trip ticket from Sydney to LA (LAX). From there, rent a car and spend a few days in Southern California, Hollywood, and the beach. Then drive to Las Vegas. Spend a three days there. You won't need the car anymore.

    Get a plane ticket from Las Vegas (LAS) to Denver. Check out the Rocky Mountain National Park and find other things to do in the area.

    Then fly to Chicago. Check out the city, Lake Michigan, and a baseball game (Chicago Cubs). Rent a car or take the Amtrak train to Indianapolis. Either fly out of Indy or get back to Chicago and fly to Toronto. See if you can organize a Toronto to NYC 'TFP Cannonball Run' for that time frame, and catch a ride to NYC.

    Fly from NYC back to LAX or to the Pacific Northwest if you want to see more, and then head on down to LAX and fly back to Sydney and on to Western Australia.
     
    ASU2003, Sep 11, 2013
    #4
  5. Taliesin

    Taliesin Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Western Australia
    Hey! A whole itinerary laid out for me! Cheers Asu2003.
    What kind of traveler am I?
    Well I went to Europe to see the old buildings, but America is too young to interest me much in that respect...
    This time I want to travel to make new friends. I have one person I want to visit (probably in Chicago, she'll decide)
    And I might bring a bunch of mates to the States with me, but we'll probably split up and do separate things. Meeting up in pubs around the country.
    I'm currently toying with the idea of doing two or three smaller TFP gatherings. So you guys don't have to travel far and I can see more of the country. Letting locals show me their favorite places.
    I've probably seen enough of Hollywood and Washington on movies & tv.
    I like the look of rural America. Not farm rural. But not tourist traps. We'd call it "regional Australia" here. I don't know if that'll translate?
    Rocky Mountain np could be of interest. I'll research.

    As for my traveling style.
    I got a multi use train ticket when I went around Europe.
    I'd go in one day. Pick a destination that leaves at a convenient time. Then go back to my backpackers and book another backpackers before I moved on.
    I like a few days planning, but not too structured. I enjoy the freedom of being able to do anything on a whim.
    Thats what I miss most about traveling.
    In saying that, I stuck mostly to the capital cities but I did do daytrips out of places like London to Bath & Stonehenge.
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2013
    Taliesin, Sep 11, 2013
    #5
  6. redux

    redux Very Tilted

    Location:
    Foggy Bottom
    From your music posts, I would suggest hitting the best spots for American music.

    Start at 6th street in Austin, TX to the french quarter in New Orleans to Beale Street in Memphis, TN to Branson, MO (a little tacky and touristy). From Branson, you can get to Indianapolis. You might consider renting a car or even better, a RV. Driving this route is probably 5-6 hours between these cities.

    Getting around the US is not cheap or easy. The train system is nothing like Europe...it sucks and flying is expense because you often have to go through hubs and not directly from city-to-city.
     
    redux, Sep 11, 2013
    #6
  7. Taliesin

    Taliesin Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Western Australia
    Alright. From what I've read , seen & your advice Redux...
    My current plan is to fly to a few places, see some of America, then probably rent an rv for the ICP Gathering. I think it is a camping event.
    So i can easily drive from somewhere to Indy.
    I drive around Australia for a living. I deliver caravans (that's trailer homes in Americanese) to random spots in the bush for mining & exploration. (FB search Alluvial Remote Camps if you're interested, lots of my photos of Australia)
     
    Taliesin, Sep 11, 2013
    #7
  8. Taliesin

    Taliesin Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Western Australia
    I've taken suggestions from this thread, my facebook friends and another thread.
    Here is what i've put together. Can some locals tell me how viable this plan might be?
    * I'll land with other Aussies in Las Vegas
    * I'll fly to Denver for a look at the Rocky mountains
    * fly to Austin & rent a RV
    * then drive to New Orleans
    * drive to Memphis & then Branson
    * Go to my concert in Indianapolis in August
    * drive to Chicago
    * fly to Toronto
    * then back to Australia

    So my questions are:
    Do the highways exist between the places i want to drive?
    Do the flights exist between the places i mentioned?
    I'll of course research this myself.
    But i want locals to tell me what i should look at along the way.

    Opinions?
     
    Taliesin, Sep 11, 2013
    #8
  9. Craven Morehead

    Craven Morehead Very Tilted

    Location:
    third rock from the sun
    There's also Mega Bus. Have never taken it but my son did a few years ago. It serves Indianapolis and Chicago. Looking at advance fares in December (as much in the future as it would allow), a one way ticket is $39. Far cheaper than a rental. There's no sight seeing between Indy and Chicago. Unless you wanted to divert to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan. Or see Fair Oaks Farm alongside I-65. The latter seems to be an ever increasing tourist draw. No kidding!
     
    Craven Morehead, Sep 11, 2013
    #9
  10. amonkie

    amonkie Very Tilted

    Location:
    Windy City
    There are flight options between every connection you set up above.

    If you're looking for cheap accommodation, search for hostels. They can help your budget stretch further if you want to spend the money on getting most distance bang for buck.

    Amtrak goes coast to coast, but doesn't give you as many stopping options.
     
    amonkie, Sep 11, 2013
    #10
    • Like Like x 1
  11. Taliesin

    Taliesin Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Western Australia
    Well my one trusted friend in America has said
    So how does LA grab the TFP community?
     
    Taliesin, Sep 11, 2013
    #11
  12. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Check out fares on Southwest Airlines. They specialize in low-cost one-way fares.
     
    snowy, Sep 11, 2013
    #12
  13. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member


    Highways exist pretty much everywhere in the US. Every major city in the continental US has interstates feeding into it.
    Basically every major city has an airport too, but flights between smaller cities (Memphis, Indy, Austin, etc.) may require a couple legs as you will often have to pass through a major hub (Chicago, Denver, Dallas, etc.) on your way.




    I hadn't thought of it, but the MegaBus is probably a great idea for him. It is one of the cheaper ways to get between major cities, and it has services scattered all over the US. If he wants to meet random locals on his travels, that is probably a decent option too. I've been all over the US, with a handful of exceptions, and if he is more interested in seeing rural America and making friends than seeing major cities, I think MegaBus helps there too.

    My suggestion would be something like this.
    Fly to LAX. Spend a day or two there. Take the MB up to San Fran. Spend a day or two there, maybe detour to Sonoma or Lake Tahoe depending on budget and transportation choice. Rent a car or take a train to Portland. Spend two or three days there, driving out to Bend and/or the coast if at all possible. That is about one week or so.

    From there fly to Denver, from either Portland or Seattle. Should be a direct flight and reasonable. Spend a day or two there, making some trips out to parks in the Rockies. Fly to Dallas and take the MB to Austin. Spend a couple days in TX. Rent a car and drive I-10 across to Pensacola. Make stops in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and wherever else strikes his fancy. At Pensacola drive Route 98 through Destin and take 30A to Panama City Beach. Between the two, stop at a beach access or two and walk on some of the coolest white sand beaches in the world. That is a second week or so.

    Drive or hop a Southwest flight from PCB to Atlanta, and take the MB up to Washington DC. DC is great for travelers on a budget because all the sites and museums are free. Go to the Holocaust Museum, then whatever else strikes your fancy. You can cram a lot into a day in DC. Head to NYC by MB or train. Spend a day there. Fly to Chicago, spend a day or two there, then divert down to Indy for the concert. From Indy head up through Detroit to Toronto. Fly home from Toronto.

    That's probably what I would try for. If you wanted to shorten some of the time in cities maybe you could head from Denver down to AZ and see the Grand Canyon and Sedona somewhere in there before TX. But I think that trip would give you a great cross-section of the various sub-cultures of the US, and get you maximum coverage on minimal budget. It still wouldn't be cheap. It would be challenging to time bus schedules, and one-way rental cars are not cheap. If you could stretch it out into four weeks or even five, I'd almost look into renting a car for the entire time out of LAX and driving everything I just said. Just for fun I looked it up, and through Enterprise you can rent a car for a month for $700-800 after taxes and fees, and that is for a intermediate or standard sized car (though mileage would probably cost you another grand). Being a professional long haul driver, you know what you'd be getting yourself into, but it'd be a great way to see the countryside, meet people, and would probably be far cheaper in the long run. Especially if you are willing and capable (which I'm guessing you are given your occupation) of doing 700-1000 miles stretches with only a couple 15 minute breaks for gas/food/bathroom. Doing that you could eat up some huge chunks of mileage in the west, midwest, and across the south without many stops.

    The more I think about it, the more I'd scratch the bus and train and plane routes for you, if you think you can handle the driving. The time it would eat in your schedule, the expense, and being locked into set travel probably would not be worth it. If you want to see rural America, meet people, and are used to driving long stretches, rent a car for a month and go. If you are REALLY on a budget, buy a nice tent, a warm sleeping bag, and a camp stove when you get here. Throw it in the trunk and camp on the nights it is nice out and/or you don't want to spend money on a budget hotel.

    That's my $.02.
     
    Borla, Sep 11, 2013
    #13
    • Like Like x 1
  14. Taliesin

    Taliesin Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Western Australia
    I've thrown together another rough itinerary for anyone interested to pick apart...
    You guys are the locals, what am i not foreseeing?

    I'm looking at getting one on these oneworld explorer air tickets, oneworld Explorer - oneworld (has anyone used it before?)
    I'll leave from Melbourne or Sydney in Australia,
    * fly to San Francisco
    * fly to New Orleans - rent a RV (i haven't looked into this yet)
    * drive to Memphis
    * drive to Indianapolis in August for the Gathering, camp & then loose the RV
    * Amtrak to Chicago
    * fly to Toronto
    * fly to Washington
    * fly to Amsterdam, Netherlands
    * fly to Perth

    Washington & Amsterdam have been thrown in without any thought or planning. I'm sick of the internet.
    Thoughts?
     
    Taliesin, Sep 22, 2013
    #14
  15. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    I've heard about the round the world tickets before. They are much more common for people outside the US to use (we don't have that much vacation time...)

    I like it. I might suggest going from DC to NYC by train, it will be worth experiencing NYC.

    I spent a week in San Francisco this past April and had a great time. I would look into doing this: San Francisco Sailing - Catamaran Daytime & Sunset Sails | Adventure Cat Sailing Charters (California, CA)
    and renting a car or finding some locals to travel to Yosemite National Park (~4 hours away). It would be worth it to spend a2 or 3 days there.

    An RV might be tough from New Orleans, but renting a car to get to Dallas might work. Texas would be a good place to visit. And it looks like you would need to drive the RV to the Chicago area to return it.
    Motor Homes Rent, RV Rentals from RVRental.com
     
    ASU2003, Sep 22, 2013
    #15
  16. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    *I thought about it a little more and be open to taking a one-way airplane ride from New Orleans to Dallas, if the time wouldn't fit into your schedule to drive. Texas would be a good place to visit, and the small towns there aren't bad to visit. But, it is a long way to drive.
     
    ASU2003, Sep 22, 2013
    #16
  17. Taliesin

    Taliesin Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Western Australia
    Using a rtw air ticket, I should be able to include Texas between San Francisco & New Orleans. I'm still just throwing random cities together at the moment, trying to find a route I like. The only fixed stop at this point is Indianapolis in August and even that is based on an internet rumor. There is no official word yet on the location of the 2014 gathering, the website still offers tickets for 2013...
    I'm pretty much just picking cities at random & then looking at them on TripAdvisor, seeing what is on offer in each location & reading a few reviews.
    My plans are in constant flux, as I'm looking for a travel buddy or two. Noone has put their hand up yet...
    I only threw Washington in because I couldn't fly from Toronto to Amsterdam. I liked Amsterdam, I'd like to visit for a few days on my way home.
    So I could go Toronto to NYC instead, it all depends on what activities & attractions catch my eye first

    *edit
    The reason I'd put Texas between San Fran & NO is the rtw ticket only goes in one direction. East to West or West to East.
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2013
    Taliesin, Sep 22, 2013
    #17
  18. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    I'm not an expert on round the world tickets, but I am worried that if you have too many legs, the cost goes up. Or there is a limit on how many legs you can schedule.
     
    ASU2003, Sep 23, 2013
    #18
  19. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I don't understand the desire to skip the PacNW to see Texas and the South. Honestly, if you want to see a part of the country that is about as radically different from Australia as it gets, the PacNW is the place to go. Austin is Hill County area, so it is pretty green, but I think you're wasting your time getting bogged down in a part of the country that is far from most things and will require a lot of travel time between destinations. You'll likely have to fly.

    San Francisco, while a wonderful city, is also expensive. It's not very easy to do it cheaply. I've been there several times, and while I enjoy it, it can be a hit to the pocketbook. I'd recommend getting out of it and going up the coast to the Redwoods. It's about a 6-8 hour drive, depending on the route you choose, and it's really beautiful. I'd also skip Washington, D.C. in favor of NYC at that time of year. The humidity in Washington is fucking brutal, although if you're going to spend most of your time in museums, it's not really an issue. That said, it's another expensive city. Some of the cities are easier to do on the cheap than others. Generally, in my experience, if a city has a good street food culture, it's easier to do on a budget. Moderate-sized cities also tend to be cheaper--think Portland and Denver. Out West, humidity is less of an issue. I don't know how humid it gets in Western Australia, but in Washington, D.C. in late July/August, it can be almost 100 degrees F with nearly 100% humidity. It's like walking around in a teacup while wearing a wool coat.
     
    snowy, Sep 23, 2013
    #19
  20. Japchae

    Japchae Very Tilted

    Oh lordy, don't bother with Texas. It's flat. And hot. There are so many other beautiful and cultured places to go. Sure, Austin has fun nightlife, I've heard, but that's not a reason to spend time there. Go north, see Yellowstone or Carlsbad. Denver or Boulder have great beer cultures and beautiful scenery. Charleston, South Carolina is beautiful and can give you a taste of the South, like New Orleans.
     
    Japchae, Sep 26, 2013
    #20
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