I thought you were visiting Swedish Microsoft HQ 
Guden visits The Great Satan!
- Thread starter Guden Oden
- Start date
The problem Guden, is that what America has that is great is things like the grand canyon, yellowstone, Tetons, etc. I have been to New York, it is just a city as are many others in the world, but there is not the depth of history one gets traveling in Europe for example. Mesa Verde has the anasazi ruins, and that is about the extent of that sort of stuff in the US. However, mountain biking, climbing, white water rafting etc are all better things to do. I guess your dad is older though, so maybe it is best to hang out at cities. Why did you pick those particular places to visit anyway? Therein lies your answer of what to do, see art museums, or whatever floats your boat. The museum of natural history had some nifty stuff last time I was in NY.
Washington has lots of visitor crap as well obviously, but you won't be near DC.
Washington has lots of visitor crap as well obviously, but you won't be near DC.
Well, there ARE some mitigating factors even with a relatively young nation like the US. To be fair, a whole bunch of european countries are younger than the 1771 or whatever declaration of freedom birthday (though the continent was of course inhabited for a lot longer).Sxotty said:
So there might not be many ancient stone cities and such with roots in the middle ages or before then even. But there's other stuff to enjoy and appreciate. There is a certain innate value in a city full of towering buildings, who can look upon the empire state for example and not say that is truly an accomplishment of human engineering. Not just because the structure is very tall, but because it's got personality through its looks and its historical impression on the culture of mankind. After all, it was immortalized in King Kong for example. I'm not going to see Vegas tho, to me, that stands for only the bad sides of american greed, overconsumption and decandence. I don't need a replica of paris, egypt, venice or whatever, filled with slot machines ready to gobble up all my cash. All that shit is just tacky and...gross.
He's like, 67 now I believe. Anyway, he's quite spry tho so no worries there. We won't go river-rafting tho or anything like that, it's not going to be an adventure vacation.
Well, Palo Alto is just because that is where this event my dad's taking part in is taking place. And SF is right nearby, so it's only natural to go there. And NY because there's a large international airport there so it's likely we'll be landing there coming over from europe... And it's an iconic symbol of america, and I've always wanted to go there. I've been in LA, but at that time the NES was at its height of power and it was only for seven or eight days anyway... So simply put, it's a worthy destination to experience.
"Visitor crap"... I thought you americans took pride in your country above all else. The illegal immigrants sure do tho - isn't that so, Epic? Thanks for all the helpful tips and advice people!*
*"Peopel" -> "peoplel" -> "people"
If touring history consists of "ruins", then there is not much to see in the US outside of indian villages. But alot has happened historically in the last 2 centuries, owing to speedup of communications and economics, so history is getting compressed.
On that note, there is still alot to see. It ain't 2000 years old, it ain't ruins, but interesting none the less. I don't think what makes history interesting is ONLY how old a particular site is, but also in the item or event iself, the human story behind it.
For example, visit Angel Island while in SF. Like Ellis Island, it was built to process immigrants. Due to an SF fire in after the 1906 earthquake which destroyed most of the city's birth and citizen records, many chinese workers claimed they were American citizens and then tried to bring over their families from China. Because some people were falsely claiming relatives who were actually not (no DNA tests in 1906, no records from China to prove relations), prospective immigrants of the new post-SF fire "citizens" were held on the island for long periods of time, while they interrogated them to try and prove or disprove the so-called familial relations.
Angel Island is interesting because while confined, those Chinese immigrants inscribed poetry all over the island into stone, describing their situation, their boredom, their longing to see a father, etc. Angel Island is also great for hiking, picnicing, biking, and seeing a view of the city.
Check out this excellent site on the poetry: http://www.poeticwaves.net/
On that note, there is still alot to see. It ain't 2000 years old, it ain't ruins, but interesting none the less. I don't think what makes history interesting is ONLY how old a particular site is, but also in the item or event iself, the human story behind it.
For example, visit Angel Island while in SF. Like Ellis Island, it was built to process immigrants. Due to an SF fire in after the 1906 earthquake which destroyed most of the city's birth and citizen records, many chinese workers claimed they were American citizens and then tried to bring over their families from China. Because some people were falsely claiming relatives who were actually not (no DNA tests in 1906, no records from China to prove relations), prospective immigrants of the new post-SF fire "citizens" were held on the island for long periods of time, while they interrogated them to try and prove or disprove the so-called familial relations.
Angel Island is interesting because while confined, those Chinese immigrants inscribed poetry all over the island into stone, describing their situation, their boredom, their longing to see a father, etc. Angel Island is also great for hiking, picnicing, biking, and seeing a view of the city.
Check out this excellent site on the poetry: http://www.poeticwaves.net/
Last edited by a moderator:
That's a great tip, thank you.
And I agree, things don't have to be 2000 years old to be visit-worthy. I'm sure the 99 cent store is worthy too, in a manner anyway!
And I agree, things don't have to be 2000 years old to be visit-worthy. I'm sure the 99 cent store is worthy too, in a manner anyway!
