The Gipper's Guide to America

[The Gipper]

@gidget said:

Mt. Haleakala is a wonderful place! I have a picture hanging in my office that I took while we were there. Did you do the bike ride from the top down? That was one of my favorite parts of our trip....riding the bike through a cloud, amazing!!

Yes, I took the bike ride, though it was clear the day I did it. No cloud. For those that don't know, you ride a bike from the top of the mountain, which is about 11,000 feet tall to sea level. And it is all downhill coasting, you really only have to pedal about twice.

[The Gipper]

@ballpeen said:

We agree on quite a few, don't we:

Best Sunset: Indian Rocks Beach, Fla....west coast of Fla. right? Its OK, I still prefer a Pacific sunset.

Best Sunrise: Duck, N.Carolina...I have not been to the Outer Banks at sunrise. Could be very nice.

Best Beaches: St. John, US Virgin Islands.....no need to change your thought

Best Patriotic site: Arizona Memorial..this was a tough choice. AZ Memorial in my top 3, but I had to pick one.

Best Trees: Magnoila in bloom...I am a little prejudiced against the magnolia simply because I have one in my yard and it won't bloom for me. But I planted it for the very reason that they are beautiful in bloom.

Best Single Vista: Death Vally in April when the wildflowers are in bloom....multiple spots...I was there in the fall, so I didn't get the wildflower bloom. Great vista though.

Most Fun Town: New Orleans. (Honorable mention: Chicago) No arguments there.

Best Small Town: Blowing Rock, N.C...have not been there

Best Consistent Architecture: Santa Fe, NM.....I can stick with that

Campiest Attraction: International Tow Truck Museum, Chattanooga, Tn...not been there. Probably a hoot.

Nicest College Campus...University of Alabama..most bigger schools suffer in the "nicest campus" category merely because of their size. Duke and Notre Dame are much smaller in student body size than people realize. Kenyon is only 1600 students.

Nicest State Capitol building: Montpelier, NH..this could be. Like I said, I chose Olympia more for the setting than the building

Best Tall Building: Empire State Building

Best Statue not called Liberty: Mt. Rushmore

Best Scenic Town Setting: Oxford, Mississippi...I can't imagine any town in Mississipi being in a more scenic setting than the red rocks of Sedona....(and as a general rule, I think Mississippi is a much prettier state than most people give it credit for...though I have not been to Oxford)

Best City Park System: Savannah, Georgia

Gawdiest Display of Wealth: Newport, Rhode Island....I agree

Best Stadium: Wrigley Field

Best preserved Western Town: Tombstone, Ariz. (honorable mention: Lincoln NM)

Best hiking for the average person: Great Smoky Mts ...I stayed away from any true "mountainous" area in this category. I have no doubt that the Smokies and the Appalachian trail and many, many parts of the west are superior hiking than our local park...but they might be a bit rugged for an average person.....and I count as an average person a mid-50s overweight dude like me

Best Lake: Lake George, NY...that is a very good one for sure. I took a boat tour on Lake George.

Best Mountain Range: The Grand Tetons

Best Casino: Bellagio ....I was going for the out of way, stuck in a corner, homey style casino. For the grandiose Las Vegas casino I hear Bellagio is the cat's meow. But I have not been to it or the Venetian which may be its main competition.

Best Aquariam: Tennessee aquarium, Chattanooga ....have not been to that one, but I have been to many others, Monterray, Boston, New Orleans, Honolulu, Oregon coast, Seattle,etc. and of all those, Baltimore was best.

Best Breakfast/Dinner combination: I'll go with Brennans, New Orleans...Is that the place right on Bourbon St.? that has the champagne breakfast? If it is the place I am thinking of, we only stayed about a block from it, but did not eat there. We did the Cafe du Monde of course, the ACME Oyster House, Tipitina's, Pat O'Brien's, etc. but not Brennan's

[ballpeen]

Yes, that's it....Breakfast at Brennens is a must on your next visit.

I love Acme Oyster House...and do love Commanders palace....last time sat upstairs overlooking the courtyard.

Just talking NO has me wanting to go again...but I am not the foodie I once was...down about 50 lbs in the last year and a half and hope to be down close to 20 by fall.

On some of the ones I didn't change on the list, I have been to most you mention....I couldn't think of any better options or agreed in total...like the Savannah parks....I know they have parks all over the place....Clevelands Metro system is pretty nice as well....and the western town...there aren't that many to choose from.

As for the Smokies....there are lots of hiking areas that don't require great endurance and are more hollow walking than vigorous mountain trails..trust me...I don't do that.

As for Oxford....I could of...or in retrospect switched that with Blowing Rock...Blowing Rock is up in the Carolina mountains and Oxford is what you envision in old southern charm. Consider those a swap.

[hoorta]

QUOTE (ballpeen @ Apr 9 2010, 09:42 AM) *

We agree on quite a few, don't we:

Best Sunset: Indian Rocks Beach, Fla....west coast of Fla. right? Its OK, I still prefer a Pacific sunset.

How about right at home at Edgewater Park?

Best Sunrise: Duck, N.Carolina...I have not been to the Outer Banks at sunrise. Could be very nice.

Sorry, I don't get up before noon.

Best Beaches: St. John, US Virgin Islands.....no need to change your thought

I'm afraid of the water, and beaches in general.

Best Patriotic site: Arizona Memorial..this was a tough choice. AZ Memorial in my top 3, but I had to pick one.

Mount Rushmore

Best Trees: Magnoila in bloom...I am a little prejudiced against the magnolia simply because I have one in my yard and it won't bloom for me. But I planted it for the very reason that they are beautiful in bloom.

Crape Myrtle in bloom.

Best Single Vista: Death Vally in April when the wildflowers are in bloom....multiple spots...I was there in the fall, so I didn't get the wildflower bloom. Great vista though.

Top of Split Mountain, Wyoming. Sorry for us geriatric crowd- it's a 25 mile uphill hike, and then get to the top of a 13,500' mountain. Unforgettable view, even 30 years after the fact.

Most Fun Town: New Orleans. (Honorable mention: Chicago) No arguments there.

Love Chicago, never been to NO.

Best Small Town: Blowing Rock, N.C...have not been there

Talkeetna, Alaska.

Nicest College Campus...University of Alabama..most bigger schools suffer in the "nicest campus" category merely because of their size. Duke and Notre Dame are much smaller in student body size than people realize. Kenyon is only 1600 students.

Tossup: Wisconsin and University of Colorado

Gawdiest Display of Wealth: Newport, Rhode Island....I agree

Kennebunkport Maine has to be in the running....

Best Stadium: Wrigley Field

Never been.... I'll nominate Arrowhead for football.

Best hiking for the average person: Great Smoky Mts ...I stayed away from any true "mountainous" area in this category. I have no doubt that the Smokies and the Appalachian trail and many, many parts of the west are superior hiking than our local park...but they might be a bit rugged for an average person.....and I count as an average person a mid-50s overweight dude like me rolleyes.gif

Zion National Park, Utah. As adventurous or as flat as you like.

Best Lake: Lake George, NY...that is a very good one for sure. I took a boat tour on Lake George.

Crater Lake, hands down.

Best Mountain Range: The Grand Tetons

As a mountaineer, I'll qualify that as yeah FROM THE ROAD. Even so, when you hike the Lupine Meadows trail up to about the 9,000' level and break above the treeline, you don't even recognize the Tetons as being the same mountain range- whole 'nother world. You see all the details (like the Great Chimney on Middle Teton)-in case you're wondering- it's a tube of volcanic rock that got shot up 2,000' though granite way back when.

Details you miss even with binoculars from the Snake River overlook. That said IMHO, when you get off the road the Tetons aren't even the most spectacular mountain range in Wyoming. The Wind Rivers in the Gannett Peak area- most folks don't realize the Grand Teton isn't the highest mountain in the state- and further south the Cirque of the Towers region are every bit as spectacular- but you gotta do some serious hoofing to see the view.

And if you want to count Alaska as part of America, don't even get me started about the views you can get from a flightseeing tour of the Denali Wilderness. McKinley is such a huge mountain, it's visually bigger (from the nearest road outside the park 46 miles away) than the Grand Teton is from the Snake River overlook- you can see Denali from the Alpine Meadows overlook in Anchorage- 180 miles away on a clear day- I kid you not.

Best Casino: Bellagio ....I was going for the out of way, stuck in a corner, homey style casino. For the grandiose Las Vegas casino I hear Bellagio is the cat's meow. But I have not been to it or the Venetian which may be its main competition.

Been to Vegas once, and did a grand tour of all the Casinos- but I'm not the gambling type. If you're into betting on the Browns, the Sports Book at Harrah's may be of interest.

I'll throw in one extra that interests me- and that's Best Steakhouse. Tough Call, but I'll vote for Bern's in Tampa, Florida. I May be jaded because they have no competition when it comes to Best Wine list in America- actually, it's the best in the world. Honorable mention to the Heford House in Kansans City, and our local Pine Club here in Dayton.

[Mr. T]

Best Small Town: Blowing Rock, N.C...have not been there

I was there last weekend and I am ready to move there.

"Welcome to Rose Bud" ~ Funny Farm.

[ballpeen]

@mr.-t said:

I was there last weekend and I am ready to move there.

"Welcome to Rose Bud" ~ Funny Farm.

Told you it was a great place.

Pat and I usually go up twice a year....once in the spring and once tucked somewhere in between browns and gator football games.

[Mr. T]

@ballpeen said:

Told you it was a great place.

Pat and I usually go up twice a year....once in the spring and once tucked somewhere in between browns and gator football games.

I forgot all about Blowing rock, it has been years since we have been there. Back in the 80's when we lived in Charlotte we would take the kids up there. We also spent a lot of weekends in ashville, Cherokee and Gatlinburg. Charlotte is an ideal place to live if you dont mind the congestion it only a 3 hour trip one way or another to the beach or the mountains. I left Charlotte back in 1989, within the 7 years we lived ther the traffic got so bad that the normal 15 minute drive to work became a 60-90 minute drive by the time we moved out and back to Ohio.

[rich4eagle]

@ballpeen said:

Yes, that's it....Breakfast at Brennens is a must on your next visit.

I love Acme Oyster House...and do love Commanders palace....last time sat upstairs overlooking the courtyard.

Just talking NO has me wanting to go again...but I am not the foodie I once was...down about 50 lbs in the last year and a half and hope to be down close to 20 by fall.

On some of the ones I didn't change on the list, I have been to most you mention....I couldn't think of any better options or agreed in total...like the Savannah parks....I know they have parks all over the place....Clevelands Metro system is pretty nice as well....and the western town...there aren't that many to choose from.

As for the Smokies....there are lots of hiking areas that don't require great endurance and are more hollow walking than vigorous mountain trails..trust me...I don't do that.

As for Oxford....I could of...or in retrospect switched that with Blowing Rock...Blowing Rock is up in the Carolina mountains and Oxford is what you envision in old southern charm. Consider those a swap.

I am with you on Blowing Rock and Bellagio..........Aquarium is Bmore or Atlanta

Zion and Grand Canyon tough to beat

Sunrise........nice coming out of the ocean............sunset Kona Hawaii or my condo in Myrtle Beach

Central Park NYC is way cool not to mention Yellowstone

Crater Lake tops Lake George

Capital Buidling.......a lot of cool ones..........Capital Grounds... Nashville TN

just a few thoughts

Mountains .......Alps and the Matterhorn as viewed from Zermatt Switzerland which allows NO autos even if not US

The Bath Houses in San Fransico are something only my boyhood dreams are made of.

[jimmyjohn87]

Nice to see you here

[BROWNandORANGE]

Best Stadium: Fenway Park (Honorable Mention: Madison Square Garden (More of an arena, but we are talking sports venues right)

[The Gipper]

@the-gipper said:

Here is some food for thought as you plan your summer vacations. Some hints for your travels, all USA (incl. possessions):

Best Sunset: Cape Flattery, Washington

Best Sunrise: On top of Mt. Haleakala, Maui. (honorable mention: Quoddy Head, Maine)

Best Beaches: St. John, US Virgin Islands

Best Patriotic site: Fort McHenry, Baltimore

Best Trees: California: Redwoods/Sequoias/Ancient Bristlecone pine/Joshua Trees

Best Single Vista: Inspiration Point, Yosemite NP (Multiple vistas: Grand Canyon)

Most Fun Town: New Orleans. (Honorable mention: Chicago)

Best Small Town: Woodstock, Vermont. (honorable mentions: Chatham, Mass. Seaside Fla.)

Best Consistent Architecture: Santa Fe, NM

Campiest Attraction: House on the Rock, Spring Green, Wisconsin

Nicest College Campus that is not Kenyon: Duke (honorable mention: Notre Dame)

Nicest State Capitol building: Olympia, Washington (more for it setting than the building itself)

Best Tall Building: Empire State Building

Best Statue not called Liberty: Mt. Rushmore

Best Scenic Town Setting: Sedona, Arizona

Best City Park System: Savannah, Georgia

Gawdiest Display of Wealth: Newport, Rhode Island

Best Stadium: Wrigley Field

Best preserved Western Town: Tombstone, Ariz. (honorable mention: Lincoln NM)

Best hiking for the average person: Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Best Lake: Crater Lake

Best Mountain Range: The Grand Tetons

Best Casino: Lakeside Inn and Casino, Stateline Nevada (Tahoe)

Best Aquariam: National Aquariam, Baltimore

Best Breakfast/Dinner combination: Camellia Grill and Commander's Palace, New Orleans

Feel free to add your own

I am revisiting this post that I put up here like 3 years ago. I have reviewed each of these and the only thing I might change is to take Chatham, Mass. off the honorable mention list and put Wellsboro PA in its place.

I am also going to add to the list in my next post.

[The Gipper]

More "Best of Categories". These come from my own experiences. Feel free to add your own.:

Best Art Museum: I am going with the Guggenheim in NYC. It may not have the best collection, but it was the one place that was most fun to visit. (These categories are strictly US...or at least North America. I have been to the Louvre, which would take the cake)

Best Natural History Museum: The Field Museum, Chicago

Best Hall of Fame not in Northeast Ohio: the Baseball HOF, Cooperstown NY. Honorable mention: Horse Racing HOF in Saratoga NY.

Best Movie Movie specific Related Attraction: The Field of Dreams, Dyersville Iowa. Honorable Mention: The Christmas Story House, Cleveland USA

Best Ethnic Neighborhood: Little Italy, NYC. Honorable Mention: Chinatown, San Francisco

a bit of a copout sure. But there is a reason these places are popular.

Best Boat Tour: Chicago River Tour. Honorable Mention: Manhattan Circle Tour NYC

Best Ferry Ride/Tour: Whittier, Alaska to Valdez. Runnerup: Victoria BC to Vancouver

Best Historic Recreation: Williamsburg. That is pretty clear. Next is Tombstone AZ.

Best Presidential Home Tour: Eisenhower Farm, Gettysburg PA. Honorable mentions: FDR home, Hyde Park, NY and The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's farm outside of Nashville (note: I have not been to Mt. Vernon or Monticello)

Best Botanical Gardens: Longwood, outside of Philadelphia. Honorable Mention: Boyce Thompson Arboretum outside Phoenix (focusing on desert plants). Hawaii Tropical Botanic Gardens

Best Religious Site: Temple Square, Salt Lake City Utah (by best, I mean "most interesting...ignoring theology). Honorable Mention: San Xavier del Bac, outside Tuscon AZ.

Best Theme Park: Disney World, Orlando. Honorable Mention: Universal Studios, Orlando, Disneyland, Anaheim

Best Amusement Park: Cedar Point.

Best Architecture, Home Residence: Taliesin West, Scottsdale AZ (Frank Lloyd Wright), Winchester Mystery House, San Jose CA

Best Native American Preservation site: Mesa Verde, Colorado

Best Outdoor Concert Venue: The Hollywood Bowl. Honorable Mention: Blossom Music Center

Best Volcano: Mt. St Helen's, Washington. Honorable Mentions: Lassen Peak Cal., Capulin Volcano, New Mexico.

Best "Floating Museum": The USS Lexington: Corpus Christie TX. Honorable Mention: The Mayflower (recreation), Plymouth Mass.

Best Farmer's Market: Columbia SC.

Best Observatory: Palomar Observatory, Calif. Honorable Mention: Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff AZ

Best Aerial Tramway Ride: Whistler, British Columbia. Honorable Mention: Snowbird, Utah; Palm Springs Tramway, CA

Best Bridge: Golden Gate Bridge. Honorable Mention: Mackinac Bridge.

Best Pedestrian Bridge: Bridge of Flowers, Shelburn Falls, Mass.

Best Hispanic Mission: San Juan Capistrano. Honorable Mention: Taos NM

Best Canyon: The Grand Canyon. Honorable Mentions: Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO; The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.

Best Sand Dunes: Great Sand Dunes NP, Colorado. Honorable Mention: Death Valley CA, Imperial Dunes CA.

Best Maritime attraction: Mystic Seaport, Conn. Honorable Mention: San Francisco Maritime NHP.

Best Washington DC Memorial: Lincoln Memorial. Honorable Mention: Jefferson Memorial, WWII Memorial

Best Aviation museum/attraction: Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Honorable Mention: Wright US Air Force Museum, Dayton. Pensacola National Naval Aviation Museum.

Best Factory/Commercial Tour: World of Coca Cola, Atlanta. Anheuser Busch Brewery Tour, St. Louis

Best Fort: Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas Florida. Honorable Mention: Ft Laramie, Wyoming. Ft. William Henry, Lake George NY

Best Waterfalls: Niagra Falls. Honorable Mention: Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite NP; Akaka Falls, Hawaii

Scariest Road: Going to the Sun Road, Glacier NP. Berthoud Pass, Colo.

Best Children's Museum: Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Honorable Mention: The Exploratorim, San Francisco.

Best Speedway: Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Best Caves: Tie: Carlsbad Caverns, New Mex., Mammoth Caves Kentucky

Best Auto Museum: The Corvette Museum, Bowling Green KY. Runnerup: Used to be an Auto Museum in the Imperial Palace Casino in Las Vegas. I think both the Imperial Palace and the Auto Museum are gone.

Best Equine attraction (horses): Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington KY. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Farm, Ottawa Canada

Most "Miraculous" site: Loretto Chapel Stairway, Santa Fe New Mex.

Best Zoo: San Diego Wild Animal Park, CA. Animal Kingdom, Disney World

Best Antebellum Home: Oak Alley Plantation, outside New Orleans.

Best Battlefield: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Honorable Mentions: Antietum, Maryland; Saratoga, NY, Little Big Horn, Mont.

Best Seashore: Cape Cod National Seashore. Honorable mentions: Cumberland Island GA, South Beach, Newport, Oregon; Papahoku Beach, Molokai

Best Lakeshore: Pictured Rocks, Michigan (Lake Superior); Honorable Mention: Indiana Dunes(Lake Michigan)

Best Mall: West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Canada. Honorable Mention: Mall of America, Minn.

I guess if we are getting down to malls, that is enough.

[The Cysko Kid]

Best battlefield is easily sharpsburg, Maryland, aka Antietam creek

[The Gipper]

@the-cysko-kid said:

Best battlefield is easily sharpsburg, Maryland, aka Antietam creek

I have been to a lot of Battlefields, Revolutionary War/Civil War/War of 1812/even French and Indian War. It is quite hard to rank them.

And sometimes it is difficult to even determine what a battle field is. Example: is a Fort where a skirmish took place considered a "battlefield". Just take the French/Indian War. I have been to Fort Ticonderoga, Fort William Henry, Fort Necessity, and the town/fort or Louisbourg. Are these "battlefields"?

In the following posts, I am going to list all the "battle sites" of the various wars that I have visited, as much for my own edification as anything else.

[The Gipper]

French and Indian War Battlefields I have visited:

Braddock Expedition, Wester PA

Fort Necessity

Fort Carillon/Fort Ticonderoga (Carillon was the French name for the same fort)

Ft. William Henry

Lake George Battlefield

Louisbourg (Nova Scotia)

The Plains of Abraham (Quebec)

Mexican-American War Battlefields I have visited:

Palo Alto (outside Brownsville TX)

[The Gipper]

Revolutionary War Battlefields I have visited:

Lexington and Concord

Ft. Stanwix/Oriskany

Brandywine

Saratoga

Kings Mountain

The Cowpens

Guilford Courthouse

The Siege of 96

Germantown (Philadelphia)

Yorktown

Valley Forge (not strictly a battle)

[The Gipper]

War of 1812 Battlesites I have been to:

Lake Erie//Put-In-Bay

Ft. McHenry

Mackinaw Island

Washington DC and environs

[The Gipper]

Civil War Battlefields I have visited:

Ft. Sumter

Bull Run/Manassas I and II

Wilson Creek

Ft. Donelson

Yorktown (yes, a Civil War battle was fought at Yorktown)

Shiloh

Ft. Pulaski

Corinth

Murfreesboro/Stone's River

Harper's Ferry

Antietem/Sharpsburg

Arkansas Post

Chancellorsville

Fredericksburg

Vicksburg

Gettysburg

Morgan's Surrender/Salineville

Charleston Harbor

The Wilderness

Spotsylvania

Brice Crossroad's

Tupelo

Monocacy

Siege of Columbia SC.

I am going to be visiting Richmond/Petersburg/Appamattox/Cedar Creek in June

When I was a little kid I may have visited Chattanooga, but I was so young I barely remember it, so I don't count it.

[The Cysko Kid]

I stick by Antietam. Its extremely moving, epic skirmishes occured there in places like the corn field, the sunken road, and burnside's bridge, and there's photographic evidence of the carnage that occured in those places so you really get the feeling of what it must have been like, defending the sunken road when the union boys started pouring over the ridge only yards in front of you and what must have been going through their minds.

Antietam is the site of the bloodiest single day in American history. It stopped Lee's first invasion of the north, and mostly sealed the south's loss by discouraging foriegn intervention. So the importance is definately there, and what makes it a great destination is that its compact compared to a place like gettysburg, and its lesser known. I had the chance to hike it one drizzly spring morning last year, and we were nearly alone. Oh, and the land it occured on is simply beautiful. Just the solemn feeling of walking burnside bridge in the rain was enough to justify taking a civil war vacation over the traditional beach scene.

If you're into battlefields and American history Antietam is just awesome.

[The Cysko Kid]

How about this one: best cemetery.

Winner: Arlington - for the history-

1st runner up: Lake view cemetary, Cleveland Oh. President Garfield (assassinated) John Rockefeller. Absolutely beautiful landscaping and the haserot angel.

Second runner up greenwood cemetary, Brooklyn NY.