Our family used to do that most every weekend, for years. But we stopped all unnecessary trips about 10 years ago, mostly due to the rising price of gasoline, and to a lesser extent, the cost of repairing and maintaining cars. The weekend “ride” would consist mostly of driving here and there, to the beach or the local mountains, but more or less at random, stopping for some treats along the way at restaurants, wineries, shopping at touristy gift stores, etc. I’m wondering if “going for a ride” is still a common thing in the USA these days?
I don’t know about others but my family and myself do very long rides almost every weekend. We take the kids around and give them experiences at various fun places. We do the beach ( roughly 2 hours drive ). I haven’t gone to Florida in a good while now but my sister and her husband drive there occasionally ( roughly 15 to 17 hours drive.
About ten years ago I used to drive very far distance and came to the realization that every state has the same thing going on, so I don’t see the reason leaving NY anymore. And I think NY food is the best and has everything other states have to offer.
My sister thinks it is better to take the plane for long and out of state journey, but I don’t think so because I’m afraid of flying.
Nope, never was… If we were out driving it was to get to where we were going, not entertainment… Everyone worked during the week, cleaned house etc on Saturday and rested on Sunday, after the Big dinners, Church is a little more common in the south… Not much entertainment time…
Now a days kids sports consumes a lot of family’s…
I quite like NY cuisine as well. No expert on the subject , but I immensely enjoyed the dining I did while walking about Manhattan as a tourist. Manhattan Pizza is especially good. Even something simple, like a steak and potato dinner was really good too. And I’m a semi-vegetarian … lol …
The Yonker’s restaurant pizza was pretty good too, but not extraordinary. I didn’t have a car and when I asked where I could buy a NY Times withing walking distance, an older lady I had been talking with about Colordo volunteered to drive & buy me one and bring it back to the restaurant! What a nice thing to do for a complete stranger!
Complete nonsense . New York does not have Grand Canyon - The Everglades - Pikes Peak - Yellowstone National Park - The Saint Lewis Arch - The Badlands National Park. The list could go on for days .
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Similar to Grand Canyon, we got letchworth state park.
Yes, our pizzas are top notch and cheese cakes. I’m surprised a New York resident bought you The NY Times. We seem rather selfish on this end of the earth. I wonder if she was a naturalized citizen ? Those are normally the ones to go out and do nice things for others in NY.
Florida is nice. When I went there everyone seemed friendly and approachable, regardless whether they were naturalized or born USA citizens.
I found that unusual too. I think she enjoyed my new-age cowboy stories about my experiences working on a cattle ranch in Colorado. She was so nice, she wouldn’t even let me reimburse her for the cost of the paper.
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Letchworth State Park = 14,427 acres
Grand Canyon State Park = 1,217,262 acres
Yep, very similar
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Those days are over, and have been for years.
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Did you copy that statement from another source? It doesn’t sound like your situation. You own a subcompact car that gets 30 mpg and you have performed your own maintenance since 1978.
A trip to the beach doesn’t involve a large travel expense. More time than money, that is what age takes from people.
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That varies by the taste of the consumer. I much prefer Chicago deep dish pizza, have never liked baked cheese cake.
Just like KFC vs Maryland fried chicken or McDonald’s vs BK vs Wendy’s.
Back to the question posed. Occasionally take a drive just for the heck of it. Have a wild life area that is by car/truck only.
But, so much has changed. In the 50s&60s, home AC was not common, Saturday and Sunday( though Saturday morning TV had great kids programming)afternoon TV had little to offer on the four channels available, drives, though usually to get somewhere such as a picnic, sometimes were just to cool off.
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Florida gets tourists from all over, including international tourists. We pay high hotel taxes so that Floridians don’t need a state income tax. Of course they treat us well.
Here’s an example. The Baltimore Orioles do spring training in Sarasota, FL. Sarasota advertises tourism heavily in the Baltimore area and even sponsors a beach towel giveaway at a home Orioles game.
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Varies by county, but 6% added to a $100 hotel room=$106.
We Floridians pay the tourism tax too, but is used to enhance your Florida experience.
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I wonder about cruising. No streets where I live are suitable.
But in Mpls we had Lake Street and Central Ave to cruise, in the 60s, just like in American Graffiti.
Just came back from a pleasure drive to the beach. Now this wasn’t a LONG drive… Just checking on the recovery from hurricane Ian. Still a lot to do.
The most recent drive was a 9.5 hour trip to Birmingham Alabama for an IndyCar race. Great track, cool museum, good food, pretty area.
New York’s hotel tax is higher than Florida’s AND they still have among the higest income taxes in the country… Maybe Florida is just better at managing its money? 
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Different population, different benefits.
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One example of differences state to state is how much the state funds their medi-caid program for low-income health insurance. Florida may fund that program less than NY. Or NY may have more low income residents than Florida.
When I was young I often drove just to be driving, cars and motorcycles.
Unthinkable now. Totally pointless and wasteful.
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