The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (21 page)

 
Rosa Parks Museum.
When a middle-aged seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to yield her bus seat to a white passenger in December 1955, history was forever changed. This eponymous museum literally puts you on a bus to witness the event.
Rosa Parks Museum, 252 Montgomery St., Montgomery, 334-241-8615,
http://montgomery.troy.edu/rosaparks/museum/
, $6.

Today, Birmingham is a far different place—a neighborly city where fried okra meets tapas, and both Indycar
and
NASCAR coexist with the largest municipal art museum in the Southeast.

You’ll find the
Birmingham Museum of Art
at 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods, Jr. Boulevard (205-254-2565,
www.artsbma.org
). If you’ve got an hour or more, call local folk hero Joe Minter and his wife Hilda (205-322-7370) and ask if they can show you
Joe’s African Village,
filled with artworks inspired by found objects. (Tours are free but you may want to buy Joe’s book,
To You Through Me.
) Or make your own iron art throughout the year and during the annual Stokin’ the Fire barbecue and festival each August at the
Sloss Furnace National Historic Landmark
(20 32nd St. N, 205-324-1911,
www.slossfurnaces.com
).

When you’re done, grab a sandwich and some tunes at the
Garage Café
(2304 10th Terr. S, 205-322-3220), noted by visitors and
GQ
magazine for its music, food, and antiques for sale. And don’t miss a chance to giggle at “Vulcan,” the bare-bottomed statue that lords over the city.

However you decide to spend your time, you won’t be bored. As Dilcy Hilley of the city’s tourism bureau puts it, “Funky is our middle name.”

As in all cities, lodging isn’t exactly cheap, but it’s less expensive than in Atlanta or New York, and on a quiet weekend you might well snag a value rate of $109 at the hip
Aloft Birmingham Soho Square
(1903 29th Ave. S, Homewood, 205-874-8055,
www.starwoodhotels.com
). Or you could opt for a country-meets-city getaway and stay about 15 minutes away in
Oak Mountain State Park
(200 Terrace Dr., Pelham, 800-252-7275,
www.alapark.com/oakmountain
), where campsites start at $14 per night. Bring your friends and rent a cabin for six; prices start at $110 per night.

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau,
2200 9th Ave. N, Birmingham, AL 35203, 800-458-8085,
www.birminghamal.org
.

meet me at the fair

DALLAS, TEXAS

Our State Fair is a great state fair,

Don’t miss it, don’t even be late.

—
SONGWRITING DUO RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN, “OUR STATE FAIR” (1945)

22 |
Even if you never saw the iconic (and some might say, corny) 1945 movie
State Fair,
you know that a great state fair offers as fine a slice of American life as it does rhubarb-and-strawberry pie. Once you have duly admired the calves and piglets raised by 4-H groups, ogled the giant squash, complimented the homemade jams, strolled the midway, and tried to win a giant stuffed bear at the balloon pop, you’ll want to take in a musical act, ranging from once-famous pop stars to fiddlers to big-name country stars. And if you can’t get kissed atop the Ferris wheel, why, you’re clearly with the wrong date!

Taking in all a state fair has to offer can take a couple of days at least, which is just enough time for you to get your fill of corndogs and cotton candy. Just be sure to ride the whirl-a-gig before you hit the barbecue stand. And bring the Pepto.

One of the nation’s biggest fairs is, naturally, in Texas, drawing close to two million people to the 277-acre Fair Park near downtown Dallas. Most everything at the State Fair of Texas is supersize, from the 212-foot-tall Texas Star Ferris wheel to livestock exhibitions featuring about 8,000 animals to Big Tex, a 52-foot-tall iconic cowboy figure topped by a 75-gallon hat that greets fairgoers with a hearty “Howdy folks.”

The 120-plus-year-old fair takes place from late September to mid-October and lasts 24 days, so you will have plenty of time to visit. If you plan your trip right, you can catch one of the hotly contested football games that occur while the fair is going on, including the University of Texas–Oklahoma University game.

Recent years have brought celebrity chef appearances along with name entertainment and jazz concerts in the wine garden. Ticket prices change yearly, but expect to pay less than $20 per day for an adult and less for children and seniors. Check for promotions that offer half-price rides on less crowded weekdays, and look for widely available discount coupons at area grocery stores and fast-food restaurants.

Most of the fair’s events and shows are free once you get inside. Don’t miss the pig races, BMX bike show, and the nightly parade. Take stock of your surroundings as you revel in the activities: The fairground boasts the nation’s largest collection of art deco exposition buildings, built for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition.

POPULAR STATE FAIRS

The United States is a nation of fairgoers: About 40 million visitors show up at the country’s top 50 fairs—an assortment of state fairs, rodeos, county fairs, exhibitions, and more—according to the website carnivalwarehouse.com, which tracks this kind of data. Of the state fairs on the “top 50” list, the State Fair of Texas drew the highest number of visitors in 2010, but here are a few other stand outs:

 
California State Fair
. If the tractor pull, harness racing, and demolition derby aren’t enough to get you to the California State Fair, the Dachshund Derby or the Karaoke Contest just might do it. California celebrates its reputation for the unconventional with the Weird, Wild and Wacky Zone with a Twisted Cabaret, hypnotist, and an exhibition highlighting some of the state’s strangest museums. A brewfest, farmers market, agriculture exhibitions, and midway round out fair offerings. The fair is held in late July. Tickets cost $12; concerts are free with entry.
California State Fair, 1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento, 916-263-3247,
www.bigfun.org
.

 
Great New York State Fair
. Along with traditional pursuits like lumberjack demonstrations and butter-sculpting contests, this fair that dates from 1841 throws in contemporary twists including world-class wines, text-messaging speed contests, women’s boxing matches, and live culinary demonstrations by star chefs, such as Bobby Flay. Tickets cost $10; concert tickets cost more, but they include fair entry.
Great New York State Fair, 581 State Fair Blvd., Syracuse, 800-475-3247,
www.nysfair.org
.

 
Iowa State Fair
. The corny movie
State Fair
was, naturally enough, inspired by the Iowa State Fair, which has been in staged since 1854. Today, more than one million fairgoers gather each August at the 400-acre fairgrounds in Des Moines to celebrate agriculture, music, classic fair culture, and the Butter Cow—yes, a life-size cow statue in wood, wire, and steel mesh covered in more than 600 pounds of pure cream Iowa butter. General admission costs $10.
Iowa State Fair, E. 30th St. & E. University Ave., Des Moines, 515-262-3111,
www.iowastatefair.com
.

 
Minnesota State Fair
. This state fair—where President Theodore Roosevelt issued his “speak softly and carry a big stick” edict—features marching bands, fiddlers, talent contests, livestock shows, equestrian events, and more. In recent years performers such as Bonnie Raitt, REO Speedwagon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the
Prairie Home Companion
’s Garrison Keillor have taken to the stage. Admission costs $11, with discounts offered on some days. Some concerts and performances cost extra.
Minnesota State Fair, 1265 Snelling Ave. N, St. Paul, 651-288-4400,
www.mnstatefair.org
.