It’s that time of year when summer days are here with more work outside and activities to engage us. I’m having more feet under my table, are you? There are vacations to plan, even if staycations—road trips and perhaps a few who are now venturing by plane or train.
May I suggest something here? Act like a tourist in your hometown.
Many years ago, I was given a Hospitality and Tourism class to teach.
Like most high schoolers, the usual: “there’s nothing to do here” began to be voiced, and I was there to prove them wrong.
That class loaded into my little bus and began what became the bus “escapades” of learning. It was amazing.
The local Tourism Director at the time had lots of jobs to keep those students busy. The list to help our community was endless.
She proposed a walking tour brochure to be created. Those students researched historical sites and information to be included in that brochure.
We hopped off that bus at various locations and went inside places that they had never been…walked through each site, and occasionally there was someone there to provide a history lesson or more information that they needed. They acted as “tourists” in the community.
Photographs were taken; articles were written and submitted. There was a tour of the printers; my students walked through each step of that process and left with a brochure in their hands.
But can I tell you from a teacher’s perspective what it was like to visit offices in Washington, DC, and personally give those brochures to legislators? A view of what was important about education in my hometown? I became a cheerleader for my students, but also my hometown.
Why do I share this with you now, friends?
Because there’s a beautiful world around you in this region that you need to experience!
Act like a tourist and find out what there is to do in your area from your visitors’ center. You will be amazed.
Take a walk along the river and take in those gorgeous floodwall images and watch as they are being updated.
Support your local businesses in the area. New ones and old favorites abound and await your presence for conversations and inspiration and perhaps a purchase or two. They all need a boost after the past year we have had.
Seek out the many recreational areas in our region and ALL the activities they have to offer, and then dive in to learn something NEW you haven’t tried before.
Learn more about the history of the area in which you live.
Open your eyes and bank accounts to the bounty of the farmers’ produce in our area. Do you know there are even zinnia farms? Orchards? Blueberry fields? And “you pick” farms all around?
Support the arts. Lots of great productions are already in the works.
Read this VUE magazine from cover to cover to see all the great events that you can be involved in! Then find a place to show your support!
You know, I am truly thankful for the city in which I live and work and play. When others are unappreciative, I want to load them back onto that bus and have class again.
It really is up to you to remember why you call this place home, to invest in where you call home; and, then learn to fall in love with it so much more.
