Help..
I have a relative from England who will be visiting the USA for the first time. She is arriving on Monday and will be here for about 2 weeks, and I can only spend 1 weekend with her because of my work. I am going crazy trying to think of what we can do during the one weekend (Sept 14-17). Money isnt a problem...but it should be memorable, and it should be out of Chicago.

I thought maybe rent a camper and take her to visit the Niagara falls, but I'm not 25 yet so I cant do that. Then I thouhgt of taking a cruise, but I can't find any weekend cruises, and none that originate in Chicago anyway. Then i thought fly to Las Vegas for the weekend ... but she isn't so much into gambling, so it would be a waste.

I cant think of anything else to do around here. The main idea is to "Get out of town" because she will be in Chicago for 2 weeks anyway, so I don't want to do something in town.

If you were me, what would you do if you had just one weekend with someone special, you're in the midwest and you want her to have a great memorable time?? Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks ..!!

As you only have one weekend to "show" her around and she will be there for 2 weeks, one of the highest priorities should be how to help her plan the rest of her stay, places to go things to do, discount coupons, maps, transportation options, etc.

You might ask her what she would like to see and do. Perhaps one of the things you could do with her that would the hardest for her to do on her own.

Welcome to FlyerTalk, selfdestrc! I'm sure you'll get many fine suggestions on this thread. I'd like to suggest keeping Las Vegas in the running. Sans gambling, I feel it would still meet or exceed your criteria. The lavish shows with top name entertainment, sumptuous cuisine, bright lights and mega hotels all make for a most memorable vacation. And don't forget those never ending buffets.

If all else fails you can hope for some really good destinations to be announced for the weekend sales when they come out on Wednesday, something different if she doesn't travel that much, the wide open midwest, Los Angeles and Hollywood, beaches of Florida, just something goofy for a day or two.

Welcome to the board! Las Vegas could still be an option even if she's not into gambling. If you have three full days, you could fly into LAS, pick up a rental car and in a couple of hours be in St. George UT, very close to Zion Nat'l. park, as well as Brice and the northern rim of the Grand Canyon (these are a bit farther, though). I can hardly imagine a more memorable destination for someone visiting the US for the first time. Alternatively, you could get to other western wonders by flying into Salt Lake City (Arches Nat'l Park, not sure how many hours away by car) or Phoenix (Grand Canyon South Rim). Perhaps someone else here has a better idea of how much time it would take to drive from SLC or PHX to these locations.

Good luck!

[This message has been edited by honu (edited 09-09-2000).]

I'm going to second honu's suggestions:

About a month ago, I did the almost the same tour as mentioned. My girlfriend and I flew to vegas and spent 2 1/2 days there and then 2 1/2 in utah.

SLC to arches is a hike, 4 1/2 to 5 hrs, more than half of which is not on Interstates

PHX to the grand canyon is also about 4 1/2 to 5 hours.

I'd recommend the Vegas/st george/zion/bryce combo. You get to see more in less time.

A great 2 day trip is as follows:

Day 1: Leave Las Vegas I-15 north to st george, however I recommend stopping at valley of fire state park, The name kind of gives it away, but it's incredible.

Everthing from red rock formations, to indian petroglyphs.

From vegas take I-15 north, to exit 75, take route 169 to valley of fire st park. 169 is a loop which takes you back to I-15 at exit 93. Continue on I-15 north to st george.

From st george, I'd go to zion national park, it is one of the jewels of the national park system. You could spend a week at zion and not see everything. If you're doing the whirlwind tour, I suggest, going to the end side of the park, that way, you'll be in a position to visit bryce.
From st george take I-15 north to exit 16, then take route 9 all the way to zion. There are lots of neat little towns you'll pass through, springdale being the last before the park. You can continue on route 9 out of Zion, towards mt. carmel junction. Mt carmel is a good place to stop(there's a decent best western there). If you still have daylight left, you could visit pink coral sand park, about 45 mins south of mt carmel.

Day 2: leave mt carmel jct for bryce canyon, its about 60 miles. North on route 89, west on route 12 takes you right to the park. Past bryce by continuing on route 12, you'd hit kodachrome basin state park. Kodachrome, as the name suggests, is a picture takers delight, It's probably only 20 miles from bryce to kodachrome. If you're really adventuresome, you can continue east from kodachrome to grosvenor arch. Warning, the road from kodachrome to grosvenor is a dirt road through the grand staircase, its the middle of nowhere, make sure you have food and water and a good map. It's about 15 miles from kodachrome to grosvenor(figure a good hour) if the ground is wet, DO NOT go there. grosvenor is a huge natural double arch, most spectacular.
Then head back to vegas, I'd suggest from kodachrome or bryce, 12 east, 89 north. this takes you through the town of panguitch. Panguitch is an old mormon pioneer town, lots of restored houses from the 1870's. Very neat, if you ask me. Past panguitch continue on 89, then route 20 west which takes you back to I-15, then head south to st george and Vegas.

If you have more time, the above routing, gets you close to snow caynon, kanab and cedar break. Also in st george, they have uncovered some dinosaur track, I dont remember exactly where, but ask at any st george hotel and they'll be able to give you directions.

Nice trip Boomer thanks. Hmmm, I wonder what the fares are from STL-Las Vegas are?

Vegas is by far the best choice! My wife is not a gambler, and I took her there and she absolutely loved it! I wish I took the trip you mentioned Boomer! I just cut and pasted your trip idea to my wife I hope you don't mind Boomer!

I hope your friend will have a great time here in the States Selfdestric!

[This message has been edited by afang (edited 09-09-2000).]

A very nice regional option:

You said "around here" so I'm not sure if the entire US is in play.

Bed and Breakfasts up along the shore of Western Michigan...Sailing for a day;...Grand Haven...the beautiful/historic lighthouses...visit the scenic spots in Western Michigan, perhaps as you travel up to the UP, and hit Macinac Island at the end. Could be a very nice whirl.

JL2

[This message has been edited by JeffLewis2 (edited 09-10-2000).]

You mentioned you are under 25 years old. If you are at least 21, Alamo will rent you a car. Contact Alamo for more details.

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Thanks for all your suggestions. Those were some great ideas ... but I don't like to get too close to nature where my cell phone becomes is out of range and I can't find a dataport to plug into. Anyway, we're going to Vegas next weekend so hopefully it will be a lot of fun. Thanks again.