What's near DC and cool to see? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!



Go Back   TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards! > Backpacker College Student Travel Message Boards > Where ya going? & Specific country info! > U.S.A.

U.S.A. Hollywood, NYC, baseball, The Grand Canyon, East coast vs West coast, Starbucks, The Dallas Cowboys Chearleaders, and more...

Raileurope.com: See Europe by train
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-27-2006, 03:12 PM   #1
Canadian Bacon
Artist of Life
 
Canadian Bacon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ottawa, Canada aka O-town
Posts: 1,530
Thanks: 0
Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Default

Hi everyone,

I live in DC for nearing 4 month now... I haven't done much travelling outside. Can anyone tell me anything to see in Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, Pennslyvania?

Anything within a 5-8 hour drive??

__________________
Vincent: "So what you gonna do?"
Jules: "Well, basically, I'm just gonna walk the earth."
Vincent: "What you mean 'walk the earth'?"
Jules: "You know, like Kane in 'Kung Fu'...go places...meet people...get in adventures."

Trips (only counting recreational travel):
FIRST TRIP (2005): FIRST EUROTRIP EVER! UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland
SECOND TRIP (2007): First Solo Trip! Greece, Turkey, Syria, Spain
2008: China (Beijing, Shanghai, Yangshuo) ...right before the Olympics!
2009: Japan & HK, Southern Spain
[size=1]2010: All over Lebanon, Ibiza (Spain), Oktoberfest (Germany), Thailand.
2011: India (Goa), Jordan, Jerusalem, San Sebastian (Spain), Amsterdam (again), London, Driving from Vancouver to L.A. (stopping in Portland, Seattle, San Fran and all the little stops), Montpellier (France), Geneva and Lausanne (Switzerland)

"Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it."
Canadian Bacon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-2006, 03:28 PM   #2
Joker
You want fries with that?
 
Joker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Maryland... yeah, i know it sucks.
Posts: 2,230
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Well, I'd skip Maryland too.

Assuming you like skiing, a quick google search will give you quite a few decent mountains.

Snowshoe in West By God VA is pretty good. Hidden Valley, 7 Springs are good, up near Pittsburgh (@3.5 hours), there's local mountains about an hour away at Whitetail, Liberty, and Roundtop.

Then there's the hills in the Pocono's in Eastern PA, Camelback, Blue Knob, etc.

Its about 8 hours+ to Vermont and New Hampshire ski mountains.

Otherwise, there's the Bay for fishing, sailing, etc when the weather warms up.

Oh, and the TPUNK meetup in April in Baltimore!
__________________
Misadventures of a Crazed Kitchen Pirate

"Steve is the prototypical cool American male. Y'know, I'm talking about Steve McGarrett, alright? Steve Austin, Steve McQueen. Y'know, he's the guy on his horse, the guy alone. He has his own code of honor, his own code of ethics, his own rules of living, man. He never, ever tries to impress the women but he always gets the girl."


Joker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-2006, 04:47 PM   #3
blinkchick2134
TPunk Emeritus
 
blinkchick2134's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Here and there
Posts: 1,633
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Well in VA and WV there's the Appalachians. Lots of trails, campsites, caves and the like. Your local library probably has tons of books on trails in the area.

As Joker mentioned the bay is good for some fun when it gets a tad warmer. Try kayaking. I know the eastern shore has a lot of little marshes and streams you can explore on kayak. Not sure about the western but I'm guessing it does.

That's all I can think off.
__________________
Amber

"If I had a kid I'd f**k it. Then kill it. Then f**k it again." Seattle 2006

blog of travels and such
flickr

Currently located in HAWAII

Been to: Alaska, Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Hawaii, Spain, Switzerland - - also meetups in Chicago, LA, and Seattle
blinkchick2134 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-28-2006, 01:23 PM   #4
Canadian Bacon
Artist of Life
 
Canadian Bacon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ottawa, Canada aka O-town
Posts: 1,530
Thanks: 0
Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Default

Cool thanks guys, I'm not much for skiing but I'll check out VA.

Anyone ever seen Donny Darko, and they had this part where there was this huge bottomless pit in Jersey. Does that actually exist?

__________________
Vincent: "So what you gonna do?"
Jules: "Well, basically, I'm just gonna walk the earth."
Vincent: "What you mean 'walk the earth'?"
Jules: "You know, like Kane in 'Kung Fu'...go places...meet people...get in adventures."

Trips (only counting recreational travel):
FIRST TRIP (2005): FIRST EUROTRIP EVER! UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland
SECOND TRIP (2007): First Solo Trip! Greece, Turkey, Syria, Spain
2008: China (Beijing, Shanghai, Yangshuo) ...right before the Olympics!
2009: Japan & HK, Southern Spain
[size=1]2010: All over Lebanon, Ibiza (Spain), Oktoberfest (Germany), Thailand.
2011: India (Goa), Jordan, Jerusalem, San Sebastian (Spain), Amsterdam (again), London, Driving from Vancouver to L.A. (stopping in Portland, Seattle, San Fran and all the little stops), Montpellier (France), Geneva and Lausanne (Switzerland)

"Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it."
Canadian Bacon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-28-2006, 01:26 PM   #5
Canadian Bacon
Artist of Life
 
Canadian Bacon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ottawa, Canada aka O-town
Posts: 1,530
Thanks: 0
Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Default

Cool thanks guys, I'm not much for skiing but I'll check out VA.

Anyone ever seen Donny Darko, and they had this part where there was this huge bottomless pit in Jersey. Does that actually exist?

Baltimore meetup eh? Sorry I'll be going back to Canada in beginning of April... hopefully I can finally make it to a Toronto Meetup
__________________
Vincent: "So what you gonna do?"
Jules: "Well, basically, I'm just gonna walk the earth."
Vincent: "What you mean 'walk the earth'?"
Jules: "You know, like Kane in 'Kung Fu'...go places...meet people...get in adventures."

Trips (only counting recreational travel):
FIRST TRIP (2005): FIRST EUROTRIP EVER! UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland
SECOND TRIP (2007): First Solo Trip! Greece, Turkey, Syria, Spain
2008: China (Beijing, Shanghai, Yangshuo) ...right before the Olympics!
2009: Japan & HK, Southern Spain
[size=1]2010: All over Lebanon, Ibiza (Spain), Oktoberfest (Germany), Thailand.
2011: India (Goa), Jordan, Jerusalem, San Sebastian (Spain), Amsterdam (again), London, Driving from Vancouver to L.A. (stopping in Portland, Seattle, San Fran and all the little stops), Montpellier (France), Geneva and Lausanne (Switzerland)

"Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it."
Canadian Bacon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2006, 11:15 AM   #6
excinit
Members
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 30
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

im out in DC, doing a little six-month save money skint before travelling.

check out the battlefields in Virginia, very well kept, organized, and interesting. Maryland has a surprising number of Vineyards and good seafood. DC's got tons of free stuff to see and do.

where in DC you livin?
__________________
12 Months, little or no money, can he do it?

find out - http://worldtrippers.blogspot.com
PS - click on the ads and help me buy a baguette!
excinit is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2006, 07:59 PM   #7
blinkchick2134
TPunk Emeritus
 
blinkchick2134's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Here and there
Posts: 1,633
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

CB I think you're talking about 'Garden State' and as far as I know it doesn't exist. Check out weirdnj.com or http://www.weirdus.com/ for that kind of odd stuff.
__________________
Amber

"If I had a kid I'd f**k it. Then kill it. Then f**k it again." Seattle 2006

blog of travels and such
flickr

Currently located in HAWAII

Been to: Alaska, Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Hawaii, Spain, Switzerland - - also meetups in Chicago, LA, and Seattle
blinkchick2134 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2006, 02:46 AM   #8
tumblezweedz
TPunk Emeritus
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,112
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

The year we lived in the DC area (Arlington), we spent a solid amount of time at the various Smithsonian museums, cause they're amazing and free, and also, be sure to go to the free shows at 6 nightly at the Millenium Stage at the Kennedy Centre. You can see what's playing online, before you go, or you can just wing it and show up and see what's on. We loved that, and went anytime we were downtown in the late afternoon.

Mount Vernon is very close to DC, you can do that easily. We thoroughly enjoyed a week's vacation visiting Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown, which is a great intro to US history for those non-Americans amongst us. Baltimore has an amazing Aquarium, and we also took a long weekend trip to NYC, which was great except for the blizzard.

I'm looking at the table of contents of the book "Quick Escapes from Washington D.C." (Fitzpatrick & Burkhalter), which describes "25 Weekend Trips from the Nation's Capital". They list trips by state, Virginia, Maryland, W. VA, Pennsylvania, Delaware & "beyond", I'm not going to list them all, but the book is quite comprehensive and gives suggested itineraries, places to stay, eat and see. It does look like it's geared to a higher budget, but it can still give you plenty of ideas of things that might interest you. There's everything from historical tours to hiking trails to arts and crafts destinations, so probably there are a couple of things in there for anyone's interest. We never got to Philadelphia, but that's supposed to be great. I'd definitely borrow the book from the library and see if anything appeals to you.
tumblezweedz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-24-2006, 02:05 PM   #9
baomo
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 37
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

there are a ton of museums and monuments in DC. if you like architecture you can go to mt vernon and see the pope-leighly house (frank lloyd wright) and washington's home.
__________________
0.7 percent
baomo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-24-2006, 03:45 PM   #10
florencia9699
TPunk Emeritus
 
florencia9699's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Buenos Aires
Posts: 1,773
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

I you're willing to drive to South Carolina and ur into history I'd recommend Charleston (or is it Charlestown??) I thought it was a really beautiful city, very southern feeling, and so much history!
__________________
Been to: Argentina, Chile, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt. Greece, Turkey, England, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, USA, Mexico, Spain, Monaco, Czech Republic, Ireland and Uruguay.

Next trip: Still pondering the possibilities for January 2009... * OH THE MYSTERY!! *

The travel bug is insatiable
florencia9699 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-25-2006, 03:04 PM   #11
theuprock
Members
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 12
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Not sure if you're still in DC, because a previous post of yours mentioned leaving the area at the beginning of April.

Virginia - Virginia is pretty boring, unless you're into the outdoors. The C&O Canal is a great flat-ground hiking/camping spot to check out. Something like 200 miles long? The Blue Ridge mountains are also another great hiking source - I recommend the Bear Claw trail, because a lot of the sleep spots are covered, and you can opt to either pitch camp outside of them, or mingle with the other hikers who might happen to pass by. I've slept in the large camp-in structures before, and met some, well, peculiar people before, and got a lot of laughs out of the stay. If you're into Urban Decay, a trip to Richmond would be worth your time. There's a lot of neat stuff in Richmond, including a VERY impressive art museum - http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/ Any day of the week in Richmond you can find a decent show to check out (alleykatzrva.com -- I designed their site *cough*, thenanciraygun.com, styleweekly.com) or some random art gallery showing. If you make it to Richmond on the First Friday of any month, you can check out the monthly artwalk, which is pretty sweet. You can meet some very cool people in Richmond, but most of what you'll find there are college-aged transients, and the colorful locals. Heading north and westerly from Richmond, you can check out some sweet backtrail hiking in Blacksburg, or drop in Charlottesville for a brew and a show at any one of the numerous clubs and bars there. East of Richmond you've got Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Chesapeake. Mainly naval stuff in that area, but a decent mall, lots of really good places to eat and sightsee, and you can't beat the drive across the Downtown bridge at night with the window or the top down. More northerly, you've got Alexandria and Reston really. The only places in NoVA that I frequent very often. Mostly just shopping, bags and small clubs here though. Eh, maybe Virginia isn't so boring, but it's still not the place for me

Maryland/DC - Georgetown is a must. Some people might feel otherwise if they're local to the area there, but I think Georgetown is just one of those places that will always ring a bell for me. I love the quaint city scenery there, the layout, but the people could use a smack in the face. There's a lot of good places to shop and check out in the Georgetown area. Lots of good eating, and bars too. Adam's Morgan is great for nightlife. It can be a little pricey, but if all you're looking for is something to break the monotony, grab a friend and hit the bars for the weekend. Never know who you'll run into. DC is about my least favorite place. I'm not partial to the layout or the places to go. A lot of people complain about the driving in the city, but it's really not so bad once you figure it out. You can get away with a lot of driving manuevers in DC that would easily get you a ticket elsewhere (I've seen people pull a U-turn in the middle of busy traffic as if it were no big deal). You can get anywhere in the city by Metro, or a quick car ride. I'm really not an expert on DC, as I avoid it at all costs. The cops, if and should you encounter them, are fairly corrupt in my personal opinion. If you've got money to spend, the Washington Wizards (basketball), the Nationals (baseball), the Capitals (hockey ftw!) and the Redskins (not really the season for football right now) are always playing. And of course there's oodles and oodles of museums and galleries showing something. There's a Joan Miro and Rodchenko show right now. Coming this summer at the Smithsonian is a year-long exhibit on the history of Hip-Hop. Get into that!

North Carolina - I know very little about the area, except that there's a decent club called Cat's Cradle there where you can catch some pretty spectacular shows for an average ticket price. It's also the medical research hot-spot right now, and if you're not living in DC, New York or Atlanta right now and technology is your thing, I suggest checking it out. Lots of money and opportunity is pouring into North Carolina right now.

South Carolina - Meh. Fireworks is all I can say. Everytime I pass through Tennessee or South Carolina, I always stock up on at least $100 worth of fireworks. Fun stuff, and legal to buy.

Hope that helps. If you have any more questions, I'll try to help, but NoVA and Richmond, VA are really the two places I know best.

Cheers.
theuprock is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply






Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Very Cool d_fresh General Discussions 8 06-14-2005 10:36 AM
Cool Cartoons... TimmyJames1976 Bored? Links/Jokes 19 05-02-2005 09:13 AM
be cool beergal Arts, Entertainment, Books 6 04-17-2005 06:40 PM


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:20 AM.



 

Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.2.0 (Unregistered)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121