Subject:

inspiration

Hotels are often cold, lifeless places to return to after a day in a foreign land. If you're on a business trip, you might relish the chance to unwind and buffer yourself from the business day. But, a traveler likes to meet people, experience the culture and get a taste of the place that they're visiting. And, a hotel makes it entirely too easy to miss out on this experience.

If you're not naturally outgoing, staying outside of a hotel is even more important. In a hotel, it's easy to let your inner homebody ruin your trip. You're simply too comfortable. Instead, plan on staying somewhere where you have to interact with others. Good or bad, it will make for a memorable travel experience, where you can say you've lived like a local. I'll admit, I definitely have my days where I just want to hide in my room and ignore the rest of the world. But, my most memorable trips have been ones in the homes of others, getting dragged out to a party or on an impromptu siteseeing tour. Keep on reading for a few alternatives to staying in a traditional hotel.

I had been on a plane all night and didn't sleep a wink, as usual. I had been slightly worried about my short one hour layover in Paris, but we were early. No problem, heck I'd even have time to change my clothes and reboot my brain that it was a new day. I passed on the airline coffee, knowing full well that I had a cappuccino in Padova with my name on it. Did I mention that it was 6am?

We land and I begin my exodus down a long hallway, some stairs and onto the moving walkway. Just follow the signs for 2F, I thought, no big deal....I've got an hour and a half. And then, I round the corner to complete and utter chaos. It looks like there might have been lines to go through customs an hour or two ago, but they were long gone now. There was no one to tell you what to do, just a few signs that made no sense in a mass crowd. My flight is before 8:20am, I should listen to that sign and head to the left, but where is left? I pause for a moment, my gut instinct to turn around and find another way ignored. What do I do? Do I push my way through the crowds of people like the obnoxious British man did to my right? Do I stand and wait? I search the crowd and everyone's face has the same expression. WTF. They're doing the same, searching the crowd for someone who might speak their language or carry the same color-coded passport to follow. (We're all lemmings in that way, aren't we?) Order was nowhere in sight, so I migrated myself to the left near a line marker and slowly got in line. Off in the distance I could read that every agent was marked "All Passports." It didn't matter what line I got in, just that I got to someone who let me past the gates and hopefully put another stamp in my passport.

As Fall begins to approach here in Seattle, I'm savoring beach moments and plotting my future escapes to warmer locales. What's your favorite beach retreat? The photo above comes from Jaco Beach in Costa Rica, a place I have been....yet.

One of my favorite memories from my recent roadtrip was our first night in Sandpoint, Idaho. We stopped at the advice of Lisa Gerber, who not only convinced us to stop but connected us with lodging and entertained us for the evening. You might not think of Idaho as being part of the Pacific Northwest, but they consider it so and after a few hours there you will too, especially after crossing the brown, sage-filled desert of Eastern Washington. We had a great time relaxing in our lakeside cabin, exploring downtown Sandpoint, heading out on the water and drinking excellent wine. Check out some of my favorite spots that I visited and ones that I'd like to check out on my next trip. Sandpoint, its friendly locals, and picturesque scenery won me over, I'll be heading back soon.