There are often many things to do, or places to experience right in our own backyard. Many offer great experiences for journeys, some of which are free, all you have to do is get there. Local Gems can be small or large, so you get to choose how you want to journey. Plus, planning for local journeys is an excellent baseline for that “bucket list” overseas journey.
We’ve defined that Local Gems are anywhere we can go as a day trip, or basically within 7 hours of the mid-Atlantic region. For us that means from Northern Virginia to New York. Anything beyond that we consider Out and About.
Restaurants-Foods
We are assuming no one wants to hear about our fast food restaurant experiences, because we rarely if ever go to them. Big Mac or KFC, it is unlikely you need assistance in enjoying them. Whether we’re dining locally or internationally, we tend to go to restaurants or food places that offer food cooked in ways different than normal. That way it maximizes our experience. We also favor independently owned and/or small regional restaurants as they can often provide a more personal experience.
If you dine out a fair amount, there is an advantage to dining at the same local place on a regular basis, as the staff will begin to recognize you and you’re experience will be enhanced as a result. Nothing like having someone bring your favorite drink to the table (without you asking) as they come to take your order.
Restaurants are specifically a personal experience as everyone has their own personal preferences of food, atmosphere, price, location, etc. We definitely recognize that not everyone has the same preferences. Finding the best one(s) for you may take some trial and hopefully not much error. One of the ways to reduce the experimentation phase is to ask others of their experiences and listen in between the lines. There are things people say that you can glean if it’s specific to them or it will affect you, positively or negatively.
Nature-Hiking
Nature-Hiking is one of our favorite things to do. Hiking, walking, biking, camping, glamping can all be great opportunities to get out and see nature. As an example, in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US, 4 hour’s drive will get you to thousands of such places. With only a 1 hour drive, it can still be close to a hundred. Parks can have easy to difficult hikes. Of course in the mid-West you may live there already…
Don’t forget about Urban Hiking, where you can easily walk 4-6 miles per day in a city! Especially when considering the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC, or Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA.
Places To Go
Theatre – there are a lot of live theatres that have great plays in our area from Washington, DC up to New York City. They range from Broadway to good local theatres, professional and volunteer. With technological advancements, live theatre has changed significantly over the last few decades.
Attractions – this can be a day-trip or weekend journey depending on your venue and your approach. If you’re looking to attend the theatre in the city, or a theme park, time of day and location will affect whether you want to stay overnight, or use public transportation (some in the US have less trains/buses/subways running after hours).
Of course if you live in close proximity of an attraction, this could easily turn into a destination planned around the attraction(s).
Art/Craft Shows – This ranges wildly, from the local artisans to attending an exhibit at an art gallery, or even visiting an art museum. All of these have value in different ways.
Events – Most areas have local events, whether they be around the corner, or a day trip (2-3 hours) or even a small town somewhere.
Events can be many things – music (orchestra, concert, etc.), sports (football, soccer, baseball, hockey, even car racing), live theatre, movies, shows (flowers, cars, art, home improvement, etc.), and many cities/towns have craft shows featuring undiscovered, local artists for you to experience and enjoy.
There are also bigger events. In our area (east coast mid-Atlantic) within a 3 hour drive, you can find 4 major cities and their respective sports teams, larger concerts/festivals venues (Firefly is a big event that draws a lot of people to Delaware), national shows at city conference centers (flowers, cars, etc.), you can fill in the blanks.
The recent Stanley Cup championship in DC caused quite a stir. Folks were looking for the best way to arrive and some to stay. The Metro and MARC public transportation stepped up and ran extra service for those who came out to the event. When the Eagles won the Super Bowl, extra lines were added as well. However, that didn’t work as smoothly as anticipated (which some folks had to work through an unplanned situation – see our Ideas-Tips Section).
Places To Stay
Do you like that resort where it’s all included? Or do you prefer to find your place either hotel or BnB? Or maybe you’re the hostel type? There are SO many options nowadays, that there’s something for everyone when it comes to finding places to stay.
The important point is to find places to stay that works for you.
BONUS – Deals and Steals
There are quite a few ways to save a buck or two on your journey, local or international. Timing can sometimes save hundreds of dollars, depending on how you structure it.
You’re probably already plugged in to the fact that there are apps that provide discounts ahead of time for just about everything. From attraction entrance fees, indoor climbing, “Escape the Room”, restaurants to bowling to well, just about anything if you keep your eyes open.
Some places (like restaurants) offer deals if you buy gift cards – buy $50 get a free $10 gift card. If you’re planning on going there anyway at some point in the year, wouldn’t that make sense? Other restaurants have special events like a Rose dinner where for one price you get an excellent dinner and wine. Some even let you drink pretty much all the wine you can (but maybe shouldn’t) drink.
If you’re looking for a last minute hotel? There’s an app for that. We’ve waited until the night before we wanted to book and got a 4 star hotel. It was the perfect location in the city at two-thirds the normal price.