Dumb touristy stuff you've done

[hwinpp]

When I go to America I'm going to Vegas! And the Grand Canyon (including that U- shaped bridge with a glass floor), and Death Valley. I'll also look for one of those old gold mining towns with tumbleweed blowing through it.

And New Orleans (and I'll drag Cas to Bourbon Street too!).

[imec]

Dec 5, 2009 2:49:18 GMT hwinpp said:

(and I'll drag Cas to Bourbon Street too!).

Yeah, but try to get her to inhale some N2O...

[Deleted]

And I'll end up having to drag you both out and use up my "get out of jail free" card I've been saving up all these years. ;D ;D ;D
Come on down guys!

[cristina]

Dec 5, 2009 2:49:18 GMT hwinpp said:

When I go to America I'm going to Vegas! And the Grand Canyon (including that U- shaped bridge with a glass floor), and Death Valley. I'll also look for one of those old gold mining towns with tumbleweed blowing through it.

And New Orleans (and I'll drag Cas to Bourbon Street too!).

I can't speak for Cas, but it seems I need a reason to go to the Grand Canyon so if you make it here, I will take you. Since I have never been it will be fun to go with you.

But I will not pay to step on the glass bridge, thank you very much.

[Deleted]

You should both go up in the hot air balloon though, over the Canyon!!!

[hwinpp]

I'd actually like to ride through it. I think there's a trail at the bottom? Not so much into white water rafting though.

I'll take you up on that offer Cris.

Bourbon street and crayfish/crawfish and N2O. Cas' head will be spinning.

[bixaorellana]

Dec 4, 2009 20:37:56 GMT lola said:

I've felt a slight queasiness about the place.

Could have been motion sickness!

Speaking of queasiness, that's what I felt on the "virtual tour" of the bridge in Cristina's link. Cristina, you & I can go to the gift shop while the others risk recreating the last part of The Man Who Would Be King.

[bjd]

Bixa, you want queasy, you could also go up the CN Tower in Toronto:

I haven't been up there either, but there is a glass floor you can look down through from 342 meters up.

[Deleted]

Bixa,you would love going to the top of 'The Arch" in Saint Louis. Where's Lola,maybe she has pics of.

[lola]

Yes. Everyone come ride to the top of the Gateway Arch. Not for the claustrophobe, because of the little tram pods that I'm sure are masterpieces of engineering but that jerk as you go up, to keep you level as you ascend up the curve. The view looking up from the bottom is good, too.

I'm on my husband's Mac now, and so I'm not sure how to get a web photo that's not too big; right-clicking not an option.

[Deleted]

Thanks Lola. Going to the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis is a treat. I had to drag my then boyfriend to take me. The locals (or at least the ones I knew there)really loathe the Arch.
But,that was a long time ago. Maybe the next generation has embraced it more.
Seems no one went downtown then at all except to the Stadium for a baseball game. I do hope that has changed.

[existentialcrisis]

Personally, I can't do the glass floor thing. Afraid of heights. Actually, when I took the elevator up the CN tower I almost had to clutch onto my friend.... but the glass floor isn't all that impressive in itself. It's more interesting to watch all the people crabwalking and sprawling out and running and hopping on and off the glass floor... a fine study of human behaviour...

[bixaorellana]

I don't do anything that makes me frightened. The whole idea of being scared as entertainment is baffling to me. This does belong in this thread, too, because one is frequently urged to do this stuff when in tourist mode. I have an embarrassing memory of having to walk forever, retracing my steps atop Fort Jackson because I couldn't make myself go down the steep steps.

[imec]

Dec 8, 2009 22:35:32 GMT bixaorellana said:

The whole idea of being scared as entertainment is baffling to me.

The whole idea of being scared OF entertainment is baffling to me. People are scared of roller coasters and such, yet if you have someone stand at the entrance and count the people going on while you go to the exit and count the people coming off, the totals are remarkable similar.

[bixaorellana]

Well, tell that to all the people who wish they could make themselves get on an airplane, for instance, or who would like to accompany their kids to the snake house at the zoo. Most adults know those kind of fears are irrational, and would change them if they could.

I don't watch scary movies because I genuinely get scared -- not something I feel is a pleasurable emotion.

[existentialcrisis]

Hmm... I agree with you Bixa. However, when I was travelling across Canada, one of my goals was to go on an upsidedown rollercoaster.. to face my fears and maybe enjoy something new. Well, I didn't come across one until I was in the West Edmonton Mall. OMG... I couldn't even stand on the platform underneath the loop as the rollercoaster went around. And I have a friend who claims to have been next in line on the day someone actually died on that rollercoaster when it flew off the tracks. My decision was made, however, when I noticed the amount of people exiting the ride holding their necks in pain.

I am wary now in my *ahem* old age of the people that are in charge of putting these rides together and maintaining them for safety. At the Calgary Stampede this past summer I was on one of those high swing rides, and all I could think was... "If the guy who built this ride was incompetent, I could just fly right off my hinges ..." Not a good feeling.

[bixaorellana]

Ha ha, Existentia ~~ that reminded me of the well-known quote by astronaut Alan Shepard: "It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract."

I have trouble looking when rollercoaster rides are shown in movies! More power to people if they enjoy that sort of thing -- so many do. But it's sure not a temptation for me!

[lola]

I took my girls on a ferris wheel when they were maybe 5 and 7, hoping they weren't too young. Guess which of the three was very glad when it was over, and spent much of the time looking at the bolts and wondering how much those carny guys get paid/hour?

Casimira, Downtown St. Louis has taken some nice turns. There's the City Museum (not at all a museum), lots of clubs on Washington, many loft residences that I hope there are enough takers on, and even a new Schnucks supermarket at Olive and 7th. The main library is still a gem. Unfortunately, the suburbanite still takes her shopping dollar to the malls.

[lagatta]

Those things nauseate me - I have a fair dose of motion sickness and can't for example read on intercity buses (boredom) so I have no desire to er...

Shepard's comment is even more sobering in light of the World Trade Centre killings, as security screening was assured by minimum-wage temp workers at Boston Airport; the sub-contractor must have been a low bidder indeed.

I think whether one likes "thrills" might be related to whether one likes theme parks (though I know there is other stuff at theme parks). It is simply a matter of taste, and I don't think it should be put down either way.

I have musician friends who really enjoyed a visit to Dollywood as they were exploring the Great Smoky Mountains and the other Tennessee music meccas (Nashville and Memphis). As well as rides it features craftspersons and musicians of the region, and some unabashed carny tackiness that is good fun. It has also created some much-needed jobs in that poor region.

Of course that is a "dry" county, so the friends had to make sure they had adequate "supplies" in their car.

[Deleted]

I think they are building too many transparent platforms everywhere so that people can walk over "nothing."

[amboseli]

I climbed the 538 steps to the top of St. Romboutstoren in Mechelen earlier this week. Maybe not very 'dumb' touristy stuff 'cause it's pretty interesting to see the giant clockwork and read about its history and the way everything works. The downside, however, is that the day(s) after I could hardly walk because of aching muscles that apparently I don't use enough. Ouch!