|
Redwoods. Redwoods are fine, but a climax redwood forest is incredibly boring. One big tree after another, no variety. Yes, they're big. So?
San Francisco: I moved to the "big city" for a number of years, and was surprised to find that it basically shuts down after 10 pm, except for drinking and such and maybe a late movie. Any really metropolitan city has at least one good 24-hour bookstore.
Death Valley. I am a city boy, and I had _no idea_ how many stars you can see at night in the clear desert sky. And how completely inhospitable a piece of land can be.
The Seattle Monorail. I grew up hearing about the "futuristic" Seattle Monorail. It's just this dinky train that travels on a _concrete_ track. You feel every bump and crack in the concrete. Feels more like a school bus than the future. And the Space Needle is basically the rooftop bar and observation deck of a high rise, without the high rise. Just not that impressive to look at or go up.
The Hollywood "Walk of Fame." As others have said, mainly a skid row with good PR.
Haven't traveled much, but one thing that surprised me about Thailand was how easy it was to get a _really good pizza._
Boston -- it's just like San Francisco, if San Francisco was established 200 years earlier and built by a different contractor using different materials.
New Orleans -- See Boston.
The Golden Gate Bridge -- I never appreciated it until it became part of my daily commute. Then I loved it. Not the bridge, but the incomparable views that never get old, that in fact look different day by day and hour by hour.
The Harrier Jump Jet -- nobody told me how bloody _loud_ those things are when they hover.
The Sonora Desert. Those saguaro cactus really are spooky, especially at dawn or dusk.
Big Bend National Monument. Looks like the surface of Mars in a medium-budget '60s sci-fi movie -- big weird spiky plants, jagged mountains rising from the sand, unexpected hot springs.
|