The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (53 page)

 Cell phone for emergencies (they do sometimes work in surprising places)

Ancient Pathways,
928-526-2552,
www.apathways.com
.

Wilderness Wildlife Week, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
This festival is proof that you don’t have to become Daniel Boone to enjoy the outdoors in winter. Twenty years ago, this started out as a one-day event—partly as a way for Gatlinburg photographer Ken Jenkins to share his love of the Great Smoky Mountains, and partly to draw tourists in January. Now the event spans a week and draws more than 24,000 visitors for hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and nearby forests (one of the most popular: a nighttime “owl prowl”), photography classes, sing-alongs, lectures about raptors, and seminars on how to use a compass and recognize the signs of changing weather.

“Visitors come once, and then they’re Wilderness Wildlife Week junkies,” says Leon Downey, executive director of Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism. Jenkins still participates. And true to his vision, the classes and events and festivities remain free.

Chain motels and cabin rentals start at less than $100 per night. One option to consider:
Affordable Cabins in the Smokies
(3536 Parkway, 866-456-3781,
www.affordablecabinsinthesmokies.com
).

Wilderness Wildlife Week,
800-251-9100,
www.mypigeonforge.com/events_winterfest_wilderness.aspx
.

go back to school

INDIANA & MAINE

Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.

—
HENRY L. DOHERTY, FOUNDER OF CITGO (1870–1939)

66 |
If youth is wasted on the young, there’s no better example than college. Students trudge off to classes, not realizing that in a few years they’ll pine for the days of exploring new ideas, meeting with professors, and soaking up the intellectual atmosphere of a campus.

Well, there is such a thing as a second chance. Every summer, colleges, facing the challenge of utilizing a largely empty campus, have opened their doors for short-term noncredit programs. Problem is that like college in general, these classes aren’t always cheap. But two schools manage to buck the trend: Indiana University and Colby College.

Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
For perhaps the biggest bargain, head to Indiana University. Every summer since 1972, the school has hosted a weeklong Mini University, which is open to all—even alumni from Big 10 rivals, like the University of Wisconsin, where Walt and Mary Prouty met and went to school. But for ten years now, the couple has been heading to IU every June. “We’ve told our family, the week after Father’s Day is our week, and they shouldn’t plan anything then. And that includes weddings, baptisms, and family reunions,” Mary says.

Why the Hoosier loyalty? The couple loves the variety of the hundred-plus classes on offer. Most classes meet for just one session, meaning there’s no homework or term papers to foul up the experience. In recent years, Walt, a retired biochemist, has been drawn to the liberal arts. He gravitates toward lectures from political scientists, economists, and historians, who explore contemporary issues like whether the national debt is really a concern. He also has taken in physiology lectures about the effect of aging on sleep and appetite patterns, and a class on bioethics. Mary gravitates to sessions on performing arts. Indiana is known for its music school, and some classes feature dance and classical lectures and performances. “The biggest frustration is that you can’t be in three places at the same time,” she says.

The Proutys suggest asking other Mini U students for recommendations—everyone, it seems, has a favorite professor.

The program itself is a bargain, costing $295 per person. Registration opens in March and usually sells out quickly. Many attendees choose to stay on campus at the school’s
Biddle Hotel
(900 E. 7th St., 800-209-8145 or 812-856-6381,
www.imu.indiana.edu/hotel/
), which is located in the Indiana Memorial Union, the massive student center where most classes are held. Rooms run from $89 to $229 per day and include free parking. You can stay off campus for less and buy a parking pass good for the week for $25. The union has a food court, and registration includes several free events, such as a faculty reception at the university president’s house. But make sure to leave some time to sample Bloomington’s restaurants. The Midwest city is home to the Dalai Lama’s brother, and thus some surprising Tibetan eateries. Try
Anyetsang’s Little Tibet
(415 E. 4th St., 812-331-0122), where you can choose from more than a dozen specialties with soup and salad for less than $10. The
Runcible Spoon
(412 E. 6th St., 812-334-3997) is another campus favorite, a café and coffee roaster that also offers imaginative dinner entrees like phyllo-wrapped chicken and vegetables for less than $10.

$PLURGE

THE OXFORD EXPERIENCE

If you’re heading back to college, why not go to one of the world’s most famous? England’s Oxford University welcomes summer students in its noncredit Oxford Experience program. The weeklong sessions start at 1,050 British pounds, and include room, board, and, most important, a chance to study in Christ College. Classes range from “Jane Austen’s Heroines” to “Scientific Breakthroughs of the Twentieth Century.” You’ll even have a chance to dine in Tudor Hall, which will be recognizable to some people as the inspiration for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. Register quickly, though. Applications are usually available by February and classes do sell out.
The Oxford Experience, OUDCE, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JA, UK,
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/details.php?id=134
.

As tempting as it is to explore, don’t forget to socialize with your fellow students. You might win recognition. Friday brings a mini-commencement ceremony, and the awarding of the Green Beanie honoring the most enthusiastic “freshman.”

Mini University,
IU Alumni Association, 1000 E. 17th St., Bloomington, IN 47408, 800-824-3044 or 812-855-4822,
http://alumni.indiana.edu/events/miniu/
.

Colby College, Waterville, Maine.
For many of us, reading and vacation go together. It’s the only time during the year when you can retreat from the daily grind and responsibilities and think about ideas and literature. That’s the idea behind the Wachs Great Books Summer Institute at Colby College, which began in 1956. Attendees all read the same books before coming to campus, and then spend a week discussing them. In recent years, it has focused on Nobel Prize winners or classic volumes like
War and Peace
. Think of it as a book club on steroids.

Attendees gather in groups of 10 to 12 every morning and tackle the books’ weighty topics. Some sessions are led by a volunteer, while other sessions are purposely leaderless. But in all cases, the college gives the groups general guidelines and a few ground rules. Number one: No discussing the book if you haven’t read it. And keep the discussion to the book itself—no fair bringing in outside sources. As you can imagine, the gatherings lead to spirited conversations.

The sessions have proved so popular that the college has added a Junior Great Books program for the children or grandchildren of attendees, who read classic children’s literature like Newbery Award winners.

But one thing’s beyond debate. The program is an incredible bargain. The $525 per person fee covers room, board, and all your books. The junior program requires children to stay with an adult and costs $340 for ages 10 to 16, $300 for 5 to 9. The schedule leaves afternoons open to explore the campus, which has a noteworthy art museum, lake, hiking paths, tennis courts, pool, sauna, pitch and putt golf course, and croquet. One afternoon features an optional trip to the Maine shore for $25, and most evenings include social activities, including a Friday night lobster bake with drinks.

Wachs Great Books Summer Institute at Colby,
824 Thomas Rd., Lafayette Hill, PA 19444, 215-836-2380,
www.greatbooksdiscussionprograms.org/
.

tune up your garage band

NATIONWIDE

Rock & Roll is not an age, it’s an attitude.

—
MUSICIAN DAVE MASON (B. 1946)

67 |
When New York media executive Rik Kirkland was a teen, his rocker days were cut short by his parents, who thought his burgeoning band was a bad influence. When he hit his 40s, “rather than getting a red Porsche for my midlife crisis, I started playing a guitar again,” he says.

Another friend had a saxophone. “Then sure enough the boyfriend of someone was a bass player and came and joined us, then someone else’s brother played drums.” Eventually the friends became The Prowlers, and some 15 years later, the eight musicians—guitarists, singers, a saxophonist, harmonica player, and mandolin player—are still playing together. A few times a year, they’re even booked for gigs. Free gigs, but gigs nonetheless.

For those people who don’t have a ready-made group of musical buddies—or who always wanted to play but never quite smoothed out their chords—several music programs around the country are designed to take you beyond
Guitar Hero.

The flashier programs involve name rockers and come with the splurge price tag you’d expect. So for an option that won’t knock the leather off your wallet, check out Rock Boot Camps, weekend-long immersion instruction for ages 13 and up that is offered in various locations around the country. The schedule varies year to year; past cities hosting the camps have included Phoenix, Arizona; Salt Lake City, Utah; Cleveland, Ohio; and Greensboro, North Carolina. The price is $299, and you’re on your own for accommodations. Participants typically bring their own instruments.

$PLURGE

rock ’n’ roll fantasy camp

Created by concert producer David Fishof (who reunited the Monkees and worked with Ringo Starr to put together the All Starr Band), Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp lets you live the dream of jamming, writing songs, and performing on a major concert stage (think Liverpool, England’s Cavern Club; Philadelphia’s Trocadero; San Francisco’s Fillmore) with name rockers (Todd Rundgren, Jeff Beck, Dickey Betts, and Mark Hudson have all made appearances at the fantasy camp). Weekend packages start at $2,000; hotel is extra. A youth program is also offered.
Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp, 888-762-2263,
www.rockcamp.com
.