Not every college student goes home for every vacation – sometimes the trip is staggeringly expensive, and sometimes a young person just wants to take advantage of the chance to see something new and different. Travel opens up one’s eyes and one’s options. For example, wouldn’t everyone feel more confident accepting a job offer in a city that one has already visited? Thus, exploiting opportunities to experience travel is a great option while in college. Let’s look at some interesting choices.
The Other Florida
Florida is a venerable destination during Spring or Winter Break, an understandable draw for snow-immured students.
However, during peak season, every resource, from beach to motel rooms to theme parks rides, is at a premium. Visiting at other times reveals exotic flora, fauna, and history, conveniently and cheaper.
Florida is more than bikini-covered sand. The huge Everglades National Park and Great Cypress National Preserve display dramatic alien landscapes.
Oddly kneed mangroves, cypress swamps, channel-cut sawgrass prairies, and groves of slash pines and saw palmettos shelter a unique suite of animals. Regional species, such as the Purple Gallinule, the Roseate Spoonbill, and the White Ibis, are visible here, along with the ubiquitous alligator. To see this, try a fan-powered airboat, skimming along the water’s surface.
For fewer mosquitoes, greater Miami in off-season offers the magnificent Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens. This collection of rare specimens was assembled by scientist David Fairchild. Miami’s Biscayne Boulevard also showcases its very own architectural style – ‘MiMo’. Check out the world-class art museums, largely specializing in 20th century works, and lively Cuban-influenced music and food. Florida, and especially Miami, is well served by airlines.
The Adirondacks
The Adirondack Park is the largest state park in the USA, and includes much of the Northeast portion of New York State.
The distinctive geology and plant life make it visually stunning, while numerous lakes and streams offer a myriad of recreational options. Getting there usually requires a car, but there is good train, and air service to Albany, which is several scenic hours to the south, and bus service to Lake George, which is at the southern fringe of the region.
The hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, white-water canoeing, fishing, and hunting are all superb for much of the year, and swimming is great in the summer. Rentals for much of the needed equipment are possible in towns such as Long Lake, and camping is a bargain, although mostly in warm months.
There is culture and science as well. The Wild Center, located in Tupper Lake, is one of the most beautiful and innovative natural history museums in the world. The still-new facility is integrated into the landscape, and leads visitors out to view and experience nature, whether in the pond lapping at the museum’s windows, or right on the Racquette River.
Another fine museum is the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. This institution focuses on the region’s intriguing history, which includes logging, farming, mining (garnets, for example), sports, and a surprising role in tuberculosis care.
Lake Placid hosted the Olympics twice, with the dramatic site still on view. Visitors can also tour the last home of abolitionist John Brown.
Grand Canyon and Beyond
Although the prospect may seem daunting, and the driving distances are considerable, this is a must-see for everyone before something spoils it. Air service to Phoenix is good, and the 231 miles of driving, once free of the metropolitan area, is peaceful, with magnificent views.
Flagstaff is closest, at 81 miles, and Las Vegas (278 miles) might offer some sort of discounted fares. Once there, possible lodgings include campgrounds and the historic El Tovar or the Grand Canyon Lodge, as well as hostelries in Grand Canyon Village. Visitors to this wonder of the world should prepare to abandon all sense of their own importance in light of the size and evident age of the geological record revealed here.
Access to the canyon can be by foot, whitewater raft, burro, or by helicopter. The bottom of the gorge has its own microclimate.
Arriving at either the beginning or the end of the season (access is partially limited in winter) means smaller crowds and a better choice of rooms. Such a trip can be combined with some other stupendous destinations such as the Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni tribal lands several hours drive to the north and east of the park.
Respectful visitors are welcomed, and there are opportunities to watch pottery being made for purchase. With a rental car, this trip could be extended to include the gorgeous Canyon de Chelley and the spot where four states come together. Setting off in a different direction, the Grand Canyon region is within a half-day’s drive of intriguing scenery at the Petrified Forest National Park.
All these places are memorable and, especially in the off-season, not outrageous expense-wise for lodging or food. Each destination will touch your spirit in its own unique way.
Check back in a week to find more awesome destinations!
