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So far I'm thinking of... (* next to places I might spend the night at...)
Austin -to- *Little Rock -to-Memphis-to-*Great Smoky Mountains National Park-to-*Shenandoah National Park-to-Washington Dc-to-Philadelphia-to-*New York, NY-to-Buffalo, NY-to-*Niagara Falls---and coming back---
Niagara Falls-to-Fort Knox area-to-New Orleans-to-Austin
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Any attractions or foods good/special around those areas I should pay a visit/bite?
Thanks.
Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!
I actually like your proposed routing very much, especially the way you're going to follow the Appalachians on the way north and the Ohio-Mississippi on the way south. So I only have a few minor suggestions for additions or alterations. One would be to look at using the Natchez Trace Parkway for at least part of your trip north. You could drive it all, in fact, if you took I-20 to Natchez and used the Parkway up to Nashville. It's just a great road, and you'll have the chance to visit Memphis on the way back. Also look at US-15 up the Susquehanna River valley as a way to connect from central Maryland through Pennsylvania to western New York. And think about Letchworth State Park.
On the way back, there are quite a few scenic roads following the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers that are worth exploring. While in the Fort Knox area consider a relatively short side trip to Mammoth Cave National Park. But, as I said, you've already got the makings of a great trip set up in your general layout.
AZBuck
And I hope you are going to take some time to enjoy it.
There are so many interesting historic places along the way. I'll try to restraing myself and give you just some of the highlights I'm familiar with. You can do research in a guide book to see which ones are of interest.
Little Rock: Historic Arkansas Museum
Memphis: Beal Street for music and food.
Nashville: The Hermitage - Andrew Jackson's Home
Knoxville: Fort Loudoun
Cherokee, NC: Oconaluftee Indian Village
Natural Bridge, VA: Monacan Indian Village
Staunton, VA: Frontier Culture Museum
Charlottesville, VA: Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's home, Ash Lawn-Highland - James Monroe's home, Michie Tavern
Fredricksburg, VA, Hugh Mercer Apothocary, Rising Sun Tavern
Mount Vernon: Mount Vernon - George Washington's home
McLean, VA: Claude Moore Farm
Georgetown, DC: C&O Canal
Washington, DC: Too many to mention, but don't miss the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Monument, the VietNam Memorial, the Capitol, the White House (from the street only), the National Archives, the Supreme Court Building and as much of the Smithsonian as possible.
Baltimore, MD: Fort McHenry
Wilmington, DE: The Hagley Museum
Philadelphia, PA: Independence Hall and Congress Hall, the Liberty Bell Center, Constitution Center, Bishop White and Todd Houses, Declaration House
Philadelphia Area: Valley Forge, Pensbury Manor - William Penn's home, Washington Crossing, PA and NJ
Trenton, NJ: Old Barracks Museum
Bethpage, NY: Old Bethpage Village
Croton-on-Hudson, NY: Van Courtland Manor
New Paltz, NY: Historic Huguenot Street
Newburgh, NY: Washington's Headquarters
Victor, NY: Ganondagan State Historic Site
Niagara Falls, NY: Old Fort Niagara
Erie, NY: Erie Maritime Museum
Depending on your route south some of these will be available...
Kirtland, OH: Historic Kirtland
Ambridge, PA: Old Economy Village
Zoar, OH: Zoar Village
Millersburg, OH: Yoder's Amish Farm
Coshocton, OH: Historic Roscoe Village
Indianapolis, IN: Conner Prairie
Lexington, KY: Boonesborough
Pleasant Hill, KY: Shaker Village
Harrodsburg, KY: Old Fort Harrod
Goodlettsville, KY: Historic Mansker's Station
New Orleans: Laura Plantation, St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, Hermann-Grima House, Old Ursaline Convent, Natchez Riverboat
Lafayette, LA: Vermillionville
Natchitoches, LA: Fort St. Jean-Baptiste, Melrose Plantation, Cane River Creole National Historic Park
Whew! That is a lot, but of course that isn't all of it either, just most of what we've seen along your route.
Take your time and soak it all in. This is an historically rich part of the country!
Craig Sheumaker
co-author of A Traveler's Guide: America's Living History - The Early Years
That's a long road trip!!
I'm in Austin and I usually drive to Detroit every few years, my family is there. if you happen to go through Memphis, you have to go see Graceland, even if you don't like Elvis. His house is much smaller then what I thought. While you're in Memphis, go to the visitors center. There is a huge prymaid (sp?) which I think is a convention center, it makes a great photo op. If you happen to go through Arkansas, not too far from Texarkana, there is the Diamond place (I forgot what it is called). It's open to the public and I think it is the largest Diamond mining place. Whatever you find you can keep and yes people have actually found huge diamonds here. If you happen to make a stop in Louisville, KY make sure you go downtown. the slugger museum is there with the world's largest baseball bat outside the museum (another photo op). Also in Louisville is the huge Kentucky Downs, where they have the famous horse racing held. There are so many places to visit on this route. I usually take about 2 weeks to go. I went to Niagra Falls a long time ago, they are absolutely beautiful! Make sure to go at night also because they shine colored lights on the falls, at least they used to.
Cool list, Craig, that should give the OP something to think about!
The 'diamond place' that was mentioned was, I presume, Crater Of Diamonds State Park. You can read my thoughts on the place here. Whilst you're there, have a read of the rest of the topic, maybe something else will take your fancy.
I'd concur with Memphis being worth spending time at. Graceland was really cool - I came away an Elvis fan! - but I'd add the National Civil Rights Museum, housed in the old Lorraine Motel, as a must-see. Be sure to have plenty of time for this, however, and eat before you enter. I didn't and I hadn't, I regretted that. I also spotted the pyramid but, despite zooming up and down the side of the river, and crossing over Mississippi and back, I was unable to get close to the thing for a photo. Grr!
Updated itinerary...
Austin
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Hot Springs National park
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Garvan Woodland Garden
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Little Rock: Little Rock Central High School
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T.O. Fuller State Park
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Memphis: The Pyramid Arena, Graceland, National Civil Rights Museum, Beale St.
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Great Smokey Mountains National Park
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Shenandoah National Park
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Washington DC: National Zoo, all the President/War memorial and monuments, The Castle and Museums, White House, and maybe the Pentagon.
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Baltimore: Harbor???
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Philadelphia: Pat's or Geno's or Jim's or Leo's Philly cheesesteak, Liberty Bell Center, Independence Hall, Congress Hall, Constitution Center, Bishop White & Todd House, Declaration House
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Statue of Liberty & maybe Ellis Island?
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New York: Time Square, Smithsonian, Central Park??? What else?
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Buffalo: Wings???
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Niagara Falls
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Ceveland???
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Cedar Point Amusement Park (17 roller coasters!!! 17!!! 90+ mph!!!)
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Fort Knox Area
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Maybe Mammoth Cave National Park?
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Nashville???
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Natchez Trace Parkway
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Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
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New Orleans: French Quarters, Bourbon St, House of Blues,... what else? Good places for Jambalaya?
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Baton Rouge???
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Austin
More suggestions? Particularly Cities with ???
Thanks.
A few things off the top of my head for those cities you still have questions about:
Baltimore: The Inner Harbor, of course, but also Fort McHenry and the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum
New York: One of the all time great (and free!) harbor rides - the Staten Island Ferry, the American Museum of Natural History, the Guggenheim, the Village (The Smithsonian is in Washington)
Cleveland: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Baton Rouge: The Old State Capitol
AZBuck
I plan to cross border into Canada for about 2 days to Niagara Falls. Is it better to exchange for Canadian $$$ or just use credit card in Canada? Most places take american bank based credit cards?
Thanks.
No Contest. Just put it on your credit card and you are guaranteed to get the correct exchange rate. Just be sure to call your card company before you leave and let them know that you'll be traveling out of the country. I have had cards shut off when I suddenly start charging things thousands of miles from home!
AZBuck
I generally find that ATMs give a better exchange rate than most of the money exchange places available at the border. Credit Cards will give the same or a similar rate, but check the fine print on your cards, because some of them will add an extra charge for foreign transaction.
Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted in Canada, but places that take Discover seem to be few and far between.
Of course, right now the exchange rate is nearly equal. $1US is only worth $1.05 Canadian, and according to a friend who was just in Toronto last month, many stores are taking US dollars as equal to Canadian dollars.
It seems Mastercard adds 1% to the whole sale or government mandated rate while my bank adds another 2%. So roughly a 3% fee. Is this about the standard rate?
Is the 3% fee still better than most currency exchange centers?
Thanks.
When you charge an item on your credit card and later pay for it in US dollars the conversion between currencies is typically done at the wholesale rate. That way you get to take advantage of the bulk processing power of Visa, Mastercard, etc. When you convert currency at a bank or stand alone company, you will be paying the retail rate, which is higher. Neither of these rates will be as good as the commercial rate often quoted in your local paper or on web sites - that is only available between banks when they are transferring millions of dollars worth of foreign money. But the wholesale rate is generally in the range of the commercial rate plus a few percent - what you seem to be getting. The worst place to exchange money is at the airport when you land or just across the border in a stand alone Currency Exchange Store. The next time you go by one, check the difference between what you would get if you converted Canadian dollars to US dollars and vice versa. The difference will be big and amounts to a huge percentage fee. If you need cash, get it at you local bank before you go (many need several days lead time to accommodate you, they don't carry a lot of foreign currencies), or through an ATM that accesses your account - not one that gives you an advance or loan and starts charging you interest. You can't avoid paying something for converting your American dollars into Canadian dollars, but if you pay just the minimum of attention to how you're doing it, you can keep that cost down in the 'noise' of your overall expenses.
AZBuck
It sounds like it's different over there but, in the UK, we are usually charged the wholesale rate PLUS 2 or 3 percent when spending in foreigh currency (even the Euro). This adds up to a pretty poor deal for the consumer and a very good deal for the banks. Thankfully I have a credit card issued by a bank that offers the wholesale rate. This is pretty unusual (ie a loss leader for the bank) but it is always a pleasure when I receive the statement to see I get the very best exchange rate (on a recent trip I got $2.01 to the Pound!) The reason I'm saying this is to point out there's not a 'one size fits all' answer - check with your bank.
It's even worse when you pay for currency at a bureau de change using a credit card as the credit card company will charge is as a cash advance and you end up paying their ludicrous rate of interest from day one. To counter this always pay by debit card or get cash from an ATM. Also, as has been suggested, carefully check how much you're gonna get for your Buck. If you shop around you can get some far better deals than if you're lazy and pick up your currency at the airport - thank god for the internet!
[rant]
Last week I brought my car in to get the wheel bolt and nut replaced because the thread on both stripped.
Two days later the check engine light comes on. Took the car to the dealer and they said it's because of faulty ECM but it is under extended warranty so they'll fix it for free once the part arrives.
Well the ECM arrived this past Monday and they replaced it the very same day.
I happened to got my GPS that same day so I fiddled with it all night and decided to go out on a drive to test it out.
Just as I thought, hey this things pretty cool, the check engine light comes on AGAIN.
I planned on leaving for my road trip this Thursday morning. I really hope my car gets fixed in time, and stay fixed... :(
[/rant]
:D
Nightmare! I hope you get it all sorted out in time for the off - fingers crossed!