Coast to Coast - Summer 2010

[jamesfinch]

Hi guys, I've really enjoyed browsing the forums over the last few days and have had loads of help from the pre-existing threads.

I am posting my planned itinerary for a trip that a friend and I are planning post university graduation (next summer) from England. Although this only has us away for 36 days we can probably afford time-wise a few more if it would make our trip more comfortable/enjoyable.

If people have any suggestions as to how to use extra days, or advice on what I have so far, I'd be really grateful to hear it!

Day 1-2 Boston
Day 2 Boston to Cooperstown, 247m
Day 3 Cooperstown to Buffalo, 234m
Day 4 Buffalo to Toronto, 100m
Day 5 Toronto
Day 6 Toronto to NYC, 475m
Day 7-8 NYC
Day 9 NYC to Washington (via Philly) 240m
Day 10-11 Washington
Day 12 Washington to Myrtle Beach, 438m
Day 13 golf in Myrtle Beach, on to Charleston, 97m
Day 14 golf in Charleston, on to Augusta, 216m
Day 15 golf in Augusta, on to Atlanta, 148m
Day 16 Atlanta
Day 17 Atlanta to Memphis (via Lynchburg), 550m
Day 18 Memphis
Day 19 Memphis to St Louis, 298m
Day 20 St Louis to Chicago, 278m
Day 21 Chicago
Day 22 Chicago
Day 23 Chicago to Omaha, 467m
Day 24-25 Omaha to Denver, 730m
Day 26 Denver
Day 27 Denver to Grand Canyon, 201m
Day 28 GC to Las Vegas, 201
Day 29 Las Vegas
Day 30 Las Vegas
Day 31 Las Vegas to Los Angeles
Day 32 Los Angeles
Day 33 Los Angeles
Day 34 Los Angeles to San Francisco
Day 35 San Francisco
Day 36 San Francisco

We'd quite like to take in some culture along the way, so any good museums outside of the big cities that are worth a special visit? Also which of the national parks fit into this schedule well?

Any ideas much appreciated!

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Most of your travel schedule is quite reasonable with one notable exception. That is the drive from Denver to Las Vegas. There is really no way to do this AND spend enough time at the Grand Canyon to be worthwhile. Add to this the fact that there are a couple of other scenic wonders between those two cities which you really ought to visit: Monument Valley and either Arches National Park or Mesa Verde National Park, depending on which roads you choose to use. If possible, I'd strongly suggest that you add a day or two to this leg.

What kind(s) of museums were you interested in: art, history, science?

AZBuck

[jamesfinch]

Yeah that's probably fair. I actually had the Denver to Grand Canyon as an overnight trip, with us arriving at the GC as early as possible, getting to Vegas by the evening. The scenery through Colorado is supposed to be special though, well worth extending it for that.

Between the two of us all of that is interesting, any ideas?

[AZBuck]

Looking for good museums outside of the big cities is going to be tough, but one thing you should keep in mind that would help is that many colleges and universities are in smaller towns and most, if not all, will have museums of some sort or another. I can't list them all, of course, but just a couple that would be more or less on your way would include the Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University and the Museum of Natural History at the University of Iowa. Check with welcome centers as you enter a new state or just keep your eyes open.

AZBuck