Philadelphia is pretty neat. I read today that it buys the most sweatpants out of any city in the US. I visited my sister who lives near there with my mom a few weeks ago and got a good dose of American history, beer, and karaoke.
A few weeks ago my parents and I visited the San Diego Maritime Museum. A location I had been looking forward to since beginning to read the Master and Commander series (currently on book 9 of 21 much to the chagrin of everyone who recommends me books). The museum houses the HMS Surprise, the ship used in the Master and Commander movie and is frequented in the books. Poff got me into these books and it was good fun being with him and talking ships and sailing.