Kind of OT - Touring in the US

Hubbie & I are contemplating a trip stateside next year and are keen to do a
bit of touring in a motor home. I looked on the internet and found "Cruise
America" - anyone had any experience with them or can suggest a similar
company? We were thinking of flying to New York, staying a couple of nights
in a hotel then driving to LA and flying back to the UK from there. Not
having done this type of thing before I would welcome any suggestions
particulary with regards to nice places to stop off along the route! Does 7
nights from New York to LA sound feasable - we don't want to spend all day
just driving as it's meant to be a relaxing trip! Also, we are planning to
visit either May/June or Aug/Sept - any ideas on what would be best? Please
feel free to email me direct.

Kate
--------------------

Albany Hill
www.albanyhill.com
email
to reply please remove the "nospam" from header

"Kate Hare" wrote in
:

Does 7 nights from New York to LA sound
feasable - we don't want to spend all day just driving as it's meant
to be a relaxing trip!

It's about 3000 miles coast to coast by interstate (big multi-lane
highways), so you would have to cover over 400 miles each day -- doable,
but I wouldn't call it relaxing, and you often miss the best scenery and
sights on the interstate, IMHO. We did two cross country trips when I was
a kid; the first time took four weeks and the second six weeks there and
back. Of course, we took my Dad's scenic routes, including one where they
built the road in front of us, so that's probably not an accurate judge of
time... I'd say you could do it comfortably in ten days, with about 4-5
hours of driving each day, and still have some sightseeing time leftover.

As for what to see, it depends on your interests. Are you looking for
historical places? Scenic stuff? Cultural things? There's a heck of a lot
of country to look at over here. :-)

K

In article , "Kate Hare"
writes:

Does 7
nights from New York to LA sound feasable - we don't want to spend all day
just driving as it's meant to be a relaxing trip!

Weeeeeeeeelllllllllll, for reference, one of my more compulsive friends drove
generally the same distance in 3 days, stopping only to put gas and new coffee
in and let used coffee out.

It is roughly 3000 miles, so divide by 7 is 429 miles a day, divide by 55 MPH
speed limit is 7.8 hours of driving per day.

If your route is going to cross one of the western deserts, you may want to
rethink the August option. There's a reason it's called Death Valley. (If you
insist, however, make sure to take -- and drink -- plenty of water along the
way. Living in the desert, I generally start my summer day by guzzling 3
glasses of water, and then try for a glass an hour every hour after that.)


--
Finished 5/21/04 - Fireman's Wife
WIP: Fireman's Prayer (#2), Amid Amish Life, Angel of Autumn, Calif Sampler,
Holiday Snowglobe

Paralegal - Writer - Editor - Researcher
http://hometown.aol.com/kmc528/KMC.html

Gosh, didn't realise it would be quite so much driving. I suppose another
option would be to start off in New York and do a New England tour instead
of LA? I'm going to have to study my map!

Kate

"Karen C - California" wrote in message
...
In article , "Kate Hare"
writes:

Does 7
nights from New York to LA sound feasable - we don't want to spend all
day
just driving as it's meant to be a relaxing trip!

Weeeeeeeeelllllllllll, for reference, one of my more compulsive friends
drove
generally the same distance in 3 days, stopping only to put gas and new
coffee
in and let used coffee out.

It is roughly 3000 miles, so divide by 7 is 429 miles a day, divide by 55
MPH
speed limit is 7.8 hours of driving per day.

If your route is going to cross one of the western deserts, you may want
to
rethink the August option. There's a reason it's called Death Valley.
(If you
insist, however, make sure to take -- and drink -- plenty of water along
the
way. Living in the desert, I generally start my summer day by guzzling 3
glasses of water, and then try for a glass an hour every hour after that.)


--
Finished 5/21/04 - Fireman's Wife
WIP: Fireman's Prayer (#2), Amid Amish Life, Angel of Autumn, Calif
Sampler,
Holiday Snowglobe

Paralegal - Writer - Editor - Researcher
http://hometown.aol.com/kmc528/KMC.html

Kate Hare wrote:
Gosh, didn't realise it would be quite so much driving. I suppose another
option would be to start off in New York and do a New England tour instead
of LA? I'm going to have to study my map!

Plenty to see on this side of the country. Might be worth sticking over
here and then coming back (several times!) to do other chunks of the
country at other times.

Elizabeth in Salem, MA
--
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~living well is the best revenge~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The most important thing one woman can do for another is to illuminate
and expand her sense of actual possibilities. --Adrienne Rich
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Kate Hare" wrote in
:

Gosh, didn't realise it would be quite so much driving. I suppose
another option would be to start off in New York and do a New England
tour instead of LA? I'm going to have to study my map!

I was going to suggest that -- there is plenty to see in New England that
would keep you busy for a week easy. Maine is a long day's drive away from
NYC, so you would have plenty of sightseeing time.

K

I also would not suggest driving through or staying in Texas in august. That
is a real scorcher time.
kathy
san antonio TX

Outside of New England, Michigan is always nice that time of year.
Generally not too hot, and there's plenty of lakeshore to take a dip in
the water if you get too hot. I'm a big fan of the upper peninsula -
the Soo Locks, Mackinac Island, etc. Lake Michigan side of the lower
peninsula is definitely worth a look-see.

Barbara HJ

Kate Hare wrote:
Hubbie & I are contemplating a trip stateside next year and are keen to do a
bit of touring in a motor home. I looked on the internet and found "Cruise
America" - anyone had any experience with them or can suggest a similar
company? We were thinking of flying to New York, staying a couple of nights
in a hotel then driving to LA and flying back to the UK from there. Not
having done this type of thing before I would welcome any suggestions
particulary with regards to nice places to stop off along the route! Does 7
nights from New York to LA sound feasable - we don't want to spend all day
just driving as it's meant to be a relaxing trip! Also, we are planning to
visit either May/June or Aug/Sept - any ideas on what would be best? Please
feel free to email me direct.

Kate
--------------------

Albany Hill
www.albanyhill.com
email
to reply please remove the "nospam" from header

We've driven cross country US east to west as well as north to south up
the east coast several times and it's a pretty long drive.......if you
want to sightsee, you'll definitely need more than a week's time.

Sixty five miles per hour on the interstates fairly common with slightly
higher speed limits out west but around cities the speed limits are
generally fifty-five mph or lower.......during the summer months there
is also quite a bit of road maintenance repair work and detours,
sometimes tortuous slow that will slow down your progress greatly
cutting into your week's driving time.

As others have suggested, breaking down your tour to focus on sections
of the US would be much more feasible and definitely more enjoyable!

We used to live in Ann Arbor, MI while students at the Univ of MI and
recall some pretty hot & humid summers in central MI.......only good
thing, MI generally cooled off sooner towards the fall but upper MI is a
real nice vacation spot as stated.
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures

Barbara Hass wrote:

Outside of New England, Michigan is always nice that time of year.
Generally not too hot, and there's plenty of lakeshore to take a dip in
the water if you get too hot. I'm a big fan of the upper peninsula -
the Soo Locks, Mackinac Island, etc. Lake Michigan side of the lower
peninsula is definitely worth a look-see.

Barbara HJ

Kate Hare wrote:
Hubbie & I are contemplating a trip stateside next year and are keen to do a
bit of touring in a motor home. I looked on the internet and found "Cruise
America" - anyone had any experience with them or can suggest a similar
company? We were thinking of flying to New York, staying a couple of nights
in a hotel then driving to LA and flying back to the UK from there. Not
having done this type of thing before I would welcome any suggestions
particulary with regards to nice places to stop off along the route! Does 7
nights from New York to LA sound feasable - we don't want to spend all day
just driving as it's meant to be a relaxing trip! Also, we are planning to
visit either May/June or Aug/Sept - any ideas on what would be best? Please
feel free to email me direct.

Kate
--------------------

Albany Hill
www.albanyhill.com
email
to reply please remove the "nospam" from header

.during the summer months there
is also quite a bit of road maintenance repair work and detours,

construction is a year round season here LOL
kathy
san antonio