I lived most of my life in San Jose, California.  San Jose is probably most famous for the Winchester Mystery House.  As my mom always called it…a tourist trap, so guess what, I never went!  I lived only 45 minutes from San Francisco and do you think I ever visited Alcatraz?  Nope!  So here I am now, almost celebrating my 3rd year of living here in beautiful Palm Springs and I started thinking about what do tourists do that come to our beautiful area.  Ah ha!  Take a ride up on the Palm Springs Tram!  So yesterday, I packed my backpack and headed for the tram, it was a beautiful 93 degrees here in Palm Springs and I heard it is 20-30 degrees cooler up on the top of the mountain.  After dishing out a measley 23.95 (or you could buy a summer pass for only $60.00) I got in line.  This was definitely a tourist attraction as most of the people around me seemed to be speaking another language!  After I finally boarded I was amazed at the beauty of traveling so high above the desert floor and literally watching the world transform around me!  After a short ride to the top the doors opened and I was immediately struck by the smell of the fresh trees.  I hiked all afternoon and yes, I did manage to hug a few trees and yes, I did feel like a tourist.  I told myself that from now on, even if my mom calls something a tourist trap, I wanted to experience it just as a tourist would!  Although, I still probably won’t go to visit the Winchester Mystery House when I am back in San Jose, it is fun to go and be a tourist in your own town, don’t wait for visitors to come, just go out and do it!

Today in your journaling think about ways you can be a tourist in your own town.  What do the tourists like to visit when they come to your neck of the woods?  Have you been a tourist lately?  What is stopping you, go out and do it…and if you get a chance  hug a few trees along the way…