Hi all

My, wife and I are going to the USA for an LSD Trip – where "LSD" stands for "Look, See and Decide" . Were arriving on the 29th October and were leaving on the 15th November so thats just over two weeks. We live in South Africa and were considering emigrating to another English speaking country. Weve already visited the UK and we have Australia next on our list of places to look at.

Our intent is to get a feel for what it would be like to live in the USA. We realize that every city is different so wed like to see as many cities as possible. But we cant rush each city either or we wont get the feel of the city. So were torn between seeing as much as possible but also staying in the same city for as long as possible. We want to background it all – big city living and countryside relaxing. Sports, movies, Broadway shows, trains, busses, driving, sport, relaxing, the lot. Were also going to check out the cost of everyday living (groceries, entertainment, etc) plus prices of houses, cars, schooling and university.

Weve spent a lot of time on Wikivoyage so were getting an understanding of the more practical aspects of travelling in the USA.

The advice we need relates to what can we do to get a feel for each city. Spending time in diners, shopping malls, parks etc will help us. But anything specific in each town?

Weve booked our flights into New Yorks JFK and were flying back out of the same airport. Thats the only commitment weve got at this stage. The rest of our itinerary looks something like this divided almost equally between east coast and west coast (doing central America would probably be too rushed):

East Coast

New York City for 4 days. Well do all the tourist things like American Museum of Natural History, Statue of Liberty, Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, Central Park, One of the tall buildings, like Empire State or One World Trade Center, and quite a few more. Are there any sports games on during that weekend worth watching?

Well then train from NYC to Washington DC to background a train ride and see some of the countryside.

Washington DC for 2 days
See the White House and spend some time wandering the National Mall. Looking for pointers here since November will be quite cold so Im assuming that the parks wont be that busy. Anyone know of any festivals or sports games on that we can go see?

Well then fly to San Diego.

West Coast:

San Diego 1 day
Spend a day in San Diego. What is there to do in San Diego?

Rent a car to drive to LA

Los Angeles 2 days
Something showbiz related, definitely (cant go to Hollywood without passing though something "showbizzy"). Universal Studios is something were considering. Hollywood Walk of Fame, Getty Center for some art. LA is apparently also good for food (among the best in the country according to wikivoyage.

Were thinking of starting an RV/Campervan holiday from here onwards. Yosemite or Sequoia National Park 2 or 3 days
Drive to either Sequoia National Park or Yosemite National Park and stay a night or two there (we really want to see those giant redwoods.) Can we park an RV and sleep over in one of these parks?

After enjoying some relaxing time in nature, head back to the city lifestyle: on to San Francisco and drop off the RV.

San Francisco 2 days
Attractions were considering: Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge (we love architecture and engineering), some local music in the evenings. Possibly 2 days. After San Francisco we start heading home. Well fly back to NY for one last rest day.

Thanks for your tips! Looking forward to hearing from you 🙂