Three Weeks to Spare in the US

We're going to Las Vegas for six weeks for my husbands work. Once we finish up here, we have three weeks before our flight departs Los Angeles. I've never been anywhere in the US except for NYC and my husband has been a lot of places as a child and teenager but not recently. We're travelling with our son who will be 16 months old at the time. We will be travelling 21 November to 11 December.

I'm looking for ideas these three weeks. I'm guessing we will want anywhere from 4-7 days in LA at the end of the trip so that leaves about 2.5 weeks to spare. What are your thoughts?

I'm open to anything. I would like it to be reasonably fun for the little one but at this point he's happy so long as he gets to spend some time every day tearing around a park. We're not particularly outdoorsy but wouldn't mind a little activity. We have a three-wheeler buggy but not a backpack which limits our activity somewhat. I like art galleries and just sitting in cafes and parks. We like the beach but it will be a bit cold for us at this time of year. We love to eat, particularly good asian and mexican food. We find it much easier to travel by car than public transport with baby and gear so will hire a car where we need it.

I have a family friend in Albuquerque that we could visit and stay with, so that is an option. I also have a cousin in Austin, another option, although I'm not sure we could stay with her.

(X-posted on USA branch)

I've been to Austin and San Antonio and liked them both. I'm not as sold on the rest of Texas. Even if you couldn't stay with your cousin, would he/she be able to show you around or make recommendations on what to do, where to eat, etc? Maybe host you for a meal? It's always nice to benefit from a local person's experience.

Have you been to the Grand Canyon? If not, that would seem like a good option. There are also great National Parks in Utah. I've heard good things about Santa Fe and Taos, especially if you like art galleries. I either haven't been to those cities or don't remember. (I lived in Arizona from the ages of 2-4, so most of my memories come from looking at photos as an older child.)

San Diego is nice, with a great zoo and some historic sights to explore.

I think that you'll find good Mexican food throughout the southwest. Asian food is prevalent throughout California, but I would guess that you may not find much when you're further inland.

I am an American from the east coast, and have been to the west several times alone, and with my wife and kids. My in-laws live in Seattle, and it is a beautiful city, with great food, art, markets, and scenery, though a bit far from LA. More accessible would be a trip up the coast of California. I have taken that drive a few times, and there are some great coastal towns--the northern redwood forest area is a definition of spectacular to me. Also, the Monterrey bay aquarium is worth a visit, as is San Francisco and Santa Cruz. If you have the opportunity, you could make your way north, then fly back to Los Angeles.

Enjoy your stay!

Austin is quite far from Las Vegas, at least a 2 day drive. You may enjoy Santa Fe more than Albuquerque.

A little cold at the Grand Canyon end of November-December. You can expect snow at the rim. A drive through Monument Valley and Southern Utah is spectacular however.

It sounds to me like you prefer cities so San Diego, LA, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo would be good bets. You might enjoy a tour of Hearst Castle, which is not far from San Luis Obispo.

You could also visit the Getty Villa in LA (Malibu) (different than Getty Museum in West LA, which is also nice to visit), and there's the lovely Huntington Gardens near Pasadena.

Wherever you choose to go, you'll need a rental car for the entire trip. They are cheap in Las Vegas by the week and you should be able to return it to LA at no extra charge.

I would also suggest buying a road atlas of the USA so you can get some idea of the distances you are talking about.