What to do during christmas break

[Mad Vader]

In your place, I would go south, maybe as far as Mexico, screw the snow and the cold.

see my country a bit more before leaving to see the world.

*ominous Arab music and gunshots*

 

[Mage246]

It's not like he's any stranger to winter, and anywhere south of New York is bound to be a bit milder than Northern Europe this time of year. The Carolinas and anywhere south of there should still be nice enough, and DC/New York are fine as long as he doesn't mind a little bit of chilly (but not very cold) weather. And of course Miami was still shorts and t-shirt weather when I left (it pretty much always is).

Mexico might be a bit difficult, both logistically and due to the fact that he's travelling across an international border. I'm not sure but I think he'd need a visa for that.

EDIT: Actually, just checked and no visa required.

 

[Almalexia]

Dude, Charlotte is not "The South".  It's an actual, real city.

Did I say so?

 

[Lord Brutus]

Well, not exactly, but you said You were skeptical he'd want to go to the South, so of course I jumped to conclusions.

 

[AWdeV]

Do you want to experience cold weather, or nice(r) weather?

No real preference. It's secondary to actual sight-seeing.

How many flights do you want to take?

Fewer than 3, preferably.

How many cities do you want to see?

Ideally, several. Not sure how much I'd actually see of a city if I just went to one by myself.

The East Coast might be good if you want to knock out seeing a couple major cities like D.C., NYC, and Boston (potentially Philly and Baltimore too, although I wouldn't recommend it) by taking advantage of cheap buses. I'm less familiar with California, but there are many great places to check out around the bay area. Florida is fine, but better in the summer months imo.

I kinda wanted to see NYC but it seems like it would be extremely crowded and expensive there during the christmas break. Some other international students are also definitely going there for new years but they have all kinds of plans and I wouldn't want to impose myself on them.

D.C might also be very interesting to check out, monument-wise.



Also, some guy is organising a road trip to wherever, whatchamacallit and the grand canyon which I would like to see one day but considering the guy is an imbecile and a bit of a pillock, I'm not really interested in going anywhere with him.

On the one hand I'd like to see the big cities but on the other I'd also like to see some naturey bits like mountains or whatever. The closest I've ever been to actual mountains so far have been the Arbuckles right next to the road between Dallas and Norman, OK. Adorable little waterfalls but I didn't see much of them.

Nice weather and some nature would be ideal ofcourse.

It's not like he's any stranger to winter, and anywhere south of New York is bound to be a bit milder than Northern Europe this time of year. The Carolinas and anywhere south of there should still be nice enough, and DC/New York are fine as long as he doesn't mind a little bit of chilly (but not very cold) weather. And of course Miami was still shorts and t-shirt weather when I left (it pretty much always is).

Mexico might be a bit difficult, both logistically and due to the fact that he's travelling across an international border. I'm not sure but I think he'd need a visa for that.

EDIT: Actually, just checked and no visa required.

Wait, where did you check that? Because that sounds interesting. And kinda scary because I'm a chicken. Shorts & Shirts weather sounds good too.

 

[Catholic]

You can go to San Francisco for the city, go east a little bit to hit some mountains somewhere, then go south for the Sequoia National Forest, where you can see huge trees.

Then come back and visit me.

 

[Mage246]

Do you want to experience cold weather, or nice(r) weather?

No real preference. It's secondary to actual sight-seeing.

How many flights do you want to take?

Fewer than 3, preferably.

How many cities do you want to see?

Ideally, several. Not sure how much I'd actually see of a city if I just went to one by myself.

The East Coast might be good if you want to knock out seeing a couple major cities like D.C., NYC, and Boston (potentially Philly and Baltimore too, although I wouldn't recommend it) by taking advantage of cheap buses. I'm less familiar with California, but there are many great places to check out around the bay area. Florida is fine, but better in the summer months imo.

I kinda wanted to see NYC but it seems like it would be extremely crowded and expensive there during the christmas break. Some other international students are also definitely going there for new years but they have all kinds of plans and I wouldn't want to impose myself on them.

D.C might also be very interesting to check out, monument-wise.



Also, some guy is organising a road trip to wherever, whatchamacallit and the grand canyon which I would like to see one day but considering the guy is an imbecile and a bit of a pillock, I'm not really interested in going anywhere with him.

On the one hand I'd like to see the big cities but on the other I'd also like to see some naturey bits like mountains or whatever. The closest I've ever been to actual mountains so far have been the Arbuckles right next to the road between Dallas and Norman, OK. Adorable little waterfalls but I didn't see much of them.

Nice weather and some nature would be ideal ofcourse.

It's not like he's any stranger to winter, and anywhere south of New York is bound to be a bit milder than Northern Europe this time of year. The Carolinas and anywhere south of there should still be nice enough, and DC/New York are fine as long as he doesn't mind a little bit of chilly (but not very cold) weather. And of course Miami was still shorts and t-shirt weather when I left (it pretty much always is).

Mexico might be a bit difficult, both logistically and due to the fact that he's travelling across an international border. I'm not sure but I think he'd need a visa for that.

EDIT: Actually, just checked and no visa required.

Wait, where did you check that? Because that sounds interesting. And kinda scary because I'm a chicken. Shorts & Shirts weather sounds good too.

Just used googlefu.

Arizona is definitely a very beautiful place, and especially the Grand Canyon. But it sounds like you have some pretty good reasons not to pick that trip.

If you want to see mountains and nature and still have nice weather, that'll mean most likely the Appalachians down south (Georgia or South Carolina). It's beautiful country, but you'll definitely be in redneckland if you head out to those parts of those states. Although I'm guessing you've seen quite a bit of that in Oklahoma already.

EDIT: Eternal has a solid suggestion, too. I've never been to that part of California, but I hear it's pretty nice. I just figured that it might be a little colder this time of year.

 

[AWdeV]

I'm white, straight, male and I can hold my liquor. Redneckland holds no fears for me.


Eternal's suggestions sound awesome though. San Francity, nice. Mountains? Kickass. Big honking huge trees? Awesome. Eternal? Okay.

Y'know, this could work. Now I just need to figure out the how.

 

[Lord Brutus]

I feel so overlooked. 

 

[Catholic]

San Francity, nice.

Chinatown is delightful and has nice food, would recommend visiting. Alcatraz is surprisingly interesting to visit for its price, would recommend. Fisherman's Wharf is overrun with tourists, and I never quite got what was so nice about it - just felt like New Orleans all over again, and that's not a pleasant comparison. The Bridge itself is amazing, as is the view if you go on a clear day. Ghirardelli Square is pretty neat as well.

Mountains? Kickass. Big honking huge trees? Awesome.

It's a bit of a trip to Sequoia and other places, and I haven't been so I can't recommend anything specific. The John Muir Trail is quite a pleasant hike, as it will get you to see redwoods (massive trees) along a pretty route.

Eternal? Okay.

Will be flying back to Georgia from the 11th of December to the 7th of January, so you might not be able to catch me.

 

[Swissky]

It's not like he's any stranger to winter, and anywhere south of New York is bound to be a bit milder than Northern Europe this time of year.

Tjurskit. I'm fairly sure that a cracked down prostitute and a grumpy old man with a blonde toupé won't witness winter as we do.

 

[TheFlyingFishy]

I'm late to the party, but the Great Smokey Mountains National Park is the most visited in the nation, and really neato. If you could find a cheap hotel in Gatlinburg, the place is really nice this time of year and has a gazillion and 5 tourist attractions. Really big and nice Ripley's Aquarium, Dollywood's just down the road, all sorts of shows and "old timey" tours and such, and tons of good places to eat.

 

[Leifr Eiríksson]

I had a lot of fun traveling around the West Virginian panhandle for a few weeks, AWdeV. There are some big cities (D.C, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York) and four states in easy reach. They also happily fulfill this clause in your last post, I ain't ever seen a prettier land so far than West Virginia. It's relatively quiet and there's bucket loads to look at.

On the one hand I'd like to see the big cities but on the other I'd also like to see some naturey bits like mountains or whatever. The closest I've ever been to actual mountains so far have been the Arbuckles right next to the road between Dallas and Norman, OK. Adorable little waterfalls but I didn't see much of them.

Nice weather and some nature would be ideal ofcourse.

 

[Phonemelter]

I kinda wanted to see NYC but it seems like it would be extremely crowded and expensive there during the christmas break.

Only if you go to the touristy areas like Times Square and spend too much money shopping for unnecessary garbage. There are many cheap things to do and see in the city (MoMA is free in the afternoon on Fridays, The Met and Natural History Museum are "donation based" meaning you can gain entry with a penny, etc.).

 

[Anarion]

It's not like he's any stranger to winter, and anywhere south of New York is bound to be a bit milder than Northern Europe this time of year.

Tjurskit. I'm fairly sure that a cracked down prostitute and a grumpy old man with a blonde toupé won't witness winter as we do.

I was stumped wondering what Donald Trump has to do with any of this. I guess you're talking about something else.

Going to some hot place during Christmas sounds like a nice novelty. Maybe get lost on some endless highway, trying to get out of some creepy broken down town while getting it on with some rich guy's wife who you've been sent by him to kill, then narrowly escaping getting killed by a demonic tyre. That's what they do in the US I think.

 

[Swissky]

I was indeed referring to Trump. New York is often seen as the most corporate city of the U.S.

 

[Jhessail]

I also don't recommend Miami. It's calmed down in the past 20-30 years, but you still have a pretty good chance of getting mugged or shot. Tampa is only a bit better than Miami, and Tampa is the type of town where you lock your car and close the windows while driving through it

I was waiting for the Greyhound bus station in Miami and went outside for a smoke. Very bad neighbourhood but nothing happened. I was driving through another bad neighbourhood in south Miami (was taking a short cut but somebody had the nerve to plop down a god damn canal!) in a convertible and the only thing that happened was that a Latino cop pulled me over and immediately told me to follow his car. He escorted me to the nearest big junction with a gas station and told me that white people shouldn't drive inside that area 

Don't know about Tampa though.

If you're on a tight budget and want to experience the East Coast, I suggest flying to Greenville in SC or Asheville in NC. They are close to the mountains and there's loads of B&B places and motels there. Driving will be iffy because there could be ice and a bit of snow and the locals are atrocious drivers in any other weather but sunny and clear. You can then hop on the Greyhound from Asheville to Washington DC to experience the capital. If you can afford it, fly instead cause it's like 16-18-20 hours in the bus - I know some people who've done and they were always absolutely shattered. In DC go for a hostel as there's a fair number of them and you can easily spend 3-4 days just walking around National Mall and taking in all the museums. If you want to pay your respects, Arlington is just a short subway ride away. Then you can take Greyhound to NYC as that's only like 3 hours - don't sit near the toilet unless you want to smell it throughout. In NYC, get a hostel room in Brooklyn as their prices are way cheaper than hostels in Manhattan. The subway is not too pricey so it's better to take it everywhere and give your poor feet a little break after DC. Statue of Liberty ferry is expensive, absolutely jam packed and certainly not worth it since you can't get to the top. Just buy a postcard. Remember that everything in NYC costs because the whole place is built to fleece tourists out of their money. What to do in NYC depends on your interests and budget but obviously there's loads of options. Then if you still have time and money left, you could always stop at Atlantic City between DC and NYC to gamble your money away or pretend that you're super into American Independence Fetishism and visit Baltimore. Trip to Niagara Falls from NYC isn't easily feasible as it's surprisingly far from the city itself - you'll probably have to stay overnight and it has the same problem as Grand Canyon in that all accommodation are overpriced and heavily used. Yes, even during the winter.

Don't visit New Orleans because it's so far of anything else interesting that it's difficult to make it as a part of a chain. Unless you have the extra air miles or money to burn.

As for California, SF will be awful this time of the year, Alcatraz is very difficult to get into (you'll have to wake up at like 5 AM and go queue the limited numbers of tickets) and the Navy piers only have entertainment for maybe half a day. Christmas probably isn't a good time to cycle across the Golden Gate bridge either and all the areas next to SF Bay are ****holes that you want to skip. Let's just say I felt safer walking across Brooklyn at 3 AM, alone and drunk, than I felt filling up my car at a gas station in the middle of the day at Oakland. If you do end up going, avoid Golden Gate park after dark (it's not the park right next to the waterline) as I had barely taken five steps before a hobo tried to sell me drugs. Again, Central Park in NYC felt safer to me than that park. If you do end up in SF and have a car, you might want to pick up a girl and drive to the top of the State Park / Radio road. Just don't expect privacy for your make-out session because there'll be dozens of other cars up there "just enjoying the view officer, honest!". There are cheap hostels in southern San Fran though.

LA is awful and aside from Hollywood there is nothing to see or experience. Motels are cheap enough and prevalent enough that you don't need to use a hostel. Chinatown is tiny and plastic, Downtown is tiny and pointless and unless you want to re-enact specific movie scenes, there's no reason to go to any other area. And at this time of year, the beach will be mostly deserted and Pacific cold as ****. I mean, it was pretty damn cold in August already. So you should probably skip LA.

San Diego is good for the Zoo and for Seaworld, nothing else really. Unless you're a hardcore surfer but then you wouldn't be in Oklahoma to begin with. All in all I'd say skip California and rather go to the East Coast. I guess you could do some sort of manhood trial by hitchhiking your way from Seattle to Sacramento through Washington, Oregon and the neglected parts of northern California but you'll probably end up in someone's sex dungeon.

 

[IA]

... In NYC, get a hostel room in Brooklyn as their prices are way cheaper than hostels in Manhattan. The subway is not too pricey ....

Teo is right. Get a 7 day metrocard if you're here for any length.  Don't bother with a hostel however. Look for nice place on airbnb at the same price.

 

[Lord Brutus]

I see love for Greenville and Asheville, where is the love for Charlotte?

 

[Phonemelter]

Yeah, the 7-Day Subway card is ~$30, otherwise an unlimited for one day is ~$12 last time I was there.

By the way, if you end up coming to D.C., I am authorized to give tours of the Capitol building. :3