BootsnAll Travel Community

Most of us are so anxious to get out - get anywhere - that we forget there are lots of people anxious to get where we are. Personally, there are a zillion things to do in Portland and in Oregon that I've not done or seen... I keep thinking, "Oh, there's time for that later." I guess I figure that because I live here, I can see that stuff anytime I want.

But every time I've done something touristy here, I've really enjoyed myself. Plus, it gives me a better perspective from which to talk to people thinking of moving here or coming to visit me.

So - in addition to the trips you take across the country or across the globe, do you also do touristy things in your own community? If you do, what are they? If you don't, why not?

There are millions of things i still want to do in my home country (go whale watching, scuba diving, ride the Blue Train, drive along the Garden Route, take a trip up Table Mountain, white river rafting... the list is endless)... i've done many of the touristy things (camped in game reserves, shared a traditional beer with a Zulu tribe, stayed up the beach resorts to name a few) but i don't feel i know my country well enough!

I am going back soon and plan to stay put for a couple of years, and one of the reasons is to get to know my country and home town better so i can share my experiences with others and encourage them to visit the country!

Only when friends or family are in from out of town. That has been a consistant trate of mine since...well...since i left home. Funny, that.

I play tourist in Chicago every once in a while, usually when I have out-of-town visitors. Touristy things I've done include going to the top of Sears Tower, spending the day in Millenium Park and at Navy Pier, walking/biking along the lakefront, hitting all the awesome museums, and shopping on the Magnificent Mile. I think it's fun and it makes me appreciate my hometown even more.

Tourism really isn't Detroit's thing... but I am guilty of not even really doing the things that a tourist might do. As a musician, I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't even been to the Motown museum yet. I have been trying to make a conscious effort recently to actually go downtown more and do more of those things, though.

Coincidentally, on a related note, I heard on the radio yesterday that this weekend, the city of Lansing is doing exactly that... Be a Tourist in Your Own Town day. It's bascially a big promotional event for local merchants to show what they have to offer and get people to start patroning them.

quote:

Originally posted by JessieS:
So - in addition to the trips you take across the country or across the globe, do you also do touristy things in your own community? If you do, what are they? If you don't, why not?

I do some touristy stuff in FW/D, although I stay far, far away from theme parks.

I like:

Downtown Ft. Worth (even though I am *still pissed* that Caravan of Dreams closed) - Sundance Square, Water Gardens, occassionally interesting art installations, a few pubs, the Firehouse Museum.

Zoo, Botanical Gardens, Nature Center in Fort Worth

Occasionally I go to the Stockyards, either to ride the train or to eat. If visitors are in town, we may check out the rodeo.

In Dallas, I like Deep Ellum (although less and less each year) and I've been to the 6th Floor museum.

There are probably some others, but that's off the top of my head.

La

I haven't done a lot of touristy things here in vancouver, because i also think "i can do that any time"..i should start...

quote:

do you also do touristy things in your own community? If you do, what are they? If you don't, why not?

No. Unless I'm hosting people from out of town. Why? Because Seattle is overrun with tourists.

quote:

Originally posted by Not the first Travis:

quote:

do you also do touristy things in your own community? If you do, what are they? If you don't, why not?

No. Unless I'm hosting people from out of town. Why? Because Seattle is overrun with tourists.

Ah, good point. I'd say the same about Chicago. If/when I do the touristy stuff, it's usually on off-days at off-times, like during the middle of the week. And I definitely do not even venture downtown or to the lakefront if it is a long holiday weekend (like Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Fourth of July), or for certain events like the Air & Water Show and the fireworks display on the 3rd of July. It's complete insanity.

Count SF in with being full of tourists. In fact, I just went downtown (to the gym) so did a little shopping, and since it is a Thursday, the tourists are a plenty. I have tried to adopt the attitude that I need to have patience, because I too am often a visitor in a new place and like to take things in.

My parents come over once in a while so we play tourist (they live 20 minutes away, and yet haven't gotten much past Union Square for the most part...I am changing this). We recently went to North Beach and I went into the big church were Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio (Peter, Paul, and Mary, I believe). I had never been there before, and it is a pretty awesome church. And it was fun just kind of wandering around without a purpose.

I live close to Fisherman's Wharf, so end up down there sometimes. I can see why everyone likes it down there; the views are incredible.

Other than that...I would love to go check out Alcatraz again, or take a bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. But I'll wait for someone to come visit to do that.

I like discovering new things here...touristy or not.

quote:

If/when I do the touristy stuff, it's usually on off-days at off-times

Exactly. Take Pike Place Market in Seattle. I got dragged there when a bunch of BnAer's came to visit one weekend recently , but I would never go there on a weekend otherwise. During the week, during the early morning, it's a great place to shop for produce, fish, flowers and other stuff. Absolutely FORGETABOUTIT during a summer weekend.

quote:

I got dragged there when a bunch of BnAer's came to visit one weekend recently

Yeah, we dragged him kicking and screaming...

quote:

I have tried to adopt the attitude that I need to have patience, because I too am often a visitor in a new place and like to take things in.

That's a great reminder, anniebanannie. Now if we can all remember that...

And this:

quote:

I like discovering new things here...touristy or not.

...this is why we all travel, methinks.

Not quite the same I guess. I see quite a few tourists around my campus at Berkeley. Maybe it's a bit conceited, but it's kind of cute when someone stops you with a Lonely Planet in their hand and asks if you can tell them where some building is. One day I was at the bart station and I was studying as I waited, and this random woman asked me in an accent if I was a student. I was slightly taken aback, then vastly flattered, as she told me how she had just visited my campus and raved about how pretty it is, how lucky I am to go here.

All of my classes are on southside and I live there too, so after my orientation tour a long time ago, I just never really looked around the rest of the school. And I'm never big on doing tourist stuff actually, even when I travel. However, after talking to her, I decided to take a long stroll around the campus when I had the time. And it was like, wow, how do you live in such a beautiful place and not realize it? I oggled over little details you never notice when you're on your way to class - all the little bears, inscriptions and plaques, blossoming flowers. I found a hotel nestled in the middle of the campus.. There are a lot of beautiful nooks and corners around the school that make you forget you're at a university and not in the middle of the woods. I finally took a ride up our bell tower (something like the third tallest in the world) and saw the panorama view of the entire Bay Area. After my brief tourist jaunt around campus I really appreciate it more. It was really good to just look around and try to see things with the eye of an outsider.

quote:

After my brief tourist jaunt around campus I really appreciate it more.

That is so great! And it is exactly on topic, insofar as this is about appreciating, exploring, "seeing" where you live.

This is stupid, but....I take my dog on long walks all over Seattle. (He gets bored with the same old walk. I get bored with the same old walk. I mean, I live 3 blocks from a lake and have to DRAG him there he's so tired of it. So we go on "field trips". )

The University of Washington Campus is a big hit with both of us. I love it because it's beautiful, great old architecture, beautiful grounds, reminds me of when I was in college etc. And the dog loves it because he's a "novelty" on campus.

Sonya, that is fabulous, thanks for sharing that!

If I could answer for our family dog ...

When living in Princeton, New Jersey for a bit, we taught him a scenic route to take when he wanted to go exploring on his own, taking in touristy things, read "run away".

First, he strolled by Einstein's house, then swung through the Princeton University campus where, like NTFT's dog, he was quite the novelty and picked up a few pizza scraps and licked some beer bottle spillages.

He did the whole campus, historic and modern architecture, without neglecting peeing on the manicured landscaping and noting that he was walking in the footsteps of such notables as three US presidents and most importantly to BnA members, the travel writer, Richard Halliburton.

Then, a quick gander at the governor's mansion and also taking in a church, a street and dorm named after a distant relative of Reese Witherspoon who was president of the university and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Back home through Battlefield Park, frolicking through the same fields as did George Washington a couple centuries before in a decisive battle. In fact, as our dog lifts his head to sniff, the breeze wafts inland from the famous Washington Crossing on nearby Delaware River. He takes a final poop under the ancient tree where one of George's generals died and where University undergrads play Ring around the Maypole.

As he falls asleep, though, he is not dreaming of historical sites or touristy things, but of bike trips with Princeton graduate Brooke Shields when he was a puppy, her pedaling him around town, nestled in her bike basket.

Unlike my friends I couldn't afford to go and do the world travel thing after I left university do when I moved to Scotland I made a concious effort to travel round the country (and a bit of England too) including the city I was living in. It's such a beautiful place with so much to offer (and all those free museums and galleries).

One of the hidden bonuses of travelling, I think, is talking to other people about your own country. I might not have any travel tales about volcanoes errupting but talking about where I had travelled in my own country brought back so many good memories.

Met some 19 year old Scots in the hostel last night who themselves were amazed that they hadn't heard of half the places I was talking about.

At one point one said 'we really need to explore Scotland a little more when we get back'. Was v proud of myself...

KG

Like you guys, I do the touristy thing when out-of-town guests visit. Lately, since I am more broke more than usual,(back in shool, getting a higher degree in my field )I have decided to just "look around town" or the nearby cities. It's amazing what you find! For example, I did not know there were some many parks in existence in the humid, concrete jungle of Houston. They are not as pretty as those in other cities, but at least they exist.
Unfortunately, it is so easy to slip back into going to the same old comfortable hangouts.
One major bonus, the company I work for gave ALL their employees a $250 gas card to help ease the pressure with soaring gas prices. Needless to say, I have already put it to good "site-seeing" use.

quote:

Tourism really isn't Detroit's thing... but I am guilty of not even really doing the things that a tourist might do. As a musician, I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't even been to the Motown museum yet. I have been trying to make a conscious effort recently to actually go downtown more and do more of those things, though.

Coincidentally, on a related note, I heard on the radio yesterday that this weekend, the city of Lansing is doing exactly that... Be a Tourist in Your Own Town day. It's bascially a big promotional event for local merchants to show what they have to offer and get people to start patroning them.

I actually was in Lansing yesterday and ended up doing a couple of the "Tourist in Your Hometown" things. I went to a gallery in Old Town to see several of my dad's paintings and then we went to a local winery. It was totally unexpected and very cool.

That said, I never seem to do much in Detroit, except go to a few festivals here or there. I'd like to do more, but I never seem to get around to it . . .

Jet