Subject:

usa

We often preach that the guidebook is a dying genre, one targeted for mass appeal, that always points out what you expect to see, and rarely uncovers the unexpected. There are far better resources out there, one's made by locals who love the place they live enough to share it with the world. Guidebook writers are often qualified writers and qualified travelers, but they're not always qualified experts on the place that they're writing about. Travel bloggers aren't excluded from this scrutiny, myself included. Reading my take on what it was like to spend four days in Spoleto might inspire you to go there, but you're only getting one perspective, and one that I liken to staring out the window of the car on a cross country trip. Flying by, catching bits of information on your windshield and going home to process what it is you saw. What about those people who wake up every morning loving (or hating) the town they call home? That perspective is invaluable to a traveler who wants to see a place like a local.

So, we're setting out to change this. We're searching out local talent and pointing you to the best local resources. This week, we're starting close to our home and sharing our Seattle favorites. Local papers, local bloggers and photographers are all you need to get inspired and ready to travel to the Emerald City.

(Have a city you'd like to see featured or have a suggestion for this series? Drop us a note.)

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.

When I agreed to set out on a road trip from Seattle to Chicago a few months ago, I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into. I quickly assessed that my companion's definition of a road trip clashed severely with my own. They were both excited about stopping at these places called National Parks. Nature, ok, fine, I don't have a problem with it, but I couldn't help but conjure up ideas of sleeping on the ground and getting eaten alive by mosquitos. My childhood memories of scenic beach towns, cones of ice cream, and window shopping quickly dissipated. Rather than protest, I put my faith into the hands of these two nature zealots and I wasn't disappointed. The beauty of the West blew me away, from the stunning nature to the kindhearted locals, I quickly fell in love with America's West.