The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (65 page)

take a walk, go for a run

NATIONWIDE

Running has thrown me into adventures that I would otherwise have missed.

—
AUTHOR BENJAMIN CHEEVER,
STRIDES
(2007)

82 |
Experienced travelers know the best way to see a city is on foot. And since it’s always nice to have company, why not combine the two? Make your vacation an active getaway by building a trip around an organized run or walk. Nearly every community has one signature event, and in many cities, you can find them almost every weekend. Some competitors take the competition seriously, training for months and vying for large cash prices. If you’re one of those, congratulations—and the rest of us will step quickly out of your way. But many participants plan to take the course at a walk or slow jog. They’re there for the scenery, the company, and yes, an excuse for a party. But you’ll have to plan ahead. The most popular runs sell out, so register and make room reservations early. Here are a few favorites to consider:

Gasparilla Distance Classic Race Weekend.
Indulge your inner Blackbeard with this Tampa, Florida, event held in February. The pirate-themed weekend includes a 5K stroller run and 5K, 15K, half-marathon, and marathon runs. The routes skirt the Tampa Bay waterfront as they traverse the city’s prettiest neighborhoods. Afterward, celebrate your success with a beer or a massage at the post-race party. Registration begins at $25, but if you’re planning on getting new running gear anyway, check the race website for deals offering free registration with the purchase of certain running goods. A runner’s unlikely to smoke cigars, granted, but it doesn’t mean you won’t like Ybor City, which was once the center of the cigarmaking industry. A $4 walking tour reveals the city’s connection to the Spanish-American War—and stogies; the tour is offered Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. through the
Ybor City Museum State Park
(1818 9th Ave., 813-247-6323,
www.floridastateparks.org/yborcity
). Stay in the historic district at the
Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn
(1915 Republic de Cuba, 866-206-4545 or 813-241-4545,
http://donvicenteinn.com
), with rooms from $99 off-season and up.

CITY RUNS

Just because you’re on vacation does not mean you need to give up your running routine. The website Run.com lists thousands of routes across the country that are contributed by runners. Just log on to find, for example, a 3-mile beach run in San Diego or a 5-mile loop around the monuments in Washington, D.C. Another option is to ask your hotel concierge or the front desk. Many accommodations have maps with running routes highlighted.

[$
PLURGE
: For a splurge, consider City Running Tours (www.cityrunningtours.com), which offers guided runs in Boston; Charleston, South Carolina; Chicago; New York; Philadelphia; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C. Personalized runs begin at $60 for 6 miles, but if you’re in town during a group run, the cost is just $20.]

Gasparilla Distance Classic Race Weekend,
P.O. Box 1881, Tampa, FL 33601, 813-254-7866,
www.tampabayrun.com
.

Mackinac Bridge Walk.
For soaring scenery, you can’t beat the annual Labor Day walk across Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge; the third longest suspension bridge in the world, it carries I-75 over the Straits of Mackinac. The 5-mile walk connects Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsulas. At its height, the bridge soars 200 feet above the water, so to be safe running, racing, animals, and even playing tag aren’t allowed. As you stroll, you will take in stunning views of Lake Michigan to the west and of Lake Huron to the east. The event starts at 7 a.m. in St. Ignace, at the bridge’s north end, and finishes in Mackinaw City in the south. School buses will ferry participants ($5 per person) to St. Ignace, either to start the event, or to return to their car. Those completing the walk get a numbered certificate. Afterward, wander Mackinaw City or St. Ignace to see if your number is posted in a shop window, qualifying you for a prize. Since the walk starts so early, you’ll want to stay nearby—and make reservations early. For simple but well-maintained accommodations, try the
Cedars Motel
(2040 I-75 Business Loop, St. Ignace, 906-643-9578,
www.thecedarsmotel.net
). It’s worth crossing the bridge just for a hamburger from frozen-in-time
Clyde’s Drive-In
(W. Hwy. 2, St. Ignace, 906-643-8303).

Mackinac Bridge Authority,
906-643-7600,
www.mackinacbridge.org
.

Not Since Moses.
If running over the water doesn’t sound good to you, why not take a stroll on the bottom of the ocean? The Not Since Moses Run offers a Charlton Heston–Red Sea experience off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, in mid-August. Staged at the Five Islands Provincial Park, an hour north of Halifax, the 10K and 5K walk/run is timed to take advantage of the Bay of Fundy’s extreme tide changes, which can vary as much as 48 feet. The route takes participants along the seafloor, so this is not the course for your best Nikes—expect plenty of puddles and mud. But if your pace is slow, don’t worry, you can step up to the coast and be picked up by a boat looking for stragglers. Cost is $45 Canadian, which includes a shirt and post-run party. You can find motels and inns along the shore, including in Parrsboro, 20 minutes away from the start. Consider the basic but cheerful
Sunshine Inn
(4487 Hwy. 2N, Parrsboro, 877-706-6835 or 902-254-3135,
www.thesunshineinn.net
, rates from $89 Canadian). There’s also camping at
Five Islands Provincial Park
(902-254-2980,
www.novascotiaparks.ca/parks/fiveislands.asp
).

$PLURGE

STAY AT THE GRAND

It would be a shame to make it all the way to northern Michigan and not see Mackinac Island. The scenic vacation spot has been welcoming visitors for more than a century, and since cars aren’t allowed there, it does feel like a step back in time. The Grand Hotel lives up to its name and it is a must-see. Rooms from $470 per couple (including breakfast and dinner).
Grand Hotel, 286 Grand Ave., P.O. Box 286, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, 906-847-3331,
www.grandhotel.com
.

Not Since Moses,
951 Hwy. 2, Lower Five Islands, NS B0M 1K0, Canada,
www.notsincemoses.com
.

Surf City Marathon.
You’ll undoubtedly yell “Surf’s Up” sometime during the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, California, every February. More than 17,000 participants line up behind a brigade of classic woody sedans in this marathon, half-marathon, and 5K oceanfront event. The post-race party includes surf music, barbecue, and beer. Plus you’ll treasure the surfboard-shaped medal awarded to all who complete the course. Registration begins at $25.
Huntington Dog Beach
(west side of Pacific Coast Highway bet. Seapoint St. & 21st St.,
www.dogbeach.org
) is celebrated for its pet-friendly sands. Even if you’re petless, it’s worth a visit to see all the canines having fun in the sun. Another beachy must-see is the
International Surfing Museum
(411 Olive Ave., 714-960-3483,
www.surfingmuseum.org
), with vintage boards, classic surf music, and surf movies. Lodging can be pricey here, but the
Huntington Suites
(727 Yorktown Ave., 714-969-0450,
http://thehuntingtonsuites.com
) is a good budget choice with rooms from $88.

Kinane Events,
800 Grand Ave., Ste. C-10, Carlsbad, CA 92008, 888-422-0786,
www.runsurfcity.com
.

get out on the fringe

EDMONTON, CANADA

I just want people to enjoy themselves for an hour, to make them laugh.

The fringe is really a way for that to happen.

—
CHRIS GIBBS, TORONTO-BASED FRINGE PERFORMER

83 |
The very name “fringe festival” hints at something wild and frenetic, and for those who give in to the temptation of seeing multiple performances per day—20 plays in five days isn’t uncommon—a fringe can become a mad dash. But the real point behind fringe festivals isn’t the quantity of shows you catch—or even, perhaps, the quality of them. It’s the idea of self-produced, uncensored, unjuried dramatic freedom.

Anyone can apply for a spot at the fringe—whether they have acting or performing credentials or not. Musicals, comedies, one-man acts, children’s shows—sometimes even naked dances—can be seen on stage. “Fringe takes art back into the hands of the people,” says David Ortolano, producer of the Boulder International Fringe Festival. Because slots typically are assigned by lottery or a first-come, first-served basis, the creativity is fresh, unfettered—and often funky.

“There’s no quality control. It could be the worst thing you’ve ever seen; conversely it could be the best thing you’ve ever seen,” says T. J. Dawe, a Vancouver, Canada–based fringe playwright and performer. Which seems to be exactly what the audiences—teens to grandparents—seem to want. “Fringe audiences come to see something new. If you did Brecht, or Shakespeare, no one would want to see it.”

At typical North American fringe festivals, $500–$700 buys a performer (or group) a half dozen time slots in an assigned venue (church hall, bar, nightclub, actual theater), technical support for the show, and a built-in audience primed for the experimental. Most shows last 60 to 90 minutes.

There are no advance reviews. Artists have to market their shows themselves, and it’s not unusual to find them or their friends handing out fliers. Shows—and repeat artists—catch positive buzz, which can lead to sell-out audiences. At many festivals, the infrastructure is supported through private support and grants, so that the proceeds go back to the artists—which means the more tickets a show sells, the more that artist makes.

Festivals run multiple days to two weeks and may feature 200 different performances. Some include outdoor stages and street performers; nearly all have a beer tent. The price is right, with tickets to individual shows starting under $10, depending on the festival, and multishow passes that average out to several dollars less per performance. Food booths around the grounds serve up cheap eats.

“The fringe” takes its name from postwar Scotland, when counterculture artists clamored outside the then conventional Edinburgh Festival to get audiences for their experimental shows. Fringe came to the New World in 1982 in the form of the Edmonton Fringe Festival; today dozens of festivals are held throughout the United States and Canada.

The
Edmonton International Fringe Festival
(780-448-9000,
www.fringetheatreadventures.ca
) that spans ten days in mid-August is still North America’s largest fringe fest, drawing more than 550,000 visitors for 1,200 shows, including many designed just for children. The festival takes place in the city’s early 1900s historic district,
Old Strathcona
(www.oldstrathcona.ca), where crowds gather around two outdoor stages, food and crafts booths, and street performers who juggle in streets closed to traffic. (Need a snack? Don’t miss the green onion cakes.)

But for theater buffs and the fanatics fondly dubbed “fringe fries,” the indoor shows are the big attraction.
Miami Herald
journalist Madeleine Marr, who described herself as dashing from tent to tent to catch 25 plays in five days, rated the performances as 50 percent worthy, 50 percent dogs. “I enjoyed one play so much I bought the soundtrack,” reads her review of the fringe festival for the
Miami Herald.
“On the other hand, I witnessed plays so pitiful that the actual cast walked off the stage in disgust.” Good thing the max ticket price is only $15.