What’s the coolest, most interesting, most unique, most bizarre, fanciest, etc. thing or place near you? Suppose somebody is visiting you and you can only show them that one single place, but you can spend up to a whole day there. Describe it!
Of course, please include your location (down to the GPS coordinates, if you’d like!).
The weirdest thing would have to be the Longaberger basket. It’s a building that’s a giant basket. You’re just driving along, minding your own business, when blam. There’s a basket-building in front of you. Weird doesn’t begin to describe it.
St Stephen’s Church - Camperdown Cemetery - creepy, old, historic, nifty really cool cemetery here in Sydney.
The Rocky Mountains. Pick a direction and start driving - it’s guaranteed to have some awe-inspiring and breath-taking views.
The first few years after I moved from Boston to Manhattan, I used to bring friends down to visit. Apparently my typical Saturaday with nothing to do is much more exciting than their normal weekend in Boston.
There’s no “one” place, but the typical day went like this:
-breakfast at my East Village breakfast place
-wander around Union Square / Washington Square area for a bit (friends immediately stupified by plethora of hot NYU girls in skimpy summer outfits)
-bite to eat at Starbucks
-check out street fair
-go see a movie at the local megaplex
-relax at my appartment for a few hours
-dinner at local thai restaurant
-inform friends that even though it is 11pm “yes we are still going out tonight”.
-go to some Murrey Hill bars
-get call from local friend so bring my out of towners up to the Upper East Side (probably Sutton Place or wherever) to meet up
-find some other bar or club
-late-nite breakfast at Coffee Shop in Union Square. Friends pleasently surprised that they can order gin & tonics at 4:00am
-back to the appartment, throw in a DVD and wake up the next morning fully clothed in my still made bed
I mean we really aren’t doing anything much different than we did in Boston. The only major difference is that a) everything is open later and b) everything just seems more exciting because it’s in Manhattan and you can walk or take a cab
I’d probably take my visitor on a day trip to Santa Cruz (via Highway 9 so they could check out the redwoods and mountain communities along the way).
Well I’d like to poll them to figure out what they’d like to see. Most of the time we end up in the Old Port and Notre-Dame Basilica, but if they like the outdoors we’ll climb up the mountain; if they like museums we’ll go to the Beaux-Arts or the Arts Contemporains; and if they like the night life we’ll go to the Village. Or I can give them one of my patented metro tours 
When people come to visit St. Louis, they get taken to the City Museum.
It’s the brainchild of a professional sculptor who’s pretty close in spirit to Willie Wonka. About 20 years ago he bought an 11 story (approx.) downtown warehouse, and began constructing a life-size, beautifully crafted, concrete whale in the main floor.
It was a strange and neat thing to see (you could walk through the whale.) Now the building is so full of wondrous things that it’s possible to miss spotting the whale.
The artist has described it as the ultimate kid’s playhouse. It has tunnels, dead ends, 30-foot long slides, 5-story high slides, and an outdoor jungle gym that’s 40-feet high and has full-size jet airplanes near the top.
The level of imagination is amazing, and there is just one thing after another. Circuses, movies, art, museum exhibits, crafts. The first few times I went I couldn’t stop laughing at the audacity.
And like Willie Wonka’s factory, it feels dangerous and scary. Which is very refreshing these days.
Yosemite.
If they’re in any sort of physical condition, we go on a hike.
The trail #300, Summit Trail is my favorite although it is way too crowded this time of year.
Why would I take them hiking?
Because after we’ve burned off some calories, they can go to The Fry Bread House.
Lake Tahoe
I love the City Museum! We visited last April and I had just as much fun climbing around as my niece and nephew did! Of course, being 35 years older than them made me a lot sorer than them the next day! Important: keep your head and knees down on the huge spiral slides!
I would hit Shishewana, Indiana. It has a huge auction/flea market and lots of Amish ambiance at Yoder’s Department Store and the Mennohof Mennonite Museum. There are a lot of small shops in town selling country kitsch, but it is fun to people watch. On the non-Amish hand, there is a hotel with an indoor water park and a new museum with a huge collection of Hudson automobiles. My wife even likes it and she wouldn’t know a Hudson from a Hupmobile.
We would probably have lunch at the Wana-Cup or just grab a hot pretzel at Jo-Jo’s in the Davis Mercantile. For dinner there are several choices, but I would offer two. The Blue Gate is a good choice in town, or just head down the road (watch out for the buggies) and head to Middlebury, IN. There is a cheese factory and several small shops on the road, but our destination is on the other side of town; Das Dutchman Essenhaus, an Amish themed restaurant/shopping center/inn. The Essenhaus used to kick Blue Gate’s butt in tastiness, but the Gate is catching up, and I like the pie at Blue Gate better. Another plus for the Gate; teachers get a 50% discount on Tuesdays during the winter.
If we go to Middlebury, it is time to stock up on booze at the Chalet Party Shoppe before making the 25 minute trip home. They have a huge selection of liquor and a pretty good beer selection, much better than anything here in town.
(I am not a 65 year old lady, but I sure do sound like one here.) :o
My more macho friends would probably prefer the hour’s drive to South Bend for a visit to Notre Dame’s campus and the College Football Hall of Fame. My stranger friends might like to visit the brand new RV Hall of Fame in Elkhart.
When I had friends in during foliage season (so the drive anywhere was something to enjoy in itself), I made sure we went to Simon Pearce.
Go to the basement and watch the glass blowing, wander through the store looking at gorgeous things, go to lunch overlooking the mill.
Probably on one of the many boat tours of Chicago. And then Navy Pier. And the Art Institute and the Museums.
Oh hell - I’d take them downtown. But leaving Millenium Park out of it.
The “bean” is just stupid - I wouldn’t show it to anyone. And those sculptures of weird looking people - I can’t remember what they’re called or where they are - are just creepy.
Disneyworld!
How far from the house can we travel? It makes a big difference if we go anywhere.
I take them on a daytrip around the Golden Circle. It takes about an afternoon and it has yet to give anything other than very good results 
Living only a few miles from San Francisco there are dozens of places I could take them, but my favorite is Fort Point, a civil war era fort undeneath the south anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge. Most people don’t even know it’s there…
My second favorite place would be Alcatraz Island, but getting there isn’t quite as easy…
So what’s your favorite spot in Arcata? I went to college there and there are are few places around there I could think of…
Here in Chicago there are many unique under-the-radar places I enjoy taking people. One of my favorites though is the location of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. It’s just a little fenced off grassy area on Clark St w/ four or five trees growing. No sign or any indication of the location’s notorious history.
I also like taking people up to see theBaha’i templein Wilmette. Most Chicagoans don’t even know it’s there but it’s probably the most impressive single building in the entire state.
