Starting in NH and going clockwise around the country... ! Any Must Sees?? Must Eats?

[vanpirewknd]

Hi!

My boyfriend and I are planning to do a big cross country trip in a conversion van that will have a bed in the back, a one burner stove, and a solar panel to power whatever small electric things we will need.

We are both in our mid twenties with a small dog and will be driving a 98 Chevy Express 1500

We are planning on being in NYC for some business the weekend of May 15th and we have a rough idea of where we want to go, but no timeline (okay, a vague timeline - we have to be back by mid August!)

Planning on going down the Atlantic Coast down to Orlando, FL and then across to NOLA, Austin TX, Albuquerque, Grand Canyon, then to San Diego and up California coast (do we take Pacific Coast or 101? Is there a difference??) to Portland, OR (which is the further north that we think we will go)

On our route home, we want to go to Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, the Twim Cities (MN), Chicago, Grand Rapids MI and up to Canada - Toronto and Montreal, before heading down through Burlington VT on our way back to New Hampshire.

Of course, I didn't list all of the cities we plan on visiting (that would make a huuuuuuuge list), but instead I just put the rough outline of our travel path.

We plan on sleeping in the van / campsites / truck plazas mostly, but are definitely interested in staying a few nights at historic or interesting locations (like the Wigwam Motels). We want to generally stay off of huge highways so we can see more of the land.

So all of that being said, are there any spectacular places that we could go to that are not otherwise very well known?? Like what I mean is: when we go to SF we are definitely going to see the Golden Gate Bridge, but is there something not as well known that we should be seeing also??

We love food and most things art / design / traditional crafts related...

I would love to hear any of your suggestions!

If you are interested, we have a blog at vanpireweekend.blogspot.com

My boyfriend is in the middle of customizing the van - he ripped out all of the interior and rebuilt from scratch! (I know, we are pushing our deadline a little bit...)

Thanks so much in advance!

[glc]

then to San Diego and up California coast (do we take Pacific Coast or 101? Is there a difference??) to Portland, OR

If you have the time, take I-5 from SD to LA, then 1 from Santa Monica to Oxnard, 101 to San Luis Obispo, then 1 to SF. Then from SF, take 1 to Leggett and 101 to Portland. This will take several days.

[vanpirewknd]

What are some scenic route from Portland to Yellowstone Park? Timeline is wide open and we welcome detours! We are looking to get off of the interstate... Thanks!

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

The single most frequent request that we or any travel service gets is for the great unknown destination that 'nobody knows about', or as you put it "not as well known". The simple fact is that if you're looking for something on the scale of the Grand Canyon, Yosemite or Yellowstone that will not be overrun with tourists in summer, you are not going t have much luck. But the good news is that those sites draw far more than their fair share of the tourist traffic, leaving thousands of sights, almost as good, with far fewer visitors. There are far more than we can possibly list here, but a few of my favorites should give you an idea of what's available to you. Rather than follow I-95 down the east coast as everyone else will be on their way to Orlando, head down the Delmarva Peninsula and the Outer Banks of North Carolina, hitting (among other venues) Chestertown, MD, Chincoteague Island, and the Roanoke Colony. Similarly, you could head west from New Orleans on I-10 or you could follow the back roads of the Creole Nature Trail through the Bayous. In San Francisco, a good trip is to take the ferry out to Alcatraz. Not exactly unknown, but still not up there with the Golden Gate Bridge and the cable cars. The Pacific Coast Highway is CA-1/US-101. When they don't share alignment, CA-1 generally follows the coast more closely. Heading inland from Portland take as much of the Historic Columbia River Highway as you can and take the short hikes into the many waterfalls. Almost any of the major US highways across the plains will let you make nearly as good time as the Interstates and give you a much better feel for how people adjust to living in that environment. US-14 should work well for you between the Badlands and Minneapolis. If Chicago and Grand Rapids are only route markers rather than destinations, consider going over the top of the lakes by heading up to Sault Ste. Marie from the Twin Cities and crossing into Canada there. The possibilities are endless - those really are just a few of the highlights. At this point you and your boyfriend should just get a good atlas and start looking at your basic route for nearby attractions that strike a chord with you. And look for routes marked with dotted green lines indicating particularly scenic stretches of highway. One thing though. If you are going to Canada, you will need passports, and it's probably too late now to start the process to get them before you leave.

AZBuck