Get Outta Town!

Every summer, tourists from afar flock Up North to enjoy our abundant Pure Michigan lakes, forests, and towns

July 21, 2018

 

Minneapolis/St. Paul   
Prince fans might want to make their first stop in downtown Minneapolis at the corner of First Avenue and Seventh Street. Yes, this old Greyhound bus depot-turned-danceteria, the famed First Avenue, has been rockin’ since 1970. The Revolution, led by Prince Rogers Nelson, headlined here long before he went solo — or changed his name to a symbol and back again. The Replacements, Soul Asylum, and Husker Du also found audiences here. First Avenue remains a top dance venue, but within walking distance are top-rated bars The Loft (711 Hennepin Ave.) and The Exchange & Alibi Lounge (10 S. Fifth St.). True Prince fans will want to head west to Paisley Park, the purple one’s former private estate and production facility, now open for tours. 

Hold on to that rental car and hit Highway 169 to Mankato, then Highway 14 to New Ulm to find the home of Minnesota’s craft brewing, Schell’s Brewery. Hint to Little House on the Prairie fans, Sleepy Eye and Walnut Grove are just a bit further west.) Family owned and operated since 1860, Schells hosts a Museum of Brewing that’s as tasty as it is educational.

If your taste buds seek another delicacy, turn your compass to Austin, Minnesota, the home of Hormel and SPAM. Though the first little blue cans rolled off the production lines in 1937, “the meat of many uses” really took off during the WWII as a portable protein for hungry GIs stationed in North Africa, Europe, and the Pacific. The largest consumers of SPAM still today reside in the Pacific; Guam, Okinawa, Hawaii, Samoa, and others lead the way, with stories abound about GIs using SPAM to waterproof their boots, lubricate rifle parts, and trade with the natives. Want to learn more? Then do not miss Austin’s SPAM Museum, where SPAMbassadors wait to greet you, talk “cubism,” and share favorites recipes like the Hawaiian SPAMburger.

You can catch the Tigers taking on the Twins at downtown’s Target Field September 25–27, but if you’re there when the Tigers aren’t, watching a game is still worth it, if only for the food. In this great city of immigrants, you’ll find concessions dishing out Arabic chicken shawarma, Baja Haus Pan-seared Barramundi, and Indian Tofu Vindaloo, alongside those hawking Kramarczuk’s foot-long sausages and humble corn dogs.

New York! 
OK, Hamilton tickets are expensive, but the Staten Island Ferry is free, and a roundtrip out to the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island — including an audio tour — is $18.50 for adults, $9 for kids age 4–12, and $14 for seniors. This gift from France, dedicated in 1886, is not only an enduring symbol of the promise of America’s liberty but also open for climbs if you’re up for it. 

Out on Coney Island, another vintage lady is ready to take you to new heights. Oh, other roller coasters might be faster, higher, or claim other extremes, but the Cyclone is made of wood. It opened in 1927. And it’s a bronco-buckin’ ride you’ll never forget. (The subway trip to Coney Island from Manhattan — that’s the Q train from Broadway and 42nd Street — can be just as memorable.)

Other one-of-a-kind New York memories can be made at:
• Katz’s Deli (205 E. Houston St., pronounced House-ton), where, since 1888, sandwich delights and slathered condiments come amid a cacophony of shouts and laughs. One to try: Pastrami on rye, L’Chayim!

• McSorley’s Old Ale House (15 E. Seventh St.), established in 1854. Abraham Lincoln tipped one here. On one of my visits, the bartender wept when he told me about the day in 1968 when, separately, Bobby Kennedy and Gene McCarthy — two sons of Ireland running for president of the United State — stopped in for refreshment. Civil Rights lawyers Faith Seidenberg and Karen DeCrow went to the Supreme Court of the United States to pry open McSorley’s doors to women in 1970, but it wasn’t until the urinals and twin toilets were augmented by a women’s restroom. Permit issues, probably.

• The New York Public Library’s Main Branch (Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street). This Stephen A. Schwarzman building is a treasure. Greet Patience and Fortitude (the lions guarding the entrance) on the way in, then proceed to the Rose Main Reading Room on the second floor. A football field long and 72 feet wide by 52 feet high, this great place’s million-plus cubic feet of space is framed by great arching windows, dotted with chandeliers and table lamps, and laid with huge oak tables. This is a cathedral dedicated to manuscripts and the quiet task of reading and pondering them.
• The 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Wherever you were on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, it’s worth setting aside an afternoon at the former site of the Twin Towers to remember the 2,977 people we lost that day

Denver  
The Denver Mint has been striking coins since 1906. It is the world’s largest single production facility for coins. Together with the other U.S. Mints, it produces over a million dollars of coins daily, and you can watch them being minted, free. Grab up to five tickets at the tour information window on Cherokee Street between Colfax and 14th. Kids under age 7 are not allowed.

They are, however, welcome at Buffalo Bill’s Grave and Museum at nearby Golden’s Lookout Mountain. A Pony Express rider at fourteen, a Union soldier in the Civil War at seventeen, a scout during the Indian Wars, William Frederick Cody would go on to become a renowned self-promoter through his Wild West Show. 

While in Golden, think about a tour of Coors. It was a minimally distributed product back in the day, and when someone had Coors, it was special. A lot of folks think it still is. Even today, every ounce of Coors comes from here, the world's largest single-site brewery. 

A quick trip to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park is a welcome respite. Only about two hours takes you to Trail Ridge Road — 48 miles of sweeping vistas from Estes Park to Grand Lake, much of it above 12,000 feet elevation. The varied views are stunning. Keep your eyes peeled for the landscape’s elk, deer, bear, moose, coyote, Bighorn sheep, mountain lion, and bobcat.

Dallas.
A day of history could start soberly at the Texas School Book Depository overlooking Dealey Plaza. The building, now called the Dallas County Administration Building, houses the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (www.jfk.org), home to several exhibits related to President Kennedy and that sad day in November 1963. The plaza itself is much as it was in 1963, as it has been long designated a National Historic Landmark. Conspiracy theorists and history buffs converge there. Memories for some; new learning for others. 

Be wowed by the bronco-busting, bull-riding feats of the The Mesquite Rodeo. This is no video game — it’s real animals and real cowboys. And when that first chute opens, your kids just might put those phones away. Shows are held every Saturday night through August 25.

You can’t say you’ve has a taste of the real Texas unless you’ve savored a serving of slow-smoked beef brisket. Note: It’s not a barbeque slathered in sauce, it’s smoky, juicy, and totally Texas. There are too many lists of “the best” briskets in Texas, start with these three and consider adding to them advice from your hotel concierge, Uber driver, and the folks at the Mesquite Rodeo. My Dallas picks: Pecan Lodge (2702 Main St.), The Slow Bone (2234 Irving Blvd.), and Smoke (901 Fort Worth Ave.)

Atlanta.
Yup, “Hotlanta” — as it surely will be any time you visit this summer — is the home of Coca-Cola. Dr. John S. Pemberton, a wounded Confederate veteran, concocted the first batch of Coca-Cola in 1886. You can enjoy the entire history of this world-wide beverage company at The World of Coca-Cola in downtown Atlanta. Visit the vault where the secret formula is stored and, at the “Taste It” feature, sip your favorite Coca-Cola offering alongside some beverages that are only made and distributed elsewhere in the world, such as Guarana Kuat, which is from Brazil and features a ginger taste with a berry twist, or Bibo Candy Pine-Nut, made and marketed across Africa, and offering a pineapple and coconut taste. Open your mind … and taste buds! 
The Martin Luther King National Historic Park contains the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the King Family home where Martin was born, Dr. King’s Tomb, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. There’s moving history here — history of personal commitment and a growing American commitment — and many details to be remembered and taught. Plan your visit by reviewing www.thekingcenter.org.

Since departing the White House in 1981, you’ve seen President Jimmy Carter swinging a hammer with Habitat for Humanity, monitoring elections for fairness across the world, and working to eradicate disease in Africa and elsewhere — with the Guinea Worm a particular target. The Carter Center in Atlanta is home base for both he and Rosalynn, but on many Sundays, you can find the 93-year-old leading a Sunday school class at Maranatha Baptist Church back home in Plains, a 158 mile trip, south from Atlanta, through peanut, cotton, and corn fields. The church’s website notes and updates Carter’s schedule: www.mbcplains.org.