Breeding People

VA Exit 177: In Alexandria, VA at the new (and free) Freedom House Museum, you will learn that in 1808, the U.S. outlawed the importation of slaves. Clever entrepreneurs did not let this stop the sale of slaves (who were still so necessary for plantation life) — they simply bred them! The slaves were encouraged to have as many children as possible so they could be auctioned off.

The museum’s building was once headquarters for the Franklin and Armfield Slave Pen, the largest and most successful domestic slave-trading firm in America. Between the 1830s and 1860s, Virginia exported more than 10,000 slaves a year to the Deep South, and the total may have reached 300,000. 1315 Duke St. Tel: 703-836-2858. www.freedomhousemuseum.org

FL Exit 32: If the traffic isn’t rolling fast enough for you, you can head to Xtreme Indoor Karting in Fort Lauderdale. You will feel like a real race car driver as you don a jump suit, professional helmet and neck brace, and then lower yourself into one of the 40 European Bowman race karts. The karts can reach 45 mph around the ½-mile asphalt track! Don't worry, there are safety marshals on hand. The facility also features 120 arcade games, including Nascar race simulators, mini bowling lanes, and a snack bar. 5300 Powerline Rd. Tel: 954-491-6265. www.xtremeindoorkarting.com

NH Exit 7: New Hampshire has been added to this edition, and there at the outdoor Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, you can explore centuries of life through 43 original buildings, from the Pitt Tavern that served John Hancock, George Washington and Paul Revere to Abbott's grocery store that dealt with rationing during WW II, to the Shapiro Home, where Jewish Russian immigrants lived in the 1920s.

Costumed role-players bring history to life, recounting the stories of the people who lived and worked in these buildings, sometimes with live demonstrations of hearth cooking, coopering, and more. There’s a daily garden tour, and indoors there's a gallery and a discovery center to learn about games, crafts, chores and pastimes. 14 Hancock St. Tel: 603-433-1100. www.strawberybanke.org

GA Exit 36: In Brunswick, GA, you can climb aboard Lady Jane — the only shrimp trawler certified by the US Coast Guard — and play "Bubba Gump”. After Captain Larry Credle welcomes you aboard, the boat goes out into the coastal waters. While you help the crew empty the net, you learn about the species that have been caught (which might include blue crab, sand shark, amberjack and skate along with the shrimp). After you watch (or not) the shrimp beheading, you get to partake in the freshest possible "shrimp boil", where you can eat as much shrimp as you can handle. 1200 Glynn Ave. (Rte 17 or Ocean Highway) Tel: 912-265-5711. www.shrimpcruise.com

MA Exit 30: On April 18, 1775, British General Thomas Gage gave orders to about 700 British soldiers to go out to Concord MA to seize and destroy military supplies known to be stockpiled in the town. You can still walk the area in Lexington and Concord where "the shot heard round the world” was fired. The Minute Man National Historic Park highlights where British regulars clashed with colonial militia and minute men, beginning America’s 8-year war for independence. You may be surprised to learn that it was Dr. Samuel Prescott, and not Paul Revere, who completed that famous ride. Tel: 978-369-6993. www.nps.gov/mima

FL Exit 261: Back in 1953, The First Christian Church organized the first drive-in service at what was then the Neptune Drive-In Theater. Buying the property in 1957, Daytona Beach Drive-In Church now welcomes everyone — tourists, the physically challenged, families with kids or those looking for a unique way to worship (honking your horn = clapping). Perfect for those going to the beach on Sunday (don't need to wear your Sunday best!); just stay in the car, tune in on your radio or listen to the speakers, and at the end Rev Larry Deitch will shake your hand through the window. Then hop across the street to the beach or be on your way. 140 S. Atlantic Ave. Tel: 386-767-8761. www.driveinchurch.net

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