Places to visit on the east coast in the winter?

[chemgirl]

Hello all.

I recently found out that I get the week between Christmas and Newyears off. I also realized that booking a flight is really not going to happen at this point.

Can anyone suggest a great vacation spot on the east coast? Preferably within a 20 hour drive of Toronto. Warm would be nice, but it doesn't have to be bathing suit weather or anything.

We are going to Florida in March so something different would be nice.

 

[aviastar]

Is Charleston, SC within 20 hours? If so, GO THERE; warm, historic, so fun, great food.

Washington, DC will be cold, but lots to do there if you've never visited.

Williamsburg, VA (very well preserved/restored colonial city-lots of living history) has a wonderful Christmas in Williamsburg theme and programs that are still going strong until New Years. (My BF and I are doing this very vacation that very week!)

Really, if cold isn't a huge deterrent- any of the big cities along the East Coast have a lot to recommend them. Or you can go inland a bit to the Appalachain mountains and do the cozy log cabin w/jacuzzi thing instead. Gattlinburg, TN has many many many of these (plus Dollywood!)

Yeah for time off work!

 

[kenny]

I've always heard good things about Charleston SC, and I see the winter temps are quite mild.

 

[Arkteia]

Virginia Beach?

 

[chemgirl]

We are looking in to Charleston. So far its our top runner!

The only thing that concerns me is the history thing. We're Canadian and know nothing about US history. While we appreciate architecture and the story behind something, important names won't mean anything to us. We ran in to this problem in Boston when we couldn't figure out who the heck this Paul Revere person was. It was still fun, but we felt we were missing out on a big part of why people enjoyed the city.

 

[AGBF]

We are looking in to Charleston. So far its our top runner!

The only thing that concerns me is the history thing. We're Canadian and know nothing about US history. While we appreciate architecture and the story behind something, important names won't mean anything to us. We ran in to this problem in Boston when we couldn't figure out who the heck this Paul Revere person was. It was still fun, but we felt we were missing out on a big part of why people enjoyed the city.

I don't think you'll find the same thing in Charleston unless you get hung up about learning the history of the city (which will be served to you in detail on carriage rides and walking tours). It is fascinating to learn about how terribly hot it was in that area when the first English colonists went there and died by the hundreds. Their clothing is described in detail by the tour guides. The architecture of the homes-i.e. how they attempted to adapt to to the terribly hot living conditions-is described as you look at the beautiful old houses. It is truly charming and interesting to anyone who can follow a narrative. As I said, if you allow yourself to get carried away by historical detail, you will be. An historian will find Charleston a delight. However, a tourist can approach for the sheer joy of the experience.

I do suggest that if you have the chance you also see Savannah, Georgia and compare and contrast the two cities. I saw them on two separate occasions and while that gave me more lesisure, I also had time to forget a lot about Charleston before I saw Savannah. People who see the two cities at one time often enjoy the experience. They are alike in many ways and dissimilar in many ways! They are only about 100 miles apart.

Deb/AGBF

 

[soocool]

Lately, the weather on the east coast has been all over the place. A couple of weeks ago it hit 70 degrees, this past week it has been very cold. So you never know what you could get.

However, if I had a week to kill on the east coast, I could think of no better place than New York City. Museums, galleries, on Broadway and off Broadway shows, Radio City, concerts, Madison Square Garden,shops, and the city is still all decked out for Christmas and who can beat New Year's Eve in NYC!

 

[aviastar]

Also, while Charelston is filled with technically American history, there's a lot that's not tied to any of our wars- like pirates. Lots of pirates were based out of Charleston, there's even a walking tour of pirate history, led by a real, costumed pirate and his parrot.

http://charlestonpiratetour.com/default.aspx

Honestly, who doesn't enjoy some pirates?

And ghost tours: http://www.charlestonghostsofthesouth.com/default.html

And sea life: http://scaquarium.org/default.aspx

*disclaimer: I haven't taken these specific tours, but they looked interesting!

 

[zoebartlett]

NYC and Boston are the first big cities I thought of since there's so much to do in both places. The second place I thought of is Charleston, SC. The weather's mild, the food's great, and it's just a fun place to spend a few days.

 

[Enerchi]

I'm with Soocool. I'd pick NYC or Boston. Both are full of history, have TONS of restaurants and museums and interesting places and shops to discover. Both have theatre and sports, so you can cover a lot of distractions that way.

Just sayin--- NYC has a DIAMOND DISTRICT!!! Bet Charleston can't beat that little perk!

 

[Enerchi]

oops... sorry, I meant to include Zoe in there too. My apologies -no oversight intended

 

[chemgirl]

Lately, the weather on the east coast has been all over the place. A couple of weeks ago it hit 70 degrees, this past week it has been very cold. So you never know what you could get.

However, if I had a week to kill on the east coast, I could think of no better place than New York City. Museums, galleries, on Broadway and off Broadway shows, Radio City, concerts, Madison Square Garden,shops, and the city is still all decked out for Christmas and who can beat New Year's Eve in NYC!

That was our first choice until we saw hotel prices for Christmas/Newyears! We are planning on going in February because we have the newly invented "Family Day" Monday off of work. Much much much cheaper!

 

[chemgirl]

We are looking in to Charleston. So far its our top runner!

The only thing that concerns me is the history thing. We're Canadian and know nothing about US history. While we appreciate architecture and the story behind something, important names won't mean anything to us. We ran in to this problem in Boston when we couldn't figure out who the heck this Paul Revere person was. It was still fun, but we felt we were missing out on a big part of why people enjoyed the city.

I don't think you'll find the same thing in Charleston unless you get hung up about learning the history of the city (which will be served to you in detail on carriage rides and walking tours). It is fascinating to learn about how terribly hot it was in that area when the first English colonists went there and died by the hundreds. Their clothing is described in detail by the tour guides. The architecture of the homes-i.e. how they attempted to adapt to to the terribly hot living conditions-is described as you look at the beautiful old houses. It is truly charming and interesting to anyone who can follow a narrative. As I said, if you allow yourself to get carried away by historical detail, you will be. An historian will find Charleston a delight. However, a tourist can approach for the sheer joy of the experience.

I do suggest that if you have the chance you also see Savannah, Georgia and compare and contrast the two cities. I saw them on two separate occasions and while that gave me more lesisure, I also had time to forget a lot about Charleston before I saw Savannah. People who see the two cities at one time often enjoy the experience. They are alike in many ways and dissimilar in many ways! They are only about 100 miles apart.

Deb/AGBF

That sounds fascinating! We're pretty sure we're going to end up in Charleston at first and then branch out from there once we settle in.

We do like history in the sense that we are interested in how people used to live and we love seeing old buildings. We're just not familiar with US history so when we start hearing names of people or important documents we don't really follow. Charleston sounds like it will work for us!

 

[chemgirl]

Also, while Charelston is filled with technically American history, there's a lot that's not tied to any of our wars- like pirates. Lots of pirates were based out of Charleston, there's even a walking tour of pirate history, led by a real, costumed pirate and his parrot.

http://charlestonpiratetour.com/default.aspx

Honestly, who doesn't enjoy some pirates?

And ghost tours: http://www.charlestonghostsofthesouth.com/default.html

And sea life: http://scaquarium.org/default.aspx

*disclaimer: I haven't taken these specific tours, but they looked interesting!

Oooh pirates and ghosts!

I did a few ghost tours in Ottawa and the Niagara area and they are so much fun!

If you're ever in Ottawa check out the haunted prison tour. Its so creepy, but informative at the same time.

 

[AGBF]

We're pretty sure we're going to end up in Charleston at first and then branch out from there once we settle in.

Absolutely! Just keep Savannah in mind as you plan, if you think you might want to include it in your itinerary, because you might want to plan hotel reservations around it. (You might want to skip out for a few days in the middle of a stay in Charleston, for example, because Savannah is too far to drive to, visit, and return from in one day.)

I have to say that if you like ghosts that Savannah is very much up your alley, too! And I also suggest that you read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil before you visit Savannah! You will find yourself reading about a character who makes trips to an old cemetery in the dead of night to get earth for voodoo ceremonies. And this is all part of the true story of a murder that unfolded in Savannah!

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/feature-articles/2008/october/Haunted-Savannah.html

Deb/AGBF