| Most Americans are very accustomed to hopping in | | | | and Sacramento being a very bicycle friendly |
| the family car and taking a day trip or a weekend | | | | community, we're rethinking the resources in our |
| vacation to some nearby landmark. There's | | | | home town. |
| something about getting in the car and going that | | | | By leaving the car home and finding alternative |
| makes us feel we've had a mini-vacation! | | | | transportation - maybe rent a moped for a day or |
| Not surprisingly, many people are more familiar with | | | | dare to rollerblade the city streets - you can create |
| recreational and cultural offerings 90 minutes away | | | | an experience that makes a trip around your |
| from where they own their homes than they are | | | | hometown seem more like a the mini-vacation you |
| with similar resources in their own backyard. Again, | | | | need. |
| not surprisingly, gas prices are causing millions of | | | | For people across the county the Internet has made |
| families to reconsider the distances they travel from | | | | it easy to really dig into the opportunities and |
| home for leisure and recreation. | | | | attractions where they live. From the comfort of |
| This trend could be an excellent change for | | | | your home office you can search city government |
| communities and home owners. Most cities of any | | | | websites, chambers of commerce and local tourist |
| size have tourist attractions that bring people from | | | | bureaus. There are interactive sites that provide |
| afar. However, locals may be never visit these sites | | | | video of local attractions, reviews from travelers, |
| unless they are entertaining out of town guests. | | | | complete listings of local festivals and cultural activities |
| For example, this writer lives about an hour away | | | | that can save you time and money while opening |
| from the Bay Area and San Francisco, the luscious | | | | new doors to your local community. |
| and world famous City by the Bay. It's been easy to | | | | As the optimists say, with each new challenge comes |
| dash off for a weekend to visit museums, people | | | | opportunity. Perhaps rising gas prices can make us all |
| watch, dine out and take our out-of-state visitors | | | | more connected to where we live. All it takes is a |
| there. At the same time, we live in California's capital | | | | change in perspective. Think of yourself as an |
| city. | | | | out-of-town visitor and map out a day of exploration. |
| People come to Sacramento to gaze upon a very | | | | To make it even more unusual and out of routine, |
| beautiful capitol building, visit many historic sites and | | | | see if you can take public transit or ride a bicycle. |
| enjoy specialized museums. I have to admit there are | | | | Take advantage of the adversity at the gas pump |
| many of these tourist destinations I've not seen. | | | | to discover the delights of your home town. |
| Now, with the cost of gas causing pain at the pump | | | | |