US: California

Los Angeles

Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Grammy Museum

San Diego *

Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala
Mingei International Museum: art of practical items
San Diego History Center
Timken Museum of Art (very small)
Museum of Us
San Diego Museum of Art
Museum of Contemporary Art (late 1800s)
La Jolla shores, cove and beach
Japanese friendship gardens
Desert garden
Seaport village (expensive shopping)
Old town
Casa de Carillo (city’s oldest house)
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
Pacific Beach
Sunset cliffs
Ballast Point, Stone Brewery
Dike Rock or Cabrillo National Monument tide pools (winter is best)

San Francisco

Lombard Street
Chinatown
Golden Gate Park
Marshall’s Beach
Twin Peaks (views)
Old Mission Dolores Church (oldest in SF)
Legion of Honor art museum
Asian art museum
Japanese tea garden
Walt Disney Museum

Carmel-by-the-Sea: fairy town

Carmel Mission Basilica
Tor House: home of Robinson Jeffers

Laguna Beach

Pacific Marine Mammal Center
Laguna Art Museum: California art

Lake Tahoe

Sand Harbor (has rock beach nearby)
DL Bliss Beach
Tallac Historic Site (3 house museums)
Truckee historic town

Sequoia National Park *
Sacramento

Old Sacramento Waterfront
California Museum
Crocker Art Museum
Stanford Mansion
Midtown area
California State Indian Museum
Sacramento History Museum

Capitola: Colorful seaside town
Hearst Castle: beautiful interior
Kings Canyon National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park

US: Colorado

Denver

Kirkland Museum of Fine & Deocrative Art
Denver Art Museum
RiNo area

Telluride

Historical Museum
Gondola (views)

* Mesa Verde
Rocky Mountain National Park

US: Florida

Key West

Ernest Hemingway House
Key West Lighthouse
Butterfly and Nature Conservatory
Little White House
The Beach
Shipwreck Treasures Museum
Mel Fisher Musuem (marine life?)
Audubon House
History of Diving Museum

Everglades
Sanibel *

Lighthouse Beach
JN Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge Drive
National Shell Museum
Sanibel Historical Museum and Village
Bowman’s Beach

Ft Lauderdale

Bonnet House Museums & Gardens
Flamingo Gardens
NSU Art Museum (?)
Everglades Holiday Park
Stranahan House Museum
Hollywood area
Historical Society and Museum
Riverwalk

St Petersburg

Dali Museum
Craft Beer Trail
Chihuly Collection
Museum of Fine Arts (may be small)
Museum of History (may be small)
Treasure Island (has dolphins)

Miami *

Wynwood Walls street art gallery
Cape Florida Light
Ancient Spanish Monastery
South Beach
Venetian Pool
Deering Estate (archaeological preserve)
Vizcaya Gardens
Art Deco District
Museum of Art and Design
Perez Art Museum (contemporary)
Wolfsonian (art and design – huge!)
Little Havana
Coral Castle (outdoor art installation)
History Miami Museum
Day Trip to Exuma Cays

US: Hawaii

Honolulu * & Oahu

Manoa Falls Trail (short)
Waikiki beach
Pearl harbor
Waikiki brewing company
Iolani Palace: Hawaiian history
Eat malasadas (like donuts)
Polynesian cultural centre
Shark Cove
Shangri La Museum (Islamic art)
Honolulu museum of art
Kualoa Ranch
Hanauma Bay
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum: Hawaii museum
Dole plantation
Watch a surf competition
Snorkel with dolphins (west side of island)
Diamond Head hike (rigorous)
Historic Honolulu

Maui Island

Lavender field
7 Sacred Pools of Ohe’o Gulch
Pineapple farm
Paia
Makena Cove Beach
Road to Hana

Kauai

Hanalei bay
Kilauea lighthouse
Poipu beach – turtles and sea lions
Queen’s bath (beach)

US: Oregon

Sea Lion Caves *
Crater Lake
Bandon Beach: historic town on the beach
Portland

International rose garden
Pittock Mansion: views of Portland
Witch’s castle ruins
Portland Art Museum
Eat lots of donuts

US: Wyoming

Jackson & Jackson Hole *

Snow King Mountain chairlift ride
Aerial Tram
Moulton Barn
National Museum of Wildlife Art
Laurance Rockefeller Preserve
Grand Teton National Park
Granite Hot Springs
Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum
Eco Tour Adventures
National Elk Refuge

Cody

Buffalo Bill Centre of the West
Old Trail Town

Cheyenne

Wyoming State Museum
Nelson Museum of the West
Cheyenne Frontier Days Museum
Terry Bison Ranch

Castle Gardens Petroglyph Site

US: Massachusetts

Boston

Boston Tea Party Museum
Freedom Trail
---- Boston Common
---- Massachusetts State House
---- Granary Burying Ground
---- King's Chapel
---- Boston Latin School (oldest in America)
---- Old South Meeting House
---- Old State House
---- Boston Massacre Site
---- Faneuil Hall
---- Old North Church
---- USS Constitution
---- Bunker Hill Monument
John F. Kennedy Museum
Museum of African American History
Museum of Science
Ye Olde Tavern Tours

Nantucket *

Whaling Museum
3 Lighthouses
Bluff Walk
Shipwreck and Lifesaving museum
Sconset town
Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge

The Mount (MA): Edith Wharton’s home

US: Texas

Fredericksburg

Pioneer Museum
Wilseed Farms
Lots of breweries and wineries
Luckenbach live music

Big Bend
Dallas

Sixth Floor Museum
Dallas Museum of Art (contemporary)

Austin *

South Congress Bridge bats
LBJ Presidential library
State capitol
Barton Springs Pool
Bullock Museum (history)
Hamilton Pool (reservations required)
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centre
South Congress Street
Blanton Museum of Art
Rainey Street
Cathedral of Junk

San Antonio *

River walk
Alamo & missions trail
San Fernando Cathedral
King William Historic District
Market Square
SA Museum of Art
McNay Art Museum (19th and 20th century)
Briscoe Western Art Museum
Spanish Governor’s Palace
UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures

Fort Worth

Amon Carter Museum of American Art
Kimbell Art Museum
Sid Richardson Museum (American west)
Log Cabin Village
National Cowgirl Museum
National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum
JFK Tribute

US: New Mexico

Albequerque *

Museum of Southwestern Biology
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology
Turquoise Museum
Albuquerque Museum of Art & History
Indian Pueblo Cultural Centre

Santa Fe *

Meow Wolf Art Complex
Museum of Spanish Colonial Art
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
Santa Fe Cathedral
New Mexico History Museum
Palace of the Governors
Georgia O'Keefe Museum
New Mexico Museum of Art

Chaco Canyon *
Pecos National Park: ancient adobe
Bandelier National Monument: cliff dwellings
Taos *

Taos Pueblos
San Francisco de Asis Church
Martinez Hacienda (colonial house)
Taos Museum of art (house museum)
Taos earthships (eco-friendly architecture)

White Sands Park
Gila Cliff Dwellings *
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Acoma Sky City Pueblos *
Three Rivers Petroglyphs
Georgia O’Keeffe Home Studio
Mesa Prieta: petroglyphs

US: Washington

Seattle *

Pike Place Market
MoPOP: pop culture museum
Underground Tour
Seattle Art Museum
Chihuly Garden and Glass
Museum of History and Industry
Living Computer Museum
Wing Luke Museum: immigrant communities
Golden Gardens Park: tide pools
Discovery Park: has sea lions and a lighthouse
National Nordic Museum
Monorail

Leavenworth, WA: cute German town

Reindeer farm
Nutcracker museum
Blackbird island
Greater Leavenworth Museum

Winthrop: wild west town

Shafer Museum: history
Fish hatchery

Diablo Lake
Tacoma

Washington State History Museum
Tacoma Art Museum – PNW art
Chihuly Bridge of Glass
Fort Nisqually Living History Museum
Museum of Glass
Almond Roca candy factory

Orcas Island: whale watching
San Juan Islands: whale watching
Port Townsend: cute seaside town
Mt Rainier National Park
North Cascades National Park

US: Maine

Portland

Portland Observatory
Victoria Mansion
Portland Museum of Art
Cryptozoology Museum

York

The Goldenrod candy store
Old York Historical Society

Rockland

Breakwater
Owl’s Head Lighthouse

Kennebunk

Maine Mead Works
Cape Porpoise
Brick Store Museum (small history museum)

US: Connecticut

New Haven

Yale University Art Gallery
Beineke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
New Haven Museum
Lighthouse Point Park
Yale Centre for British Art
Pardee-Morris House: 17th century home
Jordan’s Furniture ropes course

Farmington

Stanley-Whitman House: 18th century home
Hill-Stead Museum: impressionist art

Chester: cute town
Litchfield: cute town
Hartford, CT

Wadsworth Atheneum (Art)

US: South Carolina

Charleston

Aiken-Rhett House Museum
Middleton Place
Old Slave Mart Museum
Fort Sumter
Nathaniel Russell House Museum
Ghost Tour
Calhoun Mansion

Bluffton: cute town

US: Georgia

Savannah

Ghost Tour
Owens-Thomas House
Jepson Centre for the Arts (modern art)
SCAD Museum of Art (student work)

Atlanta

World of Coca-Cola Museum
Georgia Aquarium
Botanical Garden
Atlanta History Center
HIGH Museum of Art
Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Jimmy Carter Museum
MLK National Historic Site - Birthplace
Museum of Design
Carlos Museum - Ancient Art
Xocolatl Chocolate Tours
Centre for Civil and Human Rights

Cumberland Island

US: Virginia

Jamestown 1 & 2
Yorktown

US: Tennessee

Memphis *

Graceland
National Civil Rights Museum
Rock n Roll Museum
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
Dixon Gallery (impressionism)
Art Museum of the University of Memphis
Beale Street (music)
Victorian Village
Mallory-Neely House: victorian mansion
Woodruff-Fontaine House: victorian mansion
Lorraine Motel
Stax Museum (soul music)
Sun Studio Tour
Ducks at the Peabody hotel (very crowded)

Nashville

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Ryman Auditorium
Cheekwood Estate
Tennessee State Capitol
RCA Studio B

US: Arizona

Sedona

Crescent Moon Ranch
Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village

Tombstone *

OK Corral
Courthouse State Historic Park
Boothill Cemetery

Wupatki National Monument: small adobe archaeology site
Montezuma Castle: adobe castle
Flagstaff

Museum of Northern Arizona
Pioneer Museum

Tucson *

San Xavier Mission
Sosa-Fremont-Carillo House
Tucson Museum of Art
Arizona State Museum
Barrio Viejo area

Bisbee: Old town in a valley
Oatman

Free roaming donkeys
Mine tour

Saguaro National Park

US: North Carolina

Wilmington: beachside town
Poplar Grove Plantation (has horse sanctuary)
Asheville

Biltmore Estate
Asheville Art Museum (American art)

US: Vermont

Burlington

Ben & Jerry’s
Ethan Allen Homestead
Lake Champlain’s Chocolate Factory
Burlington Breakwater (photos)
Shelburne Museum

Stowe: cute country town

Ben & Jerry’s Factory

Montpelier

Vermont Historical Society Museum
Bragg Farm Sugar House
Coburn Covered Bridge

US: Rhode Island

Providence

Roger Williams Park (has a rose maze)
Providence anthenaeum
Stephen Hopkins house (1700s home)
Thayer Street area
RISD museum
Waterfire (select weekends)
DePasquale Square
John Brown House (old mansion)
Rhode Island State House
Benefit Street (history)
Propsect terrace (views)

US: Alabama

Birmingham

Birmingham Museum of Art
Biringham Civil Rights Institute

Mobile

Alligator Alley
Mobile Museum of Art
Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico
History Museum of Mobile
Mobile Carnival Museum

US: Ohio

Cincinnati

Cincinnati Art Museum
Taft Museum of Art
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Underground tour (breweries during prohibition)

US: Wisconsin

Milwaukee

Milwaukee Public Museum
Milwaukee Art Museum
Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear (1900s)
Grohmann Museum (evolution of human work)
Pierhead Lighthouse
Pabst Mansion
Third Ward
Pabst Brewery

US: Oklahoma

Okahoma City

Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum
Oklahoma History Center
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
Bricktown Area
Paseo Arts District
OKC Museum of Art (small)
Museum of Osteology (skeletons)

Tulsa

Gilcrease Museum (American west)
Philbrook Museum of Art
Greenwood Rising History Center (Black history)

Cherokee National History Museum

US: Michigan

Detroit

Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit Historical Museum
Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History
Greenfield Village

Traverse City

Cherry festival (July)

US: Alaska

Anchorage

Alaska Native Heritage Center
Anchorage Museum
Whale watching
Bear viewing
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
Eklutna Village

Fairbanks

Museum of the north
Festival of native arts
World Eskimo-Indian Olympics
R.G. White Large Animal Research Station
Morris Thompson Cultural Center
Chena Indian Village Living Museum
Running Reindeer Ranch

Wrangall-St Elias National Park
Lake Clark National Park
Glacier Bay National Park
Kenai Fjords National Park
Denali National Park
Gates of the Arctic National Park