Oh I know what you’re thinking: act like a tourist where I live? It sounds funny, doesn’t it, because being a tourist usually means visiting a place where you don’t live.

I think that you can be a tourist in your own town. I’m sure there are places that are unfamiliar to you – places that you’ve seen but never checked out or places you’ve heard of but never made the effort to visit. In a way it’s good being a tourist because you can be curious about a place without caring about what other people think. To me, it’s great being a tourist in your town because you learn so much about your community and the people in it. You also get great ideas about places to visit when family and friends come from out of town.

I became a “hometown tourist” a year ago. I used to travel extensively for work (and had lots of fun doing it!). I loved visiting new places, many that spoke different languages and had different customs, and get paid for it. Then I took another position within my company (better job, better pay) but the international travel was very limited. Since I no longer had my company funding these trips, I decided to explore my hometown of Los Angeles.

LA is a big place – I’ve heard of people referring to it as a “concrete prairie” (as opposed to New York’s “concrete jungle”) because it just goes on and on. People who’ve been living here all their lives can’t claim to have seen it all – there is always some new development, park, garden, museum, or attraction to visit. In the past year I’ve seen several California Missions, beaches, botanical gardens, museums, and parks. I even saw bison one day when I visited a park on a whim. Sometimes you’ll be surprised by what you find in your own town.

So how does someone become a “hometown tourist”? A good way to start is to pay attention to what your friends, family, or co-workers are doing on weekends. They’ll let you know if they had fun visiting a new place, restaurant, or event. Since they’ve been there they can tell you the best time to go, or the best dish on the menu, or the best place to find free parking (very valuable information here in LA).

Another way to find places to visit is by reading local magazines and newspapers for upcoming events. For example, this weekend the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will be performing at Staples Center, and there’s a great article about cheap eats in Southern California. Dollar hot dogs at The Strand sound awfully good right now.

If you still don’t get any ideas from these resources, check out websites that cater to your interests. I love home décor so I frequently visit Apartment Therapy LA for ideas on where to find cool things for the home, as well as local home and garden shows. Just the other week I found out about the Los Angeles Cactus & Succulent Society’s annual plant show, and enjoyed seeing wonderful displays of cacti and succulents (they are very hardy plants, for those of you that have a black thumb like me). I got to vote for my favorite display, which ended up placing second (it was robbed!) and got an opportunity to buy new plant varieties that aren’t normally sold in nurseries. My husband, who collects succulents, had a field day and bought three new plants.

Lastly, come up with a theme and see where it takes you. Last summer I came up with the idea to visit all 21 California Missions. After visiting a few Missions, and came across places I wanted to visit en route to these Missions. Once I saw the Getty Center overlooking the 405 freeway and thought hey, I’ve never been there before – I should visit next weekend. I did visit the following weekend and was impressed with the architecture, gardens, and art collection. The Getty Center is free to the public, and no reservations are required. You should definitely take advantage if you’re in Los Angeles and have a free afternoon.

Sometimes you just have to go for it – visit those places you’ve always been curious about. Before you know it, planning these excursions will give you something to look forward to every weekend. I’m totally hooked on LA and all the fabulous things it has to offer.

When not exploring her hometown, Abby Canizales can be found wandering the aisles of Target or browsing the J. Crew website for fabulous deals. Abby lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and ridiculously good-looking dog. You can learn more about Abby and her travels by checking out her blog, Speedy Canizales.

For many people, the idea of foreign travel carries the thrill of the exotic. When on vacation in some distant locale, they might sigh, “I could stay here forever!” However, most people do not seriously entertain the notion of living abroad. Naturally, there are practical reasons for this: people’s livelihood tends to depend upon the local market; they balk at leaving behind friends and family; those inscrutable foreign languages give them pause. Yet even if those obstacles do not apply, most people do not leap at the chance to move to another country. There is even a trace of disdain, even contempt, for those who abandon their terra patria for foreign shores. Of course, this disapproval is urbanely concealed behind exclamations of admiration and envy for the footloose wayfarer. Nevertheless, there are those who do elect to expatriate themselves. But why leave everything beloved and familiar behind? There follows a list of what are, from what I have seen, the primary reasons behind the choice to live abroad.*
read more from "The Real Reason I Live Overseas"

I’ve recently discovered what I think must be one of the coolest free travel website out there to help plan, coordinate and share travel itineraries, called Tripit. Tripit was created by folks that know travel; Gregg Brockawy and Scott Hintz, executives with Hotwire.com. Recognizing that we often travel with others, you’re able to share (as little or as much) of your travel plans with others. You can even invite them to collaborate and plan the trip with you.

read more from "An Easier Way to Plan Your Travel"

 

On a Friday in October of 2002, a friend of mine whom knew that I had once worked for a particular U.S. Senator called. She said: “I don’t know what’s going on with Senator W, but I just heard something about an accident.” I thanked her for her call and I immediately went to CNN.com. What I saw there was something I will never forget. In big white letters on a dark red background were the words “SENATOR W DEAD.” I just stared at the screen in disbelief.

As it turns out, the Senator died in a plane crash, along with his wife, his daughter, my direct boss in his office, and two other campaign assistants. The Senator had been on his way to attend the funeral of a long-serving State Senator in a remote part of my home state. The plane went down in some woods, short of the runway. All aboard were lost.
read more from "Grounded!"

Last year, I boldly set out and traveled by air with my then 12 week baby girl. I pulled together my thoughts on traveling alone in a blog here.

The next time my daughter traveled by plane, we were with a large group and I had many adult hands to help. At six months old, she was becoming a champion traveling companion. We took another trip, just the two of us, when she was about nine months old. The same advice that I posted earlier still continued to hold true.

Fast forward to toddlerhood. Boy, oh boy, was this traveling experience different than any in her infant days. Most of the advice I gave about security and luggage is still spot on. But no longer was she content to be held for hours while we flew. Oh no, she was miserable, wanting nothing more than to get down and walk.

For sure, she wasn’t the most well behaved child, in fact someone probably later told a story about a screaming child on their flight. I tried my best – we read a lot of books and played with some small toys. Still, all of that got old quickly for her – after all, the world is so much more interesting to her right now than sitting on moms lap for four hours.

If there was one thing that I learned this time around, it’s this. If you’re going to nurse and are on Southwest (or any of the choose your own seat carriers) nurse from the start. That really does send people right on by (you might end up with an extra seat) and those that it doesn’t deter are going to be fine with you nursing. I didn’t do this on one leg of the trip and ended up sitting next to a young man. Boy, oh boy, his face sure did turn red when he realized what I was doing, even though I was using a Hooter Hider!

So, no, it wasn’t easy traveling alone with a toddler. It’s not something that I will look forward to in the future, but I know that it will be done again. Having family who live many states away makes it inevitable. Thankfully, most passengers around me were fairly sympathetic and I didn’t get too many dirty looks.

JennyLou

Luggage
Originally uploaded by Cake Walk. I’m a big believer in packing light. Since I jettisoned the large suitcases, I’ve been enjoying travel a lot more. My personal philosophy is that regardless of where I’m going, I really don’t need more than one carry-on sized suitcase and a handbag or small backpack. I’ve applied this belief to dozens of trips with success, from a week in Hawaii to my two-week honeymoon in Europe. Some of the biggest reasons it’s best to travel light:
read more from "Who Needs Baggage? Pack Lightly Instead"

Tis the season for summer festivals (at least where I live). I’ve learned that one of the many benefits of living in the Chicago area is all of the festivals that kick off in early June. My husband and I just spent 8 nights patronizing quite a few of these festivals. We’ve done this for years. The big difference this year… we did it with a 2.5 year old and a 7 month old in tow. Quite different than the booze fests we were used to. Just how different you ask? Well, let’s see…
read more from "Funnel Cakes, Beer, Live Music, and Plenty of Diapers"

1. Travelblog.org

 Can’t get away from your office this summer? Live vicariously through other peoples’ vacations! TravelBlog.org has the most amazing collection of photo blogs from travelers roaming all over the world. The stories and pictures are mesmerizing.

 
read more from "Rosebud – Five Things I’m Loving Right Now"

If you’re like me, your family doesn’t live in the same town, or even same state as yourself. Maybe you’re about to travel for the upcoming holidays. Or maybe they do all live in the same town. If you find yourself travelling with a small child, I hope you find my experiences helpful.I was stressed thinking about this trip. I didn’t want *that* kid on the plane. You know the one I’m talking about. The one who screams the entire time. How would I manage my daughter all by myself? I thought about it long and hard and even started this thread.

I’m happy to report that travelling alone with her wasn’t too difficult, here’s what I learned along the way.

First, think about what you’re bringing. I probably packed too much, but I wanted to make sure my daughter had plenty of clothes for her to wear. Some days, she goes through two or three outfits. I was able to do laundry while we were visiting family, so there really was no need for me to pack quite so much. Still, I managed to pack one suitcase for the both of us, as well as her diaper bag. I also brought the stroller and car seat.

Prior to leaving, check your seat assignment. You don’t want a middle seat on a full flight, trust me. It’s awkward at best.

Make sure you arrive at the airport at least two hours in advance. You might want to plan for extra time during busy, peak travel times.

Going through security can get awkward with a little one. The car seat and the stroller have to go through the x-ray machine and you’ll have to carry your child with you – all the while trying to get everything through the x-ray machine. Don’t forget to declare any breast milk or pre-mixed formula that you have or they’ll end up going through your entire bag like they did to mine. If they do go through your bag, be sure and check to make sure that the breastmilk or formula lid is secure. Otherwise, it will probably spill all over the diaper bag and the carry on luggage of your fellow passengers. And yes, we know this first hand. I had 5 ounces of breast milk though and was allowed through without any problems.

Once you have your shoes back on and everything put back together, you’re ready to find your gate. I mainly used the stroller to push our stuff around on and had my daughter in the mei tai. The stroller worked out well though for when I had to use the restroom, which I made sure to do before getting on the plane. I was able to sit down and nurse for a few minutes before being allowed to preboard (which I got to do with a little one). That two hours sure goes quick!

I gate checked the stroller and car seat. On Continental you are allowed to check those items for free, in addition to your regular bags – be sure to check with your airline to see if this is the case for you.

Try not to think too much about the usual schedule you and baby have and instead, try to just go with the flow. If the baby is sleeping while taking off, let baby sleep. If baby needs to nurse, feel free to nurse (unless you’re flying Delta :p). On our way out, my daughter slept for the first two hours – take off never bothered her at all. The next two hours she alternated between nursing and feeding. Everyone was so happy that she was well behaved. This was a middle seat on a full flight, and I learned my lesson of not checking it out before the flight!

On our return trip, my daughter decided to sleep nearly the whole time, heck, I even managed to catch a bit of shut eye. I was in a window seat and even managed to not have someone next to me. There was only one seat open in the whole plane, so we were happy it ended up next to us. She nursed at take off and landing this time.

Once you arrive at your destination, if at all possible make sure someone comes inside the airport to help you out. There’s no way I could carry a suitcase, diaper bag, apnea monitor, baby and push a stroller, and unless you’re supermom, you probably won’t be able to either.

Happy holidays and happy traveling!

JennyLou