Get Off the Beaten Path and Try One of These Offbeat Travel Destinations
If crowds and scads of tourists don’t excite you, maybe it’s time for something different. Countless vacations destinations in the United States and around the world provide a one-of-a-kind experience away from noisy crowds and high-priced commodities. Here are some of the most unusual vacation experiences you’ve probably never heard of.
Western New York’s Amish Country
When you think of visiting Amish country, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is what comes to mind. If you want a more authentic and less crowded experience, however, New York’s Amish Trail is the place to go. This old order Amish community sits in Cattaraugus County’s Enchanted Mountains. Farms and homes with offers of handmade goods and farm produce dot the landscape.
Commercial enterprises are practically nonexistent on the trail, but handmade quilts, baked goods and farm fresh eggs are available from Amish families and sold directly from their homes. Goods are not sold on Sundays and taking pictures of members of the Amish community is not allowed. A host of informative museums and historical societies are worth visiting, including the Leon Historical Society Museum, Salamanca Area Historical Society and the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum. Modern accommodations and amenities nearby include Beauty View Farm, a fully furnished vacation home with appliances, dishes and cookware, the Cardinal Hills Golf Course and Senn-sations Salon & Day Spa.
Culinary Delights in Roanoke
During the late 1950s, Roanoke, Virginia, was the Dr. Pepper consumption capital of the world. Today, Roanoke is the culinary crown of the Blue Ridge Parkway. With a renovated City Market, two urban farms and two food co-ops, Roanoke has a quaint, Old World charm that combines great food and hospitality.
The Hotel Roanoke is one of the oldest buildings in the region. Originally built in 1882 and renovated in 1940, the hotel’s Regency Room restaurant is famous for its signature peanut soup with spoonbread. The restaurant’s other claim to fame? Chefs make over 25,000 chocolate chip cookies for guests every week. Many of the menu items come from farm-to-table ingredients produced from locally farmed sources. Other tantalizing full-service restaurants include Billy’s, with its lovely courtyard and decidedly Southern style cuisine, and the Roanoker Restaurant, known the world over for its delectable biscuits.
Roanoke’s museums don’t stop with artifacts. Many museums feature their own cafes with full menus that include Southern dishes and chef specialties.
Do You Fancy a Ferrari?
If you love Italy and luxury cars, you’ll flip over Italy’s Enzo Ferrari Museum. Modena’s museum is next to the boyhood home of Ferrari founder and racecar driver, Enzo Ferrari. The region is known as the Motor Valley because it’s not only the home of Ferrari manufacturing, but Ducati, Maserati and Lamborghini. The museum includes facts about Ferrari’s life and a rotating collection of private collection classic cars. An older Ferrari museum in Maranello exhibits modern Ferraris. Purchase joint tickets to visit both.
Never want to leave?
If you have loved being abroad and think you could fit the lifestyle why not consider moving out there? Robert Stones Target Markets can help with ideas.
