If you’re like me, when you travel to other cities you want to experience the city like the locals do. Sure, there are always those places you need to see where all the tourists go, but when it comes to dining and drinking, it’s just more fun to hang out with the locals. Besides, how can you get a taste, or real feel of a city without visiting the establishments where you’ll get to hobnob with the real people who live there?
The Maryland Science Center was a stark reminder to me that learning doesn’t have to be boring. Sitting on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, with worlds of wonder waiting to be discovered inside, this huge brick building houses many exhibits that stir the senses and educate you, all while still letting you have fun.
To Tour or Not To Tour, That is the Question…. It seems like every time we visit a city Lauren and I have the same question come up. Being pretty seasoned travelers and explorers we normally pop into a city, find a few key attractions to visit, and then handle the rest of our day by simply talking to locals and making plans on the fly. This usually works out pretty well for us, and it’s our preferred way to explore. Every once in a while though, we put on or best “tourists’ hats” and give a tour a shot. While in Maryland we decided to give Urban Adventures Annapolis a try, and discovered exactly what they mean when they say “locals know best”
Tampa Bay is one of those cities that seems to get no love in the travel world and it’s really not Tampa’s fault. Located on Florida’s west coast, the city of Tampa is dwarfed in size by Miami to the south and sits just outside of the large shadow cast over the Orlando area by team Disney and it’s many rivals. With that being said, Tampa Bay (encompassing the Coastal area from Weeki Wachee to Sarasota) has been a favorite for vacationing snow birds and other visitors to Florida looking for something a little different. Take a look at our Tampa Travel Guide, for lots of fun attraction information in addition to practical travel and pet travel info to help you plan your Tampa, Florida travel adventure.
Adjacent to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is a gem of a place called the American Visionary Art Museum. The building itself is hard to miss and immediately grabs your attention as you make your way around the harbor. The AVAM promotes Visionary Artists. What is visionary art? Well…the museum’s mission statement says that “Visionary art as defined for the purposes of the American Visionary Art Museum refers to art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself.” In other words, “passionate people doing things that create a fire in their soul”. This museum quickly turned out to be my all-time favorite art museum to date. The works were raw and titillated all of my senses. Everything in the building (and it’s outskirts) was so colorful and catching to the eye. The AVAM is a Baltimore staple, a “must-see” attraction. Don’t miss it!
