You can easily stay 6 months with visa exempt and a border run. You're here to see the sights anyway.
Pattaya city proper may be a little much unless you are into partying
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. Otherwise I would recommend the outskirts. Pattaya is nice enough, I live here now and have been here 5 years. However, Pattaya is in Thailand, it's not really Thailand. Its a town of tourists or expats who like to party. If you want to see real Thailand, I would recommend planning 1 week here and another week there, etc. It may be more expensive but it's a once in a lifetime experience.. Unless you end up living here.
"Can I simply make flight reservations to leave USA, without doing anything else, receive a 60 day visa upon arrival ... " Obviously you'll need to actually come to Thailand. They're not giving visa exempt for people who don't come here.
The visa is less of a question but rather Airline requirements.