Tourist Planning

August 18, 2008 7:19 AM

A View of America― Aquariums, beaches, gardens, monuments, parks, zoos, etc. This site aims to describe American attractions that tourists may find interesting. Listings are sorted by state and by category. Also includes recipes, jokes, and puzzles.

The site has been around for ten years and continues to grow with age.

posted by netbros (28 comments total)

Almsot nothing for MA... they've had 10 years and could only come up with the "Worcester Art Museum"?
posted by mateuslee at 7:45 AM on August 18, 2008

Nice to see that my home-state of Mississippi didn't seem fit to be listed.
posted by fijiwriter at 7:45 AM on August 18, 2008

Michigan isn't there either. Good. Less people on the beaches here.
posted by chocolatetiara at 7:49 AM on August 18, 2008

uh. i clicked on "north dakota," because i was curious to know what on earth anybody would find interesting about, well, north dakota.

but all of the information was about alabama. i mean, i hear north dakota's gulf coast beaches are pretty swell, but...
posted by wreckingball at 7:49 AM on August 18, 2008

Maine - a state whose primary industry is tourism - is also not listed at all .....
posted by anastasiav at 7:53 AM on August 18, 2008

Massively underwhelmed here. Not only do most states have only one or two attractions listed, 10 states are completely missing. I've seen greasy-spoon paper placemats with more information than this.
posted by DU at 7:54 AM on August 18, 2008

No Illinois and Missouri?

So the Ozarks (lakes and mountains) in Missouri and Lake Michigan and the city of Chicago in Illinois weren't scenic enough for this site?
posted by sixcolors at 7:56 AM on August 18, 2008

The states listed are those that the site's creators have actually visited.
posted by netbros at 8:02 AM on August 18, 2008

I feel really, really sorry for anybody who visits Adventureland as if it were an attraction of some sort. It's a little like a Scooby-Doo carnival, only with fewer ghosts, and only one or two deaths per season.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:08 AM on August 18, 2008

The states listed are those that the site's creators have actually visited.

Yeah, now that you mention it the About page is pretty underwhelming too.

The morning of 9-11 Darryl and their son Brian were out Salmon fishing. On the way home the news began unfolding on the radio of the attacks. For the next week Darryl was in disbelief along with the rest of the country. He and Brian were fishing all week and during this time decided to add the whole country to thehowtohuys.com to show that you don't have to leave the safety of the United States to have a great vacation.

Good thing they weren't visiting an attraction in the foreign country of "New York City" known as the "World Trade Center" at the time! Better to just stay in the safety of the United States.
posted by DU at 8:21 AM on August 18, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

AViewOfAmerica.com: Hey you Little Guys are you looking for some Fun yourselves.
posted by BeerFilter at 8:55 AM on August 18, 2008

The states listed are those that the site's creators have actually visited.

So, when Darryl Franklin ("...[who] is on a quest to bring you every attraction he can find in America") visited Massachusetts ("Massachusetts is rich in heritage as well as history.") he found the Commonwealth's top attraction to be the "Worcester Art Museum"? Wow!
posted by ericb at 9:06 AM on August 18, 2008

From the recipe page: We started in 1997 as a small website to share and trade recipes because we love to cook and try new foods.

Ok, that makes more sense as to why their recipe list vastly outdoes the state attractions. While Darryl travels around the states I think I'll just bookmark this under cooking!
posted by wundermint at 9:23 AM on August 18, 2008

Get a kid hooked on fishing so maybe they won't get hooked on drugs or alcohol.

This person does not understand fishing, alcohol, or kids.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 9:29 AM on August 18, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

It's bizarre that there is almost nothing for Philadelphia, which last time I checked is pretty big and full of history.
posted by fixedgear at 9:42 AM on August 18, 2008

Heh, for Minnesota they had a total of five attractions, all little two-bit tourist traps in Two Harbors, a small town on the north shore of Superior, far from the madding crowd. No BWCA, no Mississippi River, no Lake Mille Lacs, no St. Croix River Valley.

Epic fail.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:03 AM on August 18, 2008

yep, this is pretty much crap in so many ways... looks to be an ad farm for google ads...
posted by HuronBob at 10:08 AM on August 18, 2008

...looks to be an ad farm for google ads...

There are some users who have a habit of posting that kind of thing a lot.
posted by DU at 10:19 AM on August 18, 2008

yeah, this is kinda crap.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 10:33 AM on August 18, 2008

Fail on DC. They missed most of the Smithsonian bits (while I'm aware that there's a shitload more attractions in DC than the Smithsonian, it's kinda lame to miss the majority of them.)
posted by sperose at 10:47 AM on August 18, 2008

It's puzzling why the Bay Bridge was chosen over the Golden Gate Bridge for California attractions. It makes no sense at all. At least they didn't go for the San Mateo or Dumbarton bridges.
posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 10:57 AM on August 18, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

um... some Jr High class project? Apparently Texas has 3 cities, 1 highway, and a museum.
posted by Zangal at 12:33 PM on August 18, 2008

No Illinois and Missouri?

Seriously, I mean what the fuck has Illinois ever had to offer, it's just a barren empty strip of land between Wisconsin and Kentucky. There isn't a single noteworthy thing about the entire state.


...Oh, right. I forgot about Chicago. But, you know, what could the third largest city in the United States possibly have to offer to tourists?
posted by quin at 1:02 PM on August 18, 2008

Blonde Jokes. Total boyzone.

Some decent listings for the Central California Coast (but they spent way too much time in Ventura County).
posted by wendell at 1:04 PM on August 18, 2008

...he found the Commonwealth's top attraction to be the "Worcester Art Museum"?

Well, to be fair, White City is gone, isn't it?

I'm guessing he drove up Rte 84 on his way to the Tunbridge World's Fair or something, took a wrong turn, and wound up in Worcester.
"Hey local denizen, where are we?"
"Worcester."
"What's to see here?"
"Well, there's the art museum..."
"Kthanxbye!"
posted by Kirth Gerson at 1:05 PM on August 18, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

uncleozzy: I'm pretty sure Adventureland is a chain. We've got one here in the Des Moines, IA area too. Similarly sleezy.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 8:02 PM on August 18, 2008

...Oh, right. I forgot about Chicago. But, you know, what could the third largest city in the United States possibly have to offer to tourists?

There's a sign that says how far it is to LA and NY. And if there isn't, there should be.
posted by vbfg at 3:12 AM on August 19, 2008

....They have a single aquarium listed for Louisiana.

Feh. I'm going back to roadsideamerica.com.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:06 AM on August 19, 2008