The Best Fall Break Destinations That Will Take Your Mind Off Midterms
The best anti-midterm, fall break destinations are where you can just relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy the feeling that comes with hitting that halfway point. Keep reading to get some ideas for your fall break!
Leaf Peeping
Take a road trip down that deciduous, scenic route. The sublime feeling of cool, bucolic air hitting your nostrils. The fall break destinations for leaf peeping are nearly endless. If you’re colorblind like me, just pretend to be awed by those dull tree ornaments that everyone keeps going on about.
Historical Landmarks
There’s no better place to forget all those history classes than a historical site. Lots of small towns have historical societies that keep track of things like old railroads. You could always sneak onto Centralia, Pennsylvania’s Graffiti Highway and leave your mark on a burning heap of prime real estate.
This might be the time you want to get into geocaching. Going into the woods and looking for treasure is probably the best way to forget everything, especially if you get lost. You’ll only be concerned with survival, and all of your worries about the Fall semester will fade.
Home Is Where Your Heart May Be
Whoever you call family is where home is. Go visit some of them. Take some laundry that needs to be done. Fill up on food. Visit your high school friends who’re also on break. Go visit some extended family.
Get them to make baked goods for you. Maybe your grandmother has the mouth of a sailor and tells the rest of the family where they can all go: good! What a wealth of entertainment to keep your mind off of things for a while.
The Ocean
Places like Myrtle Beach, the Gulf of Mexico, Virginia Beach…California—and the list goes on. The salt and seagulls cause blissful amnesia of all that pen and paper. The amount of fresh seafood you can stuff down your gullet depends solely on sheer willpower.
Walk up and down boardwalks and the coast. Kick up campfires and find someone who can play the guitar. If you’re a loner but still love the ocean, all the better: you get to pick everywhere you want to go. Take a wheelbarrow of books and spend a day at the nearest beach.
Go spy on some whales and dolphins while they secretly judge you for being a land mammal.
Canada & Mexico
First, Canada has legalized cannabis. It has absinthe in some areas. There’s Tim Hortons and hockey. Some other odd things would be milk in a bag and Quebecois horse meat. The drinking age here is 18 for some jurisdictions, 19 in most others. Canada is generally thought to be safer than the U.S.
The drinking age for Mexico is the norm for most of the world: 18. Mexico has a rich culture, ancient ruins, and a fermented agave drink called Pulque. As of 9 April 2019, The State Department issued a level two travel advisory warning due to Mexico’s increased crime and kidnapping.
The travel advisory system goes up to level four. Hurricanes have five levels. You laugh in the face of danger as you strap yourself to a tree. Get in your car and go across the border.
The Great Lakes
Five great fall break destinations are Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior. Preferably, pick the one with the least amount of pollution to get the greatest sensory experience possible. Smell the fresh air that surrounds it, with all those air-freshening devices rooted in the ground.
Due to climate change—a bloody, water war between the U.S. and Canada may eventually be fought over these areas—so go enjoy them now!
Museums
The best things in life are free. Washington D.C. has a ton of free museums. Go there and get your museum on. This is your chance to be a connoisseur—put on that beret (you just purchased) and scoff at the apple-knocking plebs that surround you. Bask in each one of those ecstatic 10 minutes before removing your hipster hat, transforming back into mild-mannered you.
Concerts
Of all the fall break destinations, concerts are generally something that you should plan ahead for. You need to weigh the likelihood of how long that artist has left to live vs. your wallet.
