And What Do You Suggest?

What is your favorite thing to do on vacation? Visit Museums? Eat Food? Hike? Golf? Watch Theatre? Go Antiquing?

Here is an incredibly simple, but oft overlooked Traveler's Resource:

1) Find one place in the city/town/area you'll be visiting that falls under the category of "Favorite Things to do on Vacation". For example, if you were coming to Lenox and you love museums, the Norman Rockwell Museum would be a perfect example.

2) Call that place.

3) Ask the attendant who answers the phone if he or she has a second. (Sometimes it's hard to guess when the busy hour is.)

4) If they do, explain to them that you are visiting the area on vacation.

5) Ask them what they personally would recommend.

Who knows the area better than a person who lives there? And who is more likely to have similar tastes to you than someone who has chosen to be employed by an attraction of your choosing?

The first time I did this I called a cafe and the barista I spoke with gave me six pages of answers. Six pages! From him we discovered everything from a local monument with a beautiful scenic overlook, to an independent film theatre with free popcorn, to a local Kombucha making facility where we got a free tour and free samples.

In this age of emails and text messages and Blackberrys and Google, it's easy to forget that people are a resource too. Unlike Google, people tell jokes, have opinions, stutter, laugh, and do all of those other endearing things that make people so much cooler than machines. Oh yeah, and the person might actually be there to say "Hi" when you arrive. Can you say the same for Google?

With Love,
~Brande N.