Community Corner

Best Road Trips in America for Small Town Visits: A View From Brandon

Rand McNally and USA Today have teamed to determine "Best of the Road" for small town fun, food, beauty, friendliness and patriotism. For Brandon residents, four spots under review are less than 250 miles away -- and one is under an hour.

Rand McNally and USA Today have teamed to determine, through the reports of a community of travelers, the best road trips to take for discerning travelers, and three of the 30 destinations under review are right here in Florida.

Coral Gables and Marco Island are both up for review in the “Most Beautiful” category, some 244 and 173 miles away from Brandon, respectively.

Gulfport, just 36 miles away, is vying for top spot in the “Best Food” category. Local restaurants there are gearing up for the review, as reported by Gulfport Patch, which posted a photo gallery of sampler plates.

Find out what's happening in Brandonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In all, there are six categories for review, including “Friendliest,” “Most Patriotic” and “Most Fun.”

A two-member team of community travelers has been assigned to each of the five categories; in each category, six sites have been selected for review.

Find out what's happening in Brandonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Collectively, 23 states are covered in the road-trip review.  California, with four locations, has the highest number of spots for review, followed by Florida, with three.

The “Best of the Road” review is described as “a community of travelers sharing reviews, ratings and photos of the best road trip stops from attractions and landmarks to small towns and state parks.”

The kickoff event for the three-week cross-country road trips was held June 23 in Liberty State Park. "After weeks of anticipation they're ready to uncover the best small towns in America and show you what each has to offer," according to the posting about the kickoff

(Editor's Note: Which raises the question, if the teams were traveling through the Greater Brandon area of Florida, how would this town fare against the mix? Drop us a line, in the comment box below or via an email to linda.chion@patch.com.)

The Rand McNally/USA Today teams will track their progress, sharing reviews, ratings and photos, at the Best of the Road Website. According to a USA Today report on the project, the teams will convene again on July 15 in Los Angeles, where judges will decide which team wins $10,000.

The winners will be announced July 21 in New Orleans at the Destination Marketing Association International convention.

The towns will be spotlighted in the 2013 Rand McNally Road Atlas and at bestoftheroad.com.

Below is a list of town locations, and how far each one is from Brandon.

A second chart ranks the trips according to distance from Brandon.

Lastly is a listing of team particpants and the towns they hail from. Living closest to Brandon are Jim and Bonnie Parr of St. Petersburg, the "Fun Finders" team scouting locations in California, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota and West Virginia for "Best for Food."

 

BEST OF THE ROAD: A BRANDON VIEW  LOCATION STATE MILES AWAY TRAVEL TIME MOST FUN Vacaville Calif. 2,927 44 hours Glenwood Springs Colo. 2,067 32.5 hours Santa Claus Ind. 869 14 hours Yellow Springs Ohio 985 16 hours Myrtle Beach S.C. 531 9 hours Park City Utah 2,360 34.5 hours MOST BEAUTIFUL Pacifica Calif. 2,912 44 hours Coral Gables Fla. 244 4 hours Marco Island Fla. 173 3 hours Sandpoint Idaho 2,838 42.5 hours Baker City Ore. 2,800 41 hours Franklin Tenn. 709 11.5 hours BEST FOOD Costa Mesa Calif. 2,521 37.5 hours Visalia Calif. 2,710 40.5 hours Gulfport Fla. 36 43 minutes LaFayette La. 556 12 hours Burnsville Minn. 1,594 25 hours Addison W.Va. 869 14 hours FRIENDLIEST Lake Havasu City Ariz. 2,422 36.5 hours Valdosta Ga. 234 4 hours Mount Airy N.C. 678 11 hours Woodward Okla. 1,494 23.5 hours Nacogdoches Texas 1,109 16 hours Walla Walla Wash. 2,924 43.5 hours MOST PATRIOTIC Peachtree City Ga. 453 7.5 hours Emporia Kan. 1,369 22 hours Fort Leonard Wood Miss. 1,148 18 hours Rapid City S.D. 1,965 30 hours Clarksville Tenn. 750 12 hours Williamsburg Va. 834 13 hours Chart: Brandon Patch / Source: Rand McNally / USA Today

 

BEST OF THE ROAD: DISTANCE FROM BRANDON  DESTINATION CATEGORY DISATANCE Gulfport, Fla. Best Food 36 Marco Island, Fla.  Most Beautiful 173 Valdosta, Ga.  Friendliest 234 Coral Gables, Fla.  Most Beautiful 244 Peachtree City, Ga.  Most Patriotic 453 Myrtle Beach, S.C. Most Fun 531 LaFayette, La.  Best Food 556 Mount Airy, N.C.  Friendliest 678 Franklin, Tenn. Most Beautiful 709 Clarksville, Tenn. Most Patriotic 750 Williamsburg, Va.  Most Patriotic 834 Santa Claus, Ind. Most Fun 869 Addison, W.Va. Best Food 869 Yellow Springs, Ohio Most Fun 985 Nacogdoches, Tex. Friendliest 1,109 Fort Leonard Wood, Miss.  Most Patriotic 1,148 Emporia, Kan. Most Patriotic 1,369 Woodward, Okla. Friendliest 1,494 Burnsville. Minn. Best Food 1,594 Rapid City, S.D. Most Patriotic 1,965 Glenwood Springs, Colo. Most Fun 2,067 Park City, Utah Most Fun 2,360 Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Friendliest 2,422 Costa Mesa, Calif. Best Food 2,521 Visalia, Calif. Best Food 2,710 Baker City, Ore. Most Beautiful 2,800 Sandpoint, Idaho Most Beautiful 2,838 Pacifica, Calif. Most Beautiful 2,912 Walla Walla, Wash. Friendliest 2,924 Vacaville, Calif. Most Fun 2,927 Chart: Brandon Patch / Source: Rand McNally / USA Today

 

COMMUNITY TRAVELERS Most Fun: "TravelingJules and TravelingJoan" Joan Brost Retired Teacher Littleton, Colo. Juliana Brost  Photo Journalist Littleton, Colo. Most Beautiful: "McNavigators" Daniel Schaub Mechanic Cary, N.C. JoAnne Schaub Empowerment Coach Cary, N.C. Best for Food: "Fun Finders" Jim Parr Volunteer St. Petersburg, Fla. Bonnie Parr Volunteer St. Petersburg, Fla. Friendliest: "Gone With the Wynns" Jason Wynn, 29 Photographer Tours county in RV (lived near Dallas) Nikki Wynn, 29 Makeup Artist Same Most Patriotic: "Captain and Clark" Christopher Staudinger, 25 Travel Blogger Pasco, Wash. Tawny Clark, 25 Travel Blogger Bremerton, Wash. Chart: Brandon Patch / Source: Rand McNally / USA Today


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