holiday to the USA

[ckong]

Finally, after some years of thinking about going on holiday to the US, this year it will actually happen. We will visit this beautiful country end of May, for 3 weeks. This is the (preliminary) route of choice:



We don't know exactly yet where we will start, probably Boston, but we want to finish in New York or Washington. We will mostly travel by car, but some parts will be done by train or bus.
Sure places to visit are Laconia NH, Boston, New York, Washington, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Pittsburgh and Lancaster.

Because I know that a lot of you have been to the USA already (multiple times), or in fact live there, I have a few questions for you:

- Regarding the arcade hobby, which places in this route are interesting to visit, besides Funspot of course.
- Which other places are a must visit, historical and cultural (f.i. museums, buildings, theatres) or nature wise.
- What are the best motel chains to stay for the nights (we won't book upfront)
- Any restrictions to travel from the US to Canada and back? With a rental car?
- Any great amusement parks en route?
- Cheapest places to buy electronics?
- Train or bus? (f.i. if we start in Boston, then we want to leave the rental car behind in Washington DC and travel further to Philadelphia, New York and back to Boston by train or by bus).
- Anything else which might contribute to a great holiday (the planning of it is already half the fun).

[ckong]

Hm, double posted for some reason. 

[Russ J]

thats great i'm so jealous  

My wife took me to Las Vegas for my 40th in 2010 and it was the best holiday i've ever had (we've been to a hell of a lot of places in and around Europe,Spain,Greece,Cyprus,Eygpt etc... but this was the first time we've gone 'international'  )

I was looking and hoping and finding some sort of 'Retro Arcade Museum' whilst we were there but i tried my best to ask around (tourist info etc...) if there was anything like that in Vegas but sadly i drew a blank  

To be honest i would have thought Vegas would have been an ideal place for something like that what with it being the gaming capitol of America.I would have looked on the internet before we went but with it being my 40th and my wife paid for the whole trip   i didn't no where i were going beforehand  

Regarding good amusement parks...Ceder Point is supposed to be great...They (last time i checked) also have a great selection of retro arcade machines as well

[level42]

Russ, in Las Vegas there is this:
http://www.pinballmuseum.org/

[level42]

great Erik, finally its happening !

Well, of course Funspot requires a couple of days

I cant answer all you questions but I'd say your planned trip is pretty ambitious km wise.....dont underestimate distances in the US...

Also, I would definitly prefer train over bus anytime. We've done NYC to Boston by train and the trip took about 6 hours IIIRC. By car it was about 4.

I think Richie knucklez place is more or less on your route, but he is "closing" his business/arcade AFAIK, maybe he would want to receive you by special occasiaon

Buying electronics ? Look for a state without sales tax like New Hampshire. Thats where I bought my iPad. Saved me about 9% which counts on these amounts
NYC is pretty expensive at everything but if you are into cameras etc. go to B+H, even if you dont want to buy anything.... but dont go an saturdays, its closed then.

Gotta visit a Target just for fun.

About your travelling plans:
Renting a car for a prolonged time is relatively much cheaper then renting on and off. Also, picking up and bringing back the car at major airports makes ir much cheaper. When your arrival and departure airport is the same that also makes it cheaper.

[liquidx]

- Any great amusement parks en route?

You're passing pretty close to Sandusky, OH so head to Cedar Point, roller coaster capital of the world. I have a coaster-crazy cousin who goes once a year and can't say enough good things about it, and he's been around.

http://www.cedarpoint.com/

Some car rental companies don't allow crossing the border into Canada on some rentals, check beforehand.

[DarthNuno]

You'll be close to FUNWORLD, located somewhere in Nashua (New Hampshire).

What's there? Just one of the *rare* Galaxian Theater up & running in the world, see this 


(click picture)

[level42]

You'll be close to FUNWORLD, located somewhere in Nashua (New Hampshire).

What's there? Just one of the *rare* Galaxian Theater up & running in the world, see this  


(click picture)

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTT ? I bought my iPad in Nashua and didn't know anything about Funworld !!! My own fault, should have read your US holiday trip reports again  before going last year !! Stupid me !!

[ckong]

Thanks so far for the tips guys. Funworld sounds nice.

[ckong]

I'm getting some good advice from KLOV members for my holiday trip. Might be useful for some guys here also: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=218696

[liquidx]

As you've got Cleveland on that list you may want to watch this tourism video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmLA5TqbIY

[ckong]

just bought the tickets. It's definitive now. 

[Lee]

Hey, i live in the USA! 

[Blanka]

As long as you rent the car in the US there is no problem. Insurance that covers US problems is always much more than needed for Canada I remenber when I visited the US in 2005, renting in Europe was better than on the spot. Especially the unlimited milage deals and insurance things are better (less hidden stuff).

Personally I would trade Philadelphia any time for Detroit (if you want to see GHETTO, go GHETTO with the capital D), and even more important: go Chicago! It is just outside your map, and by FAR the BEST city in the USA. It is the most American and the most beautiful, and Chicagoans are really cool. Pittsburg I never visited, but it is in the top 5 of most living and creative cities of the US (with Austin Texas, Portland, Minneapolis/St Paul, San Francisco).

For Washington, just watch Beavis and Butthead do America. Museums are better in London and Paris, and bombastic capital architecture is better in Rome or Paris.

[Blanka]

Oh, and if you are to change plans and drive to Chicago, make a stop over in Holland Michigan. That is so fun if you are Dutch. They have a nice Dutch theme park with real Dutch Windmill (bought in Holland in a black sheet of our history regarding preservation of historic buildings)
May is perfect for Chicago. The beachlife there florishes and you smell BBQ everywhere.
And visit Obama's church! I was there even before I heard of Obama, and OMG, going to church there is a cool experience! 200 dark ladies singing Gospel whoohoo!!!
It needs some clarification: Chicago south side, where it is, is not the best neighbourhood. Expect 2/3rd of all house either burnt down, completely removed or with plywood on the windows. But if you come there with the L on sundays, there is no risk at all. Just leave your car at your hotel. Even though you will probably be the only white people there on sunday, they will love you and show you all around (there was one white female in the choir when I visited).

Just get a car for the whole 3 weeks, straight at the airport for everything. You only need a train to get to downtown New York. Find a good park and ride spot for that. Usually an middle/upper class residential neighbourhoud is the best as they have plenty of free parking, and great comuter service to downtown. Even in Chicago I was able to park somewhere most of the time.