# USA trip



## Julia D (Nov 7, 2011)

Hi everyone. DH and I have just booked to spend 5 weeks in the US so that he can go to a couple of model railroad conventions. We start with a week in Rockford 15 - 22 May, then down to San Jose for another convention on 25 - 28th May, followed by 3 weeks with a hire car just touring, hoping to get to many more exciting "railway" themed places as far afield as Denver, Salt Lake City.... Whilst he looks at all sizes of trains I will no doubt be found in the car knitting!! I really would appreciate any info on good yarn stores to visit, any craft / yarns events etc just to stop the rail overload!!!!!

Many thanks, Julia


----------



## frgospodarek (Oct 19, 2013)

Will you be in Tennessee? There is a lovely shop called The Yarn Patch and a location at our outlet mall which holds all sorts of different gauge trains continuously running around different settings. It is a sight to behold! The name of the town is Crossville and is located on Interstate 40 between Knoxville and Nashville.


----------



## Irene P (Sep 20, 2013)

Enjoy your trip! May it be special. You should check in Google for yarn shops in the areas you will spending some time. If you are near libraries, check their craft sections. Also, check the book stores - they sometimes have books on sale (the ones you can purchase will be a great souvenier!).

You didn't mentioned if you would be on the east coast. In Whippany, New Jersey, there is a small railroad museum on Route 10 Westbound. It is a very small museum and they have purchased and restored some old trains. You could look them up in Google for information if you are interested:
Whippany Railway Museum - Wikipedia
The Whippany Railway Museum is a railway museum and excursion train ride 
located in the Whippany section of Hanover Township in Morris County, New ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whippany_Railway_Museum - 70k - Cached - Similar

(There is a Michael's Craft Store 15 minutes before it! They sell yarn!)

Have an enjoyable and safe vacation!


----------



## run4fittness (May 22, 2011)

Sounds wonderful! Enjoy your trip.


----------



## NanaMc (Sep 22, 2014)

Have a great trip and happy knitting!


----------



## louisevl (Jan 2, 2013)

3 and 1/2 hours north if Rockford, Illinois is the Greenbay National Train Museum. I remember it after many years and I'm not even a train fan. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g59929-d269733-Reviews-National_Railroad_Museum-Green_Bay_Wisconsin.html There are other sites with info on the museum.

Rockford is 1 1/2 hours north of our second city Chicago. Maybe you can go a few days early and visit the Chicago area. The Rockford Time Museum has been been moved to the Chicago Museum of Science and Insustry.

Three weeks on the West Coast or a trip over to Denver (by plane?) to the Silverton to Durango train ride. There is a great train ride to the Grand Canyon.

You need seeveral five week trips to the US. Have fun. We're still hoping to get to Scotland sometime in the future though we've been to all 50 states and ten European countries including England.
We'll never have enough time to see all the world.


----------



## DebHow78 (Nov 11, 2014)

If you DID go to Crossville, TN, you should also come to Chattanooga TN, home of the Chattanooga Choo Choo.


----------



## Rosesla (Mar 12, 2012)

Have fun, glad to see you are going somewhere in the USA beside the east or west coast. You will enjoy Colorado. 
We've been to Scotland several times. Absolutely love it. ENJOY!


----------



## mahalo (Jun 25, 2013)

You can go to www.needletravel.com and enter the city and state as well as exactly what you are looking for (for example yarn, needle point, etc.) and information will pop up. Good Luck!


----------



## Alicatt (Aug 24, 2014)

Hello, 

Knitterly, located about an hour north of San Francisco (over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sonoma County) is fantastic. Petaluma is a small quaint river village.

Further north to Mendocino County (another hour's drive along Highway 101) is Heide's Yarn Haven located in Ukiah, CA. A gem of a store and my favorite Mendocino shop.


----------



## twocan (Apr 2, 2015)

I have an application on my phone called Knitmap. I just put the city and state I will be in and it brings up stores near you. It is world wide and shows other countries besides the USA. My phone is android, not sure if apple also has it.


----------



## Cherspradlin (Nov 4, 2015)

Has anyone mentioned the cog train up Pike's Peak? It's near Colorado Springs, and a great side trip. When you get to the top, you can buy a shirt that "I climbed Pike's Peak". You don't have to say you rode up in a train. I think there are a couple of other cog railways, but i don't remember where they are. Have a wonderful and safe trip!


----------



## fergablu2 (Apr 30, 2011)

According to Google Maps, San Jose, CA to Denver, CO is 1,286 miles and a 19 hour drive. Have fun.


----------



## storp (Jul 9, 2012)

Try Fostoria Ohio for train watching. Also Rochelle Illinois!


----------



## Julia D (Nov 7, 2011)

We have 3 weeks touring after SF weekend and our planned route is just over 3500 miles! We are used to spending a full day driving though, it takes 9 hours to drive from home to visit my Mum, and living in SA Jo'burg to Durban was a weekend treat at 450 miles each way. No doubt we'll miss lots but mostly it's "train to train"!


----------



## Paulaross (Feb 3, 2016)

Since you will be in California, Sacramento has a nice train museum in old town.


----------



## Julia D (Nov 7, 2011)

NRoberts said:


> Why don't you try to meet some KP members on your trip? You can post the place and what day you will be there so a KP member living in that area can meet up with you. It would be a whole lot more fun to go with them to their LYS.


I had thought of doing it but will wait until nearer the time, at the moment the huge wall map just has hilights for train things, I want to start adding some knitting blobs!!


----------



## Mollie (Feb 23, 2011)

There is a railroad museum in Sacramento that is not to be missed! I even enjoyed it, but DH and his Aussie mate just went nuts there.


----------



## Knitnutty (Feb 9, 2011)

When you stop in a city for him Google local yarn shops and go visit. I'm sure there will be a Michael's or Joann's around too. Have fun.


----------



## mmpaladino (Feb 22, 2015)

I live in Rockford, Illinois. If you would like any information about the area just let me know. I would be happy to help you out.


----------



## mmpaladino (Feb 22, 2015)

I live in Rockford, Illinois. If you would like any information about the area just let me know. I would be happy to help you out. There is also an amazing yarn store here.


----------



## Medieval Reenactor (Sep 3, 2013)

There is an Amtrak train that goes from San Francisco to Chicago via Salt Lake City and Denver. It passes through some of the most beautiful scenery in the western US.

http://www.amtrak.com/california-zephyr-train

http://www.seat61.com/california-zephyr.htm

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=california+zephyr+pictures

There is also an Amtrak line up the west coast - the Coast Starlight - that runs from Los Angeles to Seattle.

http://www.amtrak.com/coast-starlight-train

Though if I were in California and had the time, I would rent a car and go to Yosemite National Park. It is one of my favorite places in the whole world.

http://www.yosemite.com/

If you plan to stay overnight in one of the lodges, cabins or tent sites, you will need to book early.

And DO have fun!


----------



## Medieval Reenactor (Sep 3, 2013)

I just thought of another fun train experience - the Napa Wine Train. They have restored about 20 1920 rail cars into a posh resteraunt that travels though the Napa Valley wine country.

http://winetrain.com/


----------



## samdog13 (May 24, 2014)

If you want to find yarn stores in the areas you are visiting, you can check http://www.knitmap.com. Hope this helps! Please enjoy your visit to the US. You may find the weather here in May warmer than at home, so check ahead on the forecast and be prepared. Have a wonderful time!


----------



## craftymatt2 (Sep 15, 2011)

I hope u enjoy ur trip to the us, and get to see a lot, be safe


----------



## NJgardengal (Feb 23, 2011)

Sounds like an interesting trip. If you are in the vicinity of old Route 66, you'll see amazingly long freight trains (100++ cars) that just seem to take forever to pass by at local street crossings. 
Happy yarn shop visiting.


----------



## Fluteplayer7 (Jul 29, 2011)

The Pike's Peak trip is a lot of fun. You can also check out the Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado (http://coloradorailroadmuseum.org) The closest yarn store iis Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins, which is worth the trip to Boulder. (http://www.shuttlesspindlesandskeins.com) I have taken several classes there. The educators are world class. Now that all of my truly local yarn shops are closed, that is my go-to store.


----------



## Irene P (Sep 20, 2013)

Felt you should know - my husband and I have traveled in and outside the United States a number of times, and I was able to bring a knitting project on the plane using a circular knitting needle, 16" long with a project started. I also brought a plastic crochet hook and another skein of yarn to work on, just in case they wouldn't let me take the knitting needles on the plane and had to place them in my suitcase. Only lost my circular knitting needle once years back, on a return trip from Italy - would you believe the security girl did not know what a circular knitting needle was - even with some knitting done! Enjoy your trip!


----------



## Julia D (Nov 7, 2011)

mmpaladino said:


> I live in Rockford, Illinois. If you would like any information about the area just let me know. I would be happy to help you out.


Hi, just starting to get excited about the trip now it's only a couple of days away! Just found there is a "fiber fling" festival at Woodstock whilst we are there so am planning to visit there on Saturday 20th whilst DH is at the Illinois railroad museum. Looking forward to it!


----------



## Irene P (Sep 20, 2013)

Enjoy the visit!


----------

