So Much to See. So Little Time.

Some of the more interesting conversations I’ve had have been—this will not surprise most of you—over meals in Amtrak dining cars. And that’s especially true when I’ve been sitting with someone from another country.
 
Most of them—especially the Europeans—are awed by the size of our country and many of them struggle with all the regional accents.
 
This is just one guy’s opinion, but I do think many foreign visitors make a lot of mistakes when they visit the U.S. for the first time.
 
Personally, I’d say forget Disneyland, Disney World, or Disney anything. They have their place, but not for someone visiting the U.S. for the first time. And I tell ‘em to skip Los Angeles. There are better choices for a first-time foreign visitor.
 
At any rate, here are a few of my personal suggestions for a first-time foreign visitor:
 
Boston. Walk the Freedom Trail. See a Red Sox game in Fenway Park. Attend a Boston Pops concert on the Common. Go to Durgin-Park for a “lawbstuh dinnah.”
 
Niagara Falls. Find a spot close to where the water pours over the edge at the rate of 150,000 gallons a second. It’s unforgettable … almost a bit frightening.
 

 The Grand Canyon. Stand on the South rim at sunset and watch the rock formations more than a dozen miles across on the far side turn to magenta. If it’s unforgettable for us, imagine the impact on foreign visitors.
 
Train through the West. Put ‘em on the California Zephyr. They’ll see big city Chicago, endless fields of corn and soy beans, the Mighty Mississippi, glide through canyons in the Rocky Mountains, cross the Nevada desert, climb over the Sierra Nevadas, and descend into the Bay Area.
 
What a country!