Question game: Best stateside vacation destination

This is the third installment of The Question Game (part one, part two), and I think that officially makes it A Thing on this blog, which is fine by me. I'd be a professional question asker if I could be, no kidding. Anyway, this particular question is an extension from the Writer Round-up at Style Lush from last week, where I asked both writers and readers to share their favorite stateside vacation locations. There are so many fun, cool cities suggested over there, by the way, that it'd be a wonder if half our readers didn't book trips immediately after reading.

I suggested Austin because Texas was grossly unrepresented on the round-up, especially for being so damn big and for (usually) having such tolerable weather in the non-summer months, but it's also got great food and good people. Go there, if you ever get a chance. My gut reaction, though, was to say Lake Tahoe, and I only resisted because California was the opposite of Texas. It was so well-represented, I'm a little upset the California State Tourism Board didn't personally send me a thank-you note on letterpress stationary. I suppose I could have claimed Nevada for Tahoe, but I got married on the California side of the line, so I'm partial to Tahoe City. It's beautiful, no question about that, but it's also laid-back, inspiring and has incredible food and year-round fun activities. 

(Lots of pictures here, here, here and here.)

(Shit, I was skinnier back then.)

So, what would you say? Although feel free to answer with any city, it's safe to assume that all the big ones are givens. Who doesn't enjoy at least some part of NYC or Chicago or San Francisco?

I'm dying to know, even though we've now covered travel pretty thoroughly around these parts. (I promise to ask a different kind of question next time.)

Comments

[-R-]

York Beach, Maine is one of my absolute favorites. It's only an hour north of Boston and an hour south of Portland. There are sandy beaches, rocky beaches, and LOBSTER.

[Laurie]

Outer Banks, North Carolina. Beautiful, laid-back, beachy feel.

[Kait]

Charleston, South Carolina. BEAUTIFUL town bursting with history and the beaches are lovely too. I would move there in a heartbeat and I only spent a day in the city.

[KD]

I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a city, but... One of my favorite places is Badlands National Park in South Dakota.

[Drew]

Can I say Solvang? Not that I have been, but I'd love to go. It's supposed to be tacky and not Danish at all. I bet it has tons of "traditional Danish" that isn't one bit traditional. Whoever visits with me would think me a royal pain (that Danish? No way), but I am fairly sure I would have a great time.

[Jen L.]

I love the Florida Keys. I've been twice, once for a big family vacation, once on my Honeymoon. The weather is great, the food's amazing and there's plenty to do...or not! We rented a house in Marathon, situated on a canal so my husband could fish. Day trips to Key West were fun, but we really liked the solitude.

[Sarah]

Edisto Island, SC.. very, very small island, dolphins actually play right infront of you in the water!, there's only 4 or 5 places to eat and they all close down at 9 pm. We've been going there for 15 years and I love it more each year.

[Life of a Doctor's Wife]

Big Sky, Montana. It's got great food (seriously - gourmet, top quality restaurants), great skiing in the winter (or spas and roaring fires for the non skiers), rafting and horseback riding in the summer, incredible mountain vistas, and small-town charm. It's close to Yellowstone National Park, too. And you can count on seeing elk, wolves, and even bears during your visit.

[Katy]

I'm going to name my hometown city of New Orleans--tons of live music options, incredible food, historic sights, AND its cheap, cheap, cheap compared to most other places.

[Jess]

One of the best US vacations I've taken was to Miami. We went right before Christmas. The weather was perfect and the crowds were minimal. I would kill to go back there right about now.

[Marie Green]

The "vacation destination" that I am most familiar with is Rapid City, South Dakota (aka: Mt. Rushmore). I've lived there, worked all over in the Black Hills, and all of my immediate family still lives there, so we visit (and "play" tourist) several times a year. It's a very family-friendly place, with lots to do and see. Besides The Heads and The Other Head (Crazy Horse), there are gold mines, 1800's towns (Hill City, Keystone, and Deadwood), hiking, waterfalls, skiing, caves, National Parks (like Custer) etc. Also, I see someone already mentioned the Bad Lands, which are beautiful and about 1 hour from the Black Hills.

(If anyone is ever going there, you should definitely email me for the scoop!)

[HollyLynne]

I've been to Seattle and Santa Fe once each and have been itching to go back ever since. Our typical weekend getaways are all closer to home though: Disneyland, Las Vegas, Palm Springs (for the awesome Aerial Tramway up to the mountians, great hiking). Austin is a FANTASTIC suggestion. I've only been once for SXSW and I know that probably isn't "real" Austin but I loved it and Paul and I are dying to go back and stay in the South Congress area.

[Rhi]

I'm not biased in this matter AT ALL, but I have to say Bend, Oregon. Or, the Oregon Coast. Or, the whole entire state.

[Kat]

Without a doubt, Savannah. I can totally see myself giving up the big northeastern city I live in and becomming a nice southern girl there some day. It is beatiful, has a ton of history, the food is amazing, and the people are so friendly. When you go definatly take the hop on hop off trolley tour. Tybee Island is 20 minutes away so there is also east access to beach.

[duchessbelle]

Vermont/New Hampshire. Beautiful, laid back, delicious food, great hotels. And Sugar and Spice pancakes. I've had dreams about them.

[Erin]

I second the state of Oregon - volcanoes, wine country, skiing (on the volcanoes), and the coast.