Philly to where?

[sdolores]

Hello,

I am looking for help. I am planning a class C RV trip from Philly to ?????. We have 10 days and would love to hit the Grand Canyon, but it might be too far. We have done the city thing (Boston, DC, NYC, etc) and are looking for some of the great American sights. Any help and advice would be great. (First time road trippers, two kids 8 and 6)

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

The "Where To" question is one of the toughest to answer, because it depends completely on you and your interests.

What we can help you with is narrowing your focus.

You are correct that the Grand Canyon is just too far, as with 10 days, you'd have to turn around pretty much as soon as you got there. I also wouldn't do "the city thing," even if you hadn't done them before, because RVs don't work great for exploring cities.

What you are left with are pretty much any of the natural wonders of the eastern half of the US. The Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains immediately come to mind. There are also the coasts - as in the Carolinas and Georgia or the Gulf Coast. You could head to one of my favorite get away locations: Northern Michigan, or you could look to New England, Maine, or even Atlantic Canada.

Really, those are just a very rough starting point, and you could go pretty much anywhere in between. With 10 days, I would limit your search to places within roughly 1,200-1500 miles of home, so you have at least as much time to explore as you will have to be covering miles, but otherwise, it's all up to you.

[AZBuck]

I totally agree with Michael that the Grand Canyon is too far to try to do in the time and equipment you have. Indeed, I would suggest that you limit your search to places within two day's drive of Philly. That would result in a roughly 50/50 mix of driving and enjoying the area you've driven to. Besides the areas that Michael has suggested you might also want to consider the Great Lakes (think northern Michigan), the Upper Mississippi (Mark Twain, Mormons, Lewis and Clark), or maybe even the Ozarks (Branson, camping, fishing). And be sure to ask your kids what they think. Especially if the adults can't make up their minds, it wouldn't hurt to give the kids two or three options and let them decide - and do some of the research on places to visit once you get there.

AZBuck