The mountains are prity unpredictable through March. After that things calm down fairly well. I-5 is your best bet for north south travel from So-Cal to WA. I cant comment on the East West Hgy. You asked about Train/Amtrak. Cost wise its comparable to Flying.If time is not an issue, you will definitely enjoy the ride through the mountains, and all the other countryside you'll encounter along the way. The Coast Starlight Is the one that takes you from san diego to Seattle in about 3 days. You can Evan play your guitar in the Dome Lounge at night while having the beverage of your choice. Liquor laws and taxes vary greatly from state to state in the US. In Washington State the same 6 Pack will set you back about $10. California is a bit different. If you think of any other questions about My neck of the woods Just ask. I hope you have an exciting time
----Danny,
http://youtu.be/GDJBslS2HQ0

a corona six pack is like $8 I think its been a while since I bought corona though. it couldn't possibly be more than $10. $22 is insane to me but i am a shiner guy though.

if you like beer The Library Bar has TONS of different brands and types. they also have $1.50 domestic's and $2.50 you call its allot. its been a while since I have been there so I couldn't tell you what days great place.

The Library Bar
407 E 6th St
Austin, TX 78701

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Thanks for the heads up! ill be sure to be careful.

going for 2mnths so we'd like to take the train to experience the countryside. plus ive never seen or touched snow before so thatll be cool!!
So there is accomodation on the train?? thatd be awesome!! this dome place, they supply the guitar? lol. Great ideas this is awesome.

Man im getting ripped off! $10 for a six pack of coronas??. Liquor prices are ridiculous here. $10 wouldnt get me a 6pack of the most disgusting domestic crap.
Im gonna take 4L back with me for sure haha

How long you reckon it would take to travel across the US? via train. Just so i got a rough idea. 1week?

Also those little black bears... theyre sooo cute. Is it safe to pat them? I know the big brown ones arent lol. what states should i be careful in? cause i dont wanna go for a run in the woods and run into a bunch of hungry grizzly bears lol.
we have heaps of dangerous animals here but when it comes to bears id rather take my chances with a croc, even though id have no chance either way.

Yes! ill be hittin up the library bar for sure. Gold info here guys thanks alot, keep it coming.
700ml bottle of J.D is about $43 here

Knoxville, TN, where I live. Always been lotta good-looking women around here and we have several good blues clubs here.

Best of all, the Great Smokey Mountains National Park is just an hour away. Not as high and snow-capped as the Rockies, etc., but still plenty beautiful. Tourism was down this past summer, due to the sucky economy, so we can use all the visitors we can get.

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

hey if you just want to sit and gawk at hundreds of hot women, chill in the pool area at the flamingo casino in Vegas! its the largest concentration of hotties I have ever seen! its difficult not to stare like a creep there if you time it around spring break its even better

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Amtrak has a lengthy time table available on line. If you for instance take the train from Seattle to Chicago it takes 2& 1/2 days the train (The Empire Builder) takes the old Great Northern rout, it departs Seattle in the afternoon and takes you through the Cascade Mountains before dark, an unforgettable experience. there will be lots of snow in April. and your correct in that Seattle to New York is about 5/6 days You can also take the southern rout on the old Santa Fe Line in about the same time. Amtrak goes most everywhere, and if you give it time your sure to have a blast. And the food is good but expansive. If you travel first class its free.
----Danny,

sweet. We are just getting all our info together and gonna start booking places soon so all info given is much appreciated.

What will yosemite be like as to the weather during feb - march?
Ive noticed on some of the roads it says "closed winters". I really wanna stay at yosemite for a couple days just wondering if theres a chance it would be too snowy... unless these things are quite unpredictable?

http://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/winter.htm
http://www.scenicwonders.com/

I'd LOVE to take the train from San Diego to Seattle, and then catch the eastbound train, to Glacier National Park. Actually, I've contemplated taking the Canadian train east across the Rockies -- supposed to be spectacular.

From the pics I’ve seen, the Great Smoky Mountains are gorgeous! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Mountains:
Within the Blue Ridge Mountains are two major national parks: the Shenandoah National Park in the northern section and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the southern section. The Blue Ridge also contains the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile (755 km) long scenic highway that connects the two parks and is located along the ridge crestlines with the Appalachian Trail.

When packing clothes for that time of year, think layers, because you can easily experience 75 degrees Fahrenheit in southern California to -15 degrees Fahrenheit in the northern inland states. You probably know this, but the temperature conversion formulas are: C = (F – 32) x 5/9; F = (C x 9/5) + 32. You will also want to pack something to protect against rain – in some parts of the country, winter = rain.

I hope you have a wonderful visit here. It's such a big country, with so much variation. If you're into photography, bring twice as many memory cards for your camera as you think you'll need. And be prepared to go through batteries for your camera.

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Shirley Has The Blues

Blacktop P Bass
mim Deluxe P Bass Special
mim P Bass
Ibanez BTB405

^^
Thanks alot for that mate. very helpful!

So! I have booked in our "mainstay" hotels and everything is coming along well! We have made slight changes to our itinerary!

Start in L.A, Drive along the coast to San Fran, Drive to yosemite, kings canyon, then Vegas etc.

I really appreciate how helpful and friendly you all are! I am really looking forward to this fast approaching trip!

I have one last question!

We are planning on buying a car in the states and just using that for our entire road trip. I have heard of people doing this but others say its not possible... i am a little confused. Could someone shed some light on this?
What i have heard so far is, "you need a permanent United States address" and "Insurance will not allow/insure you".

Thanks again for your help!

I don't know but by the time you shell out a tone of cash for a dependable car, that you will want to dispose of at the end of your trip. You would be better off Renting a nice car and the Insurance would be taken care of as well. you would more than likely save some cash to. Use a nation wide rental agency and simply turn it in at the end of your journey. Happy Trails to ya.
----Danny,

Chiming in late on this. Have to agree with Danny about renting a car. Rent a car with a GPS device. Some rental companies have very affordable weekly or monthly rates. You'll need the GPS. You can buy a GPS or bring your own that is updated.

I love the drive from Orange County, California to Las Vegas. The San Bernadino Mountains can have snow that time of year though. I don't know for sure where you live, but most places in the USA have speed limits and traffic enforcement officers. Some places the speed limits are strictly enforced, others more loosely and still others hardly at all (like Atlanta, GA where if you only drive 15 MPH over the speed limit you will get ran over.) I recommend avoiding any contact with traffic enforcement officers whatsoever. Never be one of the fastest two vehicles in sight and never go more than 7 to 12 miles per hour over the limit unless everyone else is clearly ignoring the posted limit. Some states use license plates that identify a vehicle as a rental and police tend to hassle rental car drivers more frequently as they are probably from out of town. Police are more likely to cite out of towners, out of staters and in your case foreign nationals.

You asked about places to AVOID. There are hazardous neighborhoods in every city large and small that you are better off avoiding. Knowing where they are is difficult without consulting someone totally familiar with that town. Certain parts of major cities are not safe in broad daylight, much less after dark.

Do not feed or try to touch any cute baby animals. Their much bigger and much badder mama is somewhere nearby. Bear encounters historically end very badly for humans, and any other animal for that matter actually.

Washington DC/Arlington VA is great to visit because of the landmarks, museums (Smithsonians etc) and memorials but not so much for a music scene. The WWII Memorial for example at the Mall is awesome. If you stay at a hotel near a DC Metro station you won't need a car in DC at all because you can ride the Metro to about every point of interest and parking your car is almost impossible at these places anyway.

Amtrack has a program called USA RAIL PASS to ride Amtrack trains anywhere in the USA you want to go and that is sometimes cheaper than buying individual tickets if you are going to be doing a lot of train travel over a short period. They have passes for up to 45 days I think. Anyone who smokes will probably not want to travel on Amtrack as there is no smoking allowed. I agree Amtrack's food is surprisingly good and the drinks reasonable. But air travel can be far quicker for about the same price. Domestic flights are reasonably cheap if you book them enough in advance. Last minute domestic flight bookings are far more expensive than booking over 30 days in advance. The TSA has lots of restrictions on what is allowed in checked and carry on baggage and some airlines charge outrageous baggage handling fees per checked bag not to mention how many bags the major airlines lose or misdirect.

You won't have any problem taking home all the guitar parts you want as far as getting them out of the USA is concerned, but getting them through your home country's customs could be problematic, so check with them. I know that returning Americans have to pay duties on all things that you didn't leave with over a certain value. For example real Rolex watches are cheaper in the Bahamas and other foreign countries, but after paying the duty to bring a Rolex watch back into the USA it becomes somewhat less of a bargain. You will have to declare any purchases over a certain value at your home country's customs upon re-entry to your home country and pay any associated tariffs, duty or import fees before you can bring the items home. Check with your home country's customs about this before planning to bring home a large amount of new items.

Just like the taxes on alcohol vary wildly from state to state so will the cost of gasoline vary from state to state. So take that into consideration too when planing your driving routes. The difference between gasoline prices in North Carolina and South Carolina is substantial due to much lower fuel taxes in SC.

Someone mentioned Florida as a possible destination. I've been to every park in central Florida. Universal's two adjoining parks built around the City Walk complex in Orlando are my personal favorites on the beaten park path. If you do visit central Florida I suggest going off the beaten park path where you to spend massive amounts of cash to take the far more reasonable NASA tour at Cape Kennedy. Besides being less expensive it is educational as well. It takes almost a full day to do the full tour. For a visit to NASA I'd suggest staying at one of the beachfront hotels overnight in nearby Cocoa Beach such as COCOANUTS or the Sheraton and get an early start to nearby Cape Canaveral which the location of the Kennedy Space Center. I've done the NASA tour many times. My first tour there was a guided tour in a jeep in 1974, but now they use a fleet of full size buses to transport visitors from one destination in the complex to the next stop in more of a self-guided tour at your own pace. The buses have video presentations explaining about the next stop on the tour so you know what is coming up. There are many buses running at all times in the huge complex so you don't have to wait long for one to come along to take you to the next stop on the tour. The last time I went two years ago they had added a shuttle simulator ride (located near the Rocket Garden and the Shuttle mockup) that was nothing short of remarkable and beat any of the rides at Universal except for possibly Spiderman, which is my favorite theme park ride of all time. Anyone that visits Central Florida and doesn't visit NASA misses out on a full day's entertainment at a very reasonable price compared to the more popular theme parks. The NASA tour is self-guided and you take it at your own pace. It covers a large part of the complex, but other parts are of course off limits. I've viewed segments of the International Space Station and satellites being prepared in an assembly area by technicians in various stages of assembly and preparation before being launched. So, I've seen the inside of what is now part of the ISS all because I took this tour. The Apollo Launch Control Room and the IMAX films were great also. This tour fills nearly a full day at a leisurely pace and the lunch spot near the Saturn V moon rocket, Lunar Lander, Touchable Moon Rock and Lunar Rover is reasonably priced. I'd actually recommend the NASA tour over some of the theme parks. Get an early start at NASA, especially if there are any work underway in the assembly areas so you can view them working of future payloads because sometimes the techs finish the day's work earlier than you'd expect.

WOW, so much good info!! Stuff i hadnt even thought of.
Thanks Brother Dave and Danny Duke! Cleared up ALOT of my questions

I had no idea you could tour NASA, will definitely check that out. That's something that would really interest me.

Now its time i stop asking questions and let it happen lol.
The more i think of the more i stress. We have booked in advance our first 1 1/2 weeks. 5 1/2 weeks we will just wing it and go where we please and eventually arrive in DC, NY etc for our last 1week which is also booked. Yipee

only 4 things that worry me.
1. Weather is different to here, dont wanna drive into a snow storm or get stuck as we are doing mountain driving BUT i will ask locals and check up on weather before we drive

2. BED BUGS, although ive been bitten by worse the thought of bed bugs makes me cringe

3. getting eaten by an animal taller than me

4. getting shot... lol

Either way i am going to have an awesome time! thanks allot for spending your time helping me out, i have noted some valuable info.

Jeremy

Just to let you all know i had a great time!!!

You guys are an awesome bunch. met so many friendly people.

ended up renting a car and did more than we thought we would. Ended up in Austin for the sxsw music festival, New Orleans for St Patricks day, some poker tournament in memphis i think it was. And a few others all by chance.

Gotta love the blues bars in Austin !! And whoever said the most attractive ladies are in South Carolina... absolutely correct haha

And bb guns are easy to get in the sates, we bought a few and had real fun with those... and fireworks.

My favourite places were Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Grand Canyon, Denver, Texas (Houston space centre and blues bars!), New Orleans (blackened Alligator mmmm), Memphis, Charleston, Virginia, Colonial Williamsburg, Tennessee, Washington D.C, Miami everglades (Billie swamp safari), South Carolina, Wallkill, Niagara falls (Canada side), New York (gotta love the crazy people on subways), and San Diego.

Cant wait to plan my next trip over !

oh oh oh , and i also went to so many museums and space centres, they were awesome, especially in Washington.

and the cape Canaveral Kennedy Space Center in Florida

And farout its cheap. Booze is so cheap AND you can buy it at a petrol station! Fuel is cheaper than Aus everywhere we went. the food, bigger servings and cheap. I got plenty of clothes from Marshalls, century 21 (NY), and we basically lived in Ross dress for less haha, the clothes in there are 100 times cheaper than the price in Aus.