WATT Adventure List-USA…

Below is a list of things we’d like to see and do in the USA before our kids are grown and out of the house.  If you have recommendations for something fun, unique, educational or adventurous, please leave us a comment below. We’d love insider tips from locals or travelers who’ve found memorable sites to see or things to do.

Likewise, if you have resources to help us accomplish anything on our list, we’d be much obliged, and would love to highlight your generosity on our site or in a blog post.

Pacific West

Alaska

  • Denali National Preserve
  • Glacier Bay
  • Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks
  • Iditarod dogsled race

Hawaii

  • Volcanoes National Park
  • USS Arizona Memorial
  • Parasail at Waikiki Beach
  • Polynesian Cultural Center
  • Oahu North Shore
  • Helicopter over Waimea Canyon
  • Watch humpback whales in Kapalua Beach

California

SOUTH
  • Tournament of Roses Parade – Pasadena: completed 1-1-2013
  • Disneyland-completed dozens of times
  • Snorkel at Catalina Island-completed 2005
  • Sea World-completed summer 2009
  • San Diego Zoo-completed summer 2009
  • San Diego Wild Animal Park-completed summer 2009
  • Hollywood & Sunset Blvd-completed summer 2009
  • Griffith Park & Hollywood Sign- completed 12-28-2012
  • Legoland-completed summer 2010
  • Getty Center-completed summer 2009
  • Whale Watching in Newport Beach-completed summer 2009
NORTH
  • Alcatraz Island-
  • Golden Gate Bridge- completed 12-14-2012
  • Hearst Castle-completed 12-20-2012
  • Santa Barbara Mission-completed 12-23-2012
  • Sequoia National Park
  • Yosemite National Park
  • Big Sur coastline-completed 12-2012

Southwest

Arizona

  • Slide Rock, Oak Creek Canyon- (closed for winter, bummer)
  •  Sedona- completed 2-5-2013
  • Grand Canyon- completed 2-6-2013
  • Petrified Forest & Painted Desert- completed 2-8-2013
  • Meteor Crater-  completed 2-7-2013

Colorado

  • Mesa Verde National Park- climb the cliffs
  • Great Sand Dune National Park- sled down
  • Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog railway
  • Glenwood Hot Springs
  • Continental Divide-  completed 7-15-2012
  • Durango
  • Royal Gorge tram & train ride- completed june 2012

Nevada

  • Las Vegas: Neon Museum- completed 1-10-2013
  • Hoover Dam- completed 1-11-2013
  • Reno- inner tube down the Truckee River (visited, but in winter) 12-9-2012

New Mexico

  • Taos
  • Area 51
  • Carlsbad Caverns
  • Sante Fe
  • Albuquerque Nuclear Museum-  completed 2-11-2013

Utah

  • Temple Square-  completed 9-4-2012
  • City Creek shopping center-completed 9-4-2012
  • Kennecott Copper mine- completed 7-6-2008
  • Olympic Park-completed 9-1-2012
  • Antelope island
  • St. George-completed 10-18-2012
  • Arches National Park- completed 8-12-2011
  • Zions National Park-completed 10-18-2012
  • Bryce Canyon
  • Lake Powell- houseboat
  • Salt Flats- watch racing- completed August 2012

Upper Plains

Iowa

  • Iowa State Fair- (we passed through at the wrong time of year, maybe next time)

Minnesota

  • Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
  • Mall of America
  • St. Paul Winter Carnival
  • Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

Nebraska

  • Buffalo Bill Ranch State Park- completed 4-2-2013

N. Dakota

  • Ride a stagecoach in T. Roosevelt National Park
  • International Peace Gardens

S. Dakota

  • Mount Rushmore- completed 4-4-2013
  • Spelunking in Wind Cave National Park
  • Crazy Horse Memorial- completed 4-4-2013
  • Excavate fossils at Mammoth Site

South Central

Texas

  • Space Center Houston
  • Experience a Rodeo- completed 3-29-2013
  • Bat watching at the Congress Ave Bridge- completed 3-27-2013
  • The Alamo in San Antonio- completed 3-23-2013
  • Wild West Show at Fort Worth Stock Yards- completed 3-29-2013

Arkansas

  • Hike in the Ozark mountains
  • Soak in the Hot Springs bath houses
  • Cave exploring in Blanchard Springs Caverns
  • Ozark Folk Center

Kansas

  • Dodge City
  • The Oz museum- completed May 2013

Missouri

  • The Gateway Arch- completed May 2013
  • Steamboat ride on the Mississippi River- completed May 2013
  • See a show in Branson theaters
  • Silver Dollar City
  • The Magic House
  • Visit Hallmark Cards art studio- Kaleidoscope

Oklahoma

  • National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
  • Action Figure and Toy Museum- completed April 2013

Deep South

Alabama

  • Bird watching at Gulf Shores -
  • U.S. Space & Rocket Center

Florida

  • Airboat tour of Everglades National Park
  • St. Augustine
  • Marcos Island
  • Kennedy Space Center-November 2008
  • Deep sea fishing
  • Venetian Pool in Coral Gables
  • Walt Disney World- completed November 2008
  • Universal Studios-completed November 2008
  • Islands of Adventure-completed November 2008
  • Swim with Manatees

Georgia

  • Visit the Plantations in Georgia
  • The Golden Isles
  • Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge

Louisiana

  • New Orleans French Quarter- completed 3-12-2013
  • Take a cemetery or haunted house tour- completed 3-14-2013
  • National World War II Museum
  • Swamp tour-completed 3-12-2013
  • Visit Hurricane Katrina sites- completed 3-15-2013

Mississippi

  • Explore the bayous of Gulf Islands National Seashore
  • Beauvoir- completed 3-17-2013
  • Katrina Memorial-completed 3-17-2013

Mid- South

Kentucky

  • Watch a Kentucky Derby & attend the Festival
  • Louisville Slugger Museum & factory
  • Mammoth Cave National Park

N. Carolina

  • See the wild horses in Outer Banks- completed September 20, 2013
  • Crabbing at night- completed September 21, 2013

S. Carolina

  • Hilton Head island beaches- completed October 1,2013
  • Visit Mitchelville
  • Parasail
  • Horse drawn carriage ride in Charleston

Tennessee

  • Graceland
  • National Civil Rights Museum
  • Dollywood
  • Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Virginia

  • Shenendoah National Park
  • Mount Vernon- completed June 2013
  • Colonial Williamsburg- completed September 2013
  • Historic Jamestown- completed September 2013
  • Watch the Chincoteague Pony Swim at Assateague Island National Park
  • Virginia Beach- Neptune statue
  • Paddleboard & Kayak through brackish marshlands- completed September 2013
  • Dolphin watch off Atlantic coast- completed September 2013
  • Visit Monticello- completed September 2013

Great Lakes

Illinois

  • Millenium Park- Completed May 30, 2013
  • Skydeck at Willis Tower- Completed May 31, 2013
  • Ride the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier- completed May 30th, 2013
  • Wrigley Field- Completed May 2013
  • Nauvoo- pioneer village- completed May 2013
  • Abraham Lincoln Museum & library- completed May 2013

Indiana

  • watch an Indy 500 car race l
  • Be a pioneer  for a day in Conner Prairie

Michigan

  • Mackinac Island
  • Cartwheel down the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes
  • Henry Ford Museum & factory tour- completed Summer 2013
  • Motown Hall of Fame- completed summer 2013

Ohio

  • Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
  • Underground Railroad Freedom Center
  • Cedar Point amusement park
  • Kings Island amusement park
  • Kirtland , Ohio- completed summer 2013

Wisconsin

  • Wisconsin Dells water parks- completed May 2013
  • Duck Tour of The Dells & Lake Dalton- completed May 2013
  • Fly in a 1929 Biplane- completed May 2013

New England

Connecticut

  • Barker Character, Comic & Cartoon Museum
  • Mystic Seaport- Summer 2013
  • Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History

Maine

  • Acadia National Park
  • Lobster boat trip in Portland- completed August 2013
  • Whale Watching in Kennebunkport- completed August 2013

Massachusetts

  • Boston’s Freedom Trail-completed August 2013
  • Plimoth Plantation-completed August 2013
  • Visit Harvard campus-completed August 2013
  • See John Adams home-completed August 2013
  • Fenway Park
  • Martha’s Vineyard-completed August 2013
  • Salem Witch Museum- completed August 2013
  • Old Sturbridge Village
  • Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book art

New Hampshire

  • White Mountain National Forest-completed August 2013
  • Hike Flume Gorge- completed August 2013
  • Cannon Aerial Tramway- completed August 2013
  • Attitash Mtn Resort- completed August 2013
  • Lake Winnipesaukee
  • Keene Pumpkin Festival
  • Odiorne Point State Park

Vermont

  • Sand Bar State Park
  • Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory- completed August 2013
  • Shelburne Museum

Rhode Island

  • Block Island
  • Breakers Mansion in Newport- completed August 2013
  • Attend WaterFire in Providence-completed August 2013

Mid- Atlantic

New York

CITY:
  • Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island- Completed in September 2013
  • Central Park-Completed in September 2013
  • American Museum of Natural History-Completed in September 2013
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art-Completed in September 2013
  • Times Square-Completed in September 2013
  • Empire State building- Completed in September 2013
  • Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
  • Bronx Zoo
  • Gray Line Tour of Manhattan Island, etc-Completed in September 2013
  • Brooklyn Bridge
  • Yankee Stadium
  • A Broadway musical- we saw 3! Completed in September 2013
  • View from Top of the Rock at night- Completed in September 2013
UPSTATE:
  • Kayak through Ausable Chasm
  • Lake Placid
  • Cooperstown
  • Hill Cumorah- Completed July 2013
  • Niagara Falls- completed July 2013

New Jersey

  • Carlos Bakery in Hoboken- Completed in September 2013
  • Seaside Heights
  • Six Flags Great Adventure
  • Crayola Factory

Delaware

  • Lewes
  • Annapolis

Maryland

  • Baltimore Inner harbor
  • B&O railroad museum

Pennsylvania

  • Gettysburg National Military Park-Completed in July 2013
  • Hersheypark
  • Kennywood Amusement Park
  • Mummers Parade on New Years Day
  • Independence Hall-Completed in July 2013
  • Franklin Institute Science Museum-Completed in July 2013
  • Carnegie Science Center
  • Pennsylvania Dutch Counrty
  • Winterthure gardens and Enchanted Woods

West Virginia

  • Harpers Ferry Historic Park-Completed in July 2013
  • River rafting in Upper New River-Completed in July 2013

Washington DC

  • The White House- Completed in June 2013
  • Washington Monument-Completed in June 2013
  • 4th of July Fireworks-
  • The National Mall-Completed in June 2013
  • National Air and space museum-Completed in June 2013
  • Bureau of Engraving & Printing
  • International Spy Museum-Completed in June 2013
  • Cherry Blossom Festival in spring
  • National Museum of the American Indian
  • National Zoo

Northwest

Idaho

  • Craters of the Moon Preserve
  • River raft on the Salmon River
  • Sawtooth/ RedFish Lake

Montana

  • Glacier National Park
  • Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument
  • Virginia City
  • Lewis & Clark Trail Interpretive Center

Oregon

  • ATV through the Oregon Sand Dunes
  • Crater Lake National Park
  • Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls

Washington

  • Olympic National Park
  • Space Needle in Seattle
  • Pike Place market
  • San Juan Islands in Puget Sound
  • Int’l Kite Festival

Wyoming

  • Yellowstone
  • Grand Tetons
  • Devils Tower