From New York to Dallas

[kwakster]

Hi fellow forumites, me & mrs Kwakster are preparing for another journey to the great US of A, and i'm looking for any tips & advice you would be willing to provide us with.

The current plan is to fly from Amsterdam to New York, spend a couple of days there in a hotel, then collect our rental car and drive all the way to the Dallas, Texas area to visit a few relatives, and after a short stay drive back again.
Along the way we don't intend to race, but instead to take our time being tourists and enjoy the ride through the different states.
Total time at our disposal is around 6 weeks, from early October until half of November.

Thanks in advance for anything you wish to share with us: things to see, where to eat, do's & dont's, the weather, and anything you can think of.
Everything will be printed out and taken with us on the trip, and just as the previous time i/m planning to update this thread once in a while, if possible with pictures.

[enki_ck]

Hope you have a great time.

Can't help with the advice on destinations though, but hopefully some of our Texan members will be along shortly. They seem to be awol currently.

[Nhoj]

Have a great time!

[daverobson]

Hi Kwakster,

I would love to drive across the U.S. of A myself one day.

A quick piece of advice.
If you drive through Georgia don't buy any cans of tuna. 

[captain spaulding]

Hi Kwakster,

I would love to drive across the U.S. of A myself one day.

A quick piece of advice.
If you drive through Georgia don't buy any cans of tuna. 

(Image removed from quote.)

 

[ToolJoe]

  Depending on what way you are going and if you are going through Tennessee, I would recommend driving on the Tail of the Dragon aka Route 129:
http://www.tailofthedragon.com/

It has 318 curves in 11 miles. It is windy but it is something you have to drive once in your life.

[Pacu]

bring shorts and t shirts as Texas will still be warmish but can turn chilly at night. Standard Texas dress in fall and winter...shorts and a hoodie.  Make a side trip if you are in the area to Smoky Mountain knife works in Sevierville, TN. Biggest knife store in the USA i believe. Also that area is real nice for checking out the smoky mountains and entertainment. The store has a huge wall of every type of man bag you could want. It was nice to see them in person to compare sizes and material build.

The eastern part of the US has some pretty scenery up in those northern states. Get a good rental that's good on gas and comfy. I always get the nissan altima for road touring.

I'll be up in Dallas doing a store remodel oct.12 thru the 30th. Use to live up there from 2002-2006

[sawman]

Hey Robert, I'm glad to see you are doing well. Hope you enjoy your trip

[kwakster]

Finally we're a step further, as well as a change in plans: instead of visiting New York first we decided to stay there during our last week in the US.
We've now booked a flight to Boston, MA on the 9th of October, where we will remain a few days for sightseeing.
Then pick up our rental car and drive all the way through Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, to the Dallas, Texas area to visit my relatives.

After a week or so we plan to take a different route back, this time driving through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama,  Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, to New York City where we will drop off the car and spend 5 days in a B&B, and our return flight is scheduled for November 20th.

Anything you wish to share with us will be welcome: things to see, where to eat, do's & dont's, the weather, and anything you can think of.
We've been to Texas twice before and once to Louisiana and Mississippi, but all the other US states mentioned will be totally new territory for us.

[Sazabi]

If you get near I40 West in Tennessee during the daytime, stop in Sevierville at Smoky Mountain Knifeworks for the day... bring cash, and lots of it.  I want to say it's around exit 407 or so.