10 classic American experiences
You can whine about U.S. foreign policy and eat Big Macs anywhere. To find the real heart of the country, you've got to be here
All you need's a tank of gas and a radio. Afraid of returning to the States and feeling out of sorts?
Arriving on North American shores for the first time and wondering where to start “experiencing” the United States?
You’re in luck -- we know how to get your Yankee Doodle mojo working.
“We can derive great comfort from visiting a state fair or rodeo, and enjoying traditions not far removed from those of our great grandparents,” says Kurt B. Reighley, author of “United States of Americana: Backyard Chickens, Burlesque Beauties, and Handmade Bitters -- A Field Guide to the New Americana Roots Movement.”
From Reighley’s rah-rah to road trips, rebel yells and roller coasters, here are 10 experiences guaranteed to connect anyone with the classic American spirit.
1. Rodeo
Don't forget to dress the part.
Football and baseball might be considered the national pastimes, but rodeo embodies the legacy of the American West.
“A great thing about [rodeo] is that we’ve all had an opportunity to represent, to a degree, the Western lifestyle,” says rodeo legend Larry Mahan. “And how this game started from the agricultural industry; from the ranchers and the ranch cowboys to rodeo cowboys.”
Rodeos take place somewhere in the country every month of the year.
Upcoming major 2012 events include the February 26 San Antonio Xtreme Bulls competition at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, and the March 23-24 Southeastern Pro Rodeo in Ocala, Florida.
Check out the Professional Cowboys Rodeo Association website for a full nationwide schedule of upcoming rodeos. www.prorodeo.com
2. Road trip on Route 66
Bring your own classic American muscle car.
Yeah, a gallon of gas will likely push beyond $4 this year, but the best way to discover America is to drive straight through the nation’s heartland between the Great Lakes to the Pacific Ocean.
The country’s most famous old highway, Route 66, was laid out based on old trails and railroad tracks. As its namesake song says, the road “winds from Chicago to L.A., more than two-thousand miles all the way.”
Route 66 was removed from the U.S Highway system in 1985 (Interstates have made it obsolete for speedy travel, thereby preserving its back road cachet). But the “Main Street of America” still has enough roadside attractions, retro pump stations, seedy motels, ridiculous museums, kitschy signs, rolling tumbleweeds and long stretches of desolation to take you back to a time when freedom meant a full tank and enough bills to get you to the beach.
A slide show and turn-by-turn description at the Historic Route 66 website will prepare you for one of the world’s great road trips. Download a copy of Dwight Yoakam’s classic “This Time” CD to round out the experience.
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3. Civil War reenactments
Films set during the Civil War often benefited from the input of authenticity-obsessed reenactors.
Be they amateur “polyester soldiers” or more zealous “stitch counters,” who labor over the authenticity of every detail, tens of thousands of Civil War reenactors go to battle every year to show civilians how it all went down in the 1860s ... or how it could have gone down.
With the country recalling the 150th anniversary of the Civil War -- or the War of Northern Aggression, if your politics remain Confederate -- this is the perfect time to watch grown men dress in period military costume, wave guns and shout out antiquated insults.
There’s no shortage of opportunities for watching one of these battles unfold, including highly attended events in cities that never hosted a historic clash (although maybe if the war had just gone on a little longer …).
To really make it count, circle the first full weekend in July on the calendar and attend the Battle of Gettysburg reenactment.
Annual Gettysburg Civil War Reenactment, 1085 Table Rock Road, Gettysburg, Penn.; +1 717 338 1525; July 6-8, 2012; tickets $10-$54, depending on seating preference and number of days in attendance; www.gettysburgreenactment.com
4. NASCAR
NASCAR actually makes driving around in circles look fun.
Loud. Casual. Unpredictable. Advertiser-driven. It doesn’t get much more American than a National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing -- you know it as NASCAR -- event.
NASCAR’s famed week-long tailgaters and high-octane excitement are centered around colossal speedways where hundreds of thousands of fans gather to watch their favorite drivers burn through hundreds of gallons of gas in an American-made car decked out in corporate logos as they race toward glory or death.
As "Rides" magazine editor Jonathan Millstein says, “No sport stems from American culture and remains rooted in American industry more than NASCAR.”
The sport itself actually stems from a different sort of industry. The first drivers were former Prohibition-era bootleggers who drove modified cars that helped them wind around Appalachian roads and outrun the law.
There’s a big race every month, none larger than the Daytona 500 held in Daytona, Fla., this year on February 26.
Visit www.nascar.com for information on upcoming races.
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5. New Orleans jazz
Welcome to Dixieland.
The exact birthplace of jazz is hard to pinpoint, but there’s no debating the music is very much alive in New Orleans.
Preservation Hall is one of many jazz venues in the city, but some of the best music can still be found on street corners, in backyards and at funerals. It’s hard to find a spot in the city where jazz can’t be heard nearby.
Mardi Gras tends to steal the party spotlight, but the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is arguably the best music fest in the nation.
This year’s event will be held April 27-May 6. The lineup features incredible gospel, blues, jazz, Dixieland and pop acts, along with The Eagles, Al Green, Eddie Vedder, Florence and the Machine, My Morning Jacket and John Mayer.
Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter, New Orleans, La.; +1 504 522 2841; www.preservationhall.com.
Find out about other New Orleans music venues at www.neworleansonline.com.
