Tourism; USA

[drnader]

Could anyone of my friends here devise a sightseeing tourism program across the USA for me (a paraplegic person) & my wife and 1 year old daughter (crazy about Mickey mouse), for each of us to enjoy different faces of the US.

I am thinking of a about a 3-weeks vacation, what do you recommend?

PS. miss you all!

[baldfatdad]

What time of year? What's your injury level? Do you like cities or rural area?

[drnader]

t11, like cities, art, movies ....

[gjnl]

New York

1. Statue of Liberty
2. Ellis Island
3. Twin Tower Memorial
4. Empire State Building
5. Guggenheim Museum
6. NY Museum of Modern Art
7. Metropolitan Museum
8. Central Park

Washington DC

1. White House
2. Capitol Hill
3. Smithsonian
4. Air and Space Museum
5. Memorials on the Mall

Chicago

1. John G. Shedd Aquarium
2. Museum of Science and Industry
3. John Hancock Building (for the view) and restaurant on 95th floor
4. Get a taste of Chicago pizza

San Francisco,

1. Cable Car
2. Fisherman's Wharf
3. Golden Gate Bridge
4. Exploratorium (great fun for kids and adults)
5. Alcatraz Island Tour
6. DeYoung Museum
7. California Academy of Sciences (planetarium, aquarium,natural history)
8. Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park

Los Angeles

1. Disneyland/Disney California Adventure
2. The Getty Center
3. Universal Studios
4. Manhattan Beach walk (paved walkway)
5. LA County Museum of Art and LaBrea Tar Pits

Alternatively, leave out LA and substitute Orlando for the Disney/Universal Studios experiences:
New York, Washington DC, Orlando, Chicago, San Francisco

Have a great trip.
All the best, GJ

[drnader]

very, very nice GJ
Many sincere thanks

[drnader]

any other suggestions
Oh, BTW, I think the trans-state and within state transportation for me is a state of the art like I hope, right?
I hope it is much better than Rome and France

[gjnl]

Originally Posted by drnader

any other suggestions
Oh, BTW, I think the trans-state and within state transportation for me is a state of the art like I hope, right?
I hope it is much better than Rome and France

Generally speaking, United States overall, air and train travel are good. Ground transportation can be sketchy and limited everywhere (don't expect London taxis). Mass transit, MTA in New York, BART in San Franciso are good. Car rental (major companies, i.e., Avis, Hertz, National) with hand controls is pretty good. Rental vans are not as easy as the major car rental companies with unadapted vehicles. Van rental companies need a lot of advanced planning, credit checks etc.

All the best,
GJ

[betheny]

I always recommend Yellowstone. Cities aren't all we have!

[Sue Pendleton]

Originally Posted by betheny

I always recommend Yellowstone. Cities aren't all we have!

Or Yosemite if you don't want to try to get a flight out there. Just rent a van from SF and drive to Yosemite but make overnight reservations in the area well in advance. John Muir Woods north of SF is also very nice.

If you are flying between cities stick with Southwest and 737s. Do not fly in JPUs or what I call Pygmy Airlines. ContinentalEconomy and a few others use these for commuter flights and airports will not allow them up to jetways and elevators are often too small for some aisle chairs to get off safely.

Definitely hit a zoo. The National in Washington can be bumpy for you but is really nice. And a fun family day along with the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is Navy Pier with the Childrens Museum.

[drnader]

thanx a lot guys