It depends, what are you after? Try to see all the must see sights? Or do you want to experience a little bit of everything? You want to stick to big cities? You planning on driving everywhere or also using train/air to make hops? You ever been before or ever plan on coming back?

The Disney fanatic in me says you gotta hit Disneyland and Disney World, LOL.

Ferguson, MO.
Great deals on Hotwire.
Plus CPs isnt far. Hey Chuck !
Thats kinda messed up when east St. Louis seems like a bastion of safety....

Pacific Northwest here is incredible, I am originally also from Europe, but living here has been a real treat. Cool cities are Seattle - Portland - San Francisco and anything in between. Beautiful drives, cool cities and easy lodging, plenty easy hotels and hostels.

Don't buy a car, its a bit of a hassle when you don't have a Soc. Sec. number, especially insurance (Trust me, I have been there). Renting is cheap and easy, you can be all set for 400-600$ for the 4 weeks if you find a good deal, just check the major budget sites...

Ask rotordave...especially about buying a car.

And yes, Chicago is a must...but probably not in the winter! Late spring/early summer and early fall are the best times to visit. Mid-late summer can be very crowded (touristy) and hot/humid.

-Mark

Las Vegas.
Bring all of your money, leave it there. Go home free of that terrible financial burden

Wilkommen in Austin Texas
Great Pinball spot (Pinballz being on top)
Central Texas Hill country beauty
Capitol of Texas , visit the capitol etc
Wonderful food and BBQ

--JEff

NYC: Modern Pinball, then a trip to Silverball Museum in Asbury Park

Boston....can visit some old historical buildings, some great restaurants, drive up to the mountains, then head west on the Mass Pike I90 to other great cities

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Weather is an important factor, what time of year are you considering?

Austin, TX is the greatest city in the country.
The music, the TX women and their accents, the friendliness, the bars, the food,...all of it.
T for Texas.

I too recommend visiting the West Coast.

Hit Las Vegas on the way.

Then Disneyland in Anaheim, CA

Then the San Francisco Bay Area (my home), lots of great pinball venues!

Then Portland

Then Seattle

Can't vouch for the East Coast. Haven't been there.

move along, nothing to see here...

What kinda "stuff" do you enjoy besides pinball? What are your objectives? See cool stuff you can only find in america?

Login's Arcade is awesome!

What time of the year are you planning on?

New York. There's enough there to keep you quite busy ... but a short drive gets you to the New Jersey shore, and the awesome cities of Philadelphia and Boston. Head a little west (where I am) and you have amazing mountains with some great drives through NJ into New York state. Rent a convertible and you'll be a happy dude.

http://www.marchandmeffre.com/detroit/index.html

We're full. Just skip right past the east coast.

Definitely Vegas. And New Orleans is a blast, but miserable weather in the summer.

Keep in mind--the US is pretty big. It takes about a week of constant driving to get from coast to coast. A few folks I know in Europe are always surprised at how large the geographical area actually is. For instance, if you're traveling in New York state, at its widest part, it takes about 5-6 hours to drive from border to boarder.

For a *reliable* used car, you could expect to pay around $5500-$9000 from a dealership, depending on the type of vehicle and where/who you buy from. You could of course buy one from a private seller, but these cars typically end up being projects. With an (honest) dealer, everything will have been put in working order.

For car insurance, it is typically bought as 1-year plans, but 6-month plans can likely be obtained. Two of the big-name national companies are Geico and Progressive, though there are a handful of others. It would probably be a good idea to go with a nationally-recognized company, rather than a local company since you will be traveling extensively. Depending on the type of car you might buy, a 6-month insurance plan might cost around $150-$400. But, you might want to talk to somebody about your special case.

As for what you want to see, did you just want to see cities? The countryside? Resorts? Places of historical significance? Tourist attractions? There really is a lot to see, even just in a single state.

Have you talked to any travel agents yet? They might be able to give you a better idea about what to do about a car or locations to possibly visit.

the usa has lame cities compared to europe, in the states it best to plan nice streches of roadway between note worthy landscapes. example between sanfran and portland dont take the i5, take coastal 101. grand canyon? dont use the i40 try historic parts of the 66 and 89.

i would not buy a car, just rent something that you can fold down rear seats and sleep in. so you dont have to get a motel every night. also the older senic hiways have cheaper older motels if your on a budgette - save your money to splurge on a room in vegas.

try to get at least 6 weeks, there is not real much here in the states, however traffic and huge spaces between sites will eat up large amounts of time. i allways felt 6week to 3 months was a good journey, every other over seas excursion less than that felt like of a waist.

The best things to be seen in the US are by far all the National parks. I would avoid spending time in too many cities, JMHO. There are some wonderful cities but the diversity of our great parks is where the real treasure of the US is.

The US is HUGE so 4 weeks is not a ton of time to see a bunch if you are driving. If you are flying into Chicago then I would make that your major city to explore and decide what general direction you want to head in (i.e. east, south, or west) and pick some future destinations along the way. I would suggest heading west as you can make a nice 4 week trip out of Chicago and west through the Rockies or Tetons and stopping at some great natural sites along the way. Given that it will be summer, I would avoid the heat of the south. I think Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain National, Grand Canyon, Arches, and Olympic would all be on my list. You could also zig zag around to cities like Denver, Las Vegas, and Seattle on the way to check out other great sites and hit some great pinball spots (Logans in Chitown, PHOF in Vegas, Lyons in CO, and Pinmuseum in Seattle). Could make a real nice trip with those general hot spots to hit along the way.

Research the national parks, pick some to hit, and plan around them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_parks_of_the_United_States

Grand Rapids: Come for the beer, stay for the pinball. Especially if you're already doing Chicago and Detroit.

Chicago's a great decision, best french food I've had outside of France.

Great advice. Also I am with the rest on Chicago (amazing food and architecture), Boston (just a badass city), and don't forget our Nation's Capital. Washington DC is great, lots of history, memorials, and Smithsonian Museums. Best of all, all that stuff is FREE. Plus the Metro (public transportation) is super convenient and affordable.

My favorite city though is my hometown of Haleiwa Hawaii, a road trip there would be difficult though.

+1 for the National Parks

California is a great stopping point with LA, Hollywood, Disneyland, San Francisco, Napa, Yosemite and many places to stop and see redwoods.

From there Vegas if you are into neon lights, gambling, and PHoF.

I think DC and New York are good stops in terms of getting a better understanding of US history, culture, and seeing some of our great museums and art installations. Visit Broadway and catch a show.

Portland, Seattle, Vancouver BC, and Victoria are also relatively close (I said relatively) and are great cities to visit to catch the pacific northwest vibe and culture.

I loved New Orleans and Florida when I visited but not sure summer is best time to go due to weather.

well if you're in Chicago, you may as well take a trip to the roller coaster capital of the world, Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. they have 16 roller coasters, including many world-class coasters, four of which were the world's tallest and/or fastest at the time they were built.

decide which region you are interested in. east, west, south, north, or central. it's not realistic to go from end to end. from the east coast to the west coast is literally 50 hours of driving time.

the east coast is the most condensed in terms of major cities for sure -- you've got Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, and Richmond / historic Williamsburg all within a 600 mile stretch.

If you like weirdness, there are a few Wigwam motels around the US where you sleep in a concrete Teepee.

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Chicago best place when its not cold. Tons to do and a good young friendly crowd of people with tons of bars to hit up around summertime with festivals. New Orleans great cajun food and night life of French Quarter & Bourbon Street. San Francisco what an amazing town to see with great restarants and seafood as well. Honolulu, HI or Maui to relax and end the trip.

If I was coming to the US, I would only go to Vegas if you want to see the spectacle. At this point in time, gambling is rampant everywhere (tons of states have legalized casinos), and you can bet on every sport known to man online if you really want. If you go to Vegas, do it because you want to see shows and the city. The gambling is far from as attractive as it used to be as far as I'm concerned.

Gambling is for fools.

Germany has casinos, so I certainly would not travel all the way to the USA to piss into the wind.

Like you said, Vegas is only worth seeing for the spectacle and the Pinball Hall of Fame.

If it was my trip I wouldn't focus on the cities at all but rather the national parks of the west: Yosemite, Sequoia, Death Valley, Crater Lake, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Glacier, the Grand Canyon, Zion, etc.

casa de labnip.

not only is it in the #1 ranked city in the USA for the next decade.
it is also full of pins (only .25 per game too. what a deal)

I would:
-Visit both coasts (try surfing AND charter a fishing trip)
-do national parks (inc Rushmore, Yosemite & Everglades)
-disney world and Cedar Point
-New Orleans (eat at great restaurants)
-los Angeles, San Fran, Chicago, DC and New York (all must sees)
-maybe Boston, Philadelphia, Vegas
-see a nascar race, MLB game and MLS (if summer); consider these options NOT in must see cities.
-museums inc smithsonians
That should fill up four weeks

Stay away from killadelphia , I would hit the west coast for sure

only becuase its cold. But back East has more history & decent friendly people than the west thats for sure.

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Don't forget about San Diego if your in Cali

Pacific Northwest (including Vancouver BC) all the way down to San Diego. Awesome drive and not a bad spot along the way.

That's a great stretch with tons of cool stuff along the way.
Lots of pinball in Washington and Oregon as well as mountains, hot springs, breweries, friendly folks and the Pacific Ocean along the 101. Our summers are warm but not hot.

If you make it to Portland I can recommend a few spots.

House on the rock
Savannah ga
Badlands South Dakota

Hopkins, Minnesota.

You can see me.

LTG : )™

Or, much, much closer (40 miles vs. 290 miles) to Chicago in far north suburban Gurnee, is Great America, a theme park with ("only," ha) 13 roller coasters and similar accolades. Open May-October.

It all depends if you're planning on visiting the east coast from Chicago or not. If you are, Cedar Point is totally on the way there and a must. However, if you are heading to the west coast, that's quite the detour!

Sadly, I believe both parks lack pinball these days.

-Mark

Forget anything else anyone here has said.

Visiting Lloyd at SS Billiards in Hopkins takes the cake!

-Mark

Do you have to go to Chicago? It's awesome, don't get me wrong, but it puts you in a bad spot. That area of the country is the least interesting in my opinion (I would know because I grew up there), and it's a 10-15 hour drive to the more interesting parts of the country.

Especially since it sounds like you're interested in National Parks, I would fly into: Denver, San Francisco, or Seattle and start from there.

visit --> Largest Twine Ball rolled by one person in Darwin, Minnesota.

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