. . . would you like to visit?
Would it be the Grand Canyon?
The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio?
Your Uncle Betty and Aunty Lou?
The Pendleton Factory in Oregon?
How about the Pearl Harbor Memorial?
Arlington National Cemetary? The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?
Me?
I’d like to have two trips in my near future (cash-dependent, of course).
I want to visit the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum in Simi Valley.
And I’d like to land on Unalaska Island and visit my friends Alaska Steve and CB in Dutch Harbor. What an adventure that would be!
Where would you like to visit?
BZ
If I only get to go one more place in my lifetime, it has got to be DC. I have not been to the real Vietnam Memorial yet and I have promised myself that I will. Nothing else matters all that much.
When I worked for the FBI there was little time for visitation. I actually got to relax a bit way back in 1991 and drop in on DC’s numerous memorials.
I am with you: if there were only ONE place all Americans should visit, it would be DC. And that said, I would recommend a time parcel of at least three weeks to take in all its historical aspects.
I’d love to take my wife back there and then stay in Crystal City.
BZ
I have been fortunate and have been able to see a few of the places that you mentioned.
I agree that D.C. is a must, but I would have to include Gettysburg in that trip as well. The Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial and Gettysburg were special places when I visited them some years back.
The place I really want to go is Alaska, not to see any place, but to see the Northern Lights. It’s just something I have always wanted to do. Of course, I would have to see a lot of other things while I was there.
Never been to the Grand Canyon, but have been to the just as awesome, to a geologist, confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers…stunning to see the geology in action like that. As well as Arches National Monument, the active dinosaur museum in WY, Florrisant Nat. Mon., Yellowstone, Niagara Falls of course having lived most of my life near it… lots of places including the vast empty lands of Nevada from Salt Lake City to Reno, ditto Wyoming and Montana on that… Plymouth Rock, the Bicentennial trail in Boston… and the Twin Towers back in ’98 in NYC. Living close to DC I have seen all the monuments and Smithsonian save for the WWII Monument.
Now I can no longer travel any fair distance save in a true and desperate emergency for survival purposes. Alaska, central Alaska, in any season for a couple of weeks to be without people would be fine. Or up along the coast in winter to see if I could hitch a ride with the USPS hovercraft delivery vehicle to meet the residents who rely upon that as once we all did on regular mail service… that would be fun! I tagged out the corners of the Nation Continental US already – Maine, Florida, California, Washinton State – thus leaving Alaska and Hawaii. Active volcanos in Alaska tend to be deadly, so Hawaii would be preferable to that, plus the older islands for my geological interest in both geomorphology and paleontology. Perhaps visit the Cretaceous fossil sites in Alaska… places without tourists preferred…
I have done a piece of this once. I drove west on I-80, following the old Oregon Trail, stopping at museums, small towns, and monuments. I only had a week, and at the end of it I had to be in Park City, Utah for work. It turned out to be an awesome trip.
I would like to have a couple of months and the time to drive around the west, poking around, off the main roads, camping as I go, to hike, sightsee, and visit America.
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Let’s try that comment again as I didn’t read the question carefully enough.
Anyway, where would I like to visit? I’m choosing places I’ve never been:
1. Monument Valley
2. The Grand Canyon
I’ve never traveled much beyond the Mississippi River — except to visit my best friend in Texas and my inlaws in Southern California.
I just returned. I agree that Washington, District of Columbia is the place to go for the greatest display in quantity and quality of the plentitude of blessings this country has received and bestowed.
We visited Boston, New York City, Wright Patterson Air Force Base and Chicago and they rank very closely with one another for second place to the nation’s capitol. That list is not a third of the locations we visited.
Take the advice I heard about travel: pack half the anticipated amount of clothing and budget twice the anticipated money.
BZ fans, go and see for yourselves if you haven’t already the good things you know and feel about this country.
Like Ronald Wilson Reagan distilled and broadcast, this nation is the shining city on the hill. The message of this nation is one of hope and optimism, that all on earth can increase and live as we in the United States have lived.
The earth is nowhere near over crowded, I saw with my own eyes the expanse in 31 states. Freed of the hate, egocentricity and despair of Marx, Lenin, Hitler, Alinsky, Capone, Luciano, Castro, and Mao the dignity displayed by human beings deserves the tribute shown in Washington, D.C.
I have seen that dignity in Canada, Mexico, Poland, Italy, Germany, England and Austria. That dignity is in us all.
If you are in the U.S. and have one chance, take it and go to the displays at the nation’s capitol.
D Murray
All our national parks, starting with the left coast. That would be bliss.
Grab a surf board and hang out with Ranando… That’s the ticket..
Believe it or not Fred, you would have one hell of a good time.
I would make sure of it.
Capt Schmoe: welcome aboard, thanks for visiting and thanks for taking the time to comment! Gettysburg would also be a great site. And thanks for your work in the fire service as well.
AJ: IF you can, I would highly recommend the Grand Canyon. Its majesty is simply — yeah, I know this phrase is overdone — breath-taking.
DM: hey, you went to Wright-Patt? I used to live on-base there, in 1972, 1973, at 444 E Street! I was such a fixture at the Air Force Museum that they used to let me in for free and let me in before and after hours and just poke around the entire place. I got to sit in the cockpit of the XB-70 Valkyrie that sat outside at the time. Sounds like you had a GREAT vacation!
Ranando: if I got on a surfboard the first thing I’d do is fall off and then clunk my head on the nearest pier piling.
BZ
BZ,
I’ve been to the Reagan library and I have suggestion. Give yourself two days. I went spent the night and went back the next day. I was amazed at the material there and really enjoyed it.
I did the DC thing and really liked the Arlington National Cemetary. I missed the Vietnam Memorial. Shame on me.
Gettysburg is high on my list to make a return visit. It is incredible.
The Air Force Museum in Dayton is a must. I’ve been there more times than I can count. Living here is an advantage. I love the place.
I have relatives in Sacramento and Sutter’s Fort and the Gold Discovery site are cool. I saw the Lincoln exhibit last week and it was incredible. Reading Lincoln’s correspondence was mind boggling.
I commented that we visited Boston, New York City, Wright Patterson Air Force Base and Chicago and they rank very closely with one another for second place to the nation’s capitol.
I have more that 200 images of the museum at Wright-Patt. As usual some are good, some not so good. I’ll make a disc if you are interested. You certainly had a self taught education with that kind of attendance. You deserved a name tag is my guess.
Thanks for the post!
D Murray
BZ, it has been a while since I’ve posted, but I’ve read every post over the last month or so, for that matter don’t know if I’ve missed many of your posts over the last year. It has not been a good year for you. I must admit I would like to meet you, buy you a beer or two.
Me, where would I like to go, Alaska, I really want to ride to Prudhoe Bay. If the economy and my job hold, next summer.
But I would like to hit Semi Valley as with you, DC and New York are also up on my list.
Did you see at my site that Yahoo’s saying anybody who visits the ‘highly overrated ALAMO’ is like a ‘lemming’? Man, that ticked me off.
If you ever go to Simi, you’d better let me know first! (you know, I live 30 min away and haven’t gone!?)
Law & Order’s right..Gettysburg is amazing.
I don’t know..for me?….Williamsburg, I think?
I’ve been lucky enough to have traveled all of the US, on two wheels and four, except for the state of Louisiana for some reason . . . . we are truly blessed to live in these United States of America. Goldfish and I are hitting DC, New York and Boston for five days each on our way to Maine for Christmas this year, all fun destinations, but I still firmly believe anyone can have a wonderful experience within 10 miles of their house, no matter where they live.
And BZ, you are more than welcome to come on up. Let’s just mark you down for next August and we’ll all make it happen – I’m sure Brian is of the same opinion.
Pearl Harbor.. Definately.. Then Alaska.
As a lifetime local to the D.C. area, I still haven’t seen all the sights here although, unlike most locals, I do some of the downtown tour on a regular basis.
I’ll make an open invitation to any of my BZ readers: I live high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Fornicalia at about 4,000 feet, so if any of you happen to chance up I-80 on, say, your way to Tahoe, then let me know. Also, if you make your way into my “work area” in Sacramento, also let me know; the one thing you CAN’T miss is the Railroad Museum in downtown Sacramento. One of THE finest RR museums in the entire nation.
If anyone gets close, let me know, we’ll exchange cells, the beer’ll be on ME.
BZ
I would love to visit several of those that you have listed. I’m a big history buff, especially American history. Also, I’m huge on Presidential museums. My goal is to visit the museums of all the Presidents, that is if I can bring myself to step foot into Carter’s ;-)).
I love the video, I’m going to snag that and give you credit!!