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February 2008
Spring Break: Bacchanalia or Mid-March Breather?
Where do you go for Spring Break?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Spring break beauty is in the eye of the beholder. With the beaches of Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and Alabama a few hours away and most Caribbean destinations just a short flight from Atlanta, it’s easy to plan a spring break trip in the southeast. The hardest part is figuring out what kind of break you want.
I have spent many a spring break in the southeast. Back in the 1980s, as a high school senior, I begged my parents to let me go with my friends to Myrtle Beach. They relented when I offered to pay my way and one friend’s mom agreed to take her younger kids along on the trip. Our chaperone stayed in the same hotel - but not hotel room - as me and 7 other silly 17-year-old girls.
We managed to avoid any trouble. In fact, the only late-night run we made was to a pharmacy to get aloe for our lobster-red sunburns. No beer or even Boone’s Farm for us - not exactly the wild spring breakers you see on TV.
I tried wild-and-crazy when I graduated to Panama City for one college spring break. I had a good time at the beach and with my friends, but my spring break personality is apparently more BBC than MTV.
Not all spring holidays require a beach or raucous behavior, as this AJC article by Elsa Simcik shows. One of the advantages to living in Atlanta is that the southeast offers numerous opportunities for spring breakers to enjoy beautiful cities, gardens in bloom, golf getaways, mountain hikes and lakeside retreats relatively close-by.
Several other websites offer lists of great family spring break destinations, volunteer opportunities for the break, grown-up alternatives to the student bacchanalia and general tips for making the most of your spring vacation.
Where have you gone on Spring Break through the years? What was the best destination when you were young and single? Did your Spring Break choice “mature” as you grew older, coupled or started a family? If you aren’t in school or don’t have family members in school, will you still take some sort of mini-break this spring?
Permalink | Comments (14) | Post your comment | Categories: Southeast travel
Take me out to Spring Training
Where do you go to cure baseball fever before Opening Day?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I like baseball, really I do. I just can’t seem to watch it on television. My eyes glaze over, I sink deeper into the couch and soon I’m on my way to Snoozeville. Count on me to catch a nap during telecasts of even the most exciting games. Remember the 1992 National League Championship Series game when Skip Caray screamed “Braves Win! Braves Win! Braves Win!”? Yeah, I don’t. I was asleep.
But take me out to the ball game, and I’m a totally different person. Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks and not only will I follow all of the action, I might even taunt the opposing team’s players. (I won’t do the wave though.) Whether it’s the big leagues or the minor leagues, there’s just something about the crack of the bat, the sights and smells at the stadium that grab my attention.
One summer, my husband and his college roommate traveled to different major league baseball stadiums throughout the country. They would roll into town, watch a game and then head to the next city. American League or National League, it didn’t matter - though they did try to catch the Braves if they were in the area. They spent their last dollar at a Detroit Tigers game and had to make their way home using just his roommate’s gas card. They ate nothing but Slim Jims and chips from Michigan back to Atlanta, but it still ranks as one of my husband’s favorite trips.
You can see as many games and sports stars as they did without putting quite so many miles on your car simply by heading south for spring training in MLB’s Grapefruit League. Opening Day is still weeks away, but as many as 18 different major league teams will begin playing games throughout Florida next week. The Braves’ first game is next Wednesday at their training site in Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex. Champion Stadium, where the Braves play, seats about 9,500 and is the largest spring training site in the Grapefruit League.
Other National and American League teams play in locations throughout Georgia’s southern neighbor from Vero Beach (LA Dodgers) and Melbourne (Washington Nationals) to Fort Lauderdale (Baltimore Orioles), Fort Myers (Boston Red Sox) and Tampa (NY Yankees). Each of these small ballparks offer fans a chance to see their favorites up close and in action.
Have you ever traveled to spring training? Where did you stay? Do you have any tips for fans going for the first time? Are the special packages worth it or is it better to just drive down and grab tickets on the day of the game?
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Southeast travel
Make a Presidential pilgrimage this weekend
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Growing up, my friend Tom’s birthday often fell on a national holiday. While our teachers would say something about Presidents Day, we called it Tom’s birthday and thanked our friend for the day off from school.
Tom’s Day…I mean Presidents Day, combines the birthdays of George Washington (February 22) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and celebrates the service of all U.S. Presidents. While the third Monday in February is not a guaranteed day off from work for many people, you can still find ways to celebrate that don’t involve a sale at the mall.
Travel to Plains, Ga. to the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site, to get a glimpse into our 39th President’s past. Check out his boyhood farm, the train depot which housed his campaign headquarters, and the visitors’ center at Carter’s old high school. (Closer to home, Carter aficionados can also check out Atlanta’s Carter Center and Presidential Library and Museum.)
Check out Warm Springs, Ga., where 32nd President Franklin Delano Roosevelt frequently sought treatment for his polio paralysis in the heated mineral springs. Visit the cottage he owned called the “Little White House”, as well as nearby FDR State Park.
Head to Tennessee, home of Presidents Andrew Jackson (7th), James K. Polk (11th) and Andrew Johnson (17th). Jackson’s home near Nashville, called The Hermitage, includes a museum and the mansion staffed by historically-costumed tour guides. Polk’s ancestral home in Columbia includes half-price admission for the Presidents Day weekend and a chance to see more than 1,000 of the Polks’ personal belongings. Johnson’s hometown of Greenville includes a museum, his tailor’s shop, his house and the national cemetery where the “Defender of the Constitution” is buried.
If you have the time, Virginians are honoring their many Presidents, including George Washington, in a variety of celebrations. Kentucky is also beginning a bicentennial celebration of its native son, Abraham Lincoln.
…Or you can do what my husband and his friends are doing. They are honoring the holiday in a way that would make 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower proud - by getting in as many rounds of golf as possible.
Let us know if you’re traveling over Presidents Day weekend. Are you getting into the spirit of the holiday or just getting out of town? Have you ever visited any of these presidential sites? What did you think of them?
Permalink | | Categories: Southeast travel
Take the mid-winter travel challenge
Where's your best cheap winter getaway in Georgia?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
These are the times that can try a traveller’s soul…It’s mid-winter, and we’ve had both snow and balm over the past few weeks. Early Spring or no, I always feel a little wanderlust in the barren days of February. But my post-Christmas bank statements scream at me to just sit at home and eat cheese sandwiches for a while.
The big challenge for me is to find a quick, interesting getaway that will break the winter doldrums without breaking the bank. Add to the mix the uncertainty of the southeast’s weather this time of year (will we have freezing rain or temps in the 70s?), and it’s an even bigger challenge. This needs to be a trip that can be taken at the last minute, whenever a good weekend comes along.
Charles Seabrook’s list of Georgia’s 35 natural wonders offers an enjoyable solution. (See photos) One reason I like it is because I’ve been to several of these sites already and my favorite part of the state - the coast - is heavily represented. But a major plus is that many of the places are daytrips from Atlanta, making them easy and inexpensive last-minute ideas. Even the most far-flung destinations are a comfortable drive and a short hotel stay from town.
Some, like the Okefenokee Swamp (#1) and Cumberland Island (#3), require a bit more planning or an advance reservation, but many places can be enjoyed on the cheap and at the spur of the moment.
For locales where a hotel stay would be necessary, I would look for other things to do in the area while you’re there. For example, I feel at home the minute I see the Marshes of Glynn no matter the season or the weather - but I’m not going to drive five hours down to spend my entire weekend out there staring.
Are you up to this challenge? Would you consider any of these destinations a place for a quick mid-winter pick-me-up? Can you think of other spots in Georgia that would do the trick? What’s your favorite locale on Seabrook’s list? And can you offer other things to do/places to stay in the area?
Permalink | Comments (20) | Categories: Last-minute travel, Quick getaways, Southeast travel
