Travel advice NE USA

[keptwoman]

We may be coming to the either Pittsburgh or Maryland for a wedding. We would aim to try to spend about 10-14 days in the NE of the USA. It may be the only time we ever go there. I'm fully aware that this is a crazy short amount of time but that's just the way it is. Not sure of the dates yet (I'm hoping for a LONG way away to allow us time to save!!!)

DH has been to New York but I have never been further east than Colorado.

So what would be your top things to see in the NE of the USA given it might be our one and only trip.

[Kathy in MD]

First, do you want a fast, see everything-in-a-blur type trip or would you prefer a more indepth, learn something type trip? Personally, I prefer the later type trip. The next question is what do you want to focus on: museums, monuments and tourist sites, early American history, Civil War History, different culture, or natural history and scenery? Or would you like to see one or two samples of the best of each area?

 

My top choices for each category would be:

 

Museums - DC or NYC would be the best two cities for immersing yourself in only museums. Both give you a selection of art, and natural history. DC has a few unusual ones, such as the News Museum, and the Spy museum. BTW, if the wedding is in Pittsburg, the Carnegie Natural History Museum is good.

 

Monuments and tourist sites - DC is probably the best place for monuments.

 

Early American History - Williamsburg, VA would be my first choice, followed by Philadelphia, PA (Independence National Park) given the areas you're visiting.

 

Civil War History - If you see only one site, Gettysburg is the one place to go to. The new visitors center will give you good insight into the causes and results of the battle, but skip the film that carries a charge. Also get a tour guide or tape to tour the battlefield. Harpers Ferry, WV would be the second site I'd include. They're within an hour's drive of each other.

 

Different culture - If you're interested in seeing the Amish, Lancaster County, PA (next to Maryland) is a good area, though it's very commercialized now.

 

Natural history and scenery - The best thing here is to drive from point to point generally along secondary roads. But some areas not to miss would include the visitors center at Slideling Hill rest stop on I-68 in MD (geology and how it affects transportation), Great Falls on the C&O Canal National Park, the geology section of the National Museum of Natural History (DC), the Baltimore Aquarium, the Cheasepeake Bay and some of the wildlife refuges in the area (I enjoy Blackwater on the Eastern shore). Assetegue Island (National Park) is a barrier island with birds and wild horses. If the wedding occurs in winter, the birding is great with all the artic birds wintering over, but it can be cold and damp! Dress accordingly.

 

One last site, if the wedding is in Pittsburg, I highly recommend touring Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water. It's probably his best house, located in a wooded area an hour or two from Pittsburg.

[unsinkable]

Niagara Falls! And Buffalo has many great places, too.

 

It is less than 4 hours from Pittsburgh.

 

Here is a post I wrote last year:

 

Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin Househttp://www.darwinmartinhouse.org/

 

Frank Lloyd Wright's greatest "Prairie House," the five-structure Darwin Martin House

Complex, designed and built 1903-1905 in the great city of Buffalo, New York.

 

Our Lady of Victory Basilica & National Shrine

http://www.ourladyofvictory.org/Basilica/Welcome.html

 

 

Albright-Knox Art Galleryhttp://www.albrightknox.org/

The main event takes place behind the classical façade of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Here you’ll find one of the finest collections of modern and contemporary art anywhere in the world, what Thomas Hoving, former Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has called “an overwhelming art experience.†After you’ve had your fill of art, enjoy a refreshing repast at the Muse restaurant and the view of the always-striking sculpture garden. (from visitbuffaloniagara)

 

Erie Canal Cruise

http://www.lockportlocks.com/

Much remains the same on the Erie Canal today as it was in the 1800's. Hand-dug to connect the Hudson River with the Niagara River, the 363-mile Grand Old Erie Canal is truly a great engineering feat. Originally, 83 stone locks overcame the 571-foot difference in the level between the rivers. Enlarged in the early 1900's, now 35 locks allow larger vessels to travel across New York State.

 

Experience a unique 2-hour cruise which includes "locking through" and being raised the 49 ft. elevation of the Niagara Escarpment (the same one that creates Niagara Falls) in the only double set of locks on the Erie Canal. You will pass under bridges that raise straight up, see water cascade over Lockport's famous "Flight of Five" 1840's locks, and travel through the solid walls of the "rock cut" as your Coast Guard licensed captain describes the architecture, sights, and folklore along the way. (from their website

 

 

Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site

http://www.nps.gov/thri/index.htm

 

An Unexpected Inauguration that Changed the Nation

 

As president, Theodore Roosevelt created protections for ordinary citizens, began regulation of big business, and made the US a major force in international affairs. Yet one of the most important presidencies in America's history nearly didn't happen. See the place where a brief, emotional, and improvised ceremony in Buffalo, NY brought TR into office, and forever altered the nation. This is closed until Fall 2008...I don't know when your trip takes place. from their website

 

Niagara Falls

http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/default.aspx

 

This is the New York side. I am a big proponent of visiting the NY side. It is a beautiful state park. From the I love NY website:

 

The granddaddy of New York waterfalls. In your quest to find the latest, hippest undiscovered getaway, you might be tempted to dismiss Niagara as an over-traveled tourist destination—and you would be wrong. Seventy years of Hollywood cliché have done nothing to diminish the stunning natural showpiece that is Niagara.

 

These days, the Canadian side of the falls garners a lot of the attention, beckoning with restaurants and tourist attractions galore, but the New York side offers a somewhat quieter option, rooted in the naturalistic tradition of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed the magnificent park that surrounds and bridges the falls. The views from Luna Island and Terrapin Point are everything you’ve been told or imagined, and a ride on the Maid of the Mist or a descent to the Cave of the Winds will offer incredible vantages on what is one of the greatest natural wonders in North America.

 

Anderson's

And this is yum, yum, yummy Buffalo food:

 

http://www.andersonscustard.com/menu.html

[Parrothead]

If you are looking for a bit of fun Hershey PA would be a place to check into.

[keptwoman]

Thank you all so much. There are some fabulous suggestions here!! And I am SO SO excited that I will be able to see some Frank Lloyd Wright houses, he has been my architectural hero for many years.

We tend to meander when we travel. Lots of stopping to spend time hanging out at nice places. Less is definitely more!

Edited March 16, 2009 by keptwoman

[Kathy in MD]

Since you're into FLW, you might want to tour one of his Usonian(sp) houses near Mount Vernon, Washington's home. This would be in the southern suburbs of DC if you come this way. There are other FLW houses in the area, but I don't think they're open for tours.

 

Check the web site for Falling Waters for the longer photographers'/architects' tour of the house. It used to be on Wed mornings.

 

I should have mentioned that the natural history/scenic sites I mentioned aren't the big, drop-dead scenic sites such as Niagra Falls, the Rockies or the Grand Canyon. But if you do your homework ahead of time, there's a lot of geology that you can learn. And there's a lot of variety as you travel from ancient mountains roots to piedmont to coastal plain. No glaciers action though; that you should be able to see in up state NY.

[keptwoman]

Thanks Kathy. I do really enjoy the natural and geological things so I'm definitely keen to see some! We used to live in NZ and we've been to glaciers there so it's no biggie to miss them.

[bnbacademy]

If you are traveling around Baltimore, MD the Inner Harbor waterfront area is a great field trip to explore several ships at dock.

 

The Maritime Museum offers a tour of a Submarine...

 

http://www.baltomaritimemuseum.org/index.php

 

We've also enjoyed the Inner Harbor Aquarium

[keptwoman]

With a husband and son obsessed by all things maritime and in particular old wooden sailing boats, I have no hope of avoiding any maritime museum in any place we come across. Sigh. I'll sip coffee and enjoy the view I guess.