A vacation should take you out of the rush and stress of life and put you someplace where the pace can be slow and easy. But that’s not always the case with big cities and overcrowded tourist destinations.

This year why not travel to the Mayberry of your choice, to sit back and relax on the veranda with a lemonade and some authentic home cooking? There are many spots around the country where you can do this. It can be fun and inexpensive, and provide great homespun memories. As well as fetching Instagrams.

Hershey, Pennsylvania

Who doesn’t like chocolate? Tours of the recently renovated Hershey Chocolate factory include a tasting room where you can sample several intriguing new recipes the Hershey people are working on but haven’t introduced to the public yet. No traffic jams. And there are several good restaurants that feature Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine — have another piece of shoo fly pie!

Vienna, South Dakota

Near the western border of Iowa, this little town offers great opportunities to meander through the surrounding countryside to view, and photograph, scenic wildflower preserves and old barns wearily leaning into the wind. Want to know what a prairie oyster is? You can find out at several restaurants and bars in downtown Vienna!