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Hi there!

Before I go any further, I'd first like to introduce myself! I'm a 22
year old student from The Netherlands. A week ago I was sitting at a
bar with a couple of friends of mine when we suddenly got to the idea
of travelling to the USA. We argued a little about the places we could
visit, and the things we could do. We'd really like to drive the Route
66, or at least, get to know America a little better. (read: Spending
3 weeks in Disneyworld doesn't sound that exciting to us). The only
problem we're coping with is time and money. It seems that renting a
car for this purpose is almost impossible. Most *cheap* car-rental
companies don't offer the possibility to return the car to another
location, and if that isn't the problem, the mileage is.

So it seems that the whole Route 66 idea undoable with the
restrictions we're coping with. I'm wondering if somebody could tell
me what good and inexpensive alternatives we have. Staying at home
isn't an option :P

Which state would be the most interesting to visit? Is it legal to
camp beside the road? Should I rent a car? What's the beer like? What
are the American girls like? What are the clubs like? What are the
bars like? What's K-mart like?

Well ok, I hope somebody will be able to tell me a little about the
(im)possibilities of this magnificent country. :P Thanks in advance!

Best regards,
Robin

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>So it seems that the whole Route 66 idea undoable with the
>restrictions we're coping with. I'm wondering if somebody could tell
>me what good and inexpensive alternatives we have. Staying at home
>isn't an option :P

You don't mention what kind of transportation budget you have but
purchasing an inexpensive used car might work for you. I don't know
the legalities of doing this.
>
>Which state would be the most interesting to visit?

If you want to meet people, eat, drink and be merry, I would suggest
Louisiana. If you want to look at rocks and trees and things I would
suggest Arizona or California.

>Is it legal to camp beside the road?

You can sleep in your car at "rest stops" but it is not adviseable
since criminals and other bad people often commit crimes upon
travelers there. There are many "campgrounds" in the US, but they are
usually not much less expensive than a cheap hotel.

>Should I rent a car? What's the beer like?

I prefer American beer to European beer, but most people would
disagree with me.

>What are the American girls like?

They are pretty much like girls everywhere, I think. Except it would
be a good idea to study up on American popular culture via the
internet, because if you don't know about American music, television,
movies, and celebrities, most young people under the age of 30 don't
have anything else to talk about.

>What are the clubs like?

Everybody stares at the television and hardly anybody talks to each
other. There is usually a lot of screaming and cheering at the
television when there is a sport event on.

>What are the bars like?

Same

> What's K-mart like?

They are big stores that sell lots of cheap junk made in China.
>
>Well ok, I hope somebody will be able to tell me a little about the
>(im)possibilities of this magnificent country. :P Thanks in advance!

If you want to learn about America, go to small towns, preferably
where there are a lot of poor people. People who aren't particularly
interested in impressing everybody with how much money they have or
how much crap they can buy. The south is full of wonderful, caring
and genuine people who love life and still know how to have a good
time (Louisiana especially). And the food is a lot better too!

By the way, the Route 66 idea is a good one. It's a great drive.

Good luck and have fun.

Em


-----
When in trouble or in doubt,
Run in circles, scream and shout.

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On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 03:48:59 -0600, Auntie Em <AuntieEM@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>>So it seems that the whole Route 66 idea undoable with the
>>restrictions we're coping with. I'm wondering if somebody could tell
>>me what good and inexpensive alternatives we have. Staying at home
>>isn't an option :P
>
>You don't mention what kind of transportation budget you have but
>purchasing an inexpensive used car might work for you. I don't know
>the legalities of doing this.

This is virtually impossible to do legally unless you have a residence
in the US. You can't register the car unless you have insurance, and
(depending on the state) sometimes also a Social Security number and
an address in the US. You generally can't get insurance without a
legal address in the US.


--
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it.

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robin.van.remortel@gmail.com (R. van Remortel) wrote in
news:7db77cde.0412261647.7ba8ba66@posting.google.com:

> Hi there!
>

You need to decide what you want before you start asking these
questions. Beach-Florida or California
Rocky Mountains, Colorado Idaho Wyoming
forested mountains, New England
Prairies, Middle of the country with a lot of subtle variation.

Most people go for SW for desert, Colorado for mountain, LA San
Francisco, New York for city. but hey it is your vacation.
>
> Which state would be the most interesting to visit?
Overall interesting? Answer this for me, which country would be more
interesting, Germany, France, or Italy? Now ask someone else. OK Wyoming
will not get a lot of votes but the mountains there are awesome. It
really depends on what you are looking for.

Is it legal to
> camp beside the road? Should I rent a car? What's the beer like?
Those in the "know" drink Heinekin (sp?)
What
> are the American girls like?
A lot like dutch girls except they can't speak anything but English.

What are the clubs like?
You can find a little of everything except of course for Amsterdam's
famous coffee house type. For Clubs try New York, Miami LA or San
Francisco, would you go to Volendam for the club life?

What are the
> bars like?
see above
What's K-mart like?
go to any Eurpoean version such as the French LeClerc. (actually this is
a bit more like Wal Mart but you get the idea.
>
> Well ok, I hope somebody will be able to tell me a little about the
> (im)possibilities of this magnificent country. :P Thanks in advance!
>

Again what do you really want we are bigger than Western Europe, ask any
of your questions thinking fothe whole of the EU and you get the idea.
> Best regards,
> Robin
>

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"B Vaughan" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:ep40t054lmnnnou45dr05rm52909uridac@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 03:48:59 -0600, Auntie Em <AuntieEM@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> >>So it seems that the whole Route 66 idea undoable with the
> >>restrictions we're coping with. I'm wondering if somebody could tell
> >>me what good and inexpensive alternatives we have. Staying at home
> >>isn't an option :P
> >
> >You don't mention what kind of transportation budget you have but
> >purchasing an inexpensive used car might work for you. I don't know
> >the legalities of doing this.
>
> This is virtually impossible to do legally unless you have a residence
> in the US. You can't register the car unless you have insurance, and
> (depending on the state) sometimes also a Social Security number and
> an address in the US. You generally can't get insurance without a
> legal address in the US.
>
>
> --
> Barbara Vaughan
>
> My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero
dot it.

Correct - Buying a car would be almost impossible under the circumstances.
What about a One Way RV Rental ? This would take care of transportation,
lodging, & Route 66.
http://americanrvrentals.com/oneway.html
http://www.cruiseamerica.com/
http://www.elmonterv.com/specials.htm

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Could you give us a little more information, such as...

* When will you be visiting here? (travel will be more
difficult in some areas during the winter)

* How long will you be staying? (you imply 3 weeks, but
I want to be sure)

* The U.S. is a very large country so we really need to know
your interests. You mentioned a couple things in your post,
but it would be helpful if you were more specific about your
priorities. Visiting big cities like New York? Small towns?
National parks like the Grand Canyon? Historic locations?
Meeting girls at bars and clubs? Lying on the beach? The
more specific you are the better we could offer some
advice.

Jim

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I agree, the South generally has best quality people.

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I assume that you're a male since you're asking about the girls. I
visited the Netherlands in 1985 and had a wonderful cross-country
bicycle tour. I thought it was a good idea to accommodate my desire to
bicycle cross-country by choosing a small country! Anyway, I loved The
Netherlands, especially the smaller cities that see fewer Americans.

I think that Dutch people are somewhat more outgoing and more innocent
than American young people. While in Dutch bars, I had no trouble
striking up conversations. That isn't as easy in US bars in many parts
of the country. But then again, I was the exotic foreigner. When
traveling here, you will be the exotic foreigner and will become very
attractive to most people that you meet. Unlike the image of our
current national leadership, I think you will find most Americans to be
curious and interested about you and your country. You will also
encounter some "USA, USA" screaming me-first type yahoos. Ignore them.

Look for cities and towns with universities. Many have youth hostels.
The most interesting cities to visit would probably be Boston, New
York, New Orleans, San Francisco and Washington. Smaller cities with
large universities offer interesting experiences, such as Amherst,
Mass;, Ithaca, NY;, Madison, Wisconsin; Ann Arbor, Michigan and others.

The Green Tortoise idea seems like a good one for seeing the country on
the cheap. I've never done it but it sounds like a great deal of fun
with compatible people.

As for the beer: Dutch Heineken is much better than the stuff that the
import to the U.S. And, in my opinion, Heineken in the Netherlands was
not as good as some of your local brews. However, there has been a
growth in micro-breweries in the U.S. in the past decade. Nearly every
area has some good local brews. You may want to try the popular mass
produced beers such as Bud and Miller just to confirm the inferiority
of mass-produced U.S. beers. But if you go into a good bar, ask if
there is a good regional beer.

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Auntie Em <Auntie Em> wrote:
>> What are the American girls like?
>
> They are pretty much like girls everywhere, I think. Except it would
> be a good idea to study up on American popular culture via the
> internet, because if you don't know about American music, television,
> movies, and celebrities, most young people under the age of 30 don't
> have anything else to talk about.

Robin has near-perfect idiomatic English. I am guessing he's very familiar
with all these things...

>> What are the clubs like?
>
> Everybody stares at the television and hardly anybody talks to each
> other. There is usually a lot of screaming and cheering at the
> television when there is a sport event on.

Hm? I've never seen a club with a sporting event on TV. If there's a screen,
it's showing some pseudo-psychedelic computer-generated animation.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 32 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu

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mnc@admin.u.nu (Miguel Cruz) wrote in
news:RaSdnYpFnYL-zE3cRVn-qQ@speakeasy.net:

> Auntie Em <Auntie Em> wrote:
>>> What are the American girls like?
>>
>> They are pretty much like girls everywhere, I think. Except it would
>> be a good idea to study up on American popular culture via the
>> internet, because if you don't know about American music, television,
>> movies, and celebrities, most young people under the age of 30 don't
>> have anything else to talk about.
>
> Robin has near-perfect idiomatic English. I am guessing he's very
> familiar with all these things...
>
>>> What are the clubs like?
>>
>> Everybody stares at the television and hardly anybody talks to each
>> other. There is usually a lot of screaming and cheering at the
>> television when there is a sport event on.
>
> Hm? I've never seen a club with a sporting event on TV. If there's a
> screen, it's showing some pseudo-psychedelic computer-generated
> animation.
>
> miguel

For many of us 'murikens club ends up meaning sports bar. course that
don't include those places where the hoity toity hang out and hope the
big guy with the rope will let us in. Just ain't 'muriken to
discriminate like that. lol

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<bjackson445@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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> I agree, the South generally has best quality people.

Aw-Comon; You have good *and* bad people anywhere in the world. Tourists
are always taking a chance. Most run into the good, but some, unfortunatly,
meet the bad.

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JamesStep wrote:
> Could you give us a little more information, such as...
>
> * When will you be visiting here? (travel will be more
> difficult in some areas during the winter)
>
> * How long will you be staying? (you imply 3 weeks, but
> I want to be sure)
>
> * The U.S. is a very large country so we really need to know
> your interests. You mentioned a couple things in your post,
> but it would be helpful if you were more specific about your
> priorities. Visiting big cities like New York? Small towns?
> National parks like the Grand Canyon? Historic locations?
> Meeting girls at bars and clubs? Lying on the beach? The
> more specific you are the better we could offer some
> advice.
>
> Jim
>
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Remove "NOSPAM" from my address when sending me e-mail.
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> -

Hi There!

First of all I'd like to thank everybody for replying! I didn't expect
so many reactions!

I'm fully aware that the information I provided was quite brief. But my
plans are still quite vague at the moment. I'm just trying to get an
idea about what could be done.

I'm planning to stay about 3 weeks, maybe a month. I will be going from
mid-Juli till the begining of August. The biggest priority is to have a
good time as well getting a realistic impression about the states. We
would like to see as much as possible! And to be honest, I don't know
what to choose first!

I think it would be fun to drive around, visit some tows, explore the
nightlife, meeting other people, maybe visiting a campus or university?
I think the social/cultural aspects should play an important role in our
trip to the USA. I think it would be fun to get an impression of a big
city as well as the natural characteristics of a specific location. I'd
like to get a taste of everything. I know this will be impossible in the
given time, so I'm trying to figure out which state will be the most
suitable for this purpose.

I think that driving the Route 66 isn't such a good plan after all. It
turns out to be quite expensive and maybe a little dull for a couple of
young guys like us.

Best Regards,
Robin

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"R. van Remortel" <robin.van.remortel@gmail.com> wrote in
news:LNmdnTOzleoFXE3cRVnyvQ@zeelandnet.nl:

>with all that in mind I think California has the most to offer. Go from
San Francisco to LA with some sides and you will see some authentic
Americana as well as experiencetwo of our better cities.

>
>
>

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>I'm planning to stay about 3 weeks, maybe a month.

That's certainly enough time to see quite a few things. However
the U.S. is quite large and if your budget is tight and you don't
have a rental car you'll probably want to limit yourself to just
a few places, rather than trying to tour the country.

In the northeast, you might want to consider one or more of these
major cities: New York, Washington, and Boston. Lots to see and do
in each of those cities, there's good public transit, and it's fairly easy
to travel between them by plane, train or bus. However, prices will
be high in these cities so you'll need to plan carefully to keep your
expenses down.

Of course in each of these areas there are also numerous smaller
town, especially some college towns, that you might want to consider,
but I'll leave that to others to discuss.

In the south there are a number of good destinations, including
several places in Florida for theme parks, beaches, NASA,
nightlife (and these can be good areas to meet other young
people) and in Louisiana there's the city of New Orleans, which
is also a good town for partying. However keep in mind that it
can get extremely hot and humid in the south during the summer.

In the west, San Francisco would be my #1 recommendation.
A beautiful city and lots to see and do.

If you're looking for fun, you might want to consider a couple
days in Las Vegas. You could arrange your flights so you go
to (or from) California by way of Vegas. This would also give you
an opportunity to see the desert, if you wanted, by taking a
bus tour from Vegas to nearby Hoover Dam, or one of the
nearby parks such as Red Rock. And if you're in Vegas you
might want to consider a side trip to the Grand Canyon, which
surely is one of the most magnificent sights in the country.
One-day bus tours from Vegas to the Grand Canyon are available,
but stay overnight there if you can. (Camping is available at
the Canyon, but you'll need to make reservations far in advance.)


>I will be going from mid-Juli till the begining of August.

Mid summer is a popular vacation time in the U.S. because school
children are on summer vacation, and the weather is good most
everywhere. However, you'll find that popular tourist destinations
will be crowded, prices high, and it'll be hot, especially in the
southern states.

Jim




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On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 12:16:03 -0600, mnc@admin.u.nu (Miguel Cruz)
wrote:

>Auntie Em <Auntie Em> wrote:
>>> What are the American girls like?
>>
>> They are pretty much like girls everywhere, I think. Except it would
>> be a good idea to study up on American popular culture via the
>> internet, because if you don't know about American music, television,
>> movies, and celebrities, most young people under the age of 30 don't
>> have anything else to talk about.
>
>Robin has near-perfect idiomatic English. I am guessing he's very familiar
>with all these things...
>
>>> What are the clubs like?
>>
>> Everybody stares at the television and hardly anybody talks to each
>> other. There is usually a lot of screaming and cheering at the
>> television when there is a sport event on.
>
>Hm? I've never seen a club with a sporting event on TV. If there's a screen,
>it's showing some pseudo-psychedelic computer-generated animation.
>
It sounds like this is a definition thing. I was referring to
something like a "night club", whereas I think you are referring more
to a disco type dance club thingy.

Em
-----
When in trouble or in doubt,
Run in circles, scream and shout.

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Auntie Em <Auntie Em> wrote:
> mnc@admin.u.nu (Miguel Cruz) wrote:
>> Auntie Em <Auntie Em> wrote:
>>> Everybody stares at the television and hardly anybody talks to each
>>> other. There is usually a lot of screaming and cheering at the
>>> television when there is a sport event on.
>>
>> Hm? I've never seen a club with a sporting event on TV. If there's a screen,
>> it's showing some pseudo-psychedelic computer-generated animation.
>
> It sounds like this is a definition thing. I was referring to
> something like a "night club", whereas I think you are referring more
> to a disco type dance club thingy.

Other than stuff like the RSL, I thought that the word "club" referred to
dance clubs. Here I am showing my ignorance about evening entertainment
venues. What's a "night club" and how does it differ from a bar?

miguel
--
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R. van Remortel <robin.van.remortel@gmail.com> wrote:
> I think it would be fun to drive around, visit some tows, explore the
> nightlife, meeting other people, maybe visiting a campus or university?

Someone else suggested this and I second the motion. You could have a lot of
fun if you are reasonably outgoing and rolled up to a big college town like
Madison or Ann Arbor some weekend. Start asking around on Friday afternoon
("we're from Holland, we're driving around the USA, we want to find a
genuine American university party") and within a few hours you should have
collected invitations to more parties than you can manage. More fun than
going to bars, and more real too.

> I think that driving the Route 66 isn't such a good plan after all. It
> turns out to be quite expensive and maybe a little dull for a couple of
> young guys like us.

I tend to agree. You really have to be a history buff to properly appreciate
it.

miguel
--
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R. van Remortel wrote:
> getting a realistic impression about the states.

I question whether that's possible. Although we share a government,
language, and currency, the diversity of this nation, however you
choose to define it, defies credibility. New Orleans is at least as
different from Chicago as Amsterdam is from Vienna; New York,
Seattle, and San Francisco are completely different from Denver,
Minneapolis, and Omaha. And one can make countless similar comparisons.

> We would like to see as much as possible! And to be honest, I
> don't know what to choose first!

Once you've made your choices, the rest is easy . . . for us. My
recommendation is those places that ain't nuttin' like no other place
noway nohow:

Yellowstone
Grand Canyon
Death Valley

> explore the nightlife

I'm a nightlife person. Spent this evening in a bar listening to a
Big Band. Will do so tomorrow listening to Shotgun Wedding HipHip
Symphony. Will be dancing at a club on Wednesday.

The level of dancing varies greatly around the country with hotspots
being San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Salt Lake City,
Minneapolis, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Ithaca(!), Boston,
New York, Orlando, and Miami (please visit site at Left in sig).

> maybe visiting a campus or university?

Stanford University is quite lovely.

> I'd like to get a taste of everything. I know this will be
> impossible in the given time,

It's not possible in several lifetimes.

> so I'm trying to figure out which state will be the most suitable
> for this purpose.

California is the most diverse in the nation. We have, within eighty
kilometres of where I sit, the largest Chinese, Filipino, and Afghani
communities (probably others, too) on the planet outside their home
countries. My direct neighbors on this block are Filipino, Chinese,
US Blacks, Nicaraguan, Argentine, and a few others.
__________________________________________________
___________
A San Franciscan who's visited 49 of 50 US states
http://geocities.com/dancefest/ http://geocities.com/iconoc/
ICQ: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/19098103 IClast at SFbay Net

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Miguel Cruz wrote:

Miguel Cruz WROTE!!! That means he's still alive. Whew!
__________________________________________________
___________
A San Franciscan in 47.335 mile² San Francisco
http://geocities.com/dancefest/ http://geocities.com/iconoc/
ICQ: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/19098103 IClast at SFbay Net

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bjackson445@yahoo.com wrote:
> I agree, the South generally has best quality people.

I don't. My first visit to there was when it was The South with
constant oppression of Segregation infiltrating everything. Since I'm
not Black, I only observed, rather than experienced, the impact of
Jim Crow laws. My subsequent visits to The South caused me to write
THE NEW(!) SOUTH <http://geocities.com/iconoc/Articles/TheSouth.html>

Decades after what I first saw there, the vile images in my mind are
fresh. I've never been able to relate most of them because trying to
do so still tears me up. Yet, in recent weeks, I've been thinking of
finally assembling pixels to record them partly in the hope that the
act will be a bit therapeutic. Don't hold your breath, though.
__________________________________________________
__________
A San Franciscan in (where else?) San Francisco
http://geocities.com/dancefest/ http://geocities.com/iconoc/
ICQ: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/19098103 IClast at SFbay Net

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Miguel Cruz wrote:
> Other than stuff like the RSL, I thought that the word "club"
> referred to dance clubs. Here I am showing my ignorance about
> evening entertainment venues. What's a "night club" and how does
> it differ from a bar?

Semantics and hyperbole.

In my youth, one went to a night club for dinner and dancing to the
house band. Each also had a feature act (often a semi-headliner as in
today's "lounges" in 'Vegas), a few showgirls in elaborate costumes
who danced and sang often with a boy singer/dancer; a Master of
Ceremonies who also served as a comic or a singer and a comic or
singer depending on the MC's skills; a dance act, and a "novelty" act
that could have been a juggler or a magician, etc. The shows opened
and closed with "production numbers" featuring the chorus girls.

Today, bars with recorded music and floors unsuitable for dancing
call themselves night clubs. Today, bars with musicians and no dance
floor call themselves night clubs. Today, restaurants with bars and
music (recorded or real) call themselves night clubs regardless of
whether they have a dance floor.

Where I was tonight (and most Mondays) <http://www.jazzatpearls.com/>
is an excellent restaurant with a bar and musicians but no dance
floor. It calls itself a night club. Where I'll be tomorrow (and most
First and Fourth Tuesdays) <http://www.brunoslive.com/> used to have
good food (now it's all deep fried and, therefore, inedible for any
but the narrow-arteried obese) but it has good music.

En fin, Miguel, "night club" doesn't mean anything at all any more.

More about why I go to them is in the "Music" section at the bottom
of the SPECIAL EVENTS in San Francisco and environs page:
<http://geocities.com/dancefest/Specials.html#t> at the site at Left
in the sig.

More information than you wanted. Sorry. You pushed a button.
__________________________________________________
______________
A San Franciscan who never says "No!" to an invitation to dance!
http://geocities.com/dancefest/ http://geocities.com/iconoc/
ICQ: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/19098103 IClast at SFbay Net

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A lot of people have recommended college towns, and I agree, but don't
bother looking for hotels/motels/hostels. When you decide on a city,
contact the local college/university; almost all of them in the US will rent
you a dorm room during the summer, and for cheap. By the same token, they
can do that because the rooms are empty, so don't expect to meet a campus
full of students to party with.

As for beer, Americans esteem Heineken and they pay dearly for it, but most
don't know that everywhere else on the planet it's the bargain-basement
beer. Half a Euro in Rhodes last spring, and 75 Pesos in Mexico City just a
few weeks ago. These are store prices, not bar prices.

I'd not heard of the Green Tortoise thing, but did something similar out of
NYC years ago, and it was a lot of fun. If you decide on a trip with them,
you can moderate your airfare by buying a regular r/t to the US, then take a
low-cost line like Jet Blue or Southwest to get back to your departure point
for back home.

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Well, as others have said, with your time and budget limitations, you
will have to decide on one particular area of the country to focus on.
One suggestion--fly into Washington D.C. and rent a car. In three weeks
you can make a fairly large circle encompassing some large cities
(Philadelphia, New York, Boston) and some more rural areas and scenic
areas as well as beaches, mostly in the Northeast, but you can hit a
few in the South in states like Virginia and North Carolina, for
example. You could then return your car back to D.C. and fly back out
of the same airport.
Airports in D.C. are Dulles and Reagan National, and also BWI (
Baltimore/Washington International) is close to that area. I would
think you could find appropriate flights in and out of any of those 3
airports.
Depending on how much you actually try to see, you could be on the road
a whole lot because the U.S. is a big country, but things are generally
closer together and more populated in the Northeast, so you might get a
chance to see more as opposed to the western part of the country, which
is absolutely beautiful, but you will be driving huge distances to get
from point A to point B, in most cases which will cut seriously into
your time limitation.
Best wishes.


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"Kbrandt854" <Kbrandt854.1i047o@no-mx.travelforums.org> wrote...
| Well, as others have said, with your time and budget limitations, you
| will have to decide on one particular area of the country to focus on.
| One suggestion--fly into Washington D.C. and rent a car. In three weeks
| you can make a fairly large circle encompassing some large cities
| (Philadelphia, New York, Boston) and some more rural areas and scenic
| areas as well as beaches, mostly in the Northeast, but you can hit a
| few in the South in states like Virginia and North Carolina, for
| example. You could then return your car back to D.C. and fly back out
| of the same airport.

They could fly into either NYC or Washington, DC, and see major
NE cities (DC... Baltimore... Philly... NYC... Boston) without renting
a car by traveling on Amtrak (assuming GWB doesn't pull the plug)
and local transit.

Once, I arrived at Washington-National, took the Metro to Union
Station, got on a train, stopping at Penn Station in NYC, took the
subway to Grand Central, and got on a Metro-North commuter line
to White Plains... all in the span of about 6 hours. [R]

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Icono Clast <IClast@jps.net> wrote:
> California is the most diverse in the nation. We have, within eighty
> kilometres of where I sit, the largest Chinese, Filipino, and Afghani
> communities (probably others, too) on the planet outside their home
> countries.

A nitpick - I've heard this a lot but I don't see how it can be true. The
Chinese population of Singapore is 3.3 million.

miguel
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