There are hundreds of “American moments” that I have ingrained into my subconcious from books, TV, movies, music…whatever. Things that I would love to do because they seem really “American” to me. Now I’m sure I have 2 problems here - I can’t remember all these visceral American experiences and I don’t know the best place to find them. This is where you come in.
Here are some things I have in mind:
Great high school sport - big, rich school in a huge stadium.
Triple A 'ball - Bull Durham.
Rural high school sport - Hoosiers, gotta be Indiana, unless you know a football team.
Great College Marching Band.
Diner - America’s best diner. They look cool on film and everyone smokes (not me)
Strange motels - not Bate’s but Indian tepees seems good.
Deli lunch - I’ve never eaten in a deli.
Pioneer town bar - We stand up in the Palace, like it’s the last of the great pioneer town bars Aw, we shout out these songs against the clang of electric guitars Well, you can see a million miles tonight but you can’t get very far.
Religious revival meeting - there’s a guy here and his name is Chris Hustler. I’ve seen Benny Hinn on TV and he’s a hoot.
Casting calls - Broadway or Hollywood. I’ll turn up just for the hell of it.
I hope I’ll think of more but this will get me going.
The tepees thing can be done in South Dakota. My mom is pals with a guy who runs a ‘Fish and Fry’ campground (you catch 'em…they cook 'em) that bought a bunch of props (including shelters) from the set of ‘Dances with Wolves’ when they closed up filming. They treat them like any other motel room.
Oh, and you can also do the ‘Pioneer Bar’ thing in the Black Hills, too. One bar I hung out at still has the chair that Wild Bill Hickok was shot in hanging above the door in Deadwood.
Religious revivals can be found throughout the South.
If you come to Tennessee, keep these in mind:
[ul]
[li]Memphis, in West Tennessee–Graceland. Elvis’s old place. A must-see.[/li][li]Nashville, in Middle Tennessee–the Grand Old Opry, motherspring of Country-Western music. Live broadcasts and a museum. When in town, eat at the 101st Airborne Club, out near the International Airport. It’s open to the public. Get the steak. You’ll soon see how WW2 has shaped America’s identity & self-image.[/li][li]Chattanooga, in East Tennessee–see Rock City. What’s Rock City? Just ask, you can’t miss it. Also in East Tennessee, consider a stop in Oak Ridge, the Atomic City. There’s several museums there, in the Town That Built The Bomb.[/li][/ul]
Really, anywhere. But if you want something great, go to a high school football game in Texas. Although, you won’t find too many in huge stadiums, except during state championship time.
Lots of AAA teams. The Sacramento River Cats have the highest attendance in the minors. You may also want to check out the St. Paul Saints in Minnesota, but they’re not AAA, they’re independent.
Texas for football.
Tons of them. For a real treat, try to get tickets for the Battle of the Bands, but it usually sells out pretty quickly.
Probably an overrated experience, but head to NYC. Tons of them around there.
You can get a bunch of those wiped out here in Indiana.
**Great high school sport ** - Most cities will have one or two schools with a gigantic sports complex these days. Penn in Mishiwaka (outside of South Bend) has a huge complex. 'Though, Texas would be the epitome of this.
Triple A 'ball - The Indianapolis Indians (AAA) have a fantastic stadium, voted best stadium in the minors 2 years running (by Sports Illustrated, I believe). A small town AAA club like Durham or Binghampton (NY) would also be good choices.
Rural high school sport - Indiana high school basketball is what you want. The state finals have split into classes (the movie Hoosiers depicted a time when there was ONE state champ, now there are 4 or 5, depending on the size of the school - but all classes play the semi-final and final games the same weekend in Indianapolis).
Great College Marching Band. - Notre Dame, the Band of the Fighting Irish. Best college band in the country. You can prepare for the experience by watching Knute Rockne, All American (*Rudy * is a schlockfest, but does have its moments).
Some of the others could be found here, but you’re better off finding the perfect examples.
You’ll need to come to New Jersey for the diner experience - this state is littered with them. There are at least eight of them in a five mile radius from my house that I can think of off the top of my head.
Ok, I’ll be the first to ask if this is real vacation planning or just an intellectual exercise to see if this stuff really exists? If it is real, you are looking at some prohibitive mileage and time between many of these things to do in one (6 months or less) vacation.
I’d say the northeast in general is the true home of the “classic” American diner, with New Jersey certainly having good examples. Pennsylvania also.
If you come 'round this way Don’t ask, may I recommend stopping at the Silver Diner for one of your American diner experiences. They are a corporate chain, but they do the kitschy art-deco interiors just like you’ve seen in movies, and they always have Elvis, Patsy Cline, Frank Sinatra, and Glenn Miller in the jukebox. (Their music, that is. Not the performers themselves.) In fact if anything they might overdo the Americana a little.
And the food is decent too, which is the main thing.
Our nearby Silver Diners have gone non-smoking though — maybe the whole chain has. Perhaps that subtracts a bit from the old-time diner “experience” for you, though I certainly welcomed it.
As a kind of perverse, reverse experience, you might try the Outback steakhouse — an American restaurant chain that capitalizes on Australian charm and kitsch. You might find it delightful. You might find it horribly offensive. This will depend a lot on your sense of humor I imagine.
Not at all over-rated, and Broadway offers a good tourist experience and decent food. Have knishes and a pastrami sandwich, chased down with a hunk of cheesecake; but be forewarned that the portions are HUGE.
