Creative Family goes to...

When I had my third child my husband took six weeks off, we spent that time exploring our local area. We had the 3 week old baby on the beach and then on bush walks as well. Even though we didn't go away it still felt like a holiday :)

We found that a good way to find what's going on in your local area is to go into a local hotel that caters to travelers. They always have a kiosk of visitor information that sometimes the local residents don't know so much about. We've had problems with visiting the visitor's bureau only to find that they are closed or have really wierd hours. Sometimes you can get entrance discounts or coupons and they always list the dates of the big events.

Congratulations to Hotomom..I agree, what a lovely comment:)

Last year when preparing to do the same thing with my grandchildren, I asked if they had ever seen a firefly-the answer no. Than I realized it's been decades since I have. For me it was the saddest commentary on how much we have destroyed our world. One of the favorite wonders of my childhood is disappearing and I can't share that totally innocent delight with my grandchildren.

My kids camped in our backyard oh, 2 summers ago! So they were 8 & 7. I was a wreck! They wanted their own camp night... They had our big army tent, their bags, their flashlights, snacks.. and my ds had his toy gun just in case! Cracked me up.. They never came in (except to get more snacks and go potty).. They slept the whole night outside! Such big (little) kids.. .But I never slept...

Love the idea of pitching a tent in the backyard and having a "campout" at home! What a great way way to have an adventure without leaving home. May have to try that this summer with my family! We haven't traveled much as a family and I'm hoping to start this summer. We've actually been talking about that very thing recently...

We went uncamping last weekend. We made dutch oven pizza & cobbler, played in the lake, went on a little hike, & played with the fire (controlled). At the end of the evening, we loaded up the car & drove home to our snuggly bed. Perfect for me & sufficient for the boys!

Ali- you should read "Out and About with Kids in Portland". I live in Hillsboro, so I have lots of summer "trips" planned from that book. One is to tour the Candy Basket in Portland after reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They have a chocolate waterfall like the book. Thanks for your blog!!!

Ali, I often feel like a tourist in our home town. Though we live in a destination city, we tend to visit the same spots again and again. I just discovered a new nature center and realized there is so much more out there to experience. One of my story/layout ideas on my list is "Vacation? No ... life" for this very reason, with photos of picnics on the capital lawn, and all the national mall, where so many travel miles to see and we just hang out and kick a ball around. That will take some digging to get all the images together, but worthwhile.
wow ... that's a long comment!

Being a tourist in my own town...one of my favorite things to do! Even though I usually wait on the "big attractions" until family or friends are visiting, it's so much fun to find the little attractions that people may not know or even care about.
I've also found that being a "local tourist" makes traveling to other places even more fun, because I've already trained myself to look for the less obvious but just as defining sites in the city or place I'm visiting.
Great concept!! =)

I love the idea of camping in the backyard. My husband is building a stone fire pit and we plan to do just that,smores et' all. Also looking forward to that family time, just the 3 of us, on our road trip this summer. My husband and I played tourist one year on our anniversary, toured downtown Seattle, the underground tour, Space Needle, Pike Place Market, ate lunch at Ray's boathouse on Shilshole Bay, etc. Have a great Memorial Day Weekend.

If you want to get to know your local area more, do try geocaching - www.geocaching.com
Sue

Hello Ali,
Haven't been scrapbooking a lot lately. But seeing your wednesday layout I get inspired to create one myself. It is lovely!
Have a great day.
Regards,
Inge

I totally agree with the idea of being a tourist in your own city. I live out here in Boston and through Jessica Sprague's forum, someone spoke of taking a Creative Photography Tour out here in Boston. There are 5 different ones. I took one of the tours, it was so awesome to discover a section of Boston (the huge place that it is) in a different light and see things you missed on prior trips - not just the photography part of it.

Congrats to hotomom! I remember the days when I used to read with my kids every night. Enjoy these days as they go by so quickly!
Sue

We take mini vacations to our town and the surronding area each year. We started this about 11 years ago. Boy we have really found some fun things to do and out about our town. So I highly recommend to do it. Have fun. I was just in your wonderful state a week ago on business and really hated to leave. You live in a great place in the US.

Even at 25 I still love traveling with my parents. They're actually my #1 choice for travel companions.

I've thought in that same way for a long time...looking at my own town the way a tourist might. When I lived in the Philippines, I knew I would only be there for about 16 months so I took every sight, sound and smell in. My eyes were wide open all the time. When I moved to Arizona eleven years ago it occurred to me that I could be just as fascinated with my new desert environment as I was with the Philippines, since it is really all about the mindset. Eleven years later I still find this place interesting (although, not as interesting as the Philippines!) and there is always more to discover.
One way our family likes to discover our home town is through geocaching. Geocachers hide a "cache" somewhere around town and then log the geographical coordinates on a geocache website. Other geocachers use a GPS to try and find the hidden caches. They're everywhere. We have so much fun being outside together with the common goal of trying to find something hidden. And we discover all kinds of areas in our community. Really fun.

Salt Lake Magazine had an article about 54 places to go to be a true Utahn. I've adapted the idea and it's my goal to go to 16 touristy places in Utah this year.

We bought a real table to get a bit closer. Previously, the boys (all 4 of them) would sit at the kitchen counter while my husband and I would watch tv or sit on the couch. It is so refreshing to actually have a nice meal to share and listen to our guys days. It brings about more understanding and much better manners! These guys are so fun and I love listening to them talk about their experiences.