Nothern US itineray

Quoting ArnaudCrochet

What would you think of the idea then of taking a flight from Buffalo to Philadelphia, and rent a car from there, tour around PA (and maybe push to Washington DC or south New Jersey), then as suggested by Beausoleil get a train up to NYC to fly back to Belgium?

Even though that was my idea, I do think it is a good idea - you could even rent a car in Buffalo if the weather is reasonable and drive down through the lake district to the Amish country - staying someplace like Lancaster, and doing daytrips from there. Or drive from Buffalo to West Point and take a train from there down to New York City and Philadelphia to rent a car there. You will find out how inferior our trains are as a method of transportation. Lots of options - my daughter just did a motorcycle trip to Jim Thorpe PA, the Leigh Valley and Harper's Ferry before she went back to her house in VA.

[ Edit: Edited on 26 Jun 2024, 12:17 GMT by greatgrandmaR ]

Quoting greatgrandmaR

Even though that was my idea, I do think it is a good idea

Sorry, I must have mixed the names while driving...

you could even rent a car in Buffalo if the weather is reasonable and drive down through the lake district to the Amish country - staying someplace like Lancaster, and doing daytrips from there. Or drive from Buffalo to West Point and take a train from there down to New York City and Philadelphia to rent a car there. You will find out how inferior our trains are as a method of transportation.

I'll have to do the maths once my inbound flight's confirmed, to know if renting a car say in Buffalo and dropping it in Philadelphia is worth it, same math if I was to drive down only to West point and renting another one in Philadelphia and handing it over at the same place.
I've heard train connections aren't the best in US, so I'll try to keep those trips limited to a bare minimum.

my daughter just did a motorcycle trip to Jim Thorpe PA, the Leigh Valley and Harper's Ferry before she went back to her house in VA.

Doing it with a rented bike would be really nice, but given the weather warnings already received, I think I'll pass for this time

Arnoud, have you thought for a totally different area? As you have two weeks you could fligh maybe to Florida, or make a road trip to the Southern (Music-)-Cities. Or you even can flight to Las Vegas, making a road trip through a few Nationalparks in the West (Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Zion, Bryce)

Quoting ArnaudCrochet

Quoting greatgrandmaR

my daughter just did a motorcycle trip to Jim Thorpe PA, the Leigh Valley and Harper's Ferry before she went back to her house in VA.

Doing it with a rented bike would be really nice, but given the weather warnings already received, I think I'll pass for this time

I wasn't suggesting a bike trip - just another possible area to explore.

While I think there are many wonderful places to explore, I think it would be better to stay in the New York, Connecticutt, New Jersey, Pennsylvania area or nearby. There's plenty to do there to keep someone busy for 2 weeks. Reading has a WWII weekend which unfortunately is in June but there's also other sites to visit. Like the Eldred World War II Museum which features one of the state's best collections of artifacts from the war, including many pieces you'd expect to find in a much larger institution. It's 85-90 miles south of Buffalo in Pennsylvania.

On the grounds of the Army War College in Carlisle, the Army Heritage Center tells the story of the US Army from its inception through the present day. In addition to many great exhibits, the museum also features a variety of interactive exhibits. Outside, the center features a variety of planes, tanks, and military camp recreations

Iin Boalsburg, one of the towns that claims to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, the Pennsylvania Military Museum covers Pennsylvania military history from the first half of the 18th century through the present day, with a special focus on 20th century military history. The land started as a memorial area for the men of the 28th Division American Expeditionary Force from World War I and finally became the state's military history museum in 1969.

There are places in New York City - although I know you would prefer less populated areas. The U.S.S. Intrepid is a museum ship in NYC (my husband served on the Intrepid for several years although it was well after WW2), and there is also Skyscape which is about spies.

And there are other military sites like Fort Necessity in Pennsylvania (one of the few battles that Washington lost https://grandmarperipatic.travellerspoint.com/82/ The National Road is near there around Uniontown.

This is a report on visiting Amish country and Landcaster on the way to a wedding in 2016 https://grandmargeorgia.travellerspoint.com/14/ and then we went to Hershey on the way back https://grandmargeorgia.travellerspoint.com/16/

[ Edit: Edited on 26 Jun 2024, 20:41 GMT by greatgrandmaR ]

Quoting BeateR

Arnoud, have you thought for a totally different area? As you have two weeks you could fligh maybe to Florida, or make a road trip to the Southern (Music-)-Cities. Or you even can flight to Las Vegas, making a road trip through a few Nationalparks in the West (Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Zion, Bryce)

Yes I did, but since I don't know when I'll have the opportunity to come again and the fact that I'll be travelling solo, I'll make this trip all about what's important to me, and things that would sound bothering to my girlfriend. So, I'll keep in the north east for this one time at least.

Quoting greatgrandmaR

While I think there are many wonderful places to explore, I think it would be better to stay in the New York, Connecticutt, New Jersey, Pennsylvania area or nearby. There's plenty to do there to keep someone busy for 2 weeks.

I guess I'll plan in that sort of way. I've already checked for a car rental and drop-off to a different location, it seems quite fair for the 2 weeks.

There are places in New York City - although I know you would prefer less populated areas. The U.S.S. Intrepid is a museum ship in NYC (my husband served on the Intrepid for several years although it was well after WW2), and there is also Skyscape which is about spies.

As I'll be flying back from NYC, I guess it's worth a 2-3 days visit. even though I guess Thanksgiving day will feel quite dead, with a lot of places closed, right?

And there are other military sites like Fort Necessity in Pennsylvania (one of the few battles that Washington lost https://grandmarperipatic.travellerspoint.com/82/ The National Road is near there around Uniontown.

Thanks for these locations! I've also heard quite a lot about Gettysburg. I know it's not WW2 related, but maybe it's worth the trip too, being fairly close to Lancester.
Do you know about it?

This is a report on visiting Amish country and Landcaster on the way to a wedding in 2016 https://grandmargeorgia.travellerspoint.com/14/ and then we went to Hershey on the way back https://grandmargeorgia.travellerspoint.com/16/

I'll have a look at them! I find it always very intersting to read about people's trips/experiences, and even more when they aren't international tourists. It fades the "everything's all knew, unknown" feeling, and feels more acurate, factual.

Thanks a lot again for all your precious recommendations and advice!

ArnaudCrochet: FYI, you seem to have been hit by an automated report of your last post by ModBot, a bit of scripting to keep our forums relatively spam-free. In this case ModBot was wrong, probably due to you quoting a previous post with more than one link. If you see this before the report is cleaned up: You've done nothing wrong. Don't worry about it - the responsible moderator for this forum (not me, unfortunately) should come along shortly to make your post (and your thread) visible again.

@Andy: if you happen to see this, please delete my post when you clean up the report?

[ Edit: Edited on 27 Jun 2024, 10:41 GMT by Sander ]

Oh, meh, I misremembered who's moderating which forum - this one is Bob, who I haven't seen active in a couple of weeks. @Arnaud: you might have to wait even longer for your post to become visible again. That sucks.

Maybe just post it again?

Post cleared.

Thanks for these locations! I've also heard quite a lot about Gettysburg. I know it's not WW2 related, but maybe it's worth the trip too, being fairly close to Lancester.
Do you know about it?

Yes - there are a bunch of Revolutionary war sites in Pennsylvania as well as Civil War sites. When I lived near Philadelphia in 1969 I visited some of those sites - in one day we went to Gattysburg (I wasn't much interested in the Civil War at this point so I concentrated on the Revolutionary war) and Washington's Crossing which was where Washington crossed the Delaware to surprise the British troops
https://grandmareastcoast.travellerspoint.com/15/

the following day we went to Hershey, Harrisburg, Brandywine Battlefield (another Revolutionary War site) and Longwood Gardens. And at some point we went to Hagley Museum in Delaware an saw where black powder was made.

As for THanksgiving day - the Intrepid is closed that day but here is a list of what is open and what is not https://www.newyork.co.uk/what-is-open-on-thanksgiving-in-new-york/

[ Edit: Edited on 28 Jun 2024, 12:41 GMT by greatgrandmaR ]