The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (49 page)

Source:
Ocean Spray agricultural cooperative

Come any time in October and stay at
On Cranberry Pond B&B
(508-946-0768,
www.oncranberrypond.com
, double room with breakfast from $120) in Middleboro, and owner Jeannine LaBossiere-Krushas says she’ll fix you up with a private bog visit. Come at another time of year and you can still gobble up her cranberry-and-apple pancakes, cranberry-banana-chocolate muffins, or other cranberry-flavored breakfasts.

Both On Cranberry Pond and A.D. Makepeace are an easy jaunt from the historic whaling center of New Bedford and historic Plymouth, where the Pilgrims landed. Neither is technically on Cape Cod, which has its own bogs as well. Some Cape Cod bogs offer tours (508-432-0790,
www.cranberrybogtour.com
, $15).
An English Garden B&B
(888-788-1908,
www.anenglishgardenbb.com
) in Dennisport has rooms from $100 in the fall. Tip: When in Falmouth, don’t miss
Betsy’s Diner
(457 Main St., 508-540-0060) for regional comfort food from quahogs to homemade pies in a classic diner.

Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce,
888-332-2732 or 508-362-3225,
www.capecodchamber.org
;
Southeastern Massachusetts Convention & Visitors Bureau,
800 288-6263 or 508-997-1250,
www.bristol-county.org
;
Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism,
800-227-6277,
www.massvacation.com
.

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.
In Wisconsin, cranberry growers and tourism types have set up a Cranberry Highway via the Wisconsin Rapids Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (715-422-4650,
www.visitwisrapids.com
). In June, the region hosts a
Cranberry Blossom Festival
(800-554-4484,
www.blossomfest.com
), with a parade, music, and, of course, cranberry-flavored goodies. During the fall harvest season—usually late September through early November—cranberry aficionados can find vacation packages starting at $200 that include two nights’ lodging for two people, tickets to local cranberry attractions, and a cranberry trail map; they are available through the visitors bureau’s website.

If the packages are all booked, try hotels directly.
Hotel Mead
(800-843-6323,
www.hotelmead.com
) is most often recommended; the area also boasts several chain motels.

During the harvest season, you can bike or drive yourself on a self-guided trip or take a tour of the marshes of the 6,000-acre
Glacial Lake Cranberries farm
(715-887-4161,
www.cranberrylink.com/glacial.html
, tour $10) or visit several marshes with the
Future Farmers of America from Pittsfield High School
(715-884-6412).

If you snag a Glacial Lake Cranberries tour during harvest season, blossom season, or another time of year, you might catch up with Mary Brazeau Brown, owner of this farm that has been producing cranberries since 1873. She explains how cranberries
really
grow: not in the water like those guys you see in the Ocean Spray commercial, but on a perennial vine in sandy acidic land. Though the berries do require a lot of water, the bogs typically are flooded only for harvest, she says. The ripe berries float to the surface of the water after they are knocked off the vine, making for easy picking.

As for the best way to eat cranberries, she recommends taking raw berries, poking them with a toothpick topped by an American flag, and dipping them in hot caramel, like an apple. “People just go nuts,” she says. Yum.

Whether you visit during fall or another time, check out the
Wisconsin Cranberry Discovery Center
in Warrens (204 Main St., 608-378-4878,
www.discovercranberries.com
, $4, call for hours), featuring historic displays, a bakery (think cranberry pies and scones), and an ice-cream parlor serving—what else?—cranberry ice cream.

CRANBERRIES IN NEW YORK CITY

If you just can’t get to Massachusetts or Wisconsin, head to
New York’s Rockefeller Plaza
in those three days just before Thanksgiving. For several days, the cranberry growers’ cooperative you know as Ocean Spray sets up a 1,500-square-foot bog, complete with a cranberry grower who can answer your questions.

Wisconsin Department of Tourism,
800-432-8747 or 608-266-2161,
www.travelwisconsin.com
.

journeys of discovery

NATIONWIDE

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

—
MAHATMA GANDHI, INDIAN PHILOSOPHER AND SPIRITUAL AND POLITICAL LEADER
(1869–1948)

62 |
Some trips seem out of a budget traveler’s means. Sure we’d like to stay in an exclusive retreat built for gilded age millionaires. Or pass days touring Los Angeles’ top museums with a private guide. But who has the money for that?

With Road Scholar, either experience could be yours for less than $600, including all accommodations, tours, and most meals. Until recently Road Scholar was called Elderhostel and its programs were largely reserved for folks over the age of 50. But the organization’s new name is meant to appeal to visitors of all ages, who are welcome to choose from literally thousands of trips. But be warned: These are not laze-by-the-pool-and-work-on-your-tan vacations. As the Road Scholar motto promises, they are “Adventures in Lifelong Learning.”

Tours are led by experts and hosted by local sponsors, usually colleges, universities, or other education centers. That means you’ll get some classroom time before seeing the sights, resulting in a deeper, more meaningful vacation. “There’s always a local host, so you know you’re getting the real deal,” says Teresa Wilkin, a longtime Road Scholar customer.

Take for instance the gilded age adventure set in New York’s Adirondacks region. It’s called the Vanderbilt Great Camp and the Great Outdoors and it includes lodging in Great Camp Sagamore, the national historic landmark camp that belonged to the Vanderbilts. Another trip focusing on a great residence is the Los Angeles tour, which is a three-night excursion that centers around the Getty mansion in Malibu.

ROAD SCHOLAR TRIPS FOR LESS THAN $600

 
Adventures on Water.
Cape May, New Jersey, three nights, four days, $565.

 
Art and Literature of the American West.
Poteau, Oklahoma, five nights, six days, $528.

 
Avenues of History—From Colonial America to Camp David.
Sharpsburg, Maryland, five nights, six days, $573.

 
Drawing and Watercolor for Nature Journaling.
St. Joseph, Minnesota, five nights, six days, $563.

 
Outdoor Discovery Camp.
Canoeing, kayaking, caving, rock climbing; Carbondale, Illinois, four nights, five days, $499.

Find more trips online at
www.roadscholar.org/programs/bargains.asp
.

MAKE EVERY TRIP A LEARNING VACATION

Special tours are nice, but here are a few ideas to enrich any journey:

 Check with local museums for programs or day trips.