Must-visit U.S. cities

Just want to respond to the mentions of towns/cities near me..

New Hope, Pa. (back on one of the first few pages) - In no way, shape or form a "must visit". A quaint small town with nice shops, but not a "must visit"
Trenton, NJ (on page 5 or so) - Again, definitely not a "must-viist". Lots of history in the city, some neighborhoods that are still nice with beautiful homes, and a great minor league stadium along the Delaware River, but the city's glory days are behind it. The Chambersburg section of the city, which used to have a ton of fantastic Italian restaurants, is a shell of its former self. The best restaurants have moved to the suburbs.

One small-town that hasn't been mentioned yet that might be worthy of the list is Princeton, NJ.
The downtown area is beautiful with great shops and restaurants on one side of the street and the picturesque Princeton U campus on the other side. In the rest of the town some beautiful small county roads away from it all and US historical sites around town as well.

 

Trenton was mentioned alongside Saginaw, Springfield, Modesto and the like. It was tongue-in-cheek.

 

That overlooked aspect of New Jersey always fascinated me. I could start in the deepest part of the 'hood in downtown Trenton and, assuming I made it to the car without being shot, drive either way on Broad Street and be looking at picturesque cornfields in about 20 minutes.
People think the whole state looks like Tony Soprano's drive home. It's really just like that on about 20 miles on either side of the turnpike.

 

Yeah but what a 20 miles it is. You make a good point though. I had to drive Rt 80 this week out to PA through Delaware Water Gap by East Stroudsburg. Just a little bit beyond peak fall leaves but still stunningly beautiful.

 

Northwestern Jersey is really rural and beautiful. You get up into that corner (or certain parts of South Jersey), and you might as well be on the moon for how remote some of it is. Always fun to point out that they filmed the original "Friday the 13th" up there.
One of my favorite drives was always taking the back way up Rte. 526 from Trenton to Great Adventure. Always enjoyed just seeing the open countryside, and being amazed that it was only about 15 miles from a fairly large city.
Imlaystown was also creepy in a "how the hell does this place exist here" sort of way. Less than 10 miles from the outskirts of Hamilton, and it was like stepping back in time 200 years with all the colonial-style houses and feeling of being cut off from the rest of the world. Even when I mentioned it to people who lived in Trenton their whole lives, a lot of them would have no idea what I was talking about.

 

Mrs. Whitman and I just booked three nights in Telluride. It's our first vacation together in about a decade. Leaving the kids at home.

We're planning on hiking up a 14er. Also going to see Rodney Crowell at the Sheridan Opera House as part of the Americana Music Fest.

Anyone from @SJColorado or otherwise have any suggestions? Dinner or entertainment suggestions? We're staying at the Hotel Telluride, I believe. I'd like to do something on water, like kayaking.

 

In a mining state, you can always pay tribute by playing Miner 2049er. An emulator should allow you to enjoy the game.

 

Is that a band?

 

Since this thread started in 2014, I can understand why Richmond got no love. Since then, though, it's become a craft beer, foodie and outdoor activity haven. I think more than a dozen breweries have opened in the last three years, including The Veil, which gets a ton of national love these days. I don't leave much on weekends because there's just a ton to do here now. Maybe wasn't the case in '14.

 

My working class hometown of 17,000 souls has three craft breweries downtown.

It is not a bad era to be a beer drinker, is it?

 

It's pretty amazing. Can go weeks visiting breweries and tap rooms without going to the same place twice. And that's not to mention the wealth of good stuff an hour up the road in Charlottesville/Nelson County.