How much in 3 months?

[2016USAHoliday]

OK another two for you!!!

1. If you had the choice would you do Independence Day in a little town or a city? Or what would you recommend to get the best feel for the Fourth of July?

2. We will be approaching NYC from the South, spending a few days then off to Rhode Island. With an RV we will not be staying in the city. What town would you recommend basing ourselves out of within public transport to the city?

[Lifemagician]

Katherine, it all depends so much on where you will be. For instance, if I were anywhere near NYC or DC I would definitely spend the 4th of July there. On the other hand, if I were in Boston, I would go for one of the lovely rural towns west of Boston. I have on several occasions spent 4th July in St Paul and once (I think) in Boston. St Paul, where family live, they have a small localised parade, almost like a small town.

So where will you be?

Do a little research and see if you can find an RV park close to a railway station in a city in NJ, a short way out. I am not aware of any in that area, but it is worth getting the atlas out, and seeing which places there are, and see if their tourism centres bring up any RV places. I would doubt very much if any are quite close to rail or the city. Could spend quite a bit on rail fares and time travelling.

Of course you could base yourself on the northern side as well, if your next destination is Rhode Island.

Lifey

[2016USAHoliday]

So I have done a first draft that I would appreciate your thoughts and opinions on.
I took into account a base of 50miles per hour.
Most ending spots are not essential, they are just what I calculated on the map as a good stop.
Although no flights booked obviously, we are looking at arriving end of June 2016.

DAY 1: Arrive in LA, see Beverly Hills/Hollywood (something easy!!!)
DAY 2: Collect van, head off to Las Vegas
DAY 3: Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon
DAY 4: Grand Canyon to Zion
DAY 5: Zion to Moab via Bryce Canon
DAY 6: Moab to 4 Corners via Canyonlands and Monument Valley
DAY 7: 4 Corners to White Sands
DAY 8: White Sands to Abilene via Roswell
DAY 9: Abilene to Hot Springs via Dallas and Crater of Diamonds
DAY 10: Hot Springs to Huntsville via Helen Kellars house, Space Centre
DAY 11: Huntsville to Macon via Atlanta and Jonesboro (Gone with the Wind for the 6 year old!)
DAY 12: Macon to Orlando
DAY 13: Orlando (Harry Potter World......not negotiable according to the 9 year old!)
DAY 14: Orlando to Miami via Everglades
DAY 15: Miami to Jacksonville via Cape Canaveral, Daytona
DAY 16: Jacksonville to Richmond
DAY 17: Richmond to Rockville with a day in Washington
DAY 18: Rockville to Hershey via Gettysburg and Hershey Choc World (again the 9 year old!!)
DAY 19: Hershey to Long Beach Island via Phili and Atlantic City
DAY 20: Long Beach Island to Long Beach via Coney Island
DAY 21: Long Beach, train to NYC
DAY 22: Long Beach, train t NYC
DAY 23: Long Beach to Boston, via the Orient to New London Ferry, Cliff Walks
DAY 24: Boston to Burlington via Americas Stonehenge, Santas Village (the 6 year old!)
DAY 25: Burlington to Perth (hey we are from Perth, Western Australia!)
DAY 26: Perth to Niagara Falls
DAY 27:Niagara Falls to Erie
DAY 28: Erie to Springfield (friends here), via Amish County
DAY 29: Springfield to Cedar Point (yep the amusement park for the husband!)
DAY 30: Cedar Point (or depending on if we drive anywhere the night before) to Chicago
DAY 31: Chicago to Red Wing via Crystal Lake Cave
DAY 32: Red Wing to Hannibal
DAY 33: Hannibal to Highlandville via St Louis, Ozark Caverns
DAY 34: Highlandville to Witchita with some must sees in Branson and Little House on the Prairie
DAY 35: Witchita to Oakley via Greensburg (followed the documentry about the tornado and their rebuild, so would like to see it now) and thanks to DONNA for pointing out Dorothys Museum in Liberal
DAY 36: Oakley to Badlands
DAY 37:Badlands to Greybull
DAY 38: Greybull to Yellowstone
DAY 39: Yellowstone
DAY 40: Yellowstone to Quake Lake (thanks LIFEY for this place, I remember learning about it in Year 8 Geography!) Was thinking of spending most of the day in Yellowstone and heading out mid afternoon so we can get some more time in Yellowstone.
DAY 41: Quake Lake to Shelby via Sulpher Springs and Great & Rainbow Falls
DAY 42: Shelby to Spokane via Glacier NP
DAY 43: Spokane to Mt St Helens (another Year 8 Geography memory!)
DAY 44: Mt St Helens to Portland (most of the day in Mt St Helens with Portland only 70miles away)
DAY 45: Portland to Eugene via Salem and Sea Lions Caves
DAY 46: Eugene to Boise (transit day)
DAY 47: Boise to Lave Hot Springs via Craters of the Moon
DAY 48: Lava Hot Springs to Salt Lake City
DAY 49: Salt Lake City to Warm Springs via Lunar Crater
DAY 50: Warm Springs to Yosemite
DAY 51: Yosemite
DAY 52: Yosemite to San Fransisco
DAY 53: San Fransisco to Santa Cruz with a stop at ?????Cant remember the name!! but where you can see the San Andres Fault line
DAY 54: Santa Cruz to Malibu
DAY 55: Malibu to LA to return Van. Fly to New Orleans
DAY 56: New Orleans
DAY 57: Board Cruise Ship for Bahamas, Jamaica, Cayman Island, Mexico.....
DAY 71: Off Ship, fly to Seattle
DAY 72: Seattle
DAY 73: Board Cruise ship for Alaska
DAY 80: Arrive at Vancouver
DAY 81: Vancouver
DAY 82: Vancouver to LA
DAY 83: Disneyland
DAY 84: ????Would like to go to San Diego but is it too far for just the day?
DAY 85: Fly to HiLo, Hawaii
DAY 86: Volcano National Park
DAY 87: Hilo to Honolulu
DAY 88: Drive the East Coast
DAY 89: Drive up the East Coast, see Pipeline etc
DAY 90: Our 90 day Visa ends :( so on a Cruise ship to Sydney, taking in French Polynesia, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji and Noumea
DAY 108: Arrive in Sydney and fly home to Perth!

So my "bad days" (i.e. long travelling days) are 7,8,9 16, 37.
Any help to adjust this route would be appreciated. Although 1 thing I have considered to give an extra day is return the van on DAY 56, have only 1 night in New Orleans pre cruise, but once off, stay an extra night, then fly to Seattle. Which would mean 1/2 day (arvo and night) in Seattle and then the morning before boarding the ship.
The extra day I would then gain, I would use for either Grand Canyon or The Badlands/Mt Rushmore/Devils Tower etc

So much time to plan, replan and replan!!!!!

[Lifemagician]

Boy you are really getting the hang of this. What a wonderful trip. Though as you say there will be the inevitable replanning between now and then.

One spot that jumped out to me is early in the trip where you seem to spend a lot of back and forth in southern Utah.

I'm wondering also whether you could not go to Vegas via San Diego. You'd have to choose carefully how much time to spend in SD and
what to do. There is so much to do there.

It would not only include SD, but you could enter the GC via Flagstaff, on 89 and 64, exit to Williams, detour the small section of historic Route 66 between Seligman and Kingman and over the Hoover Dam (check what time tours are there) into Vegas. From Vegas you would head to Zion, up to Bryce via UT12 and Capital Reef, to Arches and Canyonlands before Moab. Four Corners via Monument Valley, will take you to the rest of your trip.

See how that fits in with your plans and routing.

Quake Lake (thanks LIFEY for this place, I remember learning about it in Year 8 Geography!)

By that time I was well and truly working and left home. You might want to allow a little more time for the self guided tour. (Brochure available at the visitor centre in West Yellowstone.) There are campgrounds along the way, though maybe none with hookups.

Lifey

p.s. do the flights from Perth go via Sydney or Melbourne?

[2016USAHoliday]

p.s. do the flights from Perth go via Sydney or Melbourne?

It would all depend on what airline we chose. For example we could miss the east coast altogether if we fly Singapore Airlines, but that has 2 stop overs for memory thus a longer travel time. Otherwise we can go from Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne. I would prefer Melbourne as then Mum and Dad could come out to the airport to see us off.


As for where to stay, we are happy with whatever! I remember once in Tasmania not being able to get into Cradle Mountain for the night, so we found a stream and parked next to it.....woke up the next morning to find 10 other campers! So as long as it is legal I'm good!!!! I actually found a book on Book Depository with camping from $12 and under!

I like that idea of San Diego. My original plan had LA-San Diego-Las Vegas. But I took it out to give more days. So if I took a day out of Seattle, your drive would work. I was reading someone else's post about a similar drive in that area which is why I worked it into mine! The reason why I put Las Vegas on the first day as by the time we collect the van, that is half a day lost so I wanted somewhere closeish, so SD would work as well!

Thanks!........now time to get off the forum, off the maps, get rid of the map books around me and spend the last day of school holidays with the girls without thinking of America!!!!

[2016USAHoliday]

We are really going!

Booked and paid in full for our RV yesterday! 3 out of 4 cruises are booked with deposits paid and the absolute must..Insurance paid in full!!!

Bring on June 26 2016! Although due to arriving on an international flight and the insurance, we cannot hire the van until June 27. 317 days to go!

I have tweaked the route a bit so would love some feedback when I post it tmw!

Katherine

[2016USAHoliday]

So I have changed up my original route, the main changes are the addition of San Diego and Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon etc being moved towards the end.

Again most starting and ending places are not set in stone, more just points on the map!

Day 1: Arrive in LA. Check out Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Something easy to handle with jetlag.
Day 2: LA-out of San Diego (Alpine?).
Day 3: Alpine-Benson. Just a driving day.
Day 4: Benson-Roswell. White Sands NP
Day 5: Roswell-Liberal. Dorothy's Museum.
Day 6: Liberal- Pittsburg (the little Pittsburg, not the big one!!). Greensburg and Little House on the Prairie.
Day 7: Pittsburg- Rolla. Ozark Caverns, St Louis.
Day 8: Rolla-Crater of Diamonds. Smallest Cathedral, Branson
Day 9: Crater of Diamonds-Town Creek. Hot Springs, Memphis, Helen Kellar.
Day 10: Town Creek-Jonesboro. US Space Centre, Atlanta, Road to Tara Museum.
Day 11: Jonesboro-Orlando. Just a driving day.
Day 12: Orlando. Universal Studios, Harry Potter world.
Day 13: Orlando-Miami. Everglades NP
Day 14: Miami-Jacksonville. Cape Canaveral, Daytona Beach
Day 15: Jacksonville- Richmond
Day 16: Richmond-Rockville. Washington DC. Wont drive the van into DC though.
Day 17: Rockville-Hersey. Gettysburg, Choc World.
Day 18: Hersey to Long Beach Island (although there is a NP near here). Phili, Atlantic City
Day 19: Long Beach Island-Long Beach. Coney Island, Atlantic Beach.
Day 20: Long Beach. NYC.
Day 21: Long Beach. NYC.
Day 22: Long Beach-Boston. via the Orient Ferry, Cliff Walks.
Day 23: Boston-Burlington. America's Stonehenge, Santa's Village
Day 24: Burlington-Perth, CA. Montreal, Ottawa
Day 25: Perth-Niagara Falls.
Day 26: Niagara Falls-Erie. Leave Niagara after lunch.
Day 27: Erie-Springfield. Amish Country and visiting friends.
Day 28: Springfield-Cedar Point. Amusement Park.
Day 29: Cedar Point-Chicago. Wrigley Field.
Day 30: Chicago-Minneapolis. Crystal Lake Cavern, Laura Ingalls House(if other one not done)
Day 31: Minneapolis-Badlands NP.
Day 32: Badlands NP-Greybull. Mt Rushmore, Devils Tower.
Day 33: Greybull-Yellowstone NP.
Day 34: Yellowstone NP.
Day 35: Yellowstone NP-Quake Lake.
Day 36: Quake Lake-Shelby. Sulpher Springs, Great and Rainbow Falls
Day 37: Shelby-Spokane. Glacier NP, Hot Springs
Day 38: Spokane-Mt St Helens. Ape Caves
Day 39: Mt St Helens-Portland. Leave at lunch time and visit Powells World of Books!
Day 40: Portland-Eugene. Salem, Sea Lion Caves.
Day 41: Eugene-Boise. Driving Day
Day 42: Boise-Lava Hot Springs. Craters of the Moon
Day 43: Lava Hot Springs-Salt Lake City.
Day 44: Salt Lake City-Canyonlands. Moab, Arches.
Day 45: Canyonlands-Bryce Canyon. Capitol Reef
Day 46: Bryce Canyon-Page. Via Zion.
Day 47: Page-Tuba City. Monument Valley, Mexican Hat, 4 Corners.
Day 48: Tuba City-Grand Canyon.
Day 49: Grand Canyon-Las Vegas. Caves, Hoover Dam
Day 50: Las Vegas-Yosemite. Lunar Crater
Day 51: Yosemite.
Day 52: Yosemite-San Fransisco.
Day 53: San Fransisco-Palo Alto. San Andres Fault Line.
Day 54: Palo Alto-Santa Barbara. Coastal Route.
Day 55: Santa Barbara-Long Beach CA. Santa Monica etc.
Day 56: Return RV, Fly to New Orleans for the 2nd part of out trip!!
Further on from this we well be doing a B2B cruise to Mexico, Jamaica, Bahamas and Cayman Islands. Then flying to Seattle to cruise Alaska and ending in Vancouver. Once we have discovered Vancouver, onto LA for a few days to do Disneyland etc before heading of to Volcanos NP and Honolulu, Hawaii to relax. Then because we still wont want to return to normal life, it is on an 18 day cruise through French Polynesia, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji and New Caledonia to Sydney and fly home to Perth!!!! 108 days in total.

I thought to stay at Long Beach CA as the RV depot is in Carson and did not want to fight peak hour traffic in LA to return the RV on time!
I think I have added a good mix of the girls (10 and 7) and our requests, but would welcome any other ideas.

So any thoughts or changes you would make.

[Lifemagician]

Katherine, My thoughts are the same as to the last route you put up (though I did not express them then). You sure are hitting a wide variety of places and sites, in a huge number of places. But I am afraid that other than being able to say you have been there, you have not left time for anything else. In most places not even time for the girls to take part in the Junior Ranger Program at the NPs and national monuments.

I know it will be a fantastic trip, but very very rushed, and I feel sure you will need those last days on the cruise to relax before getting home.

I look forward to reading your trip report, with input from the rest of the family.

Lifey

[Southwest Dave]

I have to agree with Lifey above, your trip is set at a rushed pace in lots of areas which may become tiring on a trip of this size and possibly frustrating. In Yellowstone you will barely have time to drive around the park and see 2 or 3 attractions. The parks in Utah will be little more than a blur as you drive through them. The west is where I am familiar so that is the part I will comment on. Personally I would not go so far west as far as Mt St Helens, Portland, Craters of the Moon etc and would enjoy much more family time in the National parks. To 'gain' some days I would go from Devils Tower to Glacier and then head south to Yellowstone (not forgetting the Grand Tetons) and then take a direct approach to Arches and Canyon lands and continue from there with more time to enjoy the parks, each of which deserve at least a full day.

There is an RV park at Malibu beach which is a little closer to Carson and closer still is Dockweiler RV park which is close to airport, noisey perhaps ?

[DonnaR57]

Day 2: LA-out of San Diego (Alpine?). Day 3: Alpine-Benson. Just a driving day.

You're obviously trying to stay east of San Diego: very, very good! You could stay in any of these places and be in a good place to leave the next morning:

El Cajon - exit 20b - Greenfield - there's an RV park there right next to the freeway, Circle RV. Just down the road on Main Street, there's one called Vacationer RV. Circle RV has easier access.

El Cajon - exit 22 - Rancho Los Coches RV.

Alpine - exit 33 - Alpine Springs RV

Any of those 4, I'd recommend. There are a couple of others that are very run-down.

There are also some public campgrounds, but there are no hookups and they are considerably further from the freeway than you may want to go if you are trying to make Benson the next day, including Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and the Cleveland National Forest campgrounds in the Descanso Ranger District. Boulder Oaks is about the closest one to the freeway, has NO hookups and may or may not have water. I wouldn't want to try to get an RV into Cibbets Flat unless they've improved the road.

Day 17: Rockville-Hersey. Gettysburg, Choc World.

Unfortunately, you won't see much of Gettysburg. It's 1/2 day just for the visitor center, which explains what you are seeing. If you skip that, and move on to the drive, it's at least a half day and that's not doing a lot more than stopping, reading a sign, snapping a pic, and driving on to the next one.



Donna