Getting around after arrival in camp - advice please

[donn]

Wow. Guess you have all that information to back that up? Or are we talking Seattle, Seattle, SF and LA? Ever been to Detroit, Chicago, New York, Miami, Dallas, Minneapolis. Oh never mind....Id be happy to have you never visit the West as I will never set on tire east of Wyoming. Why bother, done did it and it was like outer space. A big black hole

Remember, we said the big cities. Seattle, Portland, SFO, and LA crime is rampant, homelessness,makes them look and act like 3rd world countries. There is a lot in between to love about the west coast. But the OP did mention wanting to stay near the coast of only a few miles inland. To me that means I5 down the west coast. There is so much to see and do off the coast. Lived in Oregon all my life and frankly I dislike the coast. Just too cold 10 months of the year. I much prefer east of the Cascades where it is sunny and warm much of the time. Of course then I can also bypass hell holes like Portland.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Having a TOAD along allows for spur of the moment exploration, with no worries if there is a place to turn around at the end of the street or not. We also found that when we traveled without a TOAD we would spend more time in campgrounds, as it just was not worth the hassle to go places in the coach, ie having to break camp, store everything, etc. in order to go check out some local attraction.

p.s. Public transit simply does not exist in much of the US, and most of the places where it does, it is a very slow way to get around, sometimes waiting for over an hour for a bus at each stop making a cross town trip an all day affair..

The main reason I finally gave up on my motor home.

Also, In a lot of tourist places, such as Savannah or Charleston, will have hop on and off tour shuttles you can take from visitor centers. In fact, I was able to get on the shuttle in Savannah from my campground!!

There are a handful of places that i would never drive a motorhome, such as San Francisco, anywhere within 50 miles of Los Angeles, Boston, New York, etc. Las Vegas is easy, as are most cities, however, I suspect that most of what is really worth seeing in this country is in national and state parks, not big cities.

I love the parks and also small town museums and historical sites. You are right, there are a few places that operate shuttles just for the tourists, gotta seek them out in advance.

Well, from my prospective I would avoid large cities like the plague. Too much crime, especially San Fran,Chicago, NYC. Actually any west coast cities are big Nonos due to crime IMHO. Also depending o. Time of year you land you may want to adjust your trip plan to match the weather.

Actually any west coast cities are big Nonos due to crime IMHO

Seriously, If your going to hand out information like this please be honest. Every BIG freaking city in the USA is a can of ****. You singling out the West is off base

The west coast is worse, or at least different in the rampant type of crime. Though some of the east coast cities will give them a run for their money.

I have not lost anything I need to find in a large city. Indeed, someday I would like to visit a few odd places such as the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, and I have threaded my way into Kansas City to visit the THE ARABIA STEAMBOAT MUSEUM which is everything recovered from a 1856 Steamboat wreck on the Missouri River. It is extremely well worth the effort to get to the museum on the KC riverfront to see all the stuff that was being shipped to towns upstream, a glimpse into every day life 1856 on the frontier.

Charles

 

[Ex-Calif]

And, by the way, I was born and spent a lot of my life in and near Detroit, and still enjoy driving through that city, crime or no crime.

I am from SoCal and I will say the same thing.

It's not about the "city" per se. It's about the specific neighborhoods in those cities if not specific streets.

In LA you have orange county which is predominantly fine as are many other areas. But you also have Compton and East LA and even being a native there are pockets in there I wouldn't even drive through - LOL...

 

[JudyJB]

I am from SoCal and I will say the same thing.

It's not about the "city" per se. It's about the specific neighborhoods in those cities if not specific streets.

In LA you have orange county which is predominantly fine as are many other areas. But you also have Compton and East LA and even being a native there are pockets in there I wouldn't even drive through - LOL...

I agree. I could drive you around the "inner city" of Detroit and take some of the strangest back roads, but I have driven around that city for decades and know where I am going. However, I would not recommend that you take the same route as I would take. This is similar to any large city in the world.

I worked in downtown Detroit for 10 months on a project and had a great view of the Detroit River from my desk in the City-County Building. I really enjoyed that job and being able to be downtown with great restaurants for lunch and to visit the ethnic festivals in the park across the street and along the riverfront.

And frankly, I have witnessed only one crime in my life, and that was in the parking lot of a large mall north of the city in a well-to-do neighborhood. Some man was trying to car-jack a woman's car, by grabbing her and trying to get her keys, but then ran away when she started yelling.

On the other hand, driving a motorhome in ANY large city in the U.S. is not my favorite thing to do. And it is insanity to try to drive one in San Francisco or LA because traffic is horrible and drivers will not let you change lanes and are overly aggressive.

Also, I do not "break camp" whenever I take my rig out to run an errand. I leave my water hose, sewer hose if a hookup site, chairs, tablecloth on picnic table, etc. Never had anything stolen though I do have a sign that says "Be right back" so people do not think I have abandoned my belongings. I also make a point wherever I am to chat with neighbors so they get to know me and be more likely to watch my things. Most fellow campers keep an eye out on what is happening around them anyway.

 

[JudyJB]

Also, one of the best drives in the U.S. is taking the coastal highway from the Olympic Peninsula in northeastern Washington state all the way to just past the California northern border. Incredible views and lovely little towns, as well as some great state parks. Just past the Califonia border, I would cut over and take 101 because the coastal roads in northern CA are very narrow and winding.

Yes, it is cool along the coast, but that is one of its best characteristics in a hot summer!!