Jaunted

State Fairs / Events / New York Travel / Oregon Travel / Minnesota Travel / Food Travel / → All Tags

Three Huge State Fairs Happening Over Labor Day Weekend

State Fair season is now upon us, and that means that fried everything is probably only a short ride away from where you call home. Some states have already done their thing while others are still busy planning events for later this year, but there are several states getting ready to go for Labor Day Weekend. If you’re looking to overindulge on rides, foods, and fun here’s a couple spots to do it during the holiday weekend:

· Minnesota State Fair:
The Land of 10,000 Lakes has been holding state fairs since 1859, so it’s pretty clear that Minnesota is good at doing the fair thing. This year’s events start today and run through September 5 in Saint Paul. Tickets to the festivities are usually $12 for adults and $10 for the little ones, but there are a few days where you might be able to save a few bucks on admission.

Interactive guides in the form of the Food Finder and Fun Finder are available to help you plan your visit, so if you’re looking for that special food vendor—there’s over 300—or something fun to do they’ve got you covered. Of course there’s even iPhone and Android apps as well, so you can take your map to go when you hit the fairgrounds. There’s plenty of free entertainment too, but if you want to upgrade to a Grandstand show we’re recommending Weezer on September 3—$35—or Train and Maroon 5 on September 5—$37.

more ›

Food Travel / San Diego Travel / Texas Travel / Minnesota Travel / North Carolina Travel / Wisconsin Travel / Festival Travel / Lists / Summer Travel / → All Tags

Five Weird County Fair Foods to Try This Summer

It's that time of the year, county and state fair season. While some go to see the has-been musical acts or to get their thrills on creaky old rides, the reason most people go is to gorge on fried fair food. We rounded up some of the weirdest fare that you will only find at a fair this year.

· Deep-Fried Kool-Aid Balls
The San Diego County Fair debuted these treats this year and they are selling like hotcakes. The balls of batter are made of flour, water and the fruity drink powder. A friend who tried them told us, "I could kind of taste the grittiness, which was not so appealing. If you like strawberry-flavored doughnut holes then I'd say it's worth the $6. Fried pickles were way better though." Get them through July 4.

more ›

Tourism Ads / Tourism Boards / Minnesota Travel / Travel News / Travel Ads / Videos / → All Tags

Minnesota Travel Ads Now Starring Indie Bands

It's notoriously difficult to make travel ads that don't look like every other travel ad ever. Green mountains, crystal clear streams, maybe a time-lapse shot of clouds moving behind mountains—and then cut to an outdoor restaurant patio where an ethnically diverse and indeterminately aged group of casually dressed professionals delightfully dine over plates of presumably local cuisine. Most ads, in other words, look exactly like every spot from the Pure Michigan campaign.

To counter the sameness and get some attention, tourism boards have been trying to get ironic and edgy. There's nothing wrong with that—and it's sometimes effective—but when it fails, it spectacularly fails.

There's nothing more obnoxious than irony that tries to be funny and falls short (right Spirit Airlines?). So it's kind of refreshing to see this ad from Explore Minnesota, which takes the opposite approach...

more ›

Museum Travel / Minnesota Travel / Events / Ancient History Travel / → All Tags

King Tut Has Arrived in The Twin Cities

It might not be the most practical layover destination from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, but if you’re visiting the Twin Cities it might as well be on your itinerary this summer. King Tut and plenty of his ancient goodies have made their way to the Science Museum of Minnesota, and plenty of history will be on display through the beginning of September.

The museum welcomes one and all to enter the golden world of the pharaohs, as the exhibit opened up over the weekend. There’s more than 100 different artifacts from thousands of years past including plenty of goodies from King Tut. Golden sandals as well as 10-foot statue are just some of the items on display during this exhibition.

more ›

Prime-Plane-Spotting-Map / Plane Spotting / Minnesota Travel / MSP / Delta / → All Tags

Sneak Up the Stairs to Find MSP's Secret Observation Deck

The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport might not be one of the mighty hubs for Northwest Airlines any longer, but Delta is still around sending plenty of planes to and from the Twin Cities each day of the week. There’s a slew of windows at the airport to check out the aviation action, but there’s actually a somewhat secret observation deck within Terminal 1-Lindbergh.

We say it’s a secret because anytime we’ve visited, there has been no one there, and it’s not even on the airport maps. It’s located in Concourse D up some stairs and kind of behind one of the gift shops in the area—we think it’s called Airport Express or something like that.

more ›

Gay Travel / Minneapolis Travel / Minnesota Travel / → All Tags

Minneapolis is the Gayest City in the United States

We've recently been introduced to the gayest country to travel to, which, oddly, is Nepal, but what about the gayest US city? We use the superlative as it relates to the most gay-friendly city, as judged by The Advocate magazine using the most highly scientific criteria:

For each city, The Advocate added up numbers for Gay.com profiles, listed officiants for gay weddings within a 50-mile radius, openly gay elected officials, performances by lesbian sisters musical duo Tegan and Sara over the past five years, lesbian bars, gay and gay-friendly religious congregations and entries in YellowPages.com with "gay" in the business name or description.

And the winner of Gayest City to Visit in the USA is...Minneapolis, Minnesota! Congratulations, MN—you beat out other apparent shoe-ins, like New York City, Portland, Provincetown, and San Francisco. Time to put up some celebratory street signs!

[Photo: jimmywayne]

Baseball Travel / Baseball / Sports Travel / Minnesota Travel / Ballparks / → All Tags

Fancy Burgers and Wider Seats Await at the Minnesota Twins' New Target Field

In case you missed it, major league baseball has been getting ready for the 2010 season in both Florida and in Arizona, and after all that practice it’s almost time to get the season officially underway.

We’re big fans of ballparks around the country, and this year there’s one that’s getting us particularity excited. The new home to the Minnesota Twins—Target Field—is set to hold its first major league game this month. It’s also the first time Minnesota fans will be sitting outside to watch a game after years of being trapped inside a dome.

The Twins will first set foot on the stadium’s fresh grass this weekend, but it's only for exhibition games. The St. Louis Cardinals will be in town to check out the new stadium for themselves, but they’ll also be getting a couple last practice games in on April 2 and 3. There will be all kinds of special stuff to commemorate opening weekend, including the unveiling of bronze statues dedicated to Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew. To see some real games where the outcomes matter a little more, you’ll need to stick around and wait until April 12 when the Twins host the Red Sox.

more ›

Tourist Traps / Minnesota Travel / Weird Travel / → All Tags

A Minnesota Roadside Tourist Trap To Get Full Fish-Lift

For 16 years, the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota has released a list of the ten most endangered historic places in the state. On this year’s list are obvious choices like historic hotels, classic ballparks, old buildings, and bridges. However, there’s one endangered species on the list as well, and it’s The Big Fish in Bena, Minnesota. Don’t worry if you haven’t seen it, because with a little love, and probably a lot of worms, local residents are bringing it back to its original beauty.

The giant critter was created back in the 1950s, and is made up of wood and roofing material—no taking the easy way and using fiberglass here. Originally designed to be an ice cream and hamburger stand, the 65-foot long fish has just been hanging out on the side of US Highway 2 ever since. Fans of the National Lampoon's Vacation film may recognize the structure, as it appeared in the postcard photo montage to start the comedy classic.

more ›

Baseball Travel / Baseball / Sports / Minnesota Travel / → All Tags

We're Already Looking Forward To 2010 And Target Field

The Major League Baseball season is almost half over, and fans are already flocking to St. Louis to take in this year’s All-Star Game at Busch Stadium. Since we’ll be following the pennant races before long, we thought it was only natural to start looking forward to the 2010 season. That’s because outdoor baseball will return to Minnesota for the first time since 1981, as the Metrodome closes and Target Field opens.

Last month, the final beam was put in place on the Minnesota Twins’ new home, and the project is on schedule and under budget. Now if it can stay that way, we’ll be in cheap seats in the Budweiser Roof Deck in no time.

more ›

Know The Law / Travel Bans / Smelly Travel / Minnesota Travel / Advertising / → All Tags

Say It, Don't Spray It: Axe Body Spray Not Welcome in Minneapolis

Heading to Minneapolis anytime soon? Leave your Axe body spray at home; it's not like the flight attendants have fallen into your lap yet, anyways. You see, Minnesota isn't too happy that Axe's hyper-sexual advertising campaigns have been working so well, causing kids to drench themselves in the potent scents and offend sensitive nostrils.

Apparently the overuse of Axe is so widespread in the City of Minneapolis School District, that they've called for a ban on the stuff.

You'd think that with all this hubbub, flying into Minneapolis airspace would involve descending through a fog layer of aerosol Axe spray, but instead it's simply a case of teachers trying to encourage teenage boys to shower more often. Says StyleList: "One concern prompting suburbia to sound the alarms is the idea that Axe Body Spray is somehow enabling teens to adopt poor hygiene habits."

more ›

Missed Connections / Minneapolis Travel / Minnesota Travel / Republican Party / John McCain / Possible-Presidents-Map / → All Tags

Most Missed In Minneapolis: Get This Grand Old Party Started

Now that we know who will join McCain at the big convention, it's time to party all the time with the Republicans in Minnesota.

The SaintPaulitan has released a map of bars that will be temporarily throwing open their doors till 4AM in honor of conventioneers, but do you really want to meet some guy or gal crying into their beer because they hearted Huckabee?

more ›