{"id":1412,"date":"2017-08-25T03:50:12","date_gmt":"2017-08-25T07:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/?p=1412"},"modified":"2017-08-25T13:15:12","modified_gmt":"2017-08-25T17:15:12","slug":"week-154-summer-fun-play-tourist-in-your-own-hometown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/?p=1412","title":{"rendered":"Week #154 – Summer Fun: Play Tourist…in Your Hometown!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

“Which way?” (photo credit: Grace Church)<\/p><\/div>\n

Week #154 – Summer Fun: Play Tourist…in Your Hometown!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Greetings, All — and Happy Friday!!!<\/p>\n

We have been counting down the Fridays to Labor Day Weekend with some short “Summer Fun”<\/a> suggestions. \u00a0Because — \u00a0as I’ve said each week<\/a> — while most adults have been sure to plan their kids’ summer fun, they often overlook their own!<\/p>\n

And with only two Fridays left to go…I want to make sure you’ve had some fun too!<\/p>\n

But with summer practice sessions kicking in and some kids already back to school — the idea of a one-tank trip<\/a> may be fading fast in the rear-view\u00a0mirror. \u00a0So this is a great time to tighten your radius — and\u00a0look for adventure in your own backyard!<\/p>\n

Here are some ideas:<\/strong><\/p>\n

History –\u00a0<\/strong>Do you know the origin of your town, who founded it, and how it came to be? \u00a0Don’t let these details slip by you! \u00a0Google your town’s name and learn a little bit about how it came into existence. \u00a0I live in the second largest city in the country — but I did this recently with the neighborhood<\/span> I live in and uncovered a rich history of the missionaries, indigenous tribes, and the vegetation that gave my neighborhood it’s name!<\/p>\n

Parks\/Recreation –\u00a0<\/strong>Have you visited all the public spaces in your town? \u00a0Do you even know they exist? \u00a0We tend to drive by these things on our way out to somewhere else (in my case, the beach!). \u00a0But again, in my exploration of my neighborhood here, I discovered an 18-mile long bike path, a dog park, a walking path, and a reservoir — all within a mile or so of where I live!<\/p>\n

Attractions –\u00a0<\/strong>We tend to take our own culture for granted — but chances are your town has a local museum, mill, farm, zoo, estate, party boat, monuments, architecture, town hall, or theater that holds some significance. \u00a0You may have lived there all your life and never set foot in those places. \u00a0Now is a good time!<\/p>\n

Food\/Drink<\/strong> – The lake town where I grew up is great for this! \u00a0Growing up — most of us felt like we needed to go somewhere else to enjoy a good meal. \u00a0Not always true! \u00a0Take note of the breakfast nooks, sit down restaurants, take-out counters, and ice cream stands in your area. \u00a0Get some good recommendations and then give them a try! \u00a0And don’t forget to look for craft breweries or wineries, too!<\/p>\n

Scenery –\u00a0<\/strong>If all else fails, get in the car and take a driving tour. \u00a0Go from one end of town to the other, around the lake, over that bridge, or down that one road you’ve never gone down before! \u00a0Chances are you will see something beautiful, something new, something you’ve never seen — and you just might be reminded of how lovely your little town really is!<\/p>\n

\n

Your Happyness Challenge for the Week Ahead: Play Tourist…in Your Hometown! \u00a0<\/strong>If a friend visited you — where would you absolutely have to take him\/her?! \u00a0What would you want to highlight that makes your town special? \u00a0Then get out, stretch your legs, meet some new people — and explore your own backyard!<\/p>\n

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” \u00a0<\/strong><\/em>
\n (George Moore)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Spread Happyness — share your town’s highlights in the comments!<\/span><\/p>\n

8\/25\/17 by Grace Church
\n<\/em>\u00a9 Grace Church
\ngrace@spreadhappyness.com<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Week #154 – Summer Fun: Play Tourist…in Your Hometown! Greetings, All — and Happy Friday!!! We have been counting down the Fridays to Labor Day Weekend with some short “Summer Fun” suggestions. \u00a0Because — \u00a0as I’ve said each week — while most adults have been sure to plan their kids’ summer fun, they often overlook […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1412"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1421,"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1412\/revisions\/1421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spreadhappyness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}