blonde poker forum

Slight brag post, but im mainly asking if anyone has done this kind of thing before and has any general advice.

Me and my younger bro (just graduated from uni) are in the process of planning a trip, to various parts of the states by hiring a car and just going from place to place. He seems keen to do it in November, im more keen on Spring due to the weather, is this as a big of an issue as im making it out to be?

We are toying with various ideas most of which are based around starting and finishing in New York, looking to spend about a month to 6 weeks out there.

Any general pointers or tips?

Jen and Dana have done an extensive drive across the US

Did a month from LA to Seattle and loved it.  Was a while ago though, would love to do it again.

Tips?  Just enjoy it :D

Do the west coast
Include Vegas
??
Profit

Me and the wife did three weeks a few years ago:
San Francisco->Yosemite->Death Valley->Vegas->Palm Springs->San Diego->LA->San Fran
Fantastic trip. Was in May. The contrast from San Fran to Yosemite was amazing - "was that a bit of snow on the side of the road???" - got to Yosemite to find it about 6" deep all over and 6' in places. Mountain pass at the back not open, so drive to Death Valley took 10 hours (with snow chains for a bit of it). Which was then pretty hot. Amazing contrast. Vegas fantastic of course. Trip into Tijuana from San Diego was interesting - you just walk across the border and it's like stepping back in time - grotty place, but contrast is amazing. Drive up the coast and visit Hearst Castle - now there was a man who knew how to spend money!

One thing to beware of is that if you're hiring a car and you (or your bro) is under 25 you will pay a significant insurance premium, and some places won't hire you a car at all.

Don't underestimate how big the place is - romantic notions of going all the way across the country in a couple of weeks are fanciful - you'll spend 12 hours a day in a car.

We've also done a 2 week one from Boston->New York->Washington DC, which was pretty good also. Boston's a really nice place - very English. Washington is fairly impressive too. NY is great for a few days, but I wouldn't want to live there :).

If you do it in November you can maybe catch a football game.

Make sure you explain to the car hire crowd that you intend to travel around the States too.  Some have a clause in the contract... you can't leave the state you've hired it from. 

Now I bet that was a trip. Used to live in San Fran and we did the trip to Yosemite down to Palm springs, absolutely awesome trip! Really different climates and weather.

Cheers for the replies.

I am over 25 (sigh) and my brother can't drive anyway,so that isn't a stumbling block.

Good point Rex about doing the whole lot, when we first talked about we were all we will do this and that. Then realised there is no way we can't fit everything in, so probably just going to stick to one part of the US. I think the North Eastern part is looking fave New York, Boston, Niagara, Great Lakes, Washington , Philli etc.

Would be right in thinking there would be issues with taking the car into Canada?

not really.

one thing I would say is I have driven boston to niagara and beyond, and the journey isnt that interesting - standard route would be north from boston -> new hampshire -> green mountains vermont -> new york state )(albany) then across to syracuse and buffalo. but its mainly motorway after vermont and not much to see.

      I've been lucky enough to do several road trips around the USA and enjoyed every one of them,you'll have a blast.Americans away from the big cities are the most friendly most welcoming people you will ever meet,just stop in any small town,go to the local bar and people are just fascinated to meet a Brit as most have never even travelled out of they own state.
      If your'e going round the north east i recommend a weekend in D.C. the air and space musuem is worth the visit alone but all the sights are within walking distance of each other and the nightlife around the Georgetown uni. is,in there words awesome.However my favourite states are in the south,Georgia,Tennesee and the Carolinas,trips there have been some of the best holidays i've ever had(you just can't beat that southern drawl on a pretty girl).


P.S. on no account mention the Vietnam war in a derogatory sense to any grizzled old taxi driver as you may be invited to exit his cab staring down the barrel of his gun

I drove from Richmond, Virginia to Florida ... It was the most boring drive in the world, all concrete roads and nothing to see.  we were only going from A to B to get from my Brothers house to Disneyland, so we just went most direct route .... I am sure we could have taken a more scenic route.

I would love to just hire one of those massive RV's and tour all over the sates, one day I will do it.

count me in

With your expertise in breakfasts, you are IN !!

Something like this has always been on my mind, hope I get around to it at some point.

I really recommend the route from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. I remember that with my parents when I was 15-16. Got to see the Redwoods, Death Valley, Palm Springs is a great stop off, and the Yosemite National Park is just gorgeous!


(Lol I just read back the replies on the summary below and saw someone had similar thoughts)

Highly recommened man!

me too!

me three!

It is, in so much as driving all day every day isn't much fun, far better with a co driver.


The main issue probably being that you won't get there! :)  4 weeks in Foxwoods and a dash back to NY at the end!  I know you have realised that you won't cover as much ground as first anticipated, but I bet you cover even less than you second anticipated too!

I'm sure you'll have a blast, and it doesn't really matter if you don't get to do one thing, I'm sure you'll be happy to roll with it.  Stay if you are having fun, move on if not, etc.  But West Coast would be hard to turn down also.  An ex co-worker rode his Harley from Houston up the West Coast, wife catching flights to meet him up at various points.  Said it took him 2 days just to get out of Texas..

just thought of something - there is an ebay type website in the US which is for people to bid on delivering stuff - some of it long distances. Often it is vehicles (some new, some not so new), and you can bid a price on picking it up in one place, and dropping it off in another.

this might be a cheap way to get a car for the trip, and also decide the trip you make.

trying to find the site now.....

There used to be a thing called "driveaway" where you could deliver cars for people who had moved, mind you that was a year or two back  ;whistle;

I know what you mean and i will be almost certainly fed up with driving by the end of this, but i quite like driving. I'm hoping not to spend an inordinate amount of time behind the wheel and if that means cutting things out, well such is life.

As for the poker, well my brother doesn't know one end of a deck of cards from the other and to be honest on this trip it is not near the top of my list of things to do.

I would love to do the West Coast as well, but that and our main plan are two different trips. Hmmm the more i think about, I'm already planning US roadtrip 2.

aye, that kind of thing. cant seem to find the website at the moment though.

another rewarding way to see the US is to try and copy the route in a film that you enjoyed.  so if you liked easy rider, you can go from LA to New Orleans. Rainman, another classic has a great roadtrip in it.

im sure there are lots more.

It only took over 6 months to get off the ground, but we are going on Tuesday for 5 weeks flying in and out of New York.  So im sure you will be relieved to hear that won't be as active on blonde in the next month or so.

Sorry for the brag post, but i am super excited about this.

Good luck Longy, Hope you enjoy it.

Have a great time.

You'll have a brilliant time!  Have you sorted your route yet?

Awesome !!  Have a great time Longy and please check in and keep us updated from time to time .

Roughly and this is subject to change.

New york, Philly, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, New York, with a few places thrown in between randomly. The Canadian cities will be dropped if we have time pressures.

Any recommendation of places to go in any of the above cities and other place in that part of North America, would be cool. I am going to try and get to see a few Major league baseball games.

How did you go about hiring a car?  1 car for the whole trip?  Booked hotels or just go with the flow?

We have hired the car online already, though giving ourselves 2-3 days at either end in NYC without a car. I have booked the hotel for New York today, after telling my bro there was no way i was slumming it in some hostel. The rest of the hotels we will go with the flow, book them online as we go, neither us want the trip to become regimented.

Went in Jan to NY, stayed on 57th street, right next to the subway.  Use that all the time your there, so much cheaper than taxi's

Just turn up at hotels/motels, the USA has millions of them, you'll never struggle to find one (unless there's a big convention on somewhere)

         I've been to most of the cities you've mentioned.New Yorks great for the sights but has dissapointing nightlife and is nowhere as unfriendly as it's portrayed.Washington is great the Georgetown area around the uni is buzzing(if they haven't finished for the summer)we stopped in a hotel called club quarters for about $100p/n perfect location next to obamas pad.Chicago's easy for a cubbie Wriglyville all the way,so jealous,but go and have a beer in the bar at the top of the John Hancock building,great view.Don't miss out Toronto brilliant cosmopolitan city with good nightlife and great food,Niagra falls just down the road a couple of hours drive and well worth it,Niagra town is so tacky makes Blackpool look like Paris.

         Never been to Boston but it's supposed to be good and its near the top of my list of places to go.I would love to go to Fenway park,how are you planning on getting tickets for the MLB,scalpers?stub hub?Have a ball and full trip report with baseball pics please.

Have a great time enjoy

Make sure you have a good map for the Boston area!  Driving in NYC is a piece of cake compared to Boston.  Trust me.  It's hell.  Good map, loads of time and if all else fails go against the grain of all men in the world and ASK FOR DIRECTIONS!

about time you spent some of your rakeback  have a good un

Read "America Unchained" by Dave Gorman

It will get you stupidly excited about your trip!

I lived in the states for a little while and used to go to Fenway Park in Boston to watch the Red Sox which I really got into. One place I would recommend is Cape Cod, a small peninsula just south of Boston, it has the most fantastic beaches and is a really beautiful area with quaint villages, lots to see and some good night life too in the right places. Also loads of young rich good looking scantily clad American chicks  :)up

I worked here for 5-6 months and had an absolute blast and will deffo return when I get a chance. The area is basically an upmarket holiday resort for the better off and is well worth a visit to chill for a couple of days and a few beers. I would however recommend you go at the end of your trip as the weather starts to get nice in mid may-ish, also the best night life is not surprisingly at the weekend.

Also Boston itself is great, loads to see plenty of night life, you can't go wrong here TBH.

Enjoy your trip!

Sat Nav?

CDW- I haven't really looked into how to purchase baseball tickets, but will do before getting out there. In an ideal world Wrigley field and Fenway Park would be the two i would love to do. Just hope they are in town when i am in. Will post a few pics and some rough TR in this thread when i get the opportunity.

Woodsey- Boston is the last big city on the rough plan before heading back to New York, so that works perfectly.

Thanks for the good tips and well wishes everybody.

You shouldn't have a problem with BB tix, unless its against one of the other big teams. I think when a team is playing at home, they play the same team for about 5/6 nights on the trot, so your bound to be able to see something on your route. I used to just turn up and pay on the night to see the Red Sox but that was a few years ago.

I tell you what else is pretty entertaining and good value if you can find something en route- College Basketball. Its played in big stadiums and they get big crowds and a great atmosphere. They are basically the feeding teams for the NBA so the games can be fantastic and pretty cheap. NBA is too expensive and hard to get tickets.

I believe all the College Basketball has just finished (March madness and all that), never really got Basketball as a sport, though as you say probably worth going for the atmosphere.

If you're missing poker then Foxwoods is on the way back to New York from Boston.

Have you checked about taking the hire car out of the states and into Canada? They can sometimes bit a bit dodgy about that, they are the other way round anyway.

Have a good time m8.

Haven't been America so am no help, sorry!

looks sick, have a good time mate.

would also love to do this one day..looking forward to the report...

have a blast

Have a Great Trip

Hey Longy,

Damn jealous sounds like a great trip. I lived in Massachusetts for a year and visited Boston a few times. I would reccomend doing the Freedom Trail as it's a cool walk around Boston and will help you with your bearings. You should visit Faneuil Hall/Quicny Market and get Clam Chowder in a bread bowl. They also have cool live entertainment going on there, i guess it's Boston's equiv of Covent Garden. Also for someone who probably grew up with Cheers there's two Cheers bars in Boston. Boston Common is good and there's an area (i think Beacon Hill) where all the roads are cobbled and they've still got the old gas streetlamps. Kennedy museum worth a look if you've got any interest in the American 'Royal' family at all.

On the subject of baseball as well as The Sox/Cubs they'll be plenty of Divison 1AA and 1AAA games going on in random towns i'm sure. Have a good trip.

have a great trip Longy,and enjoy this weekend
" I shall walk, through the town, sporting my yellow crown. any scum i should meet, will fall neatly beneath my feet...I speak the truth,you know i'm right, always shit on the old blue and white...OTBC! "

Dino your read is right, I did indeed grow up with Cheers. Thanks for the info on Boston.


Lol Booder, i am really nervous about Sunday. The biggest East Anglian derby for years from a Norwich point of view, I will take a point now tbh.

tbh i don't think a point is any good,i think it's 3 or goodbye to Championship

2 weeks down, 3 to go. Having a brilliant time, current in Ann Arbor, Michigan as we are too chicken to go to Detroit as we have been warned the whole place is a ghetto (sigh).

So far have done NYC, Philly, DC, Pittsburgh, Colombus (Ohio), Indianapolis and Chicago. I could bore you with a detailed TR but

1. I haven't got the time.
2. I can't be arsed.
3. My writing skills, wouldn't do it justice.

I had a few requests for some baseball blurb and i went to my first game at Wrigley Field yesterday and it was awesome. The whole place has stuck to the tradition of Baseball being americas oldest and most tradational sport. A lot of the ground is as it was 50+ years ago (but not in a bad way), the only music played is of the Organ variety and tonnes of baseball tradations like the singing of "Take me out to the ballgame" (lyrics in signature) is sung in the middle of the 7th.

The Cubs lost 6-2 which seemed right for some reason, being the loveable losers that they are. Here are some pics I took with my iphone, hence the crappy quality.

(http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/434/127p.jpg) (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=127p.jpg)

(http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9633/120o.jpg) (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=120o.jpg)

(http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5077/128e.jpg) (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=128e.jpg)

There are more photos on my facebook (Mark Long, Nottingham) from the whole trip. Not particularly a facebook person, but hey who doesn't like to pretend they have friends.

Look like good seats down the 3rd base line,can i ask how much tou paid/where you got them from?
Favourite place so far?

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

Nice pics Longy,

Really like Wrigley Field  ( even though i'm a Mariners fan ) with its ivy covered wall and the seats on top of the buildings across the street.

Where are you off to next and are you planning to visit anymore stadiums/ catch anymore games ?

I paid $25 for that seat but I went to a Tuesday afternoon game which is the easiest (and cheapest) to get tickets for, the cubs still sold 40000 tickets for the game which is pretty impressive on a working day. I just rolled up at the ticket office and asked for a ticket in that area, i have been told you can't do this normally, but they get loads of returns for midweek afternoon games.

Favourite place so far is a real toughie, off the top of my head, drinking in bars down South Street in Philadelphia and Chicago is just an amazing town all the way round.


Ty Scott, yeah the Wrigley rooftops are a unique site, pity I didn't get a decent photo of them. The ivy has not come into bloom yet so it is kind of brown at the moment.

As for other ballparks, other possibles left on the trip are Toronto, Boston (the other one i really want to do), Mets and Yankees. All depends on Schedules of myself and the teams.

did you spend much time in pittsburgh ?

i need to go there soon for a few days, and I am not really looking forward to it.

No spent 1 night there, we were pretty much told the best (and only??) thing to do in Pitt was go out drinking, we did find a really good bar that did cheap drinks and 20c chicken wings though.

sounds pretty much perfect for me....

Weee just got back today, absoutley awesome holiday. The UK almost seems foreign now, everything is so small compared to the big cities over there.

My favourite 3 places were New York, Chicago and Boston all for slightly different reasons but awesome cities in their own right. I couldn't live in New York such a mad city but awesome to visit, I could quite happily live in the latter 2. Nowhere was a let down really,even the small places like Rutland, Vermont had simply stunning countryside.

In general I think I have a more positive view on America than before, saw no crime (though we did dodge Detroit) and with very few exceptions, everyone  we met was very friendly. I did eat far too much crap and virtually no veg or fruit. I developed a taste for Iced Coffee preferably with a Donut, Tim Hortons (the Canadian version of Dunkin Donuts) might just be the best value fast food place on earth and IHOP (international house of pancakes), hmmm pancakes and a fry up.

I barely have a complaint the whole trip apart from the road surfaces, I mean seriously wtf! Do they ever resurface the roads, how the hell our rental car lasted a month I will never know.

Managed to do the 5 weeks for somewhere between 2 and 3 grand, which satisfied my nit extincts. If you are ever looking to book good hotels (we didn't stay in anywhere below 3*), a mix match of www.priceline.com and www.hotwire.com is the way to go. Priceline is slightly confusing as it works on a bidding system and if anyone wants tips on using it optimally, send me a pm. It is well worth it though, for example we got the Hyatt in Chicago for $45/night.

I am in New York for a week at the end of June before I head on to Vegas. Anything to recommend?

The whole thing sounds awesome, chuffed for you that it was everything you expected it to be.

How many miles did you drive?!

Get the subway to Brooklyn and then walk along Brooklyn Heights and back over the brooklyn bridge. The view is something else.

(http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/5066/brooklynbridgeu.jpg) (http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=brooklynbridgeu.jpg)

There is so much to do, most of which you will find in the guide books. One thing at the moment that is not worth it is ground zero, it is simply a boarded off builiding site, with no memorial or anything.


Nearly spot on 3000 miles, 5 hours was the most I drove in anyone day. It all went pretty smoothly apart from being pulled over by the Canadian police for speeding, i managed to squirm out of it by acting like a clueless tourist, which wasn't far from the truth.

Sounds sick good, thoughts on US women?

Looks wise not that different from home, some stunners, some average and some stinkers. The big difference is the British accent over there is pure gold, they were falling over themselves even in Restaurants to tell us how much they loved our accents. I have never been so proud to be British in my life.

how much are you looking forward to getting back on the grind

Erm not sure, the fact i haven't missed playing for 5 weeks is probably a bad sign.

No casino's visited?!

No not one, I wasn't really that bothered about going to one and my bro isn't interested at all.