For many, a stimulating Saturday consists of a trip off campus to Target or Wal-Mart, topped off with dinner at Malibu Grill. \nBut in the seemingly endless bustle of college life, many students overlook the small opportunities for entertainment outside Bloomington -- and many are as little as an hour's drive away.\nIf you're itching to see where the original "rebel without a cause" hung his hat, check out the James Dean Museum in Fairmount, Ind. The residents of the sleepy, rustic town take pride in their hometown hero, and it shows in their meticulous preservation of Dean's personal belongings and memorabilia, housed in an 1890s-era Victorian mansion in downtown Fairmount. \nThe museum is the culmination of more than 25 years spent collecting and cataloguing rare Dean memorabilia. Archivist David Loehr began compiling James Dean relics in 1974. His collection is now the largest in the world.\nThe Adeline Nall Room, dedicated to Dean's high school drama teacher, includes pieces from Dean's film wardrobes, photographs from his adolescence and copies of high school yearbooks. The room features some of Dean's original watercolor artwork.\nThe facility also features a screening room, allowing visitors to glimpse rare footage and screen tests from the early portion of Dean's career.\nLoehr says the museum is committed to preserving the memory of a man who "in the span of three motion pictures, changed the way we saw the world -- and more importantly, ourselves."\nThe museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. \nAnd while you're in Fairmount, stop by Dot's Diner, nestled on 421 First Street near downtown, for what resident Jimmie Recker terms "the best eggs and grits around."\n"We see all kinds of kids stopping through here," Recker says, nibbling a reuben sandwich. "They usually have a university sticker on their back car window, and they're always playing loud music, but we like to see them. Gets kind of boring around here."\nHe motions to his plate of curly fries. \n"But the grub's cheap."\nFor a more formal museum experience, Huntington, Ind. is the home of the Dan Quayle Museum. You've probably never heard of the Dan Quayle Museum. You may even wonder why anyone would commit their life's work to creating and maintaining a gallery devoted to the Indianapolis native who lived in George Sr.'s shadow for four years.\nBut the folks in Huntington take satisfaction in claiming the nation's only vice presidential museum -- and they're open six days a week to prove it.\nThe museum houses two galleries, says Marjorie Hiner, president of the board of directors for the Dan Quayle Commemorative Foundation. The first is dedicated to all vice presidents in U.S. history, containing personal artifacts, political cartoons and newspapers and books from each period in presidential history. The second exhibit is dedicated to Indiana vice presidents and vice presidential nominees. \nTours of the facility can be arranged by calling 219-356-6356 or by e-mail at info@quaylemuseum.org. \nYet if you'd rather relax than learn about former vice presidents, head to the French Lick Resort and Spa for a respite from studying and stress. \nAn hour's drive south from Bloomington (that's only one full-length CD) brings you to French Lick, a former Civil War-era haunt for the wealthy and well-to-do that currently boasts a 470-room hotel, hot springs, two golf courses and a full-service spa. \nThe spa features aromatherapy, exercise classes, facials, massage, pedicures and manicures, mineral baths, seaweed wraps and a full styling salon. \nGroup rates are available by calling 812-936-9822. Reservations can be made online as well at www.frenchlick.com.\nFrench Lick locals also recommend checking out the Wilstem Dude Ranch, located just outside French Lick on US 50 and SR 56, which offers over 30 miles of horseback trails over 1100 acres. \nInviting visitors to "come sit a spell on the front porch and watch the grass grow," the facility features cabin-style overnight accommodations as well as a 10-room main lodge\nOne-hour rides are $15 and 1.5-hour trips are $22 per rider. \nSenior Jordyn Katzman visited the French Lick Spa with her family a few years ago and says it's "not exactly what she expected" for a tiny Midwestern town. A few of her friends have gone as well, she adds, and "absolutely loved it."\nFor Katzman, a trip to the Oliver Winery, followed by a 20-minute drive to the hills of neighboring Brown County, proves a great alternative to longer road trips.\n"It's great to go out to the winery -- it's beautiful out there -- and then go out to Brown County and hike or spelunk," Katzman says.\nFramed by several state parks, the tiny town of Nashville, Ind., lies just 16 miles from Bloomington on Highway 45 East. Boasting "the world's best apple butter," Nashville is home to more than 360 specialty shops and the sort of "down-home" cooking most students don't get hanging around the dorm food-courts.\nWhile finding a parking spot may prove tedious, the view -- especially during the changing of the seasons -- is well worth the headache, according to visitor Charlie Andrews.\nAndrews, a student at the University of Kentucky, visited Nashville last weekend with his girlfriend on his way into Bloomington for the football game. They ended up staying -- and missing kickoff.\n"We spent the day hiking around the national park," Andrews says. "We didn't even know the town existed, but we've spent the entire day here, just walking around and looking at the craft stores. I haven't thought about school or homework all day."\nAngie Carter, a waitress favorite local restaurant Artists Colony, says she expects the town to be "flooded" during the next few weeks.\n"So many IU students come here with friends, family, whatever," she says, balancing a tray of buttered sweet potatoes and pork tenderloin. "And they are amazed. They just didn't know a place like this existed so close to Bloomington."
ROAD TRIP MIX CLASSICS\n1. "I Would Walk 500 Miles" -- The Proclaimers\n2. "Wide Open Spaces" -- Dixie Chicks\n3. "Blister in the Sun" -- Violent Femmes\n4. "Whoever You Are (You let me change lanes)" -- Geggy Tah\n5. "Truckin'" -- Grateful Dead\n6. "No Sleep till Brooklyn" -- Beastie Boys\n7. "Contact" -- Phish\n8. "The Distance" -- Cake\n9. "Midnight Rider" -- Allman Brothers Band\n10. "Hello City" -- Barenaked Ladies\n11. "Road trippin'" -- Red Hot Chilli Peppers\n12. "Every Day is a Winding Road" -- Sheryl Crow\n13. "Babylon" -- David Gray\n14. "Here We Go" -- Bouncing Souls\n15. "Tennessee" -- Arrested Development\n16. "Take the Money and Run" -- Steve Miller Band\n17. "The Charm of the Highway Strip" -- The Magnetic Fields\n18. "Freebird" -- Lynard Skynard\n19. "Going to California" -- Led Zeppelin\n20. "California Love" -- Tupac\n21. "Ticket to Ride" -- The Beatles\n22. "Small Town" -- John Mellencamp\n23. "Born to Run" -- Bruce Springsteen\n24. "Ride Wit Me" -- Nelly\n25. "Where the Streets Have No Name" -- U2\n26. "Send Me On My Way" -- Rusted Root\n27. "American Pie" -- Don McLean\n28. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" -- Lenny Kravitz\n29. "Uneasy Rider" -- Charlie Daniels Band\n30. "Interstate Love Song" -- Stone Temple Pilots
