fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #6049 ]

[ SECRET POST #6049 ]

⌈ Secret Post #6049 ⌋

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I am looking for ideas of where to go. I love going to museums, historical sites, and eating good food. I've recently been to DC so would prefer not to go there. I'd like to go for 4-5 days. Preferably in October/November in a place that isn't blazing hot. Has to have public transportation because driving is my nightmare. Looking for any suggestions for me to research!

I am biased, but San Francisco Bay Area checks all those boxes.

With transportation/mobility caveats: Several years ago I visited Santa Fe, NM in November and it was lovely. I don't drive, either, but I took a shuttle from ABQ airport and stayed near the city center. There is a lot within walking distance, and a couple of times I took rideshares to visit places a bit further out (Meow Wolf!)

Someone actually suggest San Francisco to me before! And I've always wanted to eat a Michelin Star restaurant and apparently they are more casual in SF. What museums/sites would you suggest? When I looked at it before, these are what I was interest in: MOMA, Walt Disney Museum, Academy of Sciences, Exploratorium, Pier 15, and Alcatraz. I also like weird stores.

AYRT All excellent choices, and I also recommend the Asian Art Museum, De Young, Legion of Honor, Golden Gate Park, and Musee Mecanique.

Oakland Museum of California is well worth visiting and easily accessible by BART. Downtown Berkeley also fun to hang out in.

Not sure what are your criteria for "weird shops," but I think you'd find good browsing in The Haight (touristy but there are gems), The Mission, The Castro, Japantown, and the Ferry Building.

You would probably want to stay near a BART station-- Union Square; Yerba Buena Center; possibly the Mission. Financial District is a good location and probably has hot deals right now, but be warned it can sometimes feel creepy and deserted later at night and on weekends. (This was true LONG before COVID and mass remote work.)

Disclaimers: Yes, there is a homeless problem. Yes, some areas are rougher than others. Yes, you need to have some basic street smarts. No, the city is not a doomed crime-ridden hellscape.

(This is not a paid promotion ;)

Thank you! I'll look into all those places to see which I might enjoy. You said October was a good time to go?

Re: Want to take a solo vacation this year in the US (or Canada?)

(Anonymous) - 2023-07-30 03:28 (UTC) - Expand

Seconding San Francisco. Also, September-October is probably the nicest time of the year to visit weatherwise (probably not so much November).

Thoughts on destinations - MOMA is good. The Disney museum IMO is good but you have to be pretty interested in Disney as a person. Academy of Sciences is good, it's also right next to the De Young museum which is really good if you like indigenous art (it also has other stuff, the indigenous art collection is just really strong). Exploratorium is great and well worth visiting, so is Alcatraz but be aware I think you have to buy tickets well in advance now. I would recommend mostly staying away from Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf (IMO it's a tourist trap) but there's some other stuff sorta nearby like the Cartoon Art Museum, historic ships you can tour at Hyde Street Pier, and Ghirardelli Square that might be worth checking out if you're interested in those things. It's also fun to just hang out around the Mission and Dolores Park, or North Beach and Washington Square, or Chinatown. And there's about a million good places to eat and drink.

Thank you! Any places you recommend I stay at? I like to be able to walk and get food to bring back to my hotel (or shop) at night after whatever visiting I did.

Hmmmm. Most of the hotels in SF are clustered around Union Square, which is fine (it's very convenient for everything) but doesn't have a lot of good food right in the area, it's more of a shopping and business district. The neighborhoods more north and northwest of Union Square - Nob Hill, Russian Hill, North Beach, Chinatown - have more food and stuff to do after a long day of tourism. Avoid places in the Tenderloin, especially in the area between Van Ness, Geary, Market, and Taylor or so, because it's a really bad neighborhood.

Re: Want to take a solo vacation this year in the US (or Canada?)

kaijinscendre - 2023-07-30 13:48 (UTC) - Expand

I'm a bay area native and can second all this but if you're going to the Exploratorium go on adult night unless you want to spend all day looking at the backs of kids' heads.

November is a good time to visit Dallas, believe it or not. When I went in 2017 my arrival was balmy, but things cooled off quickly. I did go to Dealy Plaza and the book depository (the latter of which actually made me cry). And I was able to do quite a bit without a car there, which is definitely not a phrase one would normally use to describe any place in Texas.

Dallas would definitely be a cheap flight. I'd need to see if there is enough things to do.

I live here. There are a few museums, but I wouldn't say it is amazing in terms of that kind of thing. The Holocaust museum is great, though. Also, the public transportation sucks.

Edited 2023-07-30 01:54 (UTC)

Unfortunately the public transportation in the states is generally a nightmare. You'd basically have to be in a big city, which will be iffy on the historical sites. Luckily Oct/Nov is generally cooler weather just about everywhere.

Last time I was in Las Vegas we got a tour out into the desert where we got to see some old mining ghost towns and had lunch in Death Valley. You can also get day trips into the Painted Desert, or out to Hoover Dam. They also have a variety of museums there, 'cause, you know, Las Vegas. I was hoping to see the Mob Museum but we couldn't fit it into our schedule. :(

Oh yeah, I am aware. I only go to places with good transport. So options are limited. :(

My sister wants to take a trip to Las Vegas eventually so I have to wait for that trip.

Have you been to Boston? A lot of good stuff there.

I have not! I'll look into it. See what I might be interested in.

If you do end up going to Boston, the Aquarium is amazing. As is the Planetarium. And there are a lot of historical sites from the colonial/revolutionary war era that are pretty cool.

Chicago has great museums (Field Museum, Art Institute, Museum of Science and Industry, etc.) and good food - stuff from local fare like Italian beef sandwiches (deep dish pizza is overrated, IMO) but also good ethnic cuisine. It's got public transport, but it's not on par with NYC or London/Paris. Honestly not sure about the historical sites but I guess it depends on what you're looking for. It's a big city, so there's stuff like this:

https://www.10best.com/destinations/illinois/chicago/attractions/historic-sites/

San Francisco is nice in November and again, excellent food but I think its strength is the proximity to the coast and parks, but that requires a car. It's not that easy to get around in the city via public transportation, either - not impossible, but not like a major city like NYC.

I went to Chicago last year with my nephew! We really enjoyed it.

Seattle has got some pretty nice museums and some pretty awesome seafood.

Nashville is a very interesting place if you like country music at all and Southern food can be amazing.

New Orleans has some pretty intriguing historical sites, Southern and Cajun food, a music scene, and some spooky tours.

If you're into space, there's Houston with the Space Center. I think the food is mainly Tex-Mex and BBQ, but they do have Southern influences and a Chinatown.

I've been wanting to go to Seattle for like two years. I'll finally be going next year! My BIL has a work trip so we'll have a free hotel and all that. I am so excited! Hopefully the Museum of Pop Culture has a good exhibit then (I think they have a changing one).

I was just in Seattle and SeaTac is insane! If you are flying there, I recommend getting to the airport 3 hours before your flight home, not two (and that's not counting time spent returning a rental car, etc.) I had a flight home at 8:20 am on a random Monday - not near a holiday - walked in the doors at 6:10 am, and spent so long in security (the line was already massive by that early hour) I only got to my gate 10 minutes before they started boarding. Unless you have TSA Precheck, allow extra time!

Thankfully I do have TSA precheck!

St. Louis is pretty awesome; all of Forest Park is cool, with free entry to the art museum the zoo, etc.: https://www.forestparkforever.org/visit

There's the Arch and even more museums and things around the city (like the Magic House, science-y stuff!), lots of good restaurants, etc. I don't know much about public transportation, but there is the Metro, with the train, buses, and call-a-ride paratransit services for people with disabilities that can't work around the fixed Metro routes.

https://www.metrostlouis.org/

Weather in St. Louis then is pretty nice, if you ask me, and the city is really pretty.

We are actually planning a trip with my niblings to St. Louis eventually. Since it is within driving distance.

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