I like to see what the locals see. You might think one museum is the same as another. Or farmer's markets are the same across the board. Hardly! Market Night in Redlands, California (shout out to my Riverside County-ites!) is not the same as the Farmer's Market in MY city. It boils down to one thing:
The people!
I went to Alaska for a work convention a couple years back. The list of the things I did see is small and the list of the things I didn't see is huge. Especially when you think about what I missed out on (like whale watching and glaciers. Can't get much bigger then that.... literally).
But for me, I got to see what I love best, the people! We visited two centers and took a tour that defined the people.
We got to see what life would be like in ancient native Alaskan culture. We also got to see what it was like when the white man showed up for gold. The hardships. The daaaaangeeeeer. We toured modern examples of Anchorage life. I saw a house built under ground that functioned 75% on green living.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to see whales and glaciers. But I don't feel like I missed out because I never think to myself, it'll never happen again. As long as I hope those activities are a possibility for the future, then that door will never close to me.
But trips are all about the planning. We were pretty lucky to see the Alaska Native Heritage Center because that was included in our convention package. The museum and trolley were something quick and easy to get to. If I had planned things right we could have done other things.
Our next big trip is San Francisco. I've been there a couple of time about 5 years apart. Flash hasn't though and if I'm all about doing things as they come up, Flash is the exact opposite. Flash wants to soak up EVERYTHING because, of course, WE'LL NEVER SEE IT AGAIN! Flash's experience with Alaska is VERY different from mine.
We have a timeshare membership and we have resorts in lots of different places here and there. Most are found along the west coast (Mexico, California, Oregon and Washington). San Francisco has one in the middle of the city but it's a converted hotel. Unlike other resorts, the kitchen facilities are limited to a small refrigerator And there's no parking. So we have to plan, plan, PLAN!
Oh and we're going in July of 2014.
Yep! We plan our trips a year in advanced (it's part of being in a timeshare, rooms book up usually a year ahead, so we're not alone in this). The upside...we have time to plan. The downside, things can change and we might not end up going. This has happened on more then one occasion (mainly because of finances). I'm determined to make this happen.
What kind of planning goes into your vacations? Is there a lot of research involved? Do you do a lot of tours and agendas or do you take a free spirit approach? Go where the wind takes you?
But trips are all about the planning. We were pretty lucky to see the Alaska Native Heritage Center because that was included in our convention package. The museum and trolley were something quick and easy to get to. If I had planned things right we could have done other things.
Our next big trip is San Francisco. I've been there a couple of time about 5 years apart. Flash hasn't though and if I'm all about doing things as they come up, Flash is the exact opposite. Flash wants to soak up EVERYTHING because, of course, WE'LL NEVER SEE IT AGAIN! Flash's experience with Alaska is VERY different from mine.
We have a timeshare membership and we have resorts in lots of different places here and there. Most are found along the west coast (Mexico, California, Oregon and Washington). San Francisco has one in the middle of the city but it's a converted hotel. Unlike other resorts, the kitchen facilities are limited to a small refrigerator And there's no parking. So we have to plan, plan, PLAN!
Oh and we're going in July of 2014.
Yep! We plan our trips a year in advanced (it's part of being in a timeshare, rooms book up usually a year ahead, so we're not alone in this). The upside...we have time to plan. The downside, things can change and we might not end up going. This has happened on more then one occasion (mainly because of finances). I'm determined to make this happen.
What kind of planning goes into your vacations? Is there a lot of research involved? Do you do a lot of tours and agendas or do you take a free spirit approach? Go where the wind takes you?
