The New York Times: 36 Hours in the East

It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the options out there, including the ones in your own backyard. This New York Times guide complies a collection of essays on locations in eastern North America, and lets you focus on the specific beauty of a specific region, and everything it has to offer. Whether it's East Hampton, South Beach, Chicago, or New Orleans, the book has a little bit of everything, and illustrates each different micro-culture and neighborhood with photos and stories that'll have you mapping out cross-country bus routes by the day's end.