Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So, I'm going to the US in september for a three week holiday and was wondering if any of you local boys had any tips for things to do or see while I'm there. I should be able to find my way to the most well-known touristy things myself, so I was thinking more in the line of cool gaming stores,events, lesser known sights or other things you might think a nerd in his late 20's could find interesting.

I'll be going to New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Oh, and if you know of any places I should definitely stay away from as a nerdy white tourist, that would also be nice to know =)

well if you go to vegas, the grand canyon is nearby.

Whats in LA? I don't think anyone voluntarily goes there anymore, nothing but smog really

Wear a chastity belt when going through customs

NY has nice museums, IDK of much else. Never had much of a reason to go other than the museums.

sirlynchmob wrote:
well if you go to vegas, the grand canyon is nearby.

Whats in LA? I don't think anyone voluntarily goes there anymore, nothing but smog really

Wear a chastity belt when going through customs

That made me chuckle

I don't know about the latter three locations having never visited them, but in New York, don't bother with the Statue of Liberty or (if you're into that kind of thing), the Museum of Natural History. I found both to be a waste of time.

If you can afford it, a helicopter trip around Manhattan is expensive, but very nice, especially when it's late in the day or early evening and dark(ening)

The USS Intrepid (a WW2 era aircraft carrier) in New York is really cool to visit. I randomly ran into it when I was on holiday there myself, and loved it. Definitely one of the highlights of my visit. There's a Concorde and one of the earliest nuclear submarines to visit in the same excursion as well.

The Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Centre (Tower, whatever) I actually enjoyed visiting. There''s also a pretty cool comicbook store across from it. I believe it's called Jim Hanley's Universe or summat?

Both the Museum of Modern Arts and the Metropolitan are well worth a visit. Again, if you're into that kind of thing.

I also really liked Fraunce's Tavern (and its lovely bartender who showed me a great time) in lower Manhattan; it's part museum, part actual bar - you can still have a drink there.

Finally, while in New York at least, don't bother with taxi's (though you should take one of the famed yellow cabs once just for the hell of it; I did); get a subway card. For around 30 US dollars you can get a week-long metro card, enabling you to travel around New York for free all week long, and Grand Central Station is worth a visit all by itself anyhow (and free to enter!).

As far as L.A. goes, you should check out Olvera St. Its one of the oldest streets in L.A. and a great place to expose yourself to a lot of mexican culture. There's food, art, performances on the weekends and some nice souvenir shopping. You can pick up some Dia de los Muertos, "day of the dead", stuff for cheap and people the world over will think its cool.
This year Dia de los Muertos is november 1st and 2nd. If your here then, definently go to Olvera then. There will be enough skulls to make even the biggest GW fanboy grin from ear to ear.
Also the boardwalk at Santa Monica beach, the Getty Centre (an art museum), china town and hollywood is ghetto and crazy. Go, its fun but don't be expecting a lot of glammor. Also west hollywood can get very "gay" at night. Not that there's anything wrong with that . . .

Do not use the N word under any circumstances. If you have ever heard the place mentioned in a rap song, do not go there. El Segundo is the sole exception.

When in SanFran, ride a trolley, do not go to a "bath house" unless you are into having sex with random other men.

Try to take a drive up north to Eureka, Cresent City area, see the Red Wood forest (they filmed ewok village stuff here for Star Wars VI.) Also it is the only place I know in the world where you can drive through a tree.

Try to see a wild west ghost town, or gold mine, or both.

If you see advertising for a rodeo, go to that, they are inexpensive, and see you some crazy stuff.

Seriously see a game in AT&T Park, or Dodger Stadium, or Angels Stadium... and definitely when in New York, THE Stadium.


College football is starting soon, so I'd check out a USC Trojans game (really, the only school with a decent stadium on your itinerary)

You have to go to the wharf in san franciscoo, Get food from the vendors there. Oh and Pier 39 to see the seals.
Oh and the is the curviest rod in san fran too. Maybe tour and old Cargo ship while your there?

If you encounter a homeless person in NYC, give him/her a 50, wink, and tell him to bring his/her friends. Should be a rousing good time.

Also, on a serious note, go to Broadway and see a show. Doesn't really matter which one, Broadway is an amazing place and each show will be awesome. As a fellow nerd, I recommend Spiderman: Turn off the Dark. Don't bother trying to get in for Book of Mormon, you need to get tickets practically a year ahead of time. However, if by some stroke of luck tickets ARE available for BoM, go go go!!!

Get as much pizza from as many places as you can in NY. In Vegas make sure you go to old Vegas/downtown and not just the strip. They have a cool tunnel laser show there that happens every like 15 minutes. Old Vegas also has cheaper gambling. The Hoover dam is mediocre.

Chancetragedy wrote:
Get as much pizza from as many places as you can in NY.

NY pizza kinda sucks though... It might be the fact that I'm a Jersey local, but there's nothing like the stuff from down here

thatdudefilthy wrote:
As far as L.A. goes, you should check out Olvera St. Its one of the oldest streets in L.A. and a great place to expose yourself to a lot of mexican culture. There's food, art, performances on the weekends and some nice souvenir shopping. You can pick up some Dia de los Muertos, "day of the dead", stuff for cheap and people the world over will think its cool.
This year Dia de los Muertos is november 1st and 2nd. If your here then, definently go to Olvera then. There will be enough skulls to make even the biggest GW fanboy grin from ear to ear.
Also the boardwalk at Santa Monica beach, the Getty Centre (an art museum), china town and hollywood is ghetto and crazy. Go, its fun but don't be expecting a lot of glammor. Also west hollywood can get very "gay" at night. Not that there's anything wrong with that . . .

Venice Beach is bettter for people watching though. Grummans Chinese Theater is interesting.
Stay by the coastal area. East LA will exterminate you.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
You have to go to the wharf in san franciscoo, Get food from the vendors there. Oh and Pier 39 to see the seals.
Oh and the is the curviest rod in san fran too. Maybe tour and old Cargo ship while your there?

Winchester House is quite cool as well. Doors into the wall and gak.

Don't forget to be aware of your surrounding. We all carry guns here

Shadowseer_Kim wrote: do not go to a "bath house" unless you are into having sex with random other men.

He is European, you may be too late on this one...

There is no Red Light District here. Also we all carry guns Some of us carry Assualt Rifles to....

In America, the food is cheaper and the portion sizes are huge at most restaurants.

In America, the food is cheaper and the portion sizes are huge at most restaurants.

I don't know Lictor. I got some big entrees while in Germany.

Pick some random small towns off a map and stay in them:that will be far closer to the real America.

All the tourist traps cliche destinations mentioned will just chew up your funds and give you a manufactured experience.

 Jihadin wrote:

In America, the food is cheaper and the portion sizes are huge at most restaurants.

I don't know Lictor. I got some big entrees while in Germany.

Same here... Also, Germany gave me a proper beer when I ordered one.... not a measly 12 oz. Give me a Half Liter... Minimum!


I should point out though (don't know if it's the same in Norway), but in the US is it completely OK to ask for a to-go box for food you didn't eat at a restaraunt.


Ohh, and aside from Alcohol, most places give you free refills, unlike Germany.

Las Vegas was great, you get to walk through everywhere and nobody really expects you to buy anything!

San Francisco was the friendliest place by far. Nothing was too much trouble for them and made you feel very welcome. There's a great Chocolate Factory shop (or at least there was in 2004, it's been a while) that gave away samples, with a 60s' style diner nearby that had a great view over the bay.

LA takes its' importance far to much for granted, I found that the people there were not helpful, after all there were always more tourists coming. Very rude at times.

Enjoy the hol.

Andrew

The Natural History Museum in NY is imo one of the best in the country. A must see.

I second the suggestion to avoid Hollywood while visiting LA. There is nothing really great about Hollywood unless the smell of urine and the ravings of mad people are alluring to you.

If you like museums LA has some amazing offerings. From the Peterson Automotive Museum for your super-car fixes to the Huntington Library in Pasadena which have a vast collection of rare manuscripts (including a Gutenberg bible) and wonderful gardens, to the Museum of Death (okay, this one is rather cheesy, but has "artifacts" from many well known US serial killers), there is a museum for just about every taste.

http://www.lacity.org/RecreationTourism/Museums/index.htm That site should give you a good run-down.

Pasadena is a fun city to check out while in LA. There are some excellent restaurants, some of the aforementioned museums, shopping, a pretty great game shop (Game Empire Pasadena) and really amazing craftsman style homes. You could spend a few hours driving through the nicer neighborhoods of Pasadena admiring the homes and eating at some of the local shops and make a cheap day of it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Craftsman

Plus there is a Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles (but don't go there at night...its in the bad part of Pasadena) and CalTech if you wanted to satisfy either your waffle or science urges while in town. You really can't lose!

Do not, under any circumstances, go to the northern part of Vegas. I don't care how hot she is, I don't care what she has pierced, I don't care what she says she's into. Do not go to north Vegas.

Also, do not expect anyone to have the slightest clue where you're from. I'd stick to "Europe" as an answer. We can find that on a blank map maybe a good fifty percent of the time.

Get traveler's insurance. It's expensive because the US medical system is way too expensive, but if you get hurt, you'll wish you had it.

 LordofHats wrote:
The Natural History Museum in NY is imo one of the best in the country. A must see.

I second this. I was born in NYC and lived there until I was 23, so of course we never did any of the touristy things (I've never been to the Empire State building, or the Statue of Liberty, for example) but I did go to the Museum of Natural History; and when I go back I always try and stop by again. They have some really nice stuff, especially if you like dinosaurs.

I like the Bronx Zoo a lot, but I'm a little biased because I used to be able to walk to it.

Times Square is a nice place to stop but sort of expensive if you plan on doing shopping.

Also, the pizza in NYC is some of the best in the world (people from Chicago and apparently New Jersey would disagree, but what would they know about good pizza?). You should get some of that as well.

I am a flabbergasted why one of the four places in America you chose to visit is LA. Should have gone to Seattle or something.

Go to venice beach, had some good time there, get to see some weird and funny stuff.

 Bromsy wrote:
I am a flabbergasted why one of the four places in America you chose to visit is LA. Should have gone to Seattle or something.

As am I but, I just decided to roll with it, and make suggestions anyhow