Walk Boston's Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile path that goes past places associated with colonial times and the American Revolution. The trail stops at Bunker Hill, Paul Revere's house, Faneuil Hall and the Old North Church. Start on the Boston Common, where you'll find information for visitors, and follow the signs along the way. Faneuil Hall houses the Quincy Market, where you can shop or choose from among Italian, Indian, Mexican, seafood and other American casual restaurants to recharge you for the rest of the trail.
Study the Gettysburg battlefield in southeastern Pennsylvania. Union and Confederate forces fought there for three days in early June 1863, with more than 50,000 men killed, wounded, captured or missing. Start at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center. You can tour the battlefield itself by bus or car with a licensed guide or buy a CD for a self-guided tour. The borough of Gettysburg offers lodging that dates from since before the Civil War and restaurants that feature period fare.
Visit the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, the site of the 1836 battle in which a band of Texans, including Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, held out for 13 days against a Mexican army led by Gen. Santa Anna. All of the Texans were killed, but their heroic defense has long been remembered, and Santa Anna was later defeated by Sam Houston's army of more Texans. Follow up with a stroll along the River Walk, where you can find shops, hotels and restaurants.
Retrace the steps of those who fought for civil rights. During the 1950s and 1960s, the struggle for black Americans to be treated fairly and with dignity involved bus strikes, sit-ins and marches. Visit Montgomery, Ala., where Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus. The city has both a museum dedicated to her and a Civil Rights Memorial Center. The National Civil Rights Museum, however, is in Memphis, Tenn., and includes the former hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Or you can go to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
Drive along the coast of California to see the 21 missions established by the Spanish settlers from 1769 to 1823. The missions sit along a stretch of more than 500 miles from San Diego in the south to Sonoma, north of San Francisco. Take a couple of days to drive along Interstate 5, stopping to visit some or all of the missions, or enjoy the scenery of the more leisurely coastal route of U.S. Highway 101 and dip inland to visit the missions. To add variety to your trip, include stops in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Carmel, Big Sur or San Francisco, or visit Hearst Castle near San Luis Obispo.
