From New York to Dallas

K

kwackster

Joined
Dec 23, 2005
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Hi fellow forumites, me & mrs Kwakster are preparing for another journey to the great US of A, and i'm looking for any tips & advice you would be willing to provide us with.

The current plan is to fly from Amsterdam to New York, spend a couple of days there in a hotel, then collect our rental car and drive all the way to the Dallas, Texas area to visit a few relatives, and after a short stay drive back again.
Along the way we don't intend to race, but instead to take our time being tourists and enjoy the ride through the different states.
Total time at our disposal is around 6 weeks, from early October until half of November.

Thanks in advance for anything you wish to share with us: things to see, where to eat, do's & dont's, the weather, and anything you can think of.
Everything will be printed out and taken with us on the trip, and i/m planning to update this thread once in a while, if possible with pictures.
 
Check out the Smoky Mt's in the Carolina's.-Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. The Hill Country in Texas.--KV
 
IMO, you've picked the perfect time to visit the States. The Ozarks Mountains, the Appalachian region, the east coast, the Midwest... all at their prime during the October-November period. :thumbup:
Missouri, West Virginia, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Southern Illinois and Indiana, Kentucky... you really can't go wrong.
Avoid the interstate highways and take back roads for superior scenery and to really see America.

Given the amount of time you have available, I'd make a wide loop. From New York head west along the Great Lakes with maybe a leg north into Michigan. Somewhere around Chicago, begin meander south or southwest perhaps down the Mississippi River to Missouri. Across the Ozarks. Down through Texas to Dallas. Head east across the Gulf. Then head north, zig-zagging back and forth between the coast and the eastern mountains.
That's just one idea out of an infinite number of choices. :thumbup:
 
Couple thoughts come to mind.

New York - Check out mid-town Manhatten. Times Square, Rockefeller Plaza, St Patrick's Cathedral, Empire State Bldg., Grand Central Station, Central Park, etc. Possibly head downtown too and see the 9/11 Memorial site, Wall St., etc.

Washington, DC - Plenty of museums and attractions on the Mall. Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, Smithsonian museums including the Air & Space, the Capital, White House, etc. etc...

Shenandoah National Park - Skyline Drive

I'll update this post later, off to lunch now. Good luck!
 
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Finally we're a step further, as well as a change in plans: instead of visiting New York first we decided to stay there during our last week in the US.
We've now booked a flight to Boston, MA on the 9th of October, where we will remain a few days for sightseeing.
Then pick up our rental car and drive all the way through Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, to the Dallas, Texas area to visit my relatives.

After a week or so we plan to take a different route back, this time driving through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, to New York City where we will drop off the car and spend 5 days in a B&B, and our return flight is scheduled for November 20th.

Anything you wish to share with us will be welcome: things to see, where to eat, do's & dont's, the weather, and anything you can think of.
We've been to Texas twice before and once to Louisiana and Mississippi, but all the other US states mentioned will be totally new territory for us.
 
Don't stay in Dallas to long or you wont want to leave!!!

While your down there find any hole in the wall BBQ joint for the best BBQ on the planet.
 
You could drop down to Huntsville, Alabama and visit the Space and Rocket Center museum and get a real appreciation for how big the Saturn V was that landed men on the Moon. You can see the Shuttle, try to pilot one on a simulator, do a few rides, and enjoy the place. (BTW, unlike the inaccuracies in Apollo 13, Huntsville is where they solved the CO2 problem)
 
Definitely hit skyline drive when coming back up through Virginia. When you head up north from Boston I highly reccommend taking a day to drive through the Adirondacks in upstate NY. If you get on 87 north it will take you into a great area and just get off and adventure from there. There are endless day hike trails all over with scenery that is unmatched. You will be past the peak color period but will still be a time and place you will never forget.
 
If you want good barbecue in Dallas you'll want to go to Lockhart ' s if you're keeping it classy or Mac's if you aren't. Both are great but completely different experiences. Pecan Lodge is another one to keep an eye out for and Slow Bone. There are others but that's probably my top 4.
Give me a shout when you get here and I'll buy the first round. :D
 
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