Show Off Your Homeland

[Jenny A]

I'm not talking about which country is better, or politics, I'm talking vacation.  If you were to advise someone from the other side of the ocean or globe, where to visit in your country, where would you advise?

I grew up in the mountain west of the United States, and live in the Northwest.  If you were visiting the U.S. from Europe, this is what I would advise and why:

Don't spent much time on New York, or L.A.  You have many big bustling cities with greater buildings, art museums, and equally good night life as New York.  Why travel the Atlantic to do it again?  L.A. is uniquely American alright but in a way that has everything to do with traffic congestion.  You'd spend all your time on the freeway.

I have three very different suggestions.  First go Mountain West and Southwest.  Yes, the Alps are beautiful and so is the England's Lake District, and Scotland.  But you have no idea about what real empty wilderness means (those from Australia, New Zealand, and Africa probably do).  This must be done by car.  Fly into Salt Lake, Denver, or Los Vegas.  For the most culture shock choose Los Vegas or Salt Lake.  The southwest contains, pueblo Indian ruins, current pueblos, and vast high altitude geographic wonders.  There's high culture in Santa Fe and Taos, crude Americans at our worst in Los Vegas, Mormonism if you fly out of Salt Lake, and the Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion for shear natural grandeur.  Or tour Yellowstone for geysers, and the Rocky Mountains for mountains. 

Or run down our Pacific coastline from Seattle to San Fran.  Take in Mt. Rainer, Mt. Saint Helens, and Mt. Hood and the Columbia Gorge, and the Redwoods as you go. By all means start in Canada in BC.

Other people, particularly eastern and southerners, might suggest something else.

Or make a run across the south doing a Civil War and Revolution tour.  You'll get American southern culture at it's best and worst as an added cultural bonus.

I'm less sure were to tell Australians to go as you have even vaster empty land.

[downbeatplumb]

If this weekend has shown me anything it is never try to drive around London.
They fling their cars at you as though they are unconcerned by consequences.
Cornwalls nice if you catch it on the nice day of the year.

[The Grand Nudger]

Or make a run across the south doing a Civil War and Revolution tour.  You'll get American southern culture at it's best and worst as an added cultural bonus.

Jesus christ, are you trying to kill the tourists? "Civil War Reenactment" is redneck code for Guns-n-Booze @ noon.   

Get a boat, hit the Suwannee. That's what I'd do.

[Lemonvariable72]

I'm not talking about which country is better, or politics, I'm talking vacation.  If you were to advise someone from the other side of the ocean or globe, where to visit in your country, where would you advise?

I grew up in the mountain west of the United States, and live in the Northwest.  If you were visiting the U.S. from Europe, this is what I would advise and why:

Don't spent much time on New York, or L.A.  You have many big bustling cities with greater buildings, art museums, and equally good night life as New York.  Why travel the Atlantic to do it again?  L.A. is uniquely American alright but in a way that has everything to do with traffic congestion.  You'd spend all your time on the freeway.

I have three very different suggestions.  First go Mountain West and Southwest.  Yes, the Alps are beautiful and so is the England's Lake District, and Scotland.  But you have no idea about what real empty wilderness means (those from Australia, New Zealand, and Africa probably do).  This must be done by car.  Fly into Salt Lake, Denver, or Los Vegas.  For the most culture shock choose Los Vegas or Salt Lake.  The southwest contains, pueblo Indian ruins, current pueblos, and vast high altitude geographic wonders.  There's high culture in Santa Fe and Taos, crude Americans at our worst in Los Vegas, Mormonism if you fly out of Salt Lake, and the Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion for shear natural grandeur.  Or tour Yellowstone for geysers, and the Rocky Mountains for mountains. 

Or run down our Pacific coastline from Seattle to San Fran.  Take in Mt. Rainer, Mt. Saint Helens, and Mt. Hood and the Columbia Gorge, and the Redwoods as you go. By all means start in Canada in BC.

Other people, particularly eastern and southerners, might suggest something else.

Or make a run across the south doing a Civil War and Revolution tour.  You'll get American southern culture at it's best and worst as an added cultural bonus.

I'm less sure were to tell Australians to go as you have even vaster empty land.

How would you feel about Atlantic Canada? If you come in the summer Moncton is beautiful. You can see Hopewell rocks, and the highest tide in the world is downtown. Plus its nice, clean and spacious. Its also an important hub for the rest of the Atlantic provinces. So literally anywhere is the maritimes is less then a days drive. That's includes pei, and the citidel in Halifax. Also if your really up for seeing the crazies, you can go to cape Breton. I grew up there and they have a full reconstruction of a 17th century star fort in Louisburg.

[popeyespappy]

National Parks. Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Denali, Big Bend, Sequoia, Olympic, Glacier, Crater Lake, Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, Zion, Arches and Badlands. Forgive me If I've missed your personal favorites. These are the ones I have enjoyed.

[dyresand]

Because murica 

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Jaysus, where to start?

Cavehill is mad cool - a hill from which you can see all of Belfast, the Isle of Man, and (sometimes) Scotland. A 9th century ring fort atop the hill.

The Mourne Mountains and Tollymore Forest Park are good for the hiking-minded.

Plenty of impressive architecture (castles, cathedrals and whatnot). Plenty of theatres, cinemas and one decent opera house.

Rumour has it that Northern Ireland is home to a lot of pubs.

Boru

[Alex K]

Well, it really depends on what kind of experience you want... The authentic experience, the high-cultural one? Good wine? It's true that the US are hard to beat when it comes to landscapes, scenery and all that, because in the US you have everything under the sun from man high snow to the driest desert.

Ok, if you like wine and hiking, and you want the authentic cultural experience, here's something you should do:

Congratulations, you have signed up for

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this kind of trip:

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Book a flight to Frankfurt near the end of September, get a fast rental car and drive down the A67 and A65, which are partly without speed limit, until you reach my home turf. You then find yourself on the edge of the Rhine valley, surrounded by vineyards and the largest continuous forest in Germany.

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Also, you're there in the middle of harvest season, and you have about a 100 villages (many with historic centres) full of wine makers at your disposal, many of whom have their wineries opened for guests. Such as this one,

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If the weather is nice, rent some bikes and cycle along the valley, stopping for tastings and nice food. Every once in a while, hit the forest in the hills, with lots of ruins of medieval fortresses and a system of cottages operated by locals serving specialties and - you guessed it - wine, all within a day's hiking distance.

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You might just be the first American/Australian/Whatever there in a long time, so if you want the authentic experience as far away from any tourist traps as possible, this is for you. This is where the people living in Heidelberg spend their weekends, that should tell you enough

If you have had enough of that though, a half hour car ride takes you to Heidelberg for a change, a location well-frequented by American tourists. If you want some more history, nearby you find one of the great burial cathedrals of the German Emperors (the old cool ones, not those 19th century types) and some interesting museums concerning the Jewish heritage in the region, such as a historical Mikweh

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Or take the scenic train ride back up the Rhine valley to the more famous Rheinhessen wine region. On the way, you will pass by a multitude of medieval castles atop the cliffs and at the shore.

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There, you can engage in more of the same if you feel like it

[rexbeccarox]

I live in coastal San Diego county. People who choose to live here say things like, "work? Oh yeah... I'm a sound engineer. But duuuude, I had a gnarly sesh at Tamarack yesterday. You know that dude, Greg? Yeah. He had to lend me some wax, man. I was out there for four hours, dude! Oh, the meeting? I rescheduled. We paddled out instead."

Basically, work interrupts our vacation time around here.

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We also have the second-largest street fair in North America; first, west of the Mississippi. It happens twice a year: at the beginning of November and near Mother's day.

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Just about everyone who lives here owns a beach cruiser and puts more miles on it than his or her car:

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Vitamin D doesn't have to be purchased or added to one's diet:

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And you get to see something like this:

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... this:

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... this:

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Or maybe this:

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... every evening.

Plus, as San Diego County blows up the beer scene, we, in North County are definitely picking up the pace: Stone, Bagby, Port Brewing, Oceanside Ale Works, Breakwater, Legacy, Karl Strauss, Belching Beaver, Mother Earth, Latitude 33, Aztec, Iron Fist, Barrel Harbor (ssssssss... deep breath...) Prohibition, Green Flash, Ballast Point, and Alesmith, to name a few.

If anyone wants to come to visit (and wants to treat), we can go to the Torrey Pines gliderport to have a picnic and paraglide or to Lake Elsinore (or Perris or San Diego) to skydive. We could golf at a cheap golf course or a world-class one. We could have a beach day and watch dolphins hang out in the waves with the surfers or we could throw a frisbee. We could go to the Safari Park and watch the meerkats for three hours. Eat the best Mexican food on the planet, or even some amazing sushi. Bar hop. Get stoned because I have my rec and I can only get my hands on the best: indica, sativa, yummy hybrids and even yummier baked goods; whatever you want. Take the ferry to Catalina and go ziplining, then eat some great food. See a show at my favorite local venue: the Belly Up. Come in the summer (or fall for a few weeks for the past couple of years) to go to the horse races at Del Mar or come in the spring and we'll hike to the mushroom caves.

I really do live in Paradise. Sorry guys: I do get braggy. I'll stop

[Longhorn]

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