Hi Guys,
I hope that you will be able to help me with some thoughts and recommendations…geography, transport & accommodations within the US. Must see’s/do’s, probably should avoid etc etc. I will apologise in advance as this may be a long post.
I’ve wanted to come to the US now for a few years…it looks like I will be able to this either later this year or more likely in 2016.
There are 3 things on my agenda…baseball, food and craft beer.
I don’t have an affiliation with any team…but I do love watching games that are held in San Francisco; the place looks great on TV.
The food thing comes from somehow getting an interest in Diners Drive Ins & Dives (don’t laugh)…most of the places this guy seems to go look awesome
The craft beer…well I shouldn’t really need to explain that.
My trip will probably be 10 days in total…take off a couple of days travelling on either end, so I will have 7 or 8 nights on US soil.
From my initial research there is not much difference in the price of flights from the UK to either the East or West coast. Usually around £50 extra for a return flight to LAX as opposed to New York.
I’ve also looked at flying in to one coast and returning from the other…but the price was utterly prohibitive. Internal flights seem to be reasonably priced.
I appreciate a bit of sunshine, so the West coast appeals. I know there is a lot of beer related stuff out that way…I’m a regular BN listener so maybe those guys have skewed my view somewhat.
So what suggestions do you folks have?? Are internal flights and multiple destinations doable on such a short time frame or do you think I would be better concentrating my limited time over a smaller area?
Am I missing out by only really considering East or West coast?? What else is there?
Any pointers and tips would be much appreciated and thank you in advance for any help forthcoming.
Come to the West Coast. Go to a Dodgers game. Seeing just California in a week will be difficult. How much driving are you planning on doing? Diners, drive in and dives has a list of all the shows they’ve done. Flying to lax, two nights in San Diego. Then up the coast to Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, or Paso Robles. Then through Big Sur to San Francisco. One night in SF. One night in Santa Rosa or Healdsburg, then a solid drive back to Los Angeles, Dodgers game and fly home.
If beer and baseball are your goal, you can’t go wrong with San Diego or San Francisco. Petco Stadium is nowhere near as gorgeous when compared to AT&T Park, but I personally love baseball games near anywhere.
Don’t rule out Minor League teams. Those games are very fun, often much cheaper for both tickets and concessions, and you will sometimes see a star from the Majors that is recovering.
A car will be required most anywhere you go in the US. While some of the bigger cities have solid public transport, once you get out into the suburbs, it sucks. If you are staying in a major city, look into getting a car only when you need it. Parking fees can get steep. Last time I stayed in San Francisco, we saved $100 ($50/night) by not renting a car and opting for a taxi.
Domestic flights run the gamut as far as price. You can catch cheaper flights if you stay within short distances (SF to LA/SD or Dallas to Austin), but overall it is a craps shoot. I just booked a flight from Dallas to SF and it ran me $350 round trip, that is about $100 more than I normally spend, but not outrageous.
Portland and Seattle might be up your alley, but your chance of sunshine is 50/50. Portland has a very good public transportation system and they have a minor league team. Seattle’s public transport isn’t great, but it is an easy city to drive.
There are about 6 or 7 entirely different worlds in the states. The northeast, the south, the midwest, west, alaska, hawaii, and California. Most areas within 50 miles of salt water are all the same type of people, the farther you get from salt water the more independent the people get. If I could only spend 7 days in the states I would not do it in an airport. I would go to western montana, but that isnt the hub of craft beer, though you can find it. If I couldn’t go there, I’d go to the south. Ashville, nashville, memphis, new orleans…
No offense, but if I had a choice between a week in California or just stay home… id stay home.
Ok, I’ll put in my bid for New England. Fenway Park, mountains, ocean, and tons of beer. While we have a lot of bigger breweries (Boston Beer, Harpoon, Allagash, Smuttynose, etc.) the nanobrewery movement is big in New England. Tons of smaller breweries with some fantastic offerings. I have 4 breweries and Moonlight Meadery within 4 miles of my house right now. Oh, and we have the Red Sox at Friendly Fenway Park!
Are you traveling alone or bringing a family? Lots of history and activities for the family from beaches in Maine and NH (yes, NH has beaches on the Atlantic…18 miles worth but still has beaches), mountains in NH and VT, American History, museums, aquariums in Boston…oh and the Red Sox!
I’ve lived my whole life in California. Grew up in the San Fernando Valley in the North end of LA. College and a few years after in San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay. Short stints in Napa and Chico. Currently live in Orange County. With the exception of Chico I’ve never lived farther than 50 miles from the Pacific Ocean.
That trip would be a lot of driving but there are stops along the way and the Big Sur Coast drive on PCH is incredible
The East Coast is just as sunny as the West Coast, probably more so on average, and there is no Fenway Park on the west Coast. It was extremely sunny here yesterday (15 degrees, but sunny). That’s my unbiased opinion. That being said the combo of sun and beer makes me think San Diego.
Why go all the way to the US? Come to Belgium! The food is great, the beer is great, and, true, we don’t care about no stinkin’ baseball, but we have great cycling!
I’m lucky that I do a lot of business with people in Belgium and visit at least 2 or 3 times per year on company expenses!! Taras Boulba anyone??
Hope to do the hop festival in Poperinge at some point
Again, thanks for all the info so far…this is just the type of response I’d hoped for. I knew the home brewers would never let me down 8)
Time of year could be an important factor in your travel plans. It may be just me, but going to Southern Cal in the height of summer sounds like torture unless I go to the mountains or to the sea, but very pleasant in the spring and fall.
A big difference between East Coast and West Coast is humidity. The East Coast gets so hot and humid in Summer I can’t stand it. Lovely people, a LOT of good things to do and see, but I am miserable the entire time.
I agree with Jim about the cultural differences between coasties and inlanders. I fit better with inlanders, but in terms of being in a target-rich environment for visitors there is no comparison - the coast wins.
I am biased towards the upper Midwest myself, but if it is easier for you to travel to the coasts the I would recommend North Carolina. No major league teams, but a lot of Minor league teams in the state. Asheville is one of the best cities in the country, lots of great beer, food, and culture, and the you can go rent a cabin by the Great Smokey Mountains.
If theMidwest is an option! I would do a St. Paul/Minneapolis to Madison to Chicago run. The Twins Stadium in Minneapolis is great. Lots of great beer and just a wonderful area with great people. Stop in Eau Claire for some Lazy Monk brews, then go to Madison, for a great mid sized city. Then Go see the Cubs at Wrigley Field, and eat great Chicago cuisine.
For the West Coast, Seattle would be a great city to look into.
Nothing wrong with going to San Francisco. Wonderful town with a team that has been great for the past few years. Redwoods are nearby, and you could make run to Yosemite. Lots of great choices on the Coasts!
Having done both coasts by car several times, beer nor food will be a problem! It’s the time. In 6-8 days you can easily create a great trip with lots to do and see, weather should be your determining factor. If winter months are when you plan go west, if mid fall, go east, you will not believe the colors, spectacular! You don’t want to be in the East during a winter storm and get stranded somewhere, been there, done that:(
Coming myself from the Midwest you can’t beat the nice weather on the West coast through most of the winter months!
I t has been touched on by a couple of people but I think Seattle and Portland are a good bet. You say baseball so I would suggest you start in Seattle for a Mariners game. I would think flights in should be close to what you LAX is. Lots of food and fun in the city.
Then drive to Portland (only 3.5 hours drive through some great county). Lots of food and beer. Good public transportation. During the spring/summer there are beer festivals every weekend (or most weekends anyway) and the last full weekend of July is the Oregon Brewers Festival http://www.oregonbrewfest.com. I have meet people from many countries that come just for that and stay for everything else.
What ever you decide, have a great time.
I live in Florida, but my favorite part of the country is the Pacific Northwest. I think you could easily spend your week between Portland and Seattle and have a great trip. Heck we did a whole week just in the western part of Oregon a few years ago. Weather there is usually great in the summer months - long days, plenty of sunshine despite what you may have heard.
You could also fly in and out of San Francisco and spend some time in Sonoma County. We did that for a week once.
Keep in mind that dropping off a car in another city is sometimes cost prohibitive, but also realize that driving hundreds of miles back to the original airport can be daunting on the final day or two of a trip. It’s bigger than you think.
Yeah, keep that in mind. Boston to New York is roughly equivalent to London to Manchester. Interstate flights can eat up a whole day with time at the airport, etc.
