That reminds me. I stood at the podium at the White House press room. Got a great photo of my daughter up there too.
We had a friend who worked in the West Wing (broadly defined) and she gave us a private tour. The press room was empty and we could do as we pleased.
That reminds me, I’ve bowled at the White House.
Not that uncommon, around here at least (if you’re looking for a White House staffer around DC, just toss a rock), but still a unique experience.
My SO bowled there a few years ago. She wore the bowling shoes home. I told her to keep them but she took them back a couple of days later.
I first lived in Japan in 1981 and have lived in Asia for over 32 years total. I traveled and backpacked extensively around in 1986 so there should be zillions of places where no one else on these boards have been.
I worked in an industry selling professionals products often used in command and control centers and such. I suspect I’m the only Doper to have been in the Tokyo Stock Exchange. If I haven’t, then I’d like to hear why.
I also worked in pro audio so I’ve been in the control rooms of most of the major studios in Japan, and lots of smaller ones, but that’s not going to be interesting to most people here.
There was (still is?) a cheesy sex museum near Atami, Japan. Having been roped into going to it on a bizarre road trip with a group of drunk customers, I doubt any of the other posters from Japan were foolish enough to go.
Here in Taiwan, I’ve been on trails in Hualien which are restricted and require applying for permission. Most tourists wouldn’t be able to do that.
I’ve stood at the conn of the frigate USS Constitution, the brig USS Niagara, and the slave ship replica Amistad.
I’ve camped out and slept overnight out on the dunes of White Sands National Monument. I realize many have been to White Sands, but how many have slept overnight on those white sands? (Not in a parked trailer or RV but in a tent after hiking back out onto the dunes. You need a special permit to do it. Legally anyway.)
Also, it was a full moon that night and with a couple of flashlights/lanterns we went night sledding and surfing down the larger dunes. Fun! The “white sand” is gypsum — slippery stuff.
Here’s my little list.
The gold vault in the NY Federal Reserve building. I had a friend that worked there so I got to go all the way inside, and I got to pick up some gold. I had to put it back and leave it though.
The attic of St Patrick’s cathedral in New York, behind that rosette window.
The NBC commissary at 30 Rock
The basement of Studio 54
David Bowie’s bedroom ( and, yes, he was there)
My wife hiked the Chilkoot Trail back in her backpacking days in the 70s. That was the Klondike gold rush trail from Skagway, AK to Lake Bennett, BC/YT. She says she thought she was going to have to be rescued because of exhaustion at one point.
Is there any more to that story, Ann?
The Chilkoot Trail is an assKicker! Not that I know, I only know of it, because I can read. 
I’d think your wife is proud she did it.
Info, Hiking the Chilkoot Trail on pc.gc.ca: Activities and experiences - Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site
I rode the White Pass RR line up and down it, only up to Summit Lake and back to Skagway. Absolutely beautiful, vistas so stunning that I vowed to return. And I will return. By car
gMap, Klondike Hwy, 8hrs / 440 miles from Dawson City Ferry to Skagway: Google Maps
Me? I’ve hiked to the top of Half Dome. It’s a great hike, from Happy Isles to the summit of Half Dome it’s 14 miles round trip and 4,000 feet elevation gain (4,800’ to 8,842’ at the top). I did it in a day. I’m pretty sure several Dopers have done this hike, though not too many.
But that’s nothing compared to Chilkoot, almost 5x longer than Half Dome.
Got drunk at Stephen King’s house. Of course, he did not own it at the time.
I was in high school, the house belonged to a (well-to-do) classmate’s family, and King, IIRC from his On Writing memoir, was selling short stories to nudie magazines for rent money.
Now the house is all wrought iron fences, imposing gates and bat tracery. I can barely see the lawn by the carriage house where I may or may not have thrown up.
I read the title, and the poster, and thought, “LOl, Chefguy’s got this on lock. Dude’s been everywhere.”
I have crawled around the hills in Big Sur, north and south of Nacimiento-Ferguson Road, chasing Bambi, and you should drive that road if you’re in the area. It’s really pretty, and there are a lot of different biomes you drive through in not too long a distance.
The place I’d choose though, you really can’t see anymore. I was accidentally trespassing, trying to find my way from the canyon rim, back to the road that runs along the riverbank of the Mosel River, in western Germany. I ended up driving down the very steep service roads of the Urziger Wurzgarten vineyard to the surprise of the few vineyard workers nearby. I didn’t see the red soil that it’s famous for, but from there, you can see an uninterrupted sea of vines for a few miles on the hills spilling down to the river. Zeltingen Himmelreich, Sonnenuhr, going to Wehlener Sonnenuhr, to Graacher Domprobst and Josephhofer, finally ending up at Bernkastel and the Doktor (This is breaking my spellcheck over its knee.) A blanket of green grapevines, and the Riesling from each of them tastes as different from each other as can be. With Urziger Wurtzgarten being the spiciest, most tropical, and exotic of them all.
There’s a giant ass road bridge that shades the Wurtzgarten now, and probably screws up the view too. But for awhile, it was an amazing view, and made amazing wine.
Not even close, I’m afraid, although I’ve traveled more than most everyone I know personally. I have a friend who made it his retirement goal to visit every county in Texas, and he’s done it. Another friend is a fellow State Department veteran and also a Peace Corps veteran. She’s been to some really remote places that I have not only not been to, but really can’t figure out why anyone would want to go there. But then she’s a Nurse Practitioner and does some actual good in those places.
It’s clear that folks on this board have been to some pretty exotic spots, many of which I’m envious. Travel shapes and changes one’s outlook on the world. I believe that if I had never left Alaska, I’d probably have been a solid Republican like my sibs and even (choke) voted for Palin. 
I’ve been at the east end of Nacimiento-Ferguson Rd, on the bridge at Mission Road (see gMap), but haven’t taken it all the way to the coast. Thanks for the tip, I’ll keep it in mind for a future drive south.
gMap — Google Maps
The west side is Much prettier. Even considering what all of the fires probably did to the area. Maybe I just saw too much of it growing up, but you’ve seen one tan, oak-covered dusty hillside, you’ve seen them all. The roads N and S of the road’s summit, so just to the west of the ranger station, are great jump offs for hiking the seaward side of the main ridge line. Gorgeous views, with ocean, sunset, fog trying to crawl it’s way up the mountain.
Not many deer, but the whole experience was character building in July and August.
I loved in Paradise, California before the fire destroyed it.
What was her name?
*Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there
She would merengue and do the cha-cha
And while she tried to be a star
Tony always tended bar
Across the crowded floor, they worked from eight til four
They were young and they had each other
Who could ask for more?
At the copa (co) Copacabana (Copacabana)*
Saipan: Banzai Cliff, Suicide Cliff, the Last Outpost
The pits that Fat Man and Little Boy were stores on Tinian before being dropped on Japan, and the runway the Enola Gay took off from.
Many places in the 4 Corners, Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern Colorado, and in Europe. The Oklahoma Panhandle and nearby sites in TX and KS
It’s not the place, but the event: Mr. Celtic Knot and I performed as Celtic Knot on the stage at the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, KS.
This one’s not so unique: Deadwood, SD. Visited the cemetery where Wild Bill, Calamity Jane and Sheriff Bullock are buried, and bought the boxed DVD Deadwood set at a local store.
I’m an NFL football fan and in the cemetery at Rotan, TX three years ago I visited the grave of NFL Hall of Fame QB Sammy Baugh. Rotan is a small town in central Texas, about 60 miles NW of Abilene TX.
Back in 1994 when “Slingin’ Sammy” was still alive (he passed away in 2008) I was reading a book that described his NFL accomplishments and was very impressed. Sammy Baugh was one of the first prolific passers back when the NFL offenses were built around the running game. Back then, in the 1940s, the forward pass was seen as a desperation play. Sammy Baugh helped to change that.
Two of his records as quarterback still stand: most seasons leading the league in passing (six; tied with Steve Young) and most seasons leading the league with the lowest interception percentage (five). And in a time when players often played both offense and defense, as a defensive back he was the first player in league history to intercept four passes in a game. He is the only player to lead the league in passing, punting, and interceptions in the same season.
That is a record likely never to be broken. I was in total awe of this Sammy Baugh.
I was in San Francisco at the time, and on a whim I called the old directory assistance number for Rotan TX, 325-555-1212, and asked for his number. To my surprise they gave me a number, and when I dialed it and a gentleman answered the phone and I asked for Sammy Baugh, to my even greater surprise he said, “That’s me.”
I was talking to the legend himself! I was 33 at the time and I felt like a 13-year old kid. I told him I was a fan and very impressed by his accomplishments. He described the game back then, 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust, and almost no passing. As a 49ers fan I mentioned Joe Montana and Steve Young and he said he’d LOVE to be playing in today’s game. He was very gracious and we had a nice conversation for about 10-15 minutes. I asked if he would autograph my book, Seventy-Five Seasons: The Complete Story of the National Football League, 1920-1995, and he said sure!
I asked him how should I address the package.
His answer, “Sam Baugh, Rotan, Texas. It’ll get to me.”
That is one of my most cherished autographs!