Looking for summer vacation ideas.

[David M]

I have been thinking it would be fun to rent an RV and drive across the country with my family. I will be taking 10 days to do this so that it could be done at a leisurely pace. I plan on taking my wife, 11 yr old son and my 11 yr old nephew.

I want for them to see the country since none of them has driven across this big beautiful country of ours.

I am wondering though..just what should we see? I plan on leaving from the San Francisco Bay Area, finishing up anywhere on the East Coast and then flying back home. It would not need to be a direct eastward path. Driving north and south to get somewhere special would be fine.

If you were in my shoes, what places would you like to see? Yellowstone and the Smithsonian are on my "must do" list. My son is especially interested in history..so historical sites would be a real plus.

[mbossman2]

if you're in DC, you are not far from:
http://www.outerbanks.org/

you can come south and arc out thru the OBX and when done pick up I-40 in Wilmington and head west, that takes you thru NC, TN, AR, OK etc etc, ending in southern California

[Panama Red]

Chicago: Museum of Science and Industry
Detroit: Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village
Niagara Falls (take a boat ride, Maid of the Mist)
Virginia: Colonial Williamsburg
Pennsylvania: Gettysburg War Memorial
Kentucky: Mammoth Caves National Park

[ktkendall]

Not too far North of DC you can hit Gettysburg PA. Lots of historical tourist places to visit in the whole region around there, and then just a tad bit more East, you have the Philadelphia area, which also has some pretty good historical sites to visit. You will really enjoy DC though, and the Smithsonian museums. At 11 years old the kids are a good age to take in all there is to see and do in DC. Most everything is Free except parking. Last time we were down there it was 95 degrees, with 95% humidity, and so crowded that you almost could not enjoy much of it, like the air and space museum, which I believe is one of the more popular of the museums. The National Zoo is really good to, and it's free, but parking is the trip. The mint is a neat tour, if you want to see money being printed, although being from San Fran you may have been to the one out there..

[David M]

Those are some great ideas...keep em coming!

[MakeYourslf2012]

How about the world's larget rubberband ball?

Seriously though, if you have time to drive north - I suggest Yellowstone National Park - its got to be one of the best parks in the country (although, it's not exactly on the way). If not, there may be some other parks on the path from SF to the east coast; I'll look into it.

[Floppyman]

I might suggest going through Colorado on I-70 (beautiful drive through the Rockies), maybe going north and then heading through the South Dakota Black Hills (beautiful as well, plus you have Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse)......at some point picking up I-80...maybe going through Des Moines (no bias there ), then heading south on I-35 to St. Louis and seeing the Gateway arch. You could also stay on I-80 and heads towards Chicago to see one of the Great Lakes, I suppose. After that you head further south into OK or TX, or maybe take an easterly route. Just some suggestions.

[Alaron]

If you start out south, how about the Grand Canyon?

[mbossman2]

i can second Niagara Falls (grew up in Buffalo), but instead of the Maid of the Mist (which is cool), you need to do the Cave of the Winds trip (takes you within feet of the American Falls) http://www.niagarafallslive.com/cave_of_the_winds.htm. The other cool thing there is the journey behind the falls (you go into a mine shaft that looks at the backside of the falls from inside the "cliff")

Plus from there you can pop up to Toronto (hour or so away), golf (several courses along the gorge rim), visit Niagara on the Lake, go to a Casino, or continue on to Gettysburg, DC or whatever. If you do head out south from there visit "the Grand Canyon of the East" Letchworth State park...

[jayb1234]

If you are a fisherman stop in Port Clinton, Ohio and jump on one of the party boats for some Lake Erie walleye or perch. Cedar Point is right down the road and has several of the top ranked coasters in the world. Another 45 minutes down the road is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. On the way through PA. stop and check out the Amish. Hershey PA. visit the factory.

[Redfallon]

I agree with Bossman the outer banks are nice. Having driven through so many states in this country, I know you're going to have a difficult time narrowing it down to 10 days worth of things to do and see! Should be an excellent trip no matter where it takes you! The above recommendations are ALL fantastic.

[David M]

I think we need to start the PC Mech Travel Agency for great ideas.

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by Floppyman I might suggest going through Colorado on I-70 (beautiful drive through the Rockies), maybe going north and then heading through the South Dakota Black Hills (beautiful as well, plus you have Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse)......at some point picking up I-80...maybe going through Des Moines (no bias there ), then heading south on I-35 to St. Louis and seeing the Gateway arch. You could also stay on I-80 and heads towards Chicago to see one of the Great Lakes, I suppose. After that you head further south into OK or TX, or maybe take an easterly route. Just some suggestions.

I definitely recommend either I-70 or I-80 through the Rockies. Actually, another shameless plug and this won't help you , but if you are driving west from Wyoming into Utah on I-80, you get some really cool mountain scenery, and then you come out of the mountains down a steep hill and look out over the Salt Lake Valley. It's fantastic, especially around sunset.

[kstatefan40]

I have some advice for you: There is nothing to see in Kansas, so be sure to hit up either north, south, east, or west of here and you will have a great trip!

The Ozarks in Mizzo is really neat (Branson, for instance), as well as Table Rock Lake. Very pretty area.

Colorado has some good scenery as well, however, I have not been there in years.

The Smithsonians are cool, if you can maybe look into a tour of the White House / Pentagon, that is nice as well. Post 9/11, the security is crazy, however, a group from school that I was with was able to get security clearance to get a tour of both. The Pentagon was interesting, seeing armed guards with machine guns and the White House was cool, where we saw the Secret Service jump from the roof and land on the yard outside - that was quite a sight.

Aside from those, Memphis is has some interesting stuff, as well as Atlanta. If I were you, I'd probably stay north, though.