USA Travel Destination
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The hotel is also in the midst of the "Walk of Fame," the sidewalk that begins on Hollywood Boulevard that features over 2,000 "stars" with the names of celebrities. And, to top it off, the hotel is also across from Grauman's Chinese Theater, the famous movie theater where the stars still put their handprints and footprints in the cement.

("I Love Lucy" did a hilarious episode about John Wayne's cemented prints -- and, sure enough, John Wayne is there along with everyone from John Travolta to Marilyn Monroe. The Starline Tours (which has the famous "Tours of the Stars' Homes") has a big station in front of Grauman's, so I hopped on the first double-decker bus.

I don't know how many stars' homes I actually saw (no actual stars), but I had a great lesson in Hollywood geography and some history, too. Add that to the fact that my hotel was also adjacent to Disney's historic El Capitan Theater (where you can see Disney movies, eat guilty pleasure foods and see Disney memorabilia).

And the new Madame Toussand's Wax Museum (stars from Justin Timberlake to Charlton Heston) is next to Grauman's Chinese Theater. I'm going back. The weather was great, there's so much more to see, and I really enjoyed my stay in Hollywood.

Located midway between Harrisburg and Baltimore, Maryland, it is an historic, quaint place surrounded by acres of rolling farmland. The city is clean and the accommodations are many from reasonably priced chain hotels and motels to superbly restored Victorian homes that serve as Bed and Breakfasts.

The Battlefield itself has been restored as closely as possible to resemble the photographs taken at that period of time. As a matter of fact, there are even trees that were present when Lincoln gave his famous speech.

The nation could have been dissolved as a result of that battle; however, it is a land now of monuments to both sides, and a visiting place of hundreds of thousands of historians and regular citizens from all over the country.

Although many lost their lives as a result of the Civil War, the whole town lives on in remembrance of them. You can attend church at what was a field hospital and see the holes they drilled in the floor to let the blood drain to the basement.

There are many good restaurants with entertainment for those of us living in the present as well as a beautiful outlet mall just outside of town. Located within a few hours drive from several major cities, it is accessible from the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the original Highway 30, which is my favorite way to travel. Check out their Arts Festival held in June and the reenactments in July and November.

The food was pretty good, but the atmosphere was so much fun for sports fans. That night, we went to catch the Yankees and Red Sox play against each other at Yankee Stadium. We did most of our sightseeing over the next two days.

On Friday, we walked all over the city visiting places such as St. Peter's Cathedral and the huge Toys R Us store with the ferris wheel. We also had to go to Macy's and ate some New York style pizza at a little place across the street from Macy's.

As we made our way from 34th Avenue to the East River, we went to the Empire State Building and made our way to the top. Being this was the 4th of July, we were able to watch the amazing fireworks display over the East River.

The next day, we took a subway to Battery Park where we visited the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero. That night, we were a couple of blocks away from Central Park so we took in the area and just relaxed. Before leaving on Sunday, we went to Rockefeller Center and had a tour of the buildings in the area as well as the NBC Studio Tour. On this tour, we were able to see the Saturday Night Live stage, The NBC Nightly News stage, and what was the Conan O'Brien stage. We were exhausted on our flight back, but it was an amazing time!

As soon as we entered the French Quarter, it was like we stepped back in time. The Spanish style architecture is especially beautiful and the buildings have been maintained and restored to continue to capture their original design. We stayed at the Inn on Bourbon, which is located on the corner of Bourbon Street and Toulouse Street.

Like the majority of hotels in the French Quarter, this hotel had an amazing history. It was the original French Opera House which was built in 1859. Walking through the doors gives you a wonderful sensation, like you can touch history.

Once we were situated, we immediately headed to the famous Bourbon Street. Now that was an experience that I will always remember. Every novelty shop had many interesting things to look at. However, we were easily distracted by the traditional Creole food that was being cooked at the many pubs and restaurants.

People-watching was also a fun thing that we did while walking the street. Let's just say there was never a boring person to look at. We stopped at Landry's Seafood restaurant and dined on the Shrimp Fresca. That was and still is one of the best dinner's I have ever enjoyed. It consisted of Jumbo shrimp lightly dusted with Parmesan cheese, sautéed and topped with jumbo lump crabmeat and served with angel hair pasta.

Another New Orleans tourist attraction that we enjoyed was the "City Tour". The tour started out boarding a large bus and our driver knew every piece of history New Orleans had to offer. He took us to St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square, Cafe Du Monde, above ground grave yards, outdoor markets, the garden district and many more interesting places. New Orleans is a great USA travel destination which I will always remember and most importantly, recommend! Cheers, Julie.

The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining. We were able to take walk around the deck and take pictures of the skyline and other passing Ferries. After we arrived in Port Angeles we took a drive all the way around the coast until we arrived at The Olympic State Park, home of the Washington Rainforest!

There were walking trails and places with waterfalls, little clearing with benches and plenty of photo ops! We walked there the whole afternoon and headed out for some picnic dinner on the beach. We watched the sun go down and watched otters playing on the sand.

There were some men with smelt fishing nets and we all observed them pulling in their days catch. Walking on the each barefoot is also an experience in itself! My feet have never been so smooth!We made our way back before dusk and the tide came in and found ourselves a quaint motel near the water about an hour north.

From here, we could look across the ocean and see Vancouver Island. The morning sunrise and misty fog was amazing. On our way back, we drove to Ozette, Washington to see Umatilla Reef (the most western point in the lower 48). It had been an eventful weekend and we made our way back to Port Angeles and boarded the Ferry Home. Dusk was just upon us as we made the little voyage back and I must say that was the most enjoyable USA travel destination.

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