Well, what do you do for kicks?
New York is THE city, but if "authentic Americana" is where you're at, New England in the summertime can't be beat. I'm a big fan of Vermont, which is woodsy and small-townsy. Watching Fourth of July fireworks on the state house lawn in Montpelier is one of my favorite memories. There are more communes & collective farms than you can shake a stick at, and every gas station sells Ben & Jerry's factory seconds - ice cream with too much stuff in it for their standards usually, at a cut price. Wild strawberries & blueberries abound.
If you're into neither city nor town, camping on the Appalachian Trail is gorgeous and cheap, if you've got the sleeping bag & tent. Actually, there are lean-tos along parts of the trail, so tents aren't always necessary. I've done a stretch between Vermont & New Hampshire, but it goes basically along the entire eastern US.
West Virginia can be gorgeous & more rural - white water rivers & lots of out-of-the-way places.
That's all basically just the northeast - if you're up to travelling further, you could spend months doing it. I can't, in good conscience, recommend visiting Florida in the summer - it'll be cheaper than during season, but terribly humid. The deserts in the southwest would be marginally more comfortable.
Of course, there's always Vegas. You don't have to spend. You will, but you don't have to. Food is cheap, and in the summer, so are some hotels.
Or, if you have a little more money than you let on, buy tickets for Burning Man. |
