Flippy raids America 12/07-30/09 - BLOG: flippyd.wordpress.com | MOBILE NO. IN OP

Flippy_D

SPOILER FOR ORIGINAL OP.

Holy shit.

H'okay.

For a long while now I've wanted to go a-tripping around the 'murrca. I was planning to go with my friend but due to financial constraints and other things he's had to bow out. Now, I've never really traveled alone. With others, but not on my own. And frankly, I'm not sure if I'd want to for an extended period of time. I might, but I don't know, and it seems an awfully big gamble to take when you're not sure. But I've been increasingly warming to a notion that I think is very possible, all things pending.

How would you guys like to be my points of contact on my road trip?

Salient details!

[Image removed]

This is a very loose plan of what I have in mind. Subject to change. Florida is currently unlikely as I don't fancy traveling another couple of thousand miles just to get to Miami (the only real area I'm interested in Within the Wang). As far as things go it looks like I'll chip straight to Montgomery AL then down to New Orleans...

I will have pretty free reign, though I don't expect to be deviating into the dustbowl and midwest that much as you can see. Sorry if you happen to live there, but there's just less I want to see there in comparison to the places I have marked out already. Mostly, though, I will be able to move around at will.

To give you an idea of what I had in mind - well, pretty much any measure of hospitality that you guys feel like extending, either solo, in groups, or with friends, or family... Local knowledge, that sort of thing. By my reckoning, one well-versed local is more than a match for a notebook guide much of the time. Show me what's on, where to go, perhaps some food (see below!). Maaaaybe even a place to shack up if you're feeling particularly kind?

I realise this is a little bit audacious. But truth is, as I said before, I don't really feel like risking it alone if I might not enjoy it. I also want to attend PAX '09 for a day or so too. I feel like I know quite a lot of you quite well now, and the community atmosphere here is just great much of the time.

This is really a tester, then, to see the potential interest in leading a Brit by the hand around your cities, states, towns and country.

It'd be rude and presumptuous of me to not offer some information about me, though. So in the spirit of dating services everywhere...

Name: Phillip D
Age: 20
Occupation: Student. Will be graduated by the time I have this planned for.

Interested in:
- Almost everything
- Seeing things I couldn't possibly see in England (for example, I'd love to check out a midnight rodeo)
- Walking around pretty much anywhere
- Cities
- Architecture
- Art & culture
- Areas of outstanding natural beauty
- Any cafés, pizza parlours, restaurants etc that I simply have to see
- Going on a rifle range (duh)
- Small musical venues, gigs
- Lounge bars etc
- LAN cafés
- Sights
- Anything else you think is neat
- Seeing you guys!
- PAX '09

Abilities:
- Can drive
- Can cook (and will totally cook in exchange for hospitality)
- Can navigate pretty well
- Being a classy fuck
- Can write. Will be keeping a diary, which is apparently some sort of paper-based blog
- Fine with kids and pets. Parents also generally love me.

Enjoys:
- Politics & diplomacy
- Music
- Art & beauty
- Literature & language
- Philosophy
- Film
- Foreign & current affairs
- History
- Gaming
- Conversation
- Other things too
- edit: I am also a total foodie, if slightly picky (don't like fish/seafood for example)

And a couple of things I think would be a good idea to mention.

- Drink. I don't really drink much in the way of alcohol. I never really got the taste for it. I am happy for this to stay this way as I currently save a lot of money. As a result...
- I'm not hugely interested in loud and noisy bars. That's a bit vague, I know. I prefer cafés most of the time.
- I also have something up with the eustachion tube in my left ear. Whilst this is not a problem at all, it becomes one if I get exposed to seriously loud noises. That, coupled with my disinterest in drink, means that clubs don't hold much for me either. I can do gigs, but not things like metal or extremely heavy rock.
- The last thing I think worth mentioning is that explicit religion can make me a little uncomfortable. I'm not going to cause problems or anything - I'm not Qingu, I'm fine with bowing my head for grace etc, but if I'm asked to go to church or something, I'll probably have to politely decline.

Lastly, my budget. Without going into the particulars, I don't expect to run into difficulties. However, I wouldn't be looking to spend much more than $50 a day, and I probably couldn't keep that up on a per diem basis either. However, I haven't crunched the numbers yet, so this is just a loose outline at the minute - more for your convenience than mine.

I put myself into your hands. If there's enough interest then this shit will be on and I will start figuring out a very tentative schedule.

Could you post either here or in a PM to me if you're interested? I'll only need to know your location for now, but it'd be a big help if you could provide other detail, like age etc. - and especially if you want to tell me the kinds of places and things you'd like to show me

Disclaimer: If there's an unexpectedly large turnout, I may not be able to fit everyone in. That's presumptuous, though. All PMs will be treated with utmost privacy.

I hope people are as up for it as I am

And, in text:

Fly to PHILADELPHIA

Route 96 to WASHINGTON DC through BALTIMORE

MARTINSBURG, WV

Route 81 down the Appalachian Trail to KNOXVILLE (maybe stopping somewhere overnight)

South on Route 75 to ATLANTA, GA

Southwest on Route 85 to MONTGOMERY, AL

Continue on to MOBILE

Take the coastal road (R12) to NEW ORLEANS (R59)

North into BATON ROUGE

West (R10) via LAFAYETTE and BEAUMONT to HOUSTON

On to SAN ANTONIO

North (R35) to AUSTIN, then FORT WORTH.

West on 20 to ABILENE

NorthWest via LUBBOCK and FORT SUMNER to ALBERQUERQUE

West on 40 to FLAGSTAFF, plus checking out the Grand Canyon

West on 40, bank NorthWest at Kingman to LAS VEGAS

SouthEast on 15, skirting around LA for now to reach SAN DIEGO

Back North on 5 to LONG BEACH and LOS ANGELES

Coastal Road to SANTA BARBARA

North to SAN FRANCISCO

Up into PORTLAND, OR

On to SEATTLE

East on EITHER Route 90 (N.ID; MT) OR Route 84 (N.OR; S.ID) to YELLOWSTONE

Through Wyoming to RAPID CITY; on to SIOUX FALLS

Northeast into the TWIN CITIES

South on Route 35 to CEDAR FALLS

East on 80 into CHICAGO

Down on 65 to WEST LAFAYETTE, then INDIANAPOLIS

East on 70 through DAYTON and SPRINGFIELD, to COLOMBUS

East on 70 to PITTSBURG, perhaps detouring to CLEVELAND

East on 78 to NEW YORK CITY

Fly back to the UK

DATES: From the 12th of July until the 30th of September.
Calendar Itinerary

My Number:


My Email (please use instead of PM!):
Forum handle without underscore @ gmail . com

My Blog:
http://flippyd.wordpress.com
I will be at PAX.
I will be keeping a blog with pictures and diary entries.

- Flippy

MrDelish

I see you're avoiding Utah like the plague

edit: of course, I wouldn't have much to offer here that other cities have

unless you like LDS temples and chapels. We have oodles of them out here

edit: ooh and we have mountains and skiing. I'm terrified of skiing but would make an exception for you

edit edit edit: dammit, summer? Then, I've got...uh, Nerf guns? I don't know. I spose we still have the mountains

and what does LFG stand for?

maximumzero

Holy shit you're passing through New Orleans?

Let me know and maybe we can grab some cafe au lait and some beignets.

But seriously, stop in and take an entire day's walk around the french quarter, stop by the New Orleans Museum of art, and take a drive around the area to see how alot of neighborhoods are still devastated three years after Katrina.

The Audubon Zoo is nice as is the Aquarium of the Americas, the local zoo & aquarium, though I don't know how much it'll differ from any zoos you've already been too. The Aquarium is nice for their Gulf of Mexico exhibit, however.

Edit: Unfortunately I'm still in my early 20s and not quite out of my parents' house yet so I don't think I'll be able to offer you a place to stay, and I don't know how much of a tour guide I'd be because I'm no historian...

http://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/louisiana/new-orleans/sights-nam.html

There's a good list of sights to see in New Orleans.

As far as food goes, New Orleans has some of the best food in the US, but alot of the good restaurants are very expensive so I don't know what I'd be able to reccomend there.

Icemopper

Make a stop by Roanoke, Virginia after June 20th and I'll be there and very newly wed!

iowa

dude, why are you going through Michigan. Go south from the Twin Cities a couple hundred miles and I could probably maybe give you a place in Cedar Falls. It would probably get you to Chicago sooner.

I can show you my collection of hands.

Musan

I'd say try to make a stop in San Diego, I can show you around to some Japanese restaurants. If not, I'm in LA from time to time and I'll most likely be at PAX.

musanman

If you do a leg near ohio (you're going through columbus it looks like that's about 2 hours from me) on motorcycle I'll join you for a few states. If you don't have your bike license go fucking get it.

Mullitt The Wise

I live in L.A. and would be more than happy to help you on your travels.
We've got amusement parks, but I don't know if you can fit those in to your budget. There's plenty of other stuff to do, though.

Lamoid

"Hey honey, meet Flippy, he's from the internet"

cj iwakura

There's lots of LAN centers in South Florida.

Well, okay, a handful of them. Still a good place for gaming, since there's still arcades down here.

Shadowfire

Come to Vermont! I'll show you our complete and total lack of anything, including, but not limited to arcades, lan centers, independent game stores, good coffee shops, and electricity!

Kidding on the last part.

We do have I think 6 rifle ranges within 30 miles of my home, however. ;-)

TheSuperWoot

MrDelish wrote: »

I see you're avoiding Utah like the plague

edit: of course, I wouldn't have much to offer here that other cities have

unless you like LDS temples and chapels. We have oodles of them out here

edit: ooh and we have mountains and skiing. I'm terrified of skiing but would make an exception for you

edit edit edit: dammit, summer? Then, I've got...uh, Nerf guns? I don't know. I spose we still have the mountains

and what does LFG stand for?

Damn Delish, you live in Utah? I don't mind living in SLC that much. If you did decide to come here there are a lot of outdoorsy type stuff you could do.

LFG stands for looking for group.

JonnyBot

Come join me in Arizona. We can go see the Grand Canyon. Nothing much else however. I don't know jack shit about areas of interest here. I suppose we could go out for a nightly stroll around Mill. Place is always busy. Or Scottsdale (don't go to Scottsdale).

I can talk to my wife about letting you stay a night or two.

Ohtsam

A note on texas is you may want to hit san antonio in addition to Austin especially if you want to see the dozen old spanish mission (you can hit all of them in a morning)

BlindPsychic

I think you'd be better off hopping on a flight from DC to New Orleans, you wouldn't miss that much, unless you wanna go to Tenessee, the line as it is right now just goes through hillbilly country. Unless seeing out of work coal miners is your thing. Drop me a line whenever you end up in NYC, I'm around, though I can't really get you a place to crash.

MrMonroe

If you give two shits about history (otherwise known as 'why we tossed your fog-breathing asses out on your backsides for taxing us too much') You really ought to land at Logan and take a look around Boston. (or, I suppose, end up in Boston and leave from Logan) The city is just totally tits yeah, and even the standard, stupid tourist tours are just plain amazing.

You're a little unclear as to when you are doing this. I'll be either in Boston, D.C., Berkeley CA, Portland OR, or NYC assuming you're doing this after September of '09, and I would be honored to host in whichever of these locations I end up, assuming the timing is right.

they are law school locations.

jaredburton

Depending on when you pass through northern Michigan, I might be able to show you around. Granted, there isn't much interesting there, unless you like pulp and steel mills. I'm sure I can think of something else!

JonnyBot

MrMonroe wrote: »

If you give two shits about history (otherwise known as 'why we tossed your fog-breathing asses out on your backsides for taxing us too much') You really ought to land at Logan and take a look around Boston. (or, I suppose, end up in Boston and leave from Logan) The city is just totally tits yeah, and even the standard, stupid tourist tours are just plain amazing.

You're a little unclear as to when you are doing this. I'll be either in Boston, D.C., Berkeley CA, Portland OR, or NYC assuming you're doing this after September of '09, and I would be honored to host in whichever of these locations I end up, assuming the timing is right.

they are law school locations.

Man I wish I still lived in Boston sometimes.

Ramen Noodle

So I don't know if I'm gonna be in Austin once you hit it up (going to college), but this is seriously one of the most fun towns in the world. We have shittons of shopping, Barton Springs, excellent food and a whole ton of other stuff.

MrMonroe

Beware, also, that if you are in the northeast I may attempt to force you to spend an extra day going up north to see the White Mountains in NH. Fucking. Beautiful. However, I will respect your wishes right up until I have you gagged in the trunk of my Accura.

tyrannus

NEW YORK CITTTTY.

Asiina

You seem to be missing Canada on that trip.

Visti

BlindPsychic wrote: »

I think you'd be better off hopping on a flight from DC to New Orleans, you wouldn't miss that much, unless you wanna go to Tenessee, the line as it is right now just goes through hillbilly country. Unless seeing out of work coal miners is your thing. Drop me a line whenever you end up in NYC, I'm around, though I can't really get you a place to crash.

I have a mental image of Flippy reinacting that one episode of Top Gear, where they go to USA and get shot at in hillbilly country.


Totally unrelated to topic, but Flippy, don't I remember you from the AGS forums and IRC channel? Man, you guys pop up everywhere..

Flippy_D

Je-sus, Visti. Yeah. I used to post at AGS but I moved here. Gosh.

Also, asiina, would be great to visit Canadia as well but I simply do not have the money or time =<

UEAKCrash

You're actually going right through my city in Michigan. I could perhaps show you some of the interesting spots around here, but it's mostly old historic buildings and murals and such. Although there is a decent little cafe not to far from my house. It'd be a little out of your way if you were just following the highway south. But like, maybe 5 miles at the most. And I can show you the lighthouse/ coast and such. I live like 8 blocks from it. I was 4 blocks from it about a month ago. 8-)

Not much on the side of gaming here, though. there is an arcade/ "fun center" around here, but their machines are rather poorly maintained and they are more about the go-cart rides and mini-golf, if you're interested in that.

Michigan can be a beautiful place most of the time, especially in the winter, but be warned it get's cold as fuck, depending on what time of the year you come here (most of the year).

But at the very least, I could perhaps guide you to a few spots on your way, if you are interested. There is this one drive along the lake shore that even I love driving down after living here my whole life. PM me if you aren't being raped about this area already.


Oh, and if you want to look it up at all, I live in Ludington, MI.

JonnyBot

Flippy, we can go to Rawhide! I love that place. 1880 western themed town and steakhouse. It's like a small village with a saloon and all that shit. They have a lot of stuff from the era, like old revolvers and shit. And we get to eat some rattlesnake.

Mustachio Jones

If you find stuff to do in Philly I would be glad to tag along. I'm about 45 minutes away in Jersey. Don't come here. It's boring.

Or New York City. I can tag along there, too. 45 minutes.

MechMantis

Hey. You need to go by Buffalo, get some chicken wings. You can get "Buffalo Wings" elsewhere, but it is a SCIENTIFIC FACT that the further you get from Buffalo, the more horrible the "Buffalo Wings" get.

You will regret not having them later.


I'm a bit south of Buffalo, but I'm still in the house with my dear parents, so I don't know if I'll be able to provide anything.

You'll also be able to see Niagara Falls, which is pretty impressive. Tromping around Letchworth Park is also a good time, regardless of the time of year.



See?

Raslin

I see that you're heading to the San Francisco bay area. I'd be more than willing to hang out, and I could offer you a place to crash for a night at least, most likely. I'm pretty much a slight bit northeast of San Francisco, yay for suburbs.

The only thing I can't really offer is being a great guide. I mean, I go to the city every once in a while, and berkeley is awesome, but I'm generally the kind of guy who just goes to new places, and explores until I find awesome things. So if you're looking to see a lot of awesome things, you may be better off getting some tour guide book(though I would still tag along :P)

The_Scarab

Your route completely avoids Colorado which I can tell you from first hand experience is breathtaking in so many ways.

schuss

If you make it up to New England, I could show you around NH a bit, but sadly it looks like you don't have it in the plan.

That said, you may want to consider running closer to the coast on the East side of your trip, as it's far more scenic.

PS - you forgot "headshotting" in your list of skills.

Tube

your impatience has marked the answer as an unqualified no

Flippy_D

Scarab, Colorado does look pretty good. Maybe I could be swayed to continue north from Alberquerque for a little bit. Could you tell me where the best scenery is to be found? I do need to cut a sharp west is all, so...

Zek

I may or may not be available around the New York area, depends on where I'm working after graduation.

No Great Name

So when exactly in the summer?

And whenabouts would you be in the D.C. area? All kind of stuff to do here.

KupotheAvenger

I'm in to show you around once you hit the california leg of the trip. I'm in LA, but the good part (the one with water). Plenty of nice restaurants that you can do on 50 bucks a day. Also, I'm an architect so I can show you all the funky shit we have on the best coast.

tofu

If you're going through CA definitely make a stop at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

minigunwielder

You are going through Albequerque.

Albequerque.

May god have mercy on your pitiful excuse for a soul.

Flippy_D

I have a friend who lives there that I've known since I was like 14 Gonna visit him.

rustyzippo

Musan wrote: »

I'd say try to make a stop in San Diego, I can show you around to some Japanese restaurants. If not, I'm in LA from time to time and I'll most likely be at PAX.

I agree with Musan. Some of the best beaches in the US and if you'd like to try surfing I'm out about every day.

Bursar

Guess what's in Orange County, California? Disneyland! And for $50 bucks you can get... Uh... you can get to watch all the people who are willing to pay more stand in line for tickets. Maybe not such a good idea. But if you do want to surrender your soul briefly to the Mouse, I can give a bang-up tour, having spent much of my childhood roaring around there.