RevGals Friday Five: Tourist Edition

From the RevGals Blog: It seems like this topic has been done before, but I can't find it in the archives, so......I am downtown on retreat this week. Most of the retreatants are from out of town, so I get to experience this place through the eyes of visitors. So in the spirit of tourism:

1. What is one place you make sure to take out-of-town guests when they visit? Most of the folks I know live around here, so I don't have a lot of out of town guests. But there is so much to do here (Chicago area), so the great museums are a must: Museum of Science and Industry, Field Museum of Natural History, Art Institute, The Aquarium and Oceanarium, plus lots of theater, dance and excellent restaurants.

2. When visiting another city or town, do you try to cram as much in as possible, or take it slow and easy? Usually when I go out of town it is either for a job interview or to see family. So, of course the job interview time includes trying to get a good feel for the city and community by seeing and doing as much as possible. The family visits are to places I grew up so, not much need for sight seeing, except to share with my kids the places I knew when I was younger. Mostly I like to visit, take it easy, and do a little here and there.

3. When traveling, where are we most likely to find you: strolling through a museum, checking out the local shopping, or ________? All of the above, and I really like to see the "country side." Most of the places I visit are in the Rocky Mountains, so hiking is a great option. And just enjoying and appreciating the great beauty of the mountains....

4. Do you like organized tours and/or carefully planned itineraries, or would you rather strike out and just see what happens? If I were to travel overseas I would probably take an organized tour but even then I would want some down time to go out on my own. Otherwise I like to do all the research and plan the trip. But I like to just have ideas of what we can do and then take each day as it comes.

5. After an extended trip, what do you find yourself craving most about home? My bed and my dogs, and the routine of daily home life.