[Thoran]

If you've already been to the big NE cities then don't waste too much time at it. You might think about flying into Montreal (great city) and taking the Via to Toronto (another great city)... and from there it's a nice drive (or a very short flight) to Chicago (my favorite East Coast city). Just make sure all your paperwork is in order at the border - it's a lot tougher to get through than it used to be.

In Chicago you can hop a train to Cali - there's two options that I'm aware of, one that heads pretty straight west and ends up near San Francisco (great city to visit) and one that heads diagonally southwest to Texas then West to LA. I've taken the southern route a couple times and it's always been a great time.

Of course if you're like me you'd be more interested in getting AWAY from cities... in that case there's really outstanding rugged and distance hiking all the way across the country. Near me there's the Adirondacks, which has some of the most challenging hiking in the country, as well as the Presidential Range in New England. To the South there's the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Ozarks in the mid-west. Of course in the west there's the Rockies and Sierras - if you like the outdoors there's nothing like hiking in Sequoia. Also very high on a hikers list would be Death Valley (in the winter anyway), and Joshua Tree National Park. You can find Hostels in many places that will help keep your travel costs down, not as many as you find in Europe though so plan ahead - don't expect to easily find them.