Roadtripanon back in action. Went around the great lakes in 2024 and now heading down to Myrtle Beach this summer. Looking to fill a couple gaps in my itinerary. Basic plan is to bounce from YMCAs to NARM eligible museums to dispersed campsites and vibe throughout.
>>2749562Day 1 - New EnglandThe Mark Twain House & MuseumSuper Duper WeenieLiberty Science CenterMonmouth MuseumPapa's Tomato Pies
>>2749564Day 2 - Mid AtlanticMt Laurel YMCAFour Green Cats CafeBig RustyWilmington Diner - Scrapple!Delaware Museum of Nature & ScienceMiles the Monster StatueNicola Pizza - Nic-a-boliRehoboth BeachDoumar's Cones & Barbecue
>>2749566Day 3 - Heading into SCPetersburg Family YMCADemolition CoffeeThe Cryptozoology & Paranormal MuseumMuseum of Life and ScienceAckland Art MuseumNorth Carolina Museum of ArtThe Sombrero RestaurantMyrtle Beach
>>2749567In Myrtle Beach for a week with family. No idea what they'll want to get up to. Obv spending a lot of time on the beach and boardwalk but looking for more.Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art MuseumKirk's 1890 Ice Cream ParlorMt. Atlanticus Minotaur GoffThe Gay Dolphin
>>2749569Day 4 - Leaving SCKinda hitting a wall at this point. Lots of holes>L in COLUMBIA SC?Columbia Museum of ArtTunnel MuralRoper Mountain Science CenterAsheville Art Museum>D outside KNOXVILLE TN?
>>2749570Day 5 - TN & KYPilot Family YMCA>Coffee Nearby?Blackberry TrollHarland Sanders Cafe and MuseumElina GiantsIsaac's CafeGolden Statue of DavidGrave of Colonel Harland SandersGame Restaurant
>>2749571Day 6 - North CentralIrsay Family YMCAGeorgia Street GrindAudubon TrollsSchmidt’s Sausage HausColumbus Museum of Art>THING in OH?First Big Mac Ever, Uniontown PA
>>2749572Day 7 - Pittsburgh PADeLucas DinerAllegheny YMCAMattress FactoryDippy the DinosaurThe Frick>L in PITTSBURG PA?Big Mac MuseumHorn O PlentyThe Big Coffee Pot
>>2749573Day 8 - Heading HomeEast Shore Branch YMCARoxy's CafeThe State Museum of PennsylvaniaThe Hawks Nest Lookout>D near ALBANY NY?
And that's that, spam over. None of this is really set in stone, except the Dambo Trolls. Anybody been down this way before and have any advice or reccs? As you can see from my current path, more into coffee/museums/art than nightlife, but anything is appreciated!
>>2749562Roughly the whole trip
>>2749564Do you live in MA or something? Skipping all of the amazing museums in MA to go straight to Hartford is strange (and Hartford is a shithole).>>2749567Crazy how Raleigh's best museum, the Natural Sciences museum, isn't NARM.>>2749569Have you been there before? I used to live there, hated it so much.>>2749570Columbia is known as The Armpit - I wouldn't linger. Greenville SC is much nicer.>>2749574I'd stop in Lancaster PA if you can. Good Amish vibes.
>>2749611Yeah I live near MA. Road trip doesnt really start until I get further south. Last year I stopped at Mark Twain's grave so the house has a certain appeal.>Raleigh's best museum, the Natural Sciences museumYou talking about the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences? I have an membership through the Kern County Museum and they give me access to a whole bevy of programs including NARM & ASTC, which includes the NC MSM. Sounds like that's worth a stop.>Have you been to Myrtle Beach?No. Convinced my family to plan group vacations rather than spend money during Christmas. This is our first outing. My parents inherited some sort of timeshare from my gma so options are limited. If you used to live in Myrtle Beach, you got any cool places I should check out? Couldnt have been all bad
>>2749572I would entirely just skip Indiana and Ohio..
>>2749644i hear that a lot. I liked the german part of columbus. Really I just want to see the Dambo trolls in Dayton, so I gotta get by Ohio anyhow
>>2749639>North Carolina Museum of Natural SciencesYep that's the one. It got a major redesign about a decade ago and went from mediocre to great. The NC Museum of Art is also worth visiting. I would not recommend the history museum or the contemporary art museum, both in downtown Raleigh. They're pretty shoddy.>Myrtle BeachI've lived in Raleigh almost my entire life. My history with Myrtle is it was our go-to family beach. Later I took a job there, having fond memories of the place. Stayed there for about 18 months before moving back to Raleigh. As a travel destination it's okay - living there is very painful though with the cost of living.Places I would recommend:Food/Drink off the strip: Kaminsky's Deli, Brother's Grill, Bumstead's PubAnti-recommend: Art Burger Sushi Bar, The Chemist, Atlas Tap HouseBeach Access: You have a timeshare so you probably already set. If not, for actual swimming I recommend as far north of the main strip as possible. I usually went to the 67th Ave access.The Gay Dolphin is one of those tourist spots that's worth going to once to see what the deal is, but it's like a combination of multiple beachfront type shops of trinkets. It's unlikely you'll actually want to buy something there for yourself.For shopping areas/walkable zones outside of the main strip you have two options: Broadway at the Beach and The Market Common. As someone who lived there, the Market Common was way nicer. Broadway at the Beach is a tourist corral for most of the year, full of people with microphones trying to get money and selling off-brand stuff. During the winter it's actually kind of nice because of the big pond.As for the main strip on Ocean Blvd: if you're going from May-September it's going to be packed. But if you must drink or eat down there, The Bowery, Landshark, and RipTydz are acceptable. But I'd recommend eating your meals off the strip.
>>2749648sick, thanks! I'm gonna be there in late July so I'd expect the place to be slammed. I'm more excited about the trip than the destination, but family is family
>>2749582Going inland in Carolina is probably a mistake. I'd drive up the coast. I'd go east and drive up the coast. I'd skip Knoxville and go Nashville. Add Greenville. Skip Cincinnati. Do the Red River Gorge in Kentucky instead.
>>2749667>Inland CarolinasI'm spending a week in Myrtle Beach and driving the coastline in DE, hoping that scratched the itch. The NC/SC border has a kitschy roadside attraction that seems cute named "South of the Border," but I have to go inland for that.>Nashville & Red River GorgeI'm thinking I can retool Day 5 and instead of Knoxville & going North I can head to Nashville, then double back after and hit the gorge without missing my trolls. I'd explore the gorge the next morning and just camp there that night.Any lunch recs in Nashville or things to check out? I like the Nashville Chicken Sandwiches they have up here. Looks like my memberships would only get me into the TN State Museum>Add GreenvilleGreenville SC or Greenville TN? The SC one has a cool dino exhibit I'm already planning on going to
>>2749582Wow, all that ground covered in only eight days. Took me three weeks to check out the upper New England coast from Salisbury Mass to Eastport Maine a couple summers ago. IMO it's more fun to wander around a place seeing what there is to see than it is to check off a list of vacation tasks like it's another day at the job. >>2749672South of the Border is lame. The I-95 corridor in NC is bleak and unappealing. New Bern is the oldest city in NC, it's a pleasant place if you do take the US-17 route. Most interesting would of course be the Outer Banks and Ocracoke highway including the two ferries. Beaufort is a very pleasant small town. I spent some time exploring Carteret County last summer and found it very enjoyable.
This could be an appropriate thread to ask this question. In about 6 months I will have some inheritance coming through and I am going to put some aside for traveling having USA as one of my destinations.I would like to come to the USA to get a vehicle and do a road trip possibly camping along the way. I would be interested in the scenery in the northern states this is an example routeNew York--Michigan--Wisconson--Minesoda--North Dakota--Montana--Washinton>never been to the USA before>would roughly have 15,000usd for travel budget>what is the best way to get a van, is there cheap rentals or is it better off to purchase one?
>>2749752So first up, you have to be 25 years old to rent a car in the US from almost all rental agencies, so keep that in mind. Second, try to get a credit card for the rental car that will cover insurance, that way you can decline the insurance from the rental company and save a ton of money. Even a basic travel insurance plan online would cost like $140 for the whole trip and cover flights, rooms, rentals and medical expenses. I've done a ton of cross country routes in the US. For a long road trip, I'd recommend doing a west coast route in the summer. All the best parks and scenery are out west. The weather is better. The routes are a lot more scenic. Something like this would be infinitely better than a trip through Minnesota.
>>2749761Thanks for putting the effort in with your post. Honestly I don't have a speific season or an exact time I would be doing the trip as I don't exactly know yet and I am currently traveling Europe.In my mind I would want to visit in wintertime or spring. I love snowy peaks etc, what would be the best time to visit for these and would that change the route of your ideal trip?
>>2749672Do not go to South of the Border. It was cute about 30-40 years ago. It's a soulless husk now, mostly a sea of empty parking lots and the one or two people unfortunate enough to stop there. For people in NC/SC it's a regular source of jokes.I agree with the other poster though - New Bern is a very nice place to visit. It's the birthplace of Pepsi and has some associated landmarks.>>2749752Keep it mind the size of the US. For a East/West roadtrip, you should budget at least 2 weeks. Anything less and you're going to feel rushed. I'd recommend 4 weeks.
>>2749770I would try and travel for as long as I possibly could with my money. Thats why purchasing a cheap van would probably be the best option but that brings another whole lot of challenges.I wonder if it would be possible to transport a vehicle cross country for buyers on the other side, there would be logistics to sort out for sure. 2 months would be a good amount of time for me.
>>2749769The road through Yellowstone would be closed in Winter and in Spring. It's only open in Summer and in early fall. Some of the roads near Bryce Canyon Utah would also be closed in spring and winter with the snow. But Utah has some great snow in the winter. A really good route you might want to take is 395 on the back side of the Sierra mountains in California. You'd pass right by Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental US.After San Francisco, you can cruise up route 101/1 and see some of the best coastline in the country. Or you can cut inland and drive up the 5 through the mountains and cut over on the 97 to hit Bend. I've never done the 5 up north, but I want to. It's all mountains and endless small towns. I have done the coastal route and it's easily the most gorgeous drive I've ever done anywhere in the world.
>>2749739I much prefer to only spend 3-4 hours in any one city on a roadtrip. Typically I just remember the ones I like then maybe one day I'll return and only spend time there. 6-8 hours of driving a day hits my sweet spot>>2749739>>2749770Bummer to hear about the South of the Border place. Looks more fun on google ig. I still want to see the museums in Rayleigh, but you're saying after that head East and ride the coast down to MB?This is only my second major road trip, I'm still learning what I like to do. The "checklist" aspect appeals to me more than aimless wandering. Went to Portland ME by myself just to wander and felt depressed vs. hit all the Goodwills in CT over a long weekend and it was a blast to be racing the clock>>2749752May or may not be useful but I circled all the Great Lakes last year and had a thread on /trv/https://archived (dot) moe/trv/thread/2701194
>>2749752Also, I've been checking out www.wickedcampers.com/ for a possible trip in New Zealand. Looks like they have locations in America too
>>2749793Yea South of the Border is in disrepair and will sell pretty much the same kind of stuff you can find at Myrtle Beach, but in a Mexican theme. Going east would be better.I've done two big roadtrips myself, these being their approximate routes. Hoping to do a third this summer.
>>2749797oh damn! That's cool. I've been up and down the Maine coast a few times as well. What do you do at night? I've been rocking dispersed campsites since i'm just in a passenger vehicle with a tent. Seems like a camper and walmart lots would be slick too
>>2750258I have a few friends spread over the East Coast I stayed with. Other than that I would book cheap hotels/airbnbs. I haven't been camping in over a decade.
>>2750259neat. I did a pretty bad job keeping in contact with highschool & college buddies. So now even though we've all scattered, I dont really have those types of relationships to draw on.I've heard hostels are a good place to buddy up with international folks then leverage the relationship to stay with them or have a local guide
