The Vine: September 17, 2010
Dear Sarah,
I will be spending a month in the States shortly, flying into New York on the third of October and out of San Francisco third November. Those flights are pretty much my only parameters. I need to start formulating a plan. I have a vague idea of the places I definitely want to go (as well as the cities I am coming in and out of; that list looks something like: Miami, New Orleans, “the south”…and yes, am aware how hugely broad that is!, Palm Springs, Vegas).
Beyond this…well, understatement time — it’s a pretty big country, that one you’ve got there! I would love some advice or recommendations, not just on where I should go but also best way to get there. Ye Olde Great American Road Trip is hugely appealing and I definitely want to drive for at least part of the time. However, I’d also love to not spend an entire month in the car, and truly get to spend some time in A and B rather than just on the road getting between them.
I thought maybe I should give you a little about me just in that it might make it easier for you or readers to make suggestions. I will be travelling with my boyfriend, who is a very practical and useful creature and can look after directions, changing tires and things where I tend to just flap and be all hopeless, we are both in our early 20s and both from Australia.
Also things we are most interested in doing/seeing on a dream list would be: getting to see or be a part of crazy or distinctly American things, be that getting a photo with the world’s biggest ball of yarn, doing something special for Halloween (we totally don’t celebrate this in Australia so I am quite excited to be there for it!), and of course “just” meeting interesting people, plus experiencing all different types of food and music.
I’d also add doing Into the Wild from a safe distance, if that makes any sense — I’m not hugely outdoorsy and don’t mean to insult that fellow’s experiences by comparison but, well, with some of your national parks and animals and things…how could we come to the U.S. and miss that?
As a general plan for the trip, I have vaguely been thinking we could fly to NYC, fly to Miami, pick up a car there and do a sort of (rose-coloured glasses firmly in place) BBQ/bourbon/jazz/blues-soaked trundle across the south, maybe through Nashville, Memphis and so on, over and up to the West Coast, if that’s any help, too.
Okay, well, as most of the people who write in seem to say, that was longer than I thought it would be! I am just trying to get across how excited we both are about this trip, how open we are to ideas and ultimately how much I would value the input from a like-minded community of people as well as the lovely Sars herself, who has certainly road-tripped it in her time (!).
Thank you Sars and all your readers —
From The Probably Green and Overly Idealistic Girl Who Still Thinks “A Month In A Car? Sure, I Want Fried Green Tomatoes, Waffles and Awesome Memories — Let’s Do It”
Dear Green,
I will let the readers fill in the blanks here, mostly, because I’ve lived in the States my whole life and driven around a good portion of it, and I have still only seen and experienced a small fraction of it.
Some general advice: 1) The independent bookstore wherever you are is a great place to get inspired. Head for the local-history section and see what the area obsessions are — a nearby prison, a long-ago battle, whatever. Then let yourself be overheard speaking in a faraway accent. This doesn’t tend to work in a metropolis like New York City, which is where all the faraway accents come to hang out, but Mississippi can spot a Yankee in about six words, and the next thing you know, you’ve got reading material for a month and two maps to the best po-boy sandwiches in the state.
1b) While you’re in there, try to grab a copy of Roadside America and/or Weird U.S. Lots of hilarious ideas, and even if you don’t see any of the things covered therein, it makes great reading-aloud material for those long stretches of interstate.
2) Get off the interstate. Set your GPS to “no expressways” and take the long way; get lost a few times. In my experience, the interstates go over the country while the smaller state roads and so-called blue highways go through it, and if you plan to spend that much time on the road anyway, you should get a real sense of the place.
3) Have a plan for each day, but one that’s broad and general. In each city I went to on BCLC Tour, I had, like, one thing I definitely wanted to see, so I would see that thing in a leisurely way, and then I would let other things suggest themselves — or let the locals suggest them.
4) It’s your trip. If there’s super-famous Must-See stuff that you just don’t care about, don’t go. If you’d rather see a ball of twine than a battlefield, do that. All touristy stuff, no touristy stuff — it’s your money.
5) If you get out to Brooklyn, we can meet here for a pint.
Readers, hit it — but please cap your recs at three per comment. Thanks!
Tags: Ask The Readers Big Country Little Car Tour city living travel
You must see Jerome, AZ, and nearby Sedona. Sedona is actually the more widely-known locality, but Jerome is an old copper-mining town that was taken over by artsy folks, and is one of my favorite places on earth.
One month isn’t THAT much time; my first trip to the US, I spent six weeks just doing the eastern half. However:
1. Watch “Diners, Drive-Ins,and Dives” (Food Network/YouTube [probably]) for some food-based ideas.
2. The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo is a great start/end point along Highway 1.
3. Build in some rest-time. Living out of a suitcase/car for a month is exhausting. Plus, you’ll need to do some washing at some point!
If it didn’t sound like you plan to fly right over Philadelphia, I’d heartily second Laura in PA’s suggestion of http://halloween.easternstate.org/halloween–supposed to be one of the country’s 10 best (and 2 blocks from my house!). You don’t get a full impression of what this amazing historic site is like when you do the haunted house, though. Then for the more wholesome aspects of Halloween you could check out http://www.linvilla.com/ (Linvilla Orchards) for hayrides, candy apples, etc. etc. etc. There are a million more things to do in Philadelphia, most easily researched, but in keeping with your Halloween interest I’ll suggest the creepiest museum in town: http://www.collphyphil.org/MUTTER.ASP.
Wow! What a great trip and you picked a great time of year.
I second everyone who says that great streatches of Florida are kind of boring. The trip from NY to FL is much more interesting, especially because we have some of the most colorful foliage in this area. You can spend as much time driving from NY to Atlanta as you could through FL and see much more. Philadelphia, DC, Charleston and Savannah are all great places. We just took a trip to Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, about 10 miles south of DC and had a great time.
You might want to fly from Atlanta or Jacksonville to Miami. I really loved the Vizcaya Museum and grounds. It’s the home of the John Deering family, who made the tractors. The Gulf beaches are much nicer than Miami Beach
I also agree with everyone who recommends Colorado. It is amazing, with mountains that defy description.
The fall weather should be mostly temperate in the south but do pay attention to the local forecasts for unseasonable extremes. Bring layers. If it gets cold, you can buy sweatshirts at your various destinations. Laundromats is also a great way to meet people. Watch out for speed traps in the south, especially if you have an out-of-state license plate. They can be inconvenient and expensive.
Remember, you don’t have to do the whole country in one trip. You’re always welcome to come back and see more!
Echoing Amanda- if you’re checking out New England, check out RI! You can say you’ve been to the smallest state- can check out the water and the city in one day…and can drive by Nibbles Woodaway on the way! (big blue bug made famous by Dumb & Dumber…if you haven’t seen it, nevermind!)
Also, check out http://www.couchsurfing.org…you can use to to “crash” on some local couches if you need places to stay or even meet up for coffee/siteseeing/etc in some places.
Have fun! ;)
Green sounds like she’ll be in my neck of the woods right around Halloween, and with that may I suggest the Winchester Mystery House Halloween tour in San Jose, just an hour south of San Francisco.. The house is crazy during the day and is spooked out during Halloween. They also do midnight tours on any friday 13th’s that pop up. It’s kind of awesome.
Being a New Mexican Originally, I have to say you’re better off skipping Santa Fe. But that’s just my opinion. My favorite spot in the southwest is the Lake Powell area, because there are several sights just a stone’s throw from each other. If you’re renting a vehicle, I would recommend getting something you can take off-road and take some of the awesome back country around Lake Powell. We found a dirt road that took us to the North Side of the Grand Canyon which was awesome and completely deserted, not crowded like the south side. We also took some backroads to get to Bryce Canyons, also awesome. But You’ve got Moab, Antelope Canyons, Zion National Parks, Cedar Canyons, all within a few hours drive of each other in Arizona and Utah and it ain’t a bad way to get to Las Vegas either.
Also, since you’ll be in the San Francisco, Bay Area, and if you want to do some wine tastings, may I recommend the Livermore Wine Valley. Cheaper/less hoity toity than Napa/Sonoma (15 bucks for a flight!?!?! You’re kidding me right?), it definately has a hometown feel, and since it’s right in my back yard, I’d meet up with you for a wine tasting. May I recommend Garre and Bodegas Aguirre as two fine establishments for wine tastings in the Livermore area?
And in San Francisco, you have to check out City Lights bookstore. You can just feel the history in that place. And you must walk all three floors of that bookstore. You have to start in the fiction section, work your way up to the Beat room (yes a poetry room with a huge beat poets section!) then work your way down again, through the fiction section, to the basement and their nonfiction section. It’s the best.
Also, Union Street in San Francisco. Everybody says Union Square, but I much prefer Union Street to Union Square. And I could keep going, but I won’t.
I have logistical suggestions and destination suggestions. Logistically:
-I read in a book about a woman who would go on road trips and at every stop ask a local “what’s the best thing in this town?”, with great and varied results – i’ve always wanted to do that.
-Also, for meeting “the locals” you might want to check out couchsurfing.com – people willing to open up couches/homes/local recommendations to people they communicate with on the site.
-Keep in mind that in the northeast, where the cities tend to be closer together, it’s relatively easy to catch a bus or train among metropolises (Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC make up a fairly nice, compact corridor) – megabus and bolt bus are very inexpensive, amtrak trains are very comfortable and fast but cost a little more. that might give you a break from driving and give you a chance to chat with some bonafide Americans.
-Check out citypass.com – many cities offer citypasses as a discount package deal for when you want to see several major attractions in one trip.
And here are my destination suggestions:
1. Go apple picking or pumpkin picking. Very Americana. The Hudson Valley in upstate New York is gorgeous and only an hour or two north of New York City, with many local farms that offer it.
2.If you are in the Pennsylvania area, I second the recommendation to see Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. Tour as a historic prison by day, or as a “haunted house” by night. And wherever you are on Halloween, I suggest trying to locate a local suburb that has sidewalks, and watch kids go from house to house trick-or-treating. It’s a hoot, and VERY American.
3. In the Southwest, rent a kayak/canoe etc. and paddle part of the San Juan River in New Mexico or Utah.
One thing I noticed that hasn’t been addressed…the traveler states she & her bf are in their early 20s. It may be difficult to rent a car if you are under 25 (some allow you to for an extra fee)… so definitely do your research extensively on that, as well as driving from point A to point B, before you set too much in stone.
Some great, inexpensive, airlines are Southwest, Virgin America, Jet Blue…they will get you all around the country and are running a lot of sales these days.
It’s too bad you’re not starting in SF and ending in NYC. Early October is generally our most beatiful weather in SF, and I find mid-fall to be so lovely in NYC. That said…weather will likely be rather cool in Northern California. And if you decide to hit Yosemite (which, really, is so amazing I have a hard time putting it into words), it will be cold.
All the other suggestions are great, I just wanted to put in my .02$ re: the rental car.
As a native of San Francisco, I too advise against trying to make it here for Halloween, despite what any guidebooks might say. As of a few years ago, before things took a turn for the genuinely scary, it was just a mass of people crammed into a few blocks, with barely enough room to move. Wasn’t worth it then, definitely not worth the bother now, in whatever form it will inevitably be, lack of city permits notwithstanding.
However, do try to plan for at least a day or two in each major city you visit. Wander around, don’t worry too much about hitting all the major sights. Pick up a sandwich or something to go and eat in a park. Golden Gate Park here in SF is a wonderful place to wander around in, and I recommend the Japanese Tea Gardens as a great place to visit on a misty fall day (although I don’t recall if you can bring your own food in, so maybe plan that for an afternoon tea time).
If you can, head over the Golden Gate Bridge and up to the North Bay and visit Marin county. Stinson Beach and that area is pretty nice, and you can get some good views of the city and Bay from the Marin Headlands.
Finally, as others have mentioned, do not underestimate how big this country really is, and how long it takes to get from place to place out here in the West. Since you’re from Australia, I’m sure you have experience with this, but it’s still good to keep in mind. I just got home from an eight day road trip up the Pacific coast two days ago, from San Francisco to Seattle and back home via Portland, and my butt’s still sore from sitting in the car.
Hope you have a wonderful time visiting here!
Oh, and PS…while the Castro party isn’t happening, Halloween is SF’s unofficial holiday. (we warm up with costume parties almost every weekend throughout the year) It’s a pretty fun place to do a bar crawl — Try polk street from Sutter on up, or Union street between Van Ness and Webster, or Valencia Street around 16th. Lots of fun bars and younger people.
For our anniversary next year, my husband and I are contemplating a car-camping road trip along Route 66 to LA and then up the coast to circle back down to our home state of Oklahoma. I’ve only just begun to research for it, but I can tell you that if you plan to do any camping, the National Forests (as opposed to the National Parks) are free.
Also, I thought you might be interested in hitting at least part of the historic Route 66 highway. It runs from Chicago to LA and goes near enough the Grand Canyon and Vegas that they wouldn’t be huge detours. Not all of it is intact, though (although Oklahoma has been pretty diligent about preserving our piece of it), but the parts that are still in operation offer plenty of kitschy roadside Americana and the occasional movie location (parts of Rain Man, for example, were shot along Route 66, and The Outsiders was shot entirely here in Tulsa, although sadly, the most recognizable locale from that movie, the local Admiral Twin drive-in, burned down just a couple of weeks ago).
That’s a lot of rambling about the Mother Road, but here’s a link to more info if you’re interested: http://www.historic66.com/
Only This and I need to go on a roadtrip together (just kidding. probably); I second all of OT’s suggestions. I’ve done the LA/Seattle drive a few times now, and recommend making it if you can (be forewarned: Hwy 1 will take you A LOT longer than mapquest says it will; Hwy 101 is a good alternative if you get strapped for time, but still want to stay off the big freeway (5). 1 & 101 merge up north, anyway). If not, see if you can get as far north as Cave Junction, OR. CJ has a ‘treesort’ (treehouse motel; not sure how late in the season it’s open though), the Oregon Caves, and Wild Cats World Park. Cave Junction is just an hour or so out of Crescent City, CA, home of Ocean World, a tiny, cheesy aquarium on a sunken barge. Crescent City is just outside of the Redwoods National Park. Last time through, we stopped at ‘Trees of Mystery’ where we thought the gift shop/Indian museum were pretty decent, loved the talking Paul Bunyan (free, in the parking lot), but wasn’t all that impressed with the trees (but then, I’m from Seattle, where trees aren’t all that unusual. Perhaps if we weren’t there on a foggy day, the skytrain would have been more impressive?). Winston, Oregon has a drive-through animal park, but be careful of amorous Emus. One, um, left his mark on our rental car (no, we did not mention that when returning the car). And there’s an interesting, but, small raptor center outside of Eugene, OR.
Also: Carhenge (Alliance, Nebraska)
Also, as far as regional fast food places, I recommend hitting up a Sonic if you see one.
If you get all the way over and up to Seattle, do take some time to do some of the classic touristy things: Pike Place Market, The Underground Tour, Ferry ride to Bainbridge or one of the other islands, even the Space Needle is fun (if pricey).
There are tons of natural wonders out here: Mt Rainier, the San Juan Islands, Snoqualmie Falls, Mount St Helen’s – depending on where your interest lies & the weather- you should be able to go skiing at Snoqualmie, Mt Baker, Crystal or one of the nearby resorts.
Plus there’s the smaller local stuff like: Theo Chocolate Factory Tour which NotMartha just recently reviewed http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2010/09/17/theo-chocolates-factory-tour/ , the Olympic Sculpture Park, stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, tons of great art galleries, bookstores, and restaurants. Oh – and a few coffee shops too!
It sounds like a super fun trip! Have a great time!
Having actually done a two month cross-country road trip (Miami to California, across to Boston, and back down to Miami), here are my top three recommendations:
1. Buy a National Parks Pass. It pays for itself rather quickly, and gets you in to every national park, monument, or historical site. Some of my favorite national parks from my trip are Painted Desert/Petrified Forest, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, and Yosemite.
2. Stay on the interstates when your goal is to get to a particular destination quickly. Get off the interstates when you have some time to explore. Watch for construction and rush hour. A good, current map/GPS is invaluable to figure out where you are in relation to where you want to go. Most road signs and markings are pretty easy to figure out, but being a foreigner, you may want to brush up on what each means.
3. If you can, create a website and update it every day or so. Your friends and family will love “following” you around the country and it’s a great way to document your trip, not just with pictures but with the stories and history of each picture and place.
Welcome to the States. We hope you enjoy your stay.
[Plug for hometown tourism in the face of horrible PR–“Thanks,” BP] Come to Sarasota, Fla.! Siesta Key Beach is gorgeous, and the weather here this time of year is AWESOME. Get a grouper sandwich! Sample eight different kinds of food in one sandwich at Munchies 420 Cafe!
Also: Savannah, yes, absolutely.
Roadside barbecue. Sounds scary, but it’s almost always .the. greatest barbecue available.
Wherever you go, park the car and walk around, especially in the denser downtown-ish areas. You never know what little things you’ll find along the sidewalk that you’d never read about in a book or see from the car.
I don’t know if you will be driving through my part of the country, but I live in El Paso, Texas and if you come through here, I’d be glad to take you to an authentic mexican restaurant or a real ranch with the beast steak in several counties (whichever you prefer).
Also, I have driven through PART of the US and I can attest to the fact that it took me three days (with short stops for gas or food) to drive from the midwest to El Paso…TWO of those days were pretty much spent trying to get out of just Texas!!
Las Vegas is fun but can be overwhelming. SOO many lights, things flashing, machines beeping. UGH. If you go through, most people love the Phantom of the Opera there and the Beatles “LOVE” Cirque du Soleil show.
As much as it pains me to say, stopping in Texas may take more time than it’s worth. I would suggest driving from Atlanta to New Orleans, than hopping a plane to your next destination. You could tack on another day and drive on from New Orleans to Austin or San Antonio, but that’s as far as I would go. Getting anywhere else in Texas (or through to New Mexico) will take forever.
And I fourth (fifth?) the recommendation to spend Halloween night in West Hollywood. Los Angeles does Halloween like crazy, and West Hollywood has the biggest street party of them all. If you go with this idea, I suggest you book a hotel room now, preferably within walking distance of the main action. Taking a cab in L.A. on Halloween can take hours. For more info on location, shuttle bus info, etc: http://www.westhollywoodhalloween.com/index.php
Dave and Tara seriously need to repost the podcasts (and photos!) from their Atomic Tour of 2008. That was the most fun I’ve ever had on a road trip…and I wasn’t even there! It was just so much fun to listen to their adventures and live vicariously through them.
Anyhoo, since that probably won’t happen, here’s a link to the page where they asked their readers for suggestion on places to visit. Worth a perusal, though most of the locations mentioned there have been brought up here. http://glark.org/help-us-plan-the-atomic-tour/
Maybe swing south first to catch what’s left of the fall colors, highly recommend Mesa Verde, the petrified forest, Grand Canyon, Vegas, and Hoover dam. Since you’re leaving from SanFran you could also catch from redwood trees. Definitely see some caves/caverns, a National Park or two, some highbrow stuff, ,some kitschy stuff…a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
Have fun! Keep a travelogue to let us know what you ended up doing.
Adding my voice to the chorus hoping for updates!
Recommendations:
1) an A&W Root Beer stand, if you can find one. Best floats ever!
2) seconding the suggestion to look at Amtrak’s schedule. They have many routes specifically designed to be scenic/historic, so it’s worth looking into. And at some point you’ll both be tired of driving – laying back in comfy seats or bunks and letting somebody else haul you through the countryside for a while could be a nice little vacation within a vacation.
3)Niagara Falls. Yes, it’s cliche, yes it’s tacky as hell, but it’s not called a wonder of the world for nothing. Ride the Maid of the Mist, or as I like to think of it, ‘Smurfs in Peril’ – they give you a blue rain slicker and drive the boat as close to the base of the falls as you can get without actual death – very cool. http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/Activities_MaidOfTheMist.aspx
The American side has some lovely parks/Niagara Gorge hiking opportunities; the Canadian side has every tacky, neon, blinking-light, wax-museum house-of-horror site or storefront you could ever hope to see. Worth it for the giggles alone! Make sure you have your passports with you if you plan to cross into Canada (you can walk across the bridge if you don’t want to drive). The Canadian customs people are generally pretty friendly – the region’s whole economy is based on tourism, so they try to be nice to visitors. Coming back into the States the American customs guys tend to be a little less friendly, but people from all over the world cross that bridge every day, so you won’t exactly startle them.
Have fun!
If you’re landing in New York City, a lot of what you might want is just a little bit north: Hallowe’en: Sleepy Hollow/Tarrytown, or Salem just over into Massachusetts. Salem, in addition to the whole Witch Trials thing, has an execellent maritime museum with focus on 19th century whaling and trading. Wild things: the great Adirondack Park was some of the earliest National Park scenery to be set aside, as well as summer homes of the rich and famous in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Plenty of leaf-peeping, color- touring, foliage-seeking in upstate NY and all of New England. Breweries in many of the upstate cities, and wineries in the Finger Lakes region. Niagara Falls! The Erie Canal! Art: the Hudson Valley was the home of the Hudson River School of painting, which got Americans to see their own landscapes as being the equal or better, of anything the old art establishment in Europe had to offer. Oh, and architecture: I work in the NY State Education building in Albany, where we have one of the longest exterior colonnades any where. The possibilities are endless, but I love NY.
I have to second the suggestion to visit central ny state on your visit. depending on how long you want to spend in the northeast, a trip by train from NYC to Syracuse (where i live) is beautiful any time of year, but especially so in the fall. the trip will be about 5 hours long–cheap lodging can be found here and there are tons of festivals in the region in October, as well as museums, delicious food (including locally sourced restaurants and breweries), gorgeous outdoor opportunities, and I would love to show you around as I am a huge CNY booster! The only caveat is that it is very difficult to get out of
Syracuse to the country if you don’t have a car…but you could rent one or tag along with me on an outing! New York state has soooooo much more to it than NYC—which is an awesome place, it’s just that it’s so great that the rest of the state sometimes gets short shrift!
Enjoy your trip whatever you decide to do! We are large, bizarre, and beautiful country!
Come to Dallas for the State Fair!
http://www.bigtex.com
Starts this Friday and runs through Oct. 17th. Ride the largest Ferris wheel in North America, have corny dogs and fried beer (yes, fried beer), see the livestock, and get your picture taken with Big Tex.
Make sure you see the fall foliage in Virginia on the Blue Ridge.
And the pacific coast (thinking specifically here of Oregon) is amazing.
What a wonderful opportunity! Travel safe and have fun! Maybe you could do a cross-country blog and share the link here?
Oh, wow, that’s quite a trip you’ve got planned! I hope it’s as awesome as it sounds. :) I love road-tripping.
I also echo the advice to get a National Park Pass (which you can obtain at the first park you go to, no need to get it before). If you do drive through a large chunk of the country, you’ll probably hit enough of them to make it worth the expense. And it is very true that most of them are designed for the casual day-tripper in mind, so you don’t have to be the rugged outdoorsy type to enjoy a lot of what’s there. My specific recommendation is Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. One reason I like it there is that it’s NOT entirely a guided tour cave. I hate guided tours. You can take your time and go at your own pace through most of Carlsbad. There are some areas that are tour-only because of the fragility of the formations/past vandalism, but most of it is self-guided. If caves are something you’d like, I highly recommend the Lower Cave tour, which does require reservations because it’s a small group. And btw, it’s not as difficult as the website makes it out to be. My mom was 60 when we went on it, and she was just fine.
I also suggest going up the California coast. Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous, and lots of places to stop for scenery and cities. Hearst Castle is awesome. The area around Big Sur is fantastic. Monterey (ditto the aquarium recommendation). San Francisco. Redwoods. I’d exercise a little caution about going to Crater Lake… while it is stunning, you might hit the same situation as Yellowstone with roads closed and motels especially no longer being open. I was there in October a few years ago and had that trouble. The roads were okay that year, but the local motels closed up after a certain date. We stayed in Klamath Falls (I highly recommend the Best Western Olympic Inn–not the other Best Western in town).
Aside from places to go, I recommend http://www.tripadvisor.com for finding hotels and places to stay. I’ve usually had good luck finding spots through that… though I’ve also had good luck just pulling up to a place and checking for availability. :>
A fun starting point is the book “1000 places in the USA and Canada To See Before You Die” by Patricia Schultz. You’re certainly not going to want to do all the things on your trip (or even in your lifetime; I don’t care what the title of the book says), but it can give you a sense of what’s where (and sometimes when: she talks about local festivals), and when you get to a new destination, it’s a nice place to see what’s nearby.
Austin, TX! Just for the BBQ alone – Rudy’s, The Salt Lick, The County Line, Kreuz Market, Stubb’s (if you come you have to take home a bottle of Stubb’s sauce, and also Rudy’s).
Fall’s not the best viewing season, but we have many, many little highways and byways here in the Hill Country that are beautiful to drive.
Also, we have Dublin Dr. Pepper made right here in Texas with real Imperial Sugar – http://www.dublindrpepper.com/
Oh, and Bob’s Pickle Pops – freezer pops of pickle juice with pickle bits in them