Visiting America

Off Topic
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Appreciate the advice and recommendations.

I’ve mostly heard good things about Boston, its a shame accommodation was an arm and a leg.

We are definitely keen to do a lot of sight seeing, we will hit up the museums in New york, boston also looks like it has some attractions.

I did read the Pam Am games are on in Toronto soon so traffic will be a bitch, the last thing we want to do is spend our holiday in peak hour traffic everyday, so not sure we’ll spend much time up that, we just wanted to drive through Canada for the scenery mainly

Maine looks like it has a wide range of sights to visit, Im sure its going to be hard to pick which ones to go to.

Are any of your fast food restaurants worth visiting for a foreigner?, Taco bell etc?
Is a walmart worth a visit?

We also do a have a car for about 3 days in chicago before we leave,
so we are thinking of heading on some day trips along the lake coastline or something?

42

[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
4th of July at Put In Bay (little island off the coast* of Port Clinton, OH) is pretty crazy if you’re into wild partying in the sun. Saturday 7/4 from noon til about 5pm is when you want to be there. Splash at the Islander Inn usually has a rock cover band and is my favorite spot there, but there is also Mist (another pool bar) that has a house DJ if you’re more into that.

http://www.islanderinnpib.com/put-in-bay-splash

[/quote]

That does look like fun, is it just a resort where you get hammered at a pool bar?

43

[quote]Rollsroyce13 wrote:

Are any of your fast food restaurants worth visiting for a foreigner?, Taco bell etc?
Is a walmart worth a visit?

We also do a have a car for about 3 days in chicago before we leave,
so we are thinking of heading on some day trips along the lake coastline or something?[/quote]

Whenever I eat fast food after not eating it for a while it tastes awful and fake.

You do have a car for the rest of the trip right? Mass transit outside of most major cities is nearly non existent.

There is a lot to do in Chicago. Keep in mind the west side of any great lake is pretty rockie due to prevailing winds. I didn’t much care for what I have seen of Wisconsin but I mostly drove through it from Manitowoc to Minneapolis. Never been to the southern half but I hear the dells are nice.

44

[quote]Rollsroyce13 wrote:
Appreciate the advice and recommendations.

I’ve mostly heard good things about Boston, its a shame accommodation was an arm and a leg.[/quote]

It sounds like you’ve already booked up your hotels/accommodations but I was going to suggest using AirBnB. There are a lot of really nice places that might fit your budget with better accommodations and locations for your goals. Plus I’m sure you’d find some great locations scattered across you travels that might cut down on transportation time and costs.

My wife and I just stayed at a great apartment in Seattle in the Queen Anne District with a deck overlooking the Space Needle. Really affordable as well given the location and scenery.

[quote]Maine looks like it has a wide range of sights to visit, Im sure its going to be hard to pick which ones to go to.

Are any of your fast food restaurants worth visiting for a foreigner?, Taco bell etc?
Is a walmart worth a visit?[/quote]

IMO, fast food in America is shit. Especially at the big chains (Burger King, Sonic, McDs, Taco Bell, etc.) but if you really want to try some, I’d recommend a Hardees/Carl’s Junior. Not sure if you’ll come across any in your travels; to my knowledge, they’re non-existent in New England (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut). You might find some regional fast food that is pretty good.

A chain that you’ll find in most places is 5 Guys burger and fries that is pretty good. They give you a shit ton of fries and their burgers are made to order and grilled while you wait. Not as fast as McDs et. al. but quality is a notch above. Some people like the burrito chain Chipotle (I personally am not a big fan) you might be interested in (not sure if they have them in Aus.)

Your best bet is to use Yelp or TripAdvisor to find some great local fair that’s not a chain along your travels. Are you traveling with a smartphone or any access to mobile data? If so, utilize it … if not, try to plan and do some deep research along your route for good food stops (you’ve probably done all of this but just in case…)

45

Yeah we may very well use AirBnB for accomdation outside smaller towns, particularly if there is a lack of hostels or hostel space.

we have a car all the way to new york then we end the rental, assuming it would be pointless there anyway.

Is the border easy to cross, Usa-Canada? or can we expect delays

46

[quote]Rollsroyce13 wrote:

[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
4th of July at Put In Bay (little island off the coast* of Port Clinton, OH) is pretty crazy if you’re into wild partying in the sun. Saturday 7/4 from noon til about 5pm is when you want to be there. Splash at the Islander Inn usually has a rock cover band and is my favorite spot there, but there is also Mist (another pool bar) that has a house DJ if you’re more into that.

http://www.islanderinnpib.com/put-in-bay-splash

[/quote]

That does look like fun, is it just a resort where you get hammered at a pool bar?[/quote]

Yep. I’m not a fan of the night life, but the daytime there is awesome. Assuming the weather is nice, of course.

47

[quote]Rollsroyce13 wrote:
Yeah we may very well use AirBnB for accomdation outside smaller towns, particularly if there is a lack of hostels or hostel space.

we have a car all the way to new york then we end the rental, assuming it would be pointless there anyway.

Is the border easy to cross, Usa-Canada? or can we expect delays[/quote]

Going from the Us into Canada is a breeze, at least in Michigan. I don’t know what it is like now going the other way in other states but it can be a pain here. I do think they have eased up some but it was taking an easy hour to get in right after 9/11