visitors from china

June 23, 2007 4:32 PM

my sister in law's parents are visiting from China and they want to take a 3-4 day trip someplace in the states. suggestions?

on this trip, they've already visited DC, new york and Niagara falls. others?

caveats - they don't like insanely hot and prefer beautiful scenery. They went and saw the national art museum and LOVED the marble architecture but didn't have much use for the art - if that helps.

posted by Tryptophan-5ht to sports, hobbies, & recreation (13 comments total)

feel free to link to other posts that might be of some use. I didn't find any immediately relevant after a quick search.
posted by Tryptophan-5ht at 4:33 PM on June 23, 2007

I think the Chicagoland area is great for this. They can get culture/metropolitan stuff in Chicago proper, and just a short drive north to Wisconsin showcases some beautiful scenery and some nice things to do (Door County is a nice area, and is about 3 hours away from Chicago).

Good luck, and have fun!
posted by BuddhaBelly at 4:39 PM on June 23, 2007

I see you're in Washington. Depending on visa requirements, why not consider a drive up to Vancouver and Vancouver Island? They could take the ferry from Washington to Victoria, drive or take the train up to Parksville, then pop back to Nanaimo and over to Vancouver on the ferry. Then they could go up to Whistler and back down to Washington. Vancouver has a great Museum of Anthropology, if they like looking at artefacts, as opposed to art. And the scenery in all those places is great. Even time spent in and around Victoria could keep them busy.

Or they could go visit Banff or Jasper, if they want to fly somewhere.
posted by acoutu at 4:42 PM on June 23, 2007

I don't know if you want to stay close, or if they're willing to take a plane trip, but if they are, the Pennsylvania Dutch Country (first Google link, but still pretty good) is the kind of place I'd want to take friends and family who aren't native to the US. Parts of it can be touristy, but depending on your point of view, that might not be an entirely bad thing. Central PA has some great rural scenery as well.

If you're staying close, I'd recommend heading south and taking a road trip down California State Route 1.
posted by hifiparasol at 4:48 PM on June 23, 2007

I just got back from Yosemite, where there is a real superabundance of beautiful scenery. Small cabins and such can be rented cheaply.
posted by ikkyu2 at 5:00 PM on June 23, 2007

Wine Country!
posted by mdonley at 5:29 PM on June 23, 2007

I second Yosemite.
posted by me & my monkey at 5:44 PM on June 23, 2007

Yellowstone. It's really the only place like it in the world.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:44 PM on June 23, 2007

I'd say Yellowstone rather than Yosemite.
posted by lukemeister at 6:01 PM on June 23, 2007

If they are willing to travel a bit, how about Utah? Bryce Canyon is otherworldly (average June high temperature 77F- not hot!) and Zion National Park is also gorgeous. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is a bit of a schlep, but cooler than the South Rim and much emptier (since it's a bit of a schlep.) [Yes, I know the North Rim is in AZ, but you pretty much have to go through Southern UT to get there.]
posted by ambrosia at 6:03 PM on June 23, 2007

Road trip: If you're in Washington, they can take off and drive to SE Washington and go wine tasting in the wheatfields. It is warmish, but not insanely hot this time of year. Spend your first night in Walla Walla- if you're on a budget, get a room in the dorm at Whitman college, otherwise stay at one of the gorgeous B&B's this "New Napa" boasts.

Day 2: Drive south-west from Walla Walla and through the gorge: it is one of the most beautiful drives I've ever been on in my life, encompassing soaring canyon vistas, humongous waterfalls, and parallels the Columbia river for most of the ride. Speaking of humongous waterfalls, stop just outside Portland and take a leisurely walk up to Multnomah falls, which is rad. If they're feeling frisky, they can hike up to the top of the falls. There are other great hikes around here- and now you're back in the rain shadow, cool and comfy (mostly). From Portland, drive west to the coast and stay at a little cabin there.

Day 3: Head down along the coast for a ways and head east around Corvallis. A couple of hours of driving will bring you to Ashland, where you should spend the night and go to the Oregon Shakespeare festival, one of this country's great cultural treasures. Many of the stages are outdoors!

Have fun!
posted by arnicae at 6:30 PM on June 23, 2007

I believe they should take a 3-4 day trip around Olympic National Park by car, if possible. Start with Hurricane Ridge on the north side of the park, drive west to the Pacific Ocean beaches (Point of Arches on Shi-shi beach, where I was once stranded for six hours on a sea stack by a high tide, is often described as the most beautiful spot on the US Pacific Coast), then drive up into the body of the park at least as far as the Hoh River Ranger Station (the road passes through a temperate rain forest [12.5 ft. of rainfall per year]; there I experienced a bursting palimpsest of dozens of hues of luminous green of previously unimagined intensity-- in the middle of February during a blizzard), and finish by driving south to the Long Beach Peninsula, an immense sand spit just north of the mouth of the Columbia, and have dinner at The Ark.
posted by jamjam at 6:32 PM on June 23, 2007

It really depends on what kind of travellers they are, and the description you've given isn't that great (DC and NY for beautiful scenery?). I've heard that a lot of Chinese people enjoy Las Vegas, and that the city is catering to them more and more.
posted by msittig at 2:31 AM on June 24, 2007