100 Places You Need to Visit Before You Die. United States Travel

Do you have a bucket list? I've had several in my life. A life experience bucket list, a career bucket list, and a travel bucket list. I focus on the travel one these days more than any of them. Actually, I threw one of them out. The one I made when I was 16. I got rid of it when I was like 20. I opened it up one day, started reading through it, and I'm all, why did I ever make this? 12 of the 15 items on here include the word cheerleaders. I thought it was a little creepy, so I threw that one out and never looked back. What is going on, everyone? Welcome back and our list of 100 things to do or see in the US before you die. That's right, we're doing a list of 100. It's a long list. It's over 30 minutes and it's going to be a little faster paced than normal, or we'd be sitting here for like two hours. This list has 100 of the best things to see or visit in the United States. I've always been a little surprised that people don't realize what an amazing tourist destination the United States actually is. With this list, I hope to spark some interest in some of these places. We're coming out of the pandemic and this summer might be a great time to go see some things. As you watch the video, count how many places you've actually been to or visited, and then in the comment section, let us know what your final count was. Have you seen 10 of them? Have you seen four of them? Have you seen 50 of them? Let us know and maybe even include what one was your favorite. Okay, this is a long video, so let's get going with 100 places in the United States you should see before you die. Number 100, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California. The Sequoia National Park is America's second oldest national park and was established on September 25th, 1890. Kings Canyon was established in 1940. The two parks are side-by-side east of Fresno. 99, the Grand Canyon. It's a majestic 277-mile long canyon with the Colorado River flowing right through the center of it. 98, Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming. This stands 1,267 feet tall and it's located in the northwest corner of the Black Hills. It's actually declared a monument by Teddy Roosevelt. 97, Pearl Harbor's National Memorial in Hawaii. Everybody knows we were attacked by the Japanese during World War II and it was one of the worst attacks this nation has ever seen. You could still see oil oozing from the engine rooms of the sunken ships. 96, the San Diego Zoo. It is home to 3,700 animals and more than 650 species. I've been here like four times in my life. It's a great zoo. 95, the International Spy Museum, Washington, DC. It is exactly what it's called, a spy museum. Very interesting. 94, Williamsburg, Virginia. It's colonial capital of Virginia and internationally known for its restoration activities and recreations of 18th century America. 93, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland. I will be there this summer. This place opened on September 2nd, 1995. 92, Biscayne National Park, Florida. This is one of the least crowded sites managed by the National Park Service. It covers a total of 172,000 acres and 95% of the park is underwater. 91, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. This is one of our best national parks. Been here two or three times in my life. One, I kind of just drove through, but two times I actually visited. It's amazing. Go there, see the geysers, see the buffalo. Your life will never be the same. 90, the Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, California. This is a weird place. It's worth reading about, but it's better to go see. 89, the Wright Brothers National Memorial, North Carolina. This is a monument dedicated to the Wright Brothers and their first flight. Everyone thinks it was at Kitty Hawk. It was actually down the road a bit at Kill Devil's Hill, not Kitty Hawk. This is the first federal park to have a permanent public structure. The monument was built in 1932. 88, the Plymouth Plantation, Massachusetts. This is where those first band of English people showed up. They called themselves Pilgrims and they showed up on the Mayflower and they landed at Plymouth Rock. It's pretty neat. They have a little village set up like it supposedly was back when the Pilgrims were here. I went there, I was young, but I remember going, this is a nice place to live. I wouldn't mind living here. It's kind of interesting. 87, Niagara Falls, New York. More than 8 million visitors explore Niagara Falls annually. A lot of people think this is just one big falls. And when you get there, you finally realize that it's actually three waterfalls. Niagara Falls just kind of refers to the whole area. There's Bridal Veil Falls, Horseshoe Falls, and American Falls. 86, Thomas Edison's National Historical Park in New Jersey. The area includes dozens of buildings that supported Edison's research into electricity, photography, motion pictures, chemistry, and other things. 85, Boston Common. This is the oldest park in the US, existing since 1634. In the colonial days, it was actually a cow pasture and a British encampment for a while. But it didn't start becoming a park till 1830s when an iron fence was put up around it. 84, Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Mauna Kea is the best astronomical observation facility on earth. The observatory is used for scientific research, and it's the largest facility of its kind. It's one of six volcanoes that form the Hawaiian Islands, and it's the tallest mountain on earth. It's actually 3,600 feet taller than Mount Everest, but much of it's underwater. It's about a million years old, and the last time it erupted was probably around 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. It's considered dormant now. 83, Hollywood, California. Hollywood, California is an illusion. It has reputation, it has an aura, and it has a mystique that's hard to find these days, but it's still there. You have the famous Hollywood sign, which brings a lot of people in. You've got the Hollywood Walk of Fame, things like that. There's just a lot of nonsense that goes on around it, but if you actually study and learn where you want to go see things in Hollywood, famous mansions, things like that, it's very interesting, and it's really a good time. Just stay out of the tourist stuff. 82, Nashville, Tennessee. This is one of the cities you need to visit at least one time in your life. There's this vibe you get in Nashville that is very unique. Elvis Presley recorded more than 200 songs at RCA's Studio B. There's still a string of Christmas lights on display that were hung when Elvis couldn't get into the spirit to record a Christmas album. Apparently, they were trying to record it in August, and no one's really got the Christmas feel in August, so I could see where the lights came in. 81, the Statue of Liberty in Ellis Island, New York Harbor. The Statue of Liberty was gifted to the US by France in 1886, and it's 83 meters tall. The same man that built the Eiffel Tower built the structure. His name was Gustave Eiffel, and it is one of the most photographed statues on the planet. Number 80, the Brooklyn Bridge. Not too far away from the Statue of Liberty, you have the Brooklyn Bridge. This is iconic. It was officially opened on May 24th, 1883. The Brooklyn Bridge was the world's first steel wire suspension bridge, and the first things to cross it were roosters. They sent them across to make sure it was okay. I don't think roosters were the best plan. Maybe some cows or horses or something like that that are a little heavier, but they sent roosters. 79, staying in New York, The Met, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This opened on April 13th, 1870, and it's amazing. There's a lot of history in this building. The museum is the home to the world's oldest surviving piano, dating back to 1720. Even if it's not your type of thing, definitely go by and see this. 78, the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco. If you've never seen this thing in person, I would suggest it. It is amazing. It was completed in 1937, and it's 1.7 miles long. Originally, it was supposed to be painted blue with yellow stripes to increase visibility for ships and things like that, but when the steel arrived, it was kind of this burnt red color from the primer, and the architects decided that color was fine, and they just kind of stuck with it. In 1937, it cost 50 cents each way to cross the bridge, roughly the equivalent of about 18 bucks today. It took over 30 years to remove the lead-based paint from the bridge. Yeah, so back when they realized lead paint was really bad, they had to strip the bridge, and it took 30 freaking years. 77, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This facility's primary function is the NASA's base of operation when it comes to rockets and launching things for pre- and post-launch. Most famously, it was the launching point for the Apollo moon missions and for the space shuttle most of the time. Its secondary function is for public education with its exhibits, displays, and history of space flight and travel. 76, Everglades National Park, Florida. The Everglades National Park is home to one of the largest wetlands in the world. It has plant and animal species not found anywhere else on the planet. It was established on December 6, 1947, and it is home to an exotic population of animals, alligators, manatees, hawksbill turtles, water moccasins, coral snakes, the list goes on. There's a lot of weird stuff going on in the Everglades. 75, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, California. I love this place, one of my favorite aquariums. It opened on October 20, 1984. The first time I was there was a year later, 1985, and it was amazing then, and it has done nothing but get better. They have a million-gallon open-sea exhibit that holds yellowfin tuna, large green sea turtles, barracuda sharks, and giant ocean sunfish. 74, Monument Valley, Arizona and Utah. You go see this one, you got two states to choose from. This place is known for its cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 300 meters, about 1,000 feet above the valley floor. This valley has been in so many movies, TV shows, and in print, it's just ridiculous. Any Western from the 1950s seems to have found their way to this. It was neat. 73, Carlsbad Cavern National Park, New Mexico. It covers a total area of 46,000 acres, and there are 117 known caves in the park. The big room, as they call it in Carlsbad, is an 8.2-acre cave. There are 17 species of bats you can see here. 72, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona. For around 5,000 years, people have made their home in these sandstone canyons. They're often referred to as just one Canyon de Chelly, but there's actually several canyons here. Families do still live here. That's why access is limited and visitors are required to have a guided tour in most areas of this national monument. It's very interesting. 71, Mount Rushmore National Monument, South Dakota. Mount Rushmore isn't the only thing to see in South Dakota, but it is by far the most popular. Mount Rushmore was named after New York attorney Charles E. Rushmore, who had visited the area in 1885. While on the visit, he asked a guide what the name of the peak was. The guide's all, well, we don't have a name for it. It's just an unnamed peak. So they named it Rushmore after him. He later donated $5,000 to help get the Mount Rushmore project started. 90% of the carvings were actually done by dynamite. It wasn't like a guy out there with a hammer and chisel. 70, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. This one is amazing to see. It's one of those places, if you just sit there and look at it for a while, you'll just, I don't know, it's just, it's a weird feeling looking at this thing. If you know the backstory to it and how it was created, it's even more amazing. First of all, it's the deepest lake in America. It's actually 1,943 feet deep. The lake's water comes directly from snow or rain, whichever happens, which we get a lot here in Oregon. And there's no inlets for the lake. There's no like little creeks going to it or anything like that. This is a mountain that had its top blown off in a volcanic eruption. The story begins with the volcanic eruption. It was so serious that scientists estimate it was 42 times more powerful than the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. But so it turned this a giant mountain into pretty much a cup and water and snow just accumulate in this cup. And we have a lake. It's pretty interesting. Number 69, a Mississippi River cruise. The Mississippi River is long enough for you to take a cruise on. It's actually the third longest river in the world at 2,350 miles. The cruise industry has broken this off into three sections. Each section takes about a week to cruise, or you can knock them all out in one big three-week trip. And it's worth it. 68, Mackinac Island, Michigan. Mackinac Island is a summer resort island in Lake Huron. It's right between the upper peninsula and lower peninsula of Michigan. This is a great place to visit in the summer. Winters can be sketchy at best. It gets pretty cold there. 67, the Corn Palace, South Dakota. Yeah, that's a real thing, the Corn Palace. I don't get the attraction. I mean, it holds big dances, proms, graduations, things like that, meetings, whatever, stage shows. It's just kind of strange, but a lot of people really like this place. They go to it. I've made fun of it before on my channel, and people always correct me and say what a neat place it is. I got to visit, but a lot of people do. That's why it's on the list. 66, Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania. Gettysburg is the most famous battle of the Civil War. Thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers clashed on some really hot July days in 1863. The park includes over 6,000 acres of land, 1,300 monuments, 400 cannons, and 140 historic buildings. Everyone knows about Gettysburg, and if you're a history buff, you already know this is one of the must-see places on your history bucket list. 65, Martin Luther King's National Historical Park, Atlanta. This is the hometown of the late Martin Luther King. The 10-block area around Auburn Avenue is one of the city's most visited sites, showing where he was born, lived, worked, and the church where his father, grandfather, and him were all ministers. 64, Black Heritage Trail, Boston. Usually, whenever you hear anything about Black Heritage Trails or anti-slavery movements, ew, something to do with the South, the Underground Railroad, something like that, but Boston had an anti-slavery movement that was very important to this country. 63, Pu'uko Petroglyph Archaeological Preserve, Hawaii. This one's on the Big Island, and it's pretty impressive. They have over 3,000 ancient petroglyphs that are carved into the lava rock. The true meaning behind all these carvings is unknown, but generally, it's believed that they were to announce the birth of someone important whenever they carved a new petroglyph in these lava rocks. 62, Coney Island, New York City. Coney Island started off as a seaside resort in 1824. At some point, it started to turn into amusement park, but not just one amusement park. There's people that own different parts of it, and it's just this big thing. Anyway, it's home to the famous Cyclone roller coaster, and it's been in too many movies to count. 61, the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia. The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia pays homage to the city's native son, Benjamin Franklin, one of the greatest Americans of all time. It was first opened in 1824. 60, the Alamo, San Antonio. Everybody knows, but in case you don't, the Alamo was the site of the battle that took place during Texas' bid for independence from Mexico. All defenders were killed, but within six weeks, Santa Ana, president of Mexico, was captured, and he basically signed over Texas to save his own life. The original Alamo was actually burned to the ground in April of 1836, but was rebuilt in 1854. Number 59, Victoria Clipper Ship, Seattle. You can ride this high-speed catamaran from Seattle to Victoria, British Columbia in three hours. It's obviously because the pandemic been docked for a couple months now, but it's a pretty fun trip. Actually, any ferry you get in the Seattle Puget Sound area is a good trip. 58, the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC. This is the world's largest aviation and space museum. It is also the most visited museum in the country, with more than 8 million visitors every single year. It was opened on July 1st, 1976. You can see the Enola Gay bomber who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, also Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, and the Wright brothers' flyer. 57, Daytona Beach, Florida. Daytona Beach runs for 23 miles on the Florida coast. It is known as the world's center for racing, and it's also known as the world's most famous beach since the 1920s. They used to actually race NASCAR on the beach. This was way back in the day, but they still did it. Cars are still allowed on the beach, but it's pretty slow. You got to go like walking speed almost. 56, Alaska Marine Highway. This is basically a ferry system that currently extends across like 3,400, 3,500 miles of scenic coastline, and it connects 30 different communities. It started in 1948 through 1962. They kept adding things onto it. 55, Dinosaur Valley, Texas. This opened up in 1972. In 1909, George Adams, a young man, found strange three-toed tracks in the limestone bed of a river. Turns out these were dinosaur tracks left in the mud. Well, the mud turned to rock, and now you got these really cool footprints all over the place. It's actually quite impressive. 54, Lincoln Heritage Trail, Kentucky. Abraham Lincoln lived in Kentucky for the first seven years of his life, and this has kind of stuck with the state for some time now. On display is a replica of the tiny cabin where he was born, among other things. 53, the Kentucky Derby. Everybody knows what the Kentucky Derby is, and it's quite a party. The race is nice too, but most people go for the party. The fastest winner was Secretariat in 1973. 52, the Fort Worth Stockyards, Texas. Everybody knows where Fort Worth is. It's just west of Dallas. It's part of the Dallas metro area. Fort Worth became a boomtown in the 1890s because it had the Southwest's biggest livestock market. Because of this, it also got the nickname Cowtown. 51, White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire, and it's also in Maine. This is one of the most beautiful forests this country has to offer. I mean, Maine and New Hampshire, they just got beautiful landscapes. This area was heavily logged back in the 1800s, and they've made a recovery since then. It was established in 1914 when they acquired 7,000 acres for $13. Today, it has an area of almost 800,000 acres in New Hampshire and Western Maine. 50, Ashtique Island, Maryland. This island is best known for its herd of wild horses, its pristine beaches, and it's got a really cool lighthouse. Its 37-mile-long barrier island located on the eastern coast of the Delmarva Peninsula facing the Atlantic Ocean. The island was originally going to be made into a private resort in the 1960s, but it all came to a screeching halt when the locals were a little angry about this. The people kind of shot this idea down. 49, The Orchard House, Concord, Massachusetts. This is a very interesting place. This is the home of Louisa May Alcott. She wrote the 1868 classic novel, Little Women. She is the first American woman to earn a living as a writer. They have open guided tours daily, except on a few different holidays, and it's free. 48, Alabama's Civil Rights Sites. They have numerous historic sites throughout Alabama paying tribute to the brave men and women who have fought for civil rights. It's a big part of American history, and it's something you should probably see. 47, Cahokia Mounds, Illinois. These are really interesting. I first saw these on A&E with some show called Ancient Mysteries with Leonard Nimoy. These are earthen mounds built by a civilization that they figured disappeared a couple hundred years before Columbus ever set foot on the United States. Some of these mounds are just a couple feet high, but some of them are as tall as 100 feet. The historic site sits across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, covering about 2,000 acres. 46, Notre Dame Stadium, Indiana. Yeah, this is where the fighting Irish play, and it's an amazing place to see a college football game. I think most people feel this is the most historic football stadium there is. Sure, if you're a college fan from someplace else, you're gonna think some other college is better, but I think most people would consider this to be the best place to see a football game. 45, Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota. This has been the largest mall in the country since forever. It's not gonna be the largest much longer. In 2023, it looks like Miami's gonna have one that's gonna beat them a little bit. And since malls are disappearing, this one might be worth a visit. 44, Mark Twain's Boyhood Home and Museum, Hannibal, Missouri. This was the home of Samuel Leghorn Clemens, better known as the author Mark Twain, but he lived here from 1844 to 1853. 43, the Hoover Dam, Arizona and Nevada. It's right there on the border. This one I've been to, and the day we were going there, I was like, why are we going to see a dam? This sounds stupid. And I got there. I was impressed. It's not the largest thing I've ever seen, but it's just kind of strange being in this valley and how tall it is. And it's just, it looks like this big, perfectly smooth slab of cement from the outside. Very interesting. And the history of the place is incredible. 42, Cedar Point Amusement Park, Sandusky, Ohio. Self-proclaimed roller coaster capital of the world. This is a must visit for roller coaster enthusiasts. If you're a roller coaster enthusiast and a hardcore one, you've been here already. But if you like roller coasters, this is a good one. When it was first opened, it was just a public bathing beach. And it's also a little haunted. They say there's a ghost that lingers around the carousel. 41, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Wisconsin. This is a group of 21 islands and a 12 mile stretch of coast on the mainland. It has more lighthouses than any other site in the National Park System with nine historic lighthouses on six different islands. Visitors can hike, paddle boat. It's got a lot of really cool stuff to do here. It's one of those places you go on a nice summer day. 40, The Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute of Chicago was founded in 1879 and it is still going. The museum contains more than 300,000 works of art. 39, Wrigley Field, Chicago. Yeah, staying in Chicago, you got Wrigley Field. This is where the Cubs play. It is known for its ivy covered brick outfield wall. Giant chewing gum businessman, William Wrigley Jr. bought the Cubs in 1921. It was named Cubs Park from 1920 to 1926 before renaming it Wrigley Field in 1927. If you want to see a baseball game, this is one of the best to do it. 38, American Museum of Natural History, New York City. This is one of the best museums this country has to offer. Probably is the best. It opened in 1869. It used to be located in Central Park when the first exhibits opened in 1871. This is an interesting fact about it. In 1964, more than 400,000 worth of jewels were stolen from the museum. 37, Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia. This is where the constitution was debated and written out and it was also signed here. The park represents the founding ideals of this nation. It's also got the Liberty Bell, so that's something neat to see. 36, Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California. Everybody knows about Alcatraz and they've had some movies about escapes they had here. It first opened its doors on August 11th, 1934. This was also when the first prisoners showed up. 35, National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C. This is a newer museum. It was only opened in 1989. It houses permanent and temporary exhibits that showcase the diverse heritage and history of the North and South American Indians. This museum is the largest of its kind in the world. 34, Newport, Rhode Island. In 1657, Newport, Rhode Island operated the first ferry service in the This is an old colonial place and it has more colonial homes in use than any other location in the U.S. And yes, it is in Rhode Island. Most people seem to think that the only city or town or anything they have in Rhode Island is Providence. There's more to the state than just Providence. 33, Denali National Park, Alaska. I'm not really doing this list in any kind of order, but I think if I was, this would be at least in the top five. Denali is amazing. It became a national park on February 26th, 1917, and it's basically centered around Mount McKinley. Actually, it's native Alaskan name is Denali, which Denali National Park, you get it. 32, Yosemite National Park, California. Just an all-around beautiful place. Like, Half Dome is there. You have Yosemite Village, which is kind of neat to see. Then you have Yosemite Falls, which is really an impressive waterfall. It's the highest waterfall in North America and the fifth highest in the world. 31, Acadia National Park, Maine. So this is a national park that nobody ever really talks about. I've been here. It's kind of cool. I mean, it's not up there with Yellowstone or Yosemite, but it is definitely a nice place to visit. Acadia is the fifth smallest national park in the United States. 30, the Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. If you've never seen the Rocky Mountains, this is a good place to start seeing them. The Rocky Mountains have an average altitude of 8,000 feet. The mountain range stretches over 3,000 miles and covers six different states. 29, The Wave, Arizona. The Wave is a sandstone rock formation located in Arizona near its northern border with Utah. The Wave is so well-known amongst hikers and photographers that they actually have to limit the amount of people that go there. They have a daily lottery system used to dispense only 10 next day permits in person and 10 online permits. So basically 20 people a day get to go check this out with a guide. 28, the Iowa State Fair. The very first Iowa State Fair was held in Fairfield, Iowa between October 15th and 17th in 1854. It's the single largest event in the state of Iowa. They get a million people a year from all over the world to 27, New Orleans. If you watch this channel long enough, you know that I always say, go visit New Orleans, stay in the French Quarter, be careful, and don't go too far out. It's a pretty dangerous city. The French Quarter is definitely something you want to see. New Orleans in general, it's a nice place to see. Just be aware of where you're going. New Orleans was founded in 1718 and the first community was nothing more than a trading camp on the curving east bank of the Mississippi River. 26, Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is famous for burning locals when they thought they were witches back in 1692. This was a big thing. As a kid, I was scared about it. I watched too many movies about this. But the burning didn't stop there. The actual entire city was burnt in 1914. 25, Glacier National Park, Montana. This park was established in 1910. Glacier National Park covers over 1 million acres. Currently, it's home to 26 glaciers, but the numbers are shrinking down from 150 in 1850. They've only had 10 bear attacks in the history of the park. Oddly enough, two occurred on the same night, miles apart. Both victims were 19-year-old females. That was 54 years ago this August. 24, Las Vegas, Nevada. Of course you have to visit Las Vegas, Nevada at least once in your life. It's known for its gambling and its shows and all that, but these days it has so much more to do than just gamble and drink. There's a lot of great shows, a lot of activities to do there. It's a fun town. 23, the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon. The Columbia River Gorge was created about 40 or 60 million years ago. The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest and the seventh largest in North America. The river flows from British Columbia through the state of Washington, forming much of the border between Washington and Oregon before it finally gets to the Pacific Ocean near Astoria, Oregon. 22, Atlantic City, New Jersey. There's not a lot of things to see in New Jersey, not a lot of reasons to go to New Jersey, but Atlantic City's worth seeing. They've got a great boardwalk and the world's largest musical instrument. It's a massive pipe organ with over 33,000 pipes inside it. 21, Seattle's gum wall. People have been sticking gum on this wall since the early 1990s. It's about 50 feet long and it's just covered with gum. They tried to clean it in 2015. They ended up removing 2,350 pounds of gum and it took them over 100 hours to clean it. They just started right back up after it was finished. It's located right outside the main entrance of Pike Place Market. I was just there like two weeks ago. It kind of smells. Number 20, the Fremont Troll, Seattle, Washington. Yep, we're staying in Seattle. The Troll was created in 1989 and it's this like sculpture underneath a bridge, looks like a troll. They kind of had this art competition to revitalize the underneath of the bridge because it was just a dumping ground for everyone's trash and people sold drugs there. So they did this. It's kind of nice now. Tourists go there. Ever since the bridge was built in 1932 and the sculpture was inspired by the folklore of Billy Goat's Gruff. It's kind of weird when you see it though. 19, the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. The Great Smoky Mountains are estimated to be around 300 million years old. That would make them one of the oldest mountain ranges on earth. The mountains are officially entitled the Salamander Capital of the World. They have a lot of salamanders there in case the salamander capital of the world didn't tip you off. The Great Smoky Mountains are beautiful. I would suggest anyone in the Tennessee area just go see them. There's about a thousand miles of trails in the park for hiking and mountain biking. Number 18, Orca Island, Washington. This is located in the northwest corner of Washington State in the Puget Sound. The island's got a population of just a little over 5,000 people and it's only 57 square miles. There are orca here all the time. You can see them, but if you really want to see orca out in the waters off Orca Island, go between May and October during the salmon run. You can see all the orca you want and this is worth it. 17, Disney World, Orlando, Florida. Who hasn't wanted to or been to Disney World or Disneyland? I grew up near Disneyland in Southern California and while Disney World in Orlando is so much bigger, it was opened on October 1st, 1971 with just one park, the Magic Kingdom. Now they've got all kinds of animal parks and everything else like that. This is like one of those once in a lifetime trips you got to take your kids on when they're under the age of 17 and they can actually enjoy it. Number 16, the Puget Sound, Washington. Now we're looking at the whole Puget Sound, not just Orca Island or Seattle. This area is mostly cold and wet, which means it's also green and beautiful. It's one of my favorite places to go, up near Seattle, just anywhere around Seattle. I love it up there. Number 15, Highway 101, Oregon, California, and Washington. This is the greatest road trip in the country, I think. In the early 20th century, it was almost impossible to travel along the Oregon coast unless you had a boat because many of the small towns weren't connected and they had no bridges. You had to go inland and then come back and it was just a nightmare. The highway was created after World War I when Oregon voters approved the construction of bridges and roads all up the coast. California did the same thing. Number 14, Arches National Park, Utah. More than 2,000 natural stone arches can be found in this park. From a distance, they sort of look fake, like someone came in to make a sci-fi movie like Star Trek and just kind of left them there. The natural formations are a result of temperature changes, sweltering heat to freezing to thawing to rain, snow. They've shaped these for thousands of years. The tallest arch is the South Arch of Double Arch, which is 144 feet. Number 13, Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. These adobes were built with mud and straw, like all adobes are, and they have sheltered Native Americans for nearly 1,000 years. The Taos Pueblo today appears pretty much like it did when the Spanish explorers arrived in 1540. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in North America. Number 12, Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington. This is a very interesting place. In 1907, when it opened, the city council members' idea was to cut out the middleman, so you didn't have any, I don't know, like major chains coming in to basically take the fish from the fishermen and then sell them to the public and take their cut. They wanted the fishermen to sell directly to the people or other farmers or farmers, whatever. They just wanted to cut out the middleman. The iconic neon sign was installed in 1937, and the first Starbucks ever was opened here in 1971. Number 11, Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois. Millennium Park is pretty much in the center of everything in Chicago. It's not like the center of it, but near the loop where everything's going on. It opened on July 16th, 2004. It's a 24-acre park that replaced what was just a desolate area of railroad tracks, parking lots, and homeless people, and everything else like that. It went $340 million over the original budget, and it's where they got that big silver bean, that chrome, whatever, shiny bean. Check that out if you're ever in Chicago. Number 10, Grand Central Terminal, New York, New York. Grand Central is one of the world's largest, busiest, and my favorite train terminal. This place has chandeliers, marble floors, marble walls. It opened back on February 2nd, 1913, back when they made beautiful buildings worth keeping for 100 years. They don't make them like that anymore. As you walk in, there's a massive golden clock that's estimated to be worth about $20 million. You can take private tours where they'll tell you all the secrets and show you hidden staircases and underground rooms, all kinds of cool stuff like that. Number nine, Portland Headlight, Portland, Maine. This is probably the most iconic lighthouse we have here in the United States. It's photographed all the time, and if you ever pick up a postcard from New England, chances are it's going to have this lighthouse on it. George Washington actually commissioned this lighthouse in 1790, designed to tower over the Light Keepers' Quarters in Fort Williams Park. Number eight, Diamond Head State Monument. Most people don't realize this if they haven't been to Hawaii, but they see Diamond Head, and they just think it's like a peninsula. It's actually a crater. If you see it from the sky, it almost looks like Crater Lake without the water. There are great views from the top of Diamond Head. The military realized this back in the day, and they put a bunch of lookout towers up there. Bunkers from those military days are still at the top of Diamond Head. You can hike up there. It's only 560 feet above sea level, but I will tell you this, it is always crowded. There always seems to be a whole bunch of people up there, so trying to snap a perfect selfie at the top of Diamond Head might get tricky. Number seven, Philadelphia City Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This city hall doesn't look like it belongs in the U.S. It looks very much like 1600s European building to me. It's just gorgeous. It's the largest city hall in the country and the tallest masonry bearing building in the world. It's currently the 16th tallest building in Pennsylvania. A lot of history went on in this building, and it's definitely worth a visit. Number six, South Beach, Florida. When you think of Miami, you think of South Beach. That's the beach that's in all the movies and all the ads. It's going to be South Beach. It's beautiful, the Art Deco. It's amazing. The people here are beautiful, so if you're a little bit older like myself, you might feel out of place hanging out at the beach here, but if you're younger, this is a great place to be seen, and it's a beautiful beach too. Number five, Times Square, New York City. Times Square is probably one of the first things that come to mind when you think about New York City. More than 50 million people visit this area every single year. Used to be kind of gross back in the 1980s. It was filmed with like adult theaters and stuff like that, but it went through a revitalization in the late 80s, early 90s, and it's a really nice place to just at least see once. It's touristy, obviously. It's a neat place to see. Number four, Blue Ridge Parkway. It's in Virginia, North Carolina. A lot of people say this is the best road trip in the United States. I still think the 101 along the California-Oregon-Washington coast is the best one, but a lot of people say this is the best. It's not just the drive either. It's beautiful scenery, hiking trails all over the place. The entire parkway is 469 miles long, and the speed limit is 45 miles an hour. It'll take you 12 hours of driving with no bathroom breaks, no traffic, no road delays, no stop and take pictures. 12 hours to complete the whole thing. Number three, Death Valley National Park, California. California has some serious extremes. Death Valley is one of the hottest places on the earth, and it actually holds the record for the hottest temperature ever measured. It is 3.4 million acres. Death Valley is also the second largest national park in the United States, and it's got over a thousand miles of roads to explore. A lot of them are dirt roads, but you could explore them. I'm not a desert guy, but I've been to Death Valley more times than I can remember, and it's got a certain beauty to it. Just make sure you've got a good cell phone on. You get stuck down one of these dirt roads and you don't have the right supplies, you will die. Number two, Route 66. This is the mother of all road trips. It starts in Chicago, Illinois and stretches all the way to Santa Monica, California, at the Santa Monica Pier, actually. This route is what brought so many people to California back in the 40s, 50s and 60s. This is how all the wannabe stars got to Hollywood back in the day. There's a lot of historic and weird things along this route. I don't know if anyone really does the entire thing anymore. It just seems like one of those things you'll do parts of it. That's about it. I tried one time. I didn't make it far. We had a whole plan of three, four days of doing it. We made it to the second day, turned around and came back to California. Number one, Alaska. Yeah, the entire state is something you should see, not just Denali. There is so much to see in Alaska, you won't know where to start. My suggestion, start at the Canine Peninsula. Hook yourself up with one of the many guided tours of the state. You will see bears, moose, whales, lakes, glaciers, waterways. It's an amazing state. Most of this state is untouched. It's just there as it probably was a thousand years ago. Alaska has around 100,000 glaciers and more coastline than the rest of the United States combined. It's also the only state to have coastline in three different oceans, the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. All right, that's our list. I hope you guys enjoyed it. It was an extremely long list. I wanted to do this to see how it would work out. Let me know in the comment section below how many of these places you visited, what was your final total and what was your favorite. All right, everybody have a great day. Be nice to each other and visit America.