Ohio State Fair just got cheaper

by Jamie Rhein on

If you’re looking for travel deals, try a state fair. If any state fair is like Ohio’s, it’s looking for ways to entice people to come by offering discounts and deals, particularly on food.

According to this Toledo Blade article, the “staycation” folks are the ones the Ohio State Fair is courting. As a result, this particular fair is a coupon clipper’s dream. Many coupons found on the fair’s Website offer free drinks with some sort of sandwich purchase; some are money-off deals.

At first glance, the best deal is at the Donahey Agriculture and Hort Building. The coupon touts that kids under 12 get a free Bob Evans kid’s meal for climbing the Corn Wall.

There’s a catch, though: after calling the state fair to verify what I suspected, I found out that you have to go to a Bob Evans restaurant to get your child that meal. Regardless, climbing the Corn Wall would be fun even without the extra reward.

Don’t miss out on the coupons for the Taste of Ohio Café. I can personally vouch for the food. That’s where we ate last year. The point of this building is to highlight Ohio’s food abundance. Each stand is run by a different Ohio food producing association. The Ohio Poultry Association, for example, sells the Thanksgiving dinner that has a has a coupon for $1 off. There’s no catch here.

The coupon sheet serves another purpose, as well: Use it as a fair guide. As you eat and drink your way through the day, you’ll learn a bit more about Ohio. As a note, some coupons are for food items you can eat later. Jose Madrid salsa is one such item. This salsa brand is made in Ohio, and it’s terrific. I’m partial to the hotter versions.

For the coupon sheet, click here.

Deep fried pickles, unfortunately, aren’t included. I love deep fried dill pickles, a food I never heard of or ate before moving to Ohio. I don’t know about the deep friend pickles at the fair, but the ones at Old Bag of Nails Pub in Worthington are yummy.

The fair started in Columbus on Wednesday and will go through Tuesday, August 9.

Can’t afford a nice hotel in New York? Stay in New Jersey.

by Annie Scott on

You often hear New Yorkers joke that the best thing about New Jersey is that you can see New York really well from there — well, why not take advantage of that?

Luxury hotels in NYC are super expensive (really, all hotels are super expensive), so do what so many young families and artists in New York do when they get tired of paying prohibitively high rent: Head across the Hudson.

In particular, The Westin Jersey City Newport (the view from a bathtub there is pictured) is a good bet — it’s luxurious, it has two restaurants and a bar, and best of all? It’s just ten minutes from midtown Manhattan. It’s one of those things few people think about when they’re booking a trip to New York: You don’t have to stay in New York to visit.

The Westin Jersey City Newport currently has three promotions going on:

  • Room Rates Equal to Your Birth Year Package – Don’t worry, they don’t mean you’ll have to pay $1,970; with this deal, you pay full-price the first night (starting at $229) and then you get your second or third night for the price of the second two digits in your birthday. The older you are, the cheaper your room! Finally, a reason to age. Code: BIRTHYR
  • Better Tomorrows Package – With this offer you pay half price every other night, so if you’re staying an even number of nights, that’s gonna come out really well for you. Code: ZBT
  • Best Rate Guaranteed Offer – If you book a room and then find a lower published rate within 24 hours, Starwood will match that rate and raise you a ten percent discount or give you 2,000 Starpoints. This actually applies at all Starwood hotels: Westins, Sheratons, W Hotels, etc. Click here for the instructions.

Know what else is in Newport? A waterfront and tax-free shopping centers. It’s kind of like what I assume heaven must be like. Kidding aside, the hotel really is gorgeous and just opened up in February — check it out! Staying at a luxury hotel in New Jersey for the same price as a junky hotel in New York is totally worth it. Call 1-866-924-8746 to book.

(Visit the website for terms and conditions of the above packages.)

Best vacation day: Slide Rock

by Jamie Rhein on

Friends of mine recently returned from a trip to Arizona with news of a hands-down favorite day that pleased the whole family. Slide Rock State Park near Sedona made the parents, a 16-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl happy at exactly the same time. Amazing. For anyone who has traveled with an age range of children of both sexes, an activity that fits everyone’s desires and then matches their expectations at the same time is golden.

Jaunted’s review of Slide Rock mirrors what my friends said made this day a crowd pleaser. Slide Rock is a chance to interact with nature in a way that’s much cheaper than a water park and more environmentally friendly. A slick creek bed and rushing water reflects a simpler childhood where fun costs $2 a person. (A carload is $10)

Along with being some of the most gorgeous scenery imaginable, Sedona is an easy pairing with a trip to the Grand Canyon which is something I did. The drive through Oak Creek Canyon is spectacular.

One time to head here might be September 19-20 for the Apple Festival, a time of celebrating the area’s agricultural history. The state park used to be an apple farm.

Daycation: Daytrips in northeastern US

by Jamie Rhein on

There’s “YAYcation” where you say to heck with the economy and go on the trip anyway. On the opposite end, there’s a “staycation” where you pretend your yard is somewhere interesting. Then there’s Scott’s devious suggestion, “liecation.“

Here’s an option that can be inexpensive but gives the sense of travel. Go on a daycation. In other words–a day trip. This is where you find out what’s within an hour or two from your house and you head there with a sense of exploration and fun leading the way. Look on a map to get ideas.

If you’re living in the northeastern part of the U.S., this article on daycations lists several stellar options for places to go on a day trip. Click on each of the options, and you’ll find a longer article about that specific suggestion.

Here are options I’ve done and also recommend:

On Father’s Day we took a daycation to Zanesville, Ohio to eat ice-cream and ride on a historic sternwheeler. This was actually a half-daycation because it only took half the day.

Road trip tip: How to sleep comfortably in your car

by Jamie Rhein on

I have slept in a car once on a road trip. When I drove from Odense, Denmark to Paris where people are smiling more than when I was there, my friend and I pulled off of the road somewhere to sleep. We could have been in France. I can’t remember. What I do remember is that it was not comfortable. We were in a Peugeot station wagon, so space wasn’t the problem, but we didn’t have enough bedding and it became light too soon. By the time I finally fell asleep, there I was waking up again.

Yesterday’s video road trip tip was about how to stay awake while driving. This one is about how to sleep comfortably. After watching this video you might think why get a hotel room when there’s a Walmart parking lot? Sleeping in a Walmark parking lot is a budget travel idea for sure. This video has demonstrations and some great ideas. The main idea is to plan to stay in your car.