Just for fun

[NWBasser]

What are the fun things to do for recreation in your area of the world?

Here in Washington we have loads of outdoor activities like skiing, mt. biking, Mt. climbing, kayaking, scuba diving, etc.

Cultural attractions include the Boeing Museum of Flight, the Experience Music Project (rock museum), Seattle Art Museum, Woodland Park Zoo, the iconic Space Needle, and a number of wineries and microbreweries.

For food, Pacific salmon:hungry seems to be the big dish for our area. Oysters, clams, and such are quite popular here as well.

[Spudman]

We have lots of vertical in eastern Idaho. So that means climbing, cycling, skiing, hang gliding, dirt biking, hiking, backpacking, fishing in the Snake River and a whole bunch of other things only limited by your imagination. Just forget about culture though. We don't have any of that.

[Eric]

Philadelphia's current thing right now seems to be restaurants -- lots of really cool restaurants. Philly's also an awesome beer town IMO, with many great breweries like Troegs, Victory, Dogfish Head, Stoudts, Yards, and Flying Fish all within pretty easy driving distance, which means plenty of distribution.

There are the usual big-city pursuits like the orchestra and theater if you're into that. There are also a few museums here and there, including the big art museum that's semi-famous (with the Rocky steps). Mountain biking is pretty big here considering how urban it is, which might be due to the relatively large parks system. It's also a HUGE sports town. I feel like that last one goes without saying, but you never know.

I'm probably leaving out some stuff, but those are the first things that come to mind.

Update: To my earlier point, I found out last night that beer week (http://www.phillybeerweek.org/) starts today. Yay me!

[Katastrophe]

We've got two good sized lakes nearby... Our close proximity (40 miles) to Houston means that we're not too terribly far away from the arts, museums, professional sports teams, and plenty of good restaurants. It was 100 degrees fahrenheit today, so not much going on in the way of outdoor sports away from the lake.

Inside the incorporated city limits of my town? Outside of one big festival in the fall, and a few mom 'n pop restaurants, not much. Community theater, and a venue for music that occaisionally gets a good country artist in. We've got more chain restaurants than you can shake a stick at, though.

As far as food goes, in this area of the world there is a good mix of just about anything... Houston has a very diverse population, so it's easy to find what you're looking for. Us Texas don't much care about what we eat, as long as something on the plate is: 1) deep fried 2) barbecued or 3) Tex-Mex (lol).

[deeaa]

Well...it's surprisingly hard to come up with what's in your own town to see. Most of it is stuff I would not be interested in, like the Russian Orthodox Museum or some 16th century farm museum. Things I would take a tourist to see and experience are:

- Puijo Tower just to see an overview of our small town and have a cup of coffee - just a klick or so from my house
http://img.mtv3.fi/mn_kuvat/mtv3/matkailu/kotimaa/savo/70399.jpg
http://yle.fi/ecepic/archive/00103/l__kelaitos-kuopio_103734b.jpg
- The harbour and take a short tour on a steamship and have a few beers
http://w3.kuopio.fi/images.nsf/Imgs/200808135404477/$File/laivoja_satamassa.jpg?OpenElement

Although I'd rather take my own boat and ride a longer trip to our cottage...

Other than those...I suppose the market-place is rather famous here with some special local foods...there's loads of sporting options, pretty much any sport is available of course from skiing to XC skiing and skijumping to lake activities from cayaking to jetskis etc....there's a couple of famous party bars and a rock festival plus a wine festival and dance festival and stuff like that...but, I don't think we have any great museums or anything especially old or awesome here...just a small town (circa 100k), lots of stuff to do but probably nothing especially particular. Very varying landscape with steep hills and loads of lakes, great nature nearby.

[NWBasser]

and it's also a HUGE sports town. I feel like that last one goes without saying, but you never know.



I forgot about sports! Although there are a lot of rabid Seahawks fans here, Seattle is the worst city in the nation for pro sports according to Forbes magazine. :-(

No NBA, NHL, and terrible NFL and MLB teams.

About the only real bright spots are the Storm women's basketball team and the Sounders FC soccer team.

[NWBasser]

Very varying landscape with steep hills and loads of lakes, great nature nearby.

Dee, great nature indeed!

That place looks spectacular!

[Tig]

We have the usual theaters, art museums, etc., plus a very competitive restaurant scene. The Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston (http://www.spacecenter.org/) are the most unique places to visit.
IMAX movies, real spacecraft displays, games, and a tour of NASA are among the fun activities.
http://www.spacecenter.org/images/LargeScreen.jpghttp://www.spacecenter.org/images/ApolloCapsule.jpg
http://www.spacecenter.org/images/ShuttleMockup.jpghttp://www.spacecenter.org/images/KidsSpacePlace.jpg

Nearby is the Kemah Boardwalk which hosts 10 waterfront restaurants, 14 rides, boat rides, and weekly outdoor bands and fireworks.
http://www.kemahboardwalk.com/images/content/visitor-info/photo-of-kemah-boardwalk.png
http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/users/images/BeastKemahBoardwalk3.jpghttp://houston.culturemap.com/site_media/uploads/photos/2011-04-29/rock_the_dock_pic1.350w_263h.jpghttp://www.mykemahboardwalk.com/wp-content/uploads/14_6_orig.jpg

There's also hundreds of square miles of bay sailing and fishing.
http://www.xxtraentertainment.com/fishing%20lady.jpghttp://www.visitbayareahouston.com/pageimages/w_sailing_galveston_bay.jpg

[sunvalleylaw]

Combo of NWBasser's and Spud's. We, in the Sun Valley area, get lots of coastal influence for food and etc., and people even scuba! Our river stuff is more Salmon River oriented (rafting) or Wood River or Silver Creek (fly fishing) than Snake, though some folks go down that way. Substitute paragliding and speed wings for hang gliding. Otherwise, activities are similar. Add a lot of XC skiing in this area.

We get lots of music here, have a great summer symphony that is pretty much free, and some local theatre, etc. that gets pumped up a little bit by coastal connections. Trout is as popular here with some as Salmon, but either is pretty much available fresh in most restaurants. Beef and cowboy culture, and lamb/sheepherding culture plays a role. Ketchum was a big sheep area after mining closed down and before skiing. Still is.

[Tig]

Galveston has miles of beaches, some require a parking fee, but I choose the West end for the free drive-on beaches that are much quieter.
http://thequarterbag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/GalvestonBeachSunset.jpg

They also have Moody Gardens (http://www.moodygardens.com/) and the Lone Star Flight Museum.
http://www.studioredarchitects.com/theme/images/portfolio/moody-gardens/moody%20gardens%20Studio%20RED%20arial%202.jpg
http://www.jefflewis.net/graphics/galveston_&_caverns/DSC00055-Moody_Gardens_Aquarium.jpg

http://www.cityprofile.com/forum/attachments/texas/15770-galveston-lone-star-flight-museum.jpghttp://www.cvent.com/en/destination-guide/galveston/images/lone-star-flight-museum-lg.jpg

[Tig]

And of course, there's sports!
http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/347035/reliant.jpghttp://houston.astros.mlb.com/hou/images/ballpark/index/mmp_480x200.jpg
http://www.visithoustontexas.com/meetings/properties_and_facilities/images/content/toyota_center.jpg
http://www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Houston+Dynamo+v+New+York+Red+Bulls+FEL5QE30IR8l.j pg

[Eric]

And of course, there's sports!
Just out of curiosity, how big are sports in Houston? I thought people were pretty into sports where I grew up in MN, but out here it's another level entirely -- many people are irrationally attached to the teams.

That being said, there's definitely a hierarchy of sports. As you might figure, the most successful teams are the most popular, but some have a specific role. For instance, no matter how good the Flyers are, they will always be the forgotten sport. Their fans are as committed as they come, but it's definitely a cult following, given the city size.

Just curious about the sports dynamics in other cities, I guess.

[Tig]

Just out of curiosity, how big are sports in Houston?
Just curious about the sports dynamics in other cities, I guess.

I'd call it a mix. There are the core die hard fans, and a big chunk of sunny day fans. The Texans NFL team has its ups and downs, yet they now sell out every game. Almost the same with the Rockets NBA. Even more surprising is the Dynamos soccer team. They have gotten so popular, a new stadium is currently being built, all without tax payer money.

The Astros are getting mostly diehard fans and the not so seat filling families looking for a relatively cheap event. The Aeros are in the hockey finals (the lesser league just below the NHL) this year and have been filling most of the seats during the regular season.

East Coast teams have some serious fans like the Redskins, even when they suck. I've heard that season tickets are still major items in divorce settlements and wills.

[Eric]

East Coast teams have some serious fans like the Redskins, even when they suck. I've heard that season tickets are still major items in divorce settlements and wills.
Crazy. I thought that sort of stuff only happened in Packer-land.

For the record, if all teams out here were equally successful, the biggest team would be the Eagles in a landslide. They are the team that the non-sports-fan will follow.