Alexuus
Dean,I live in the tourist mecca of Charleston, SC. Well, aclluaty, I live in Mount Pleasant, which is just over the Charleston Harbor from the Charleston Peninsula. So, I have both perspectives of tourism.Yes, it is nice in early fall when the tourists leave and we locals get our beach back. The locals here like to rent Harley Davidson's, so the sound can get deafening. Jimmy Buffett has a song called, When the Coast is Clear, which speaks poignantly to this point.However, there is another side to the tourists, which is they bring in money. In Charleston's case, which is a tourist attraction to a lot of wealthy snow-birds from the Northeast, they bring in a lot of money. Tourism is the number one industry in Charleston County and if the tourists stopped coming, many businesses would go under. So, as I can surely understand from one aspect, the lack of tourists in Yosemite is nice, I'll bet my paycheck that there are local hotel owners, tour-guides etc., who are hurting from it.The door swings both ways.So, what my wife and I like to do is become tourists in our own town. Of course, we're lucky enough to live in a place where people go on vacation. However, most places in the US have something different to offer. We often take historic tours, go to the beaches, take boat-rides, tour the forts etc., things that the tourists do. That way, it's like we're vacationiong, but we're not spending money on gas or hotels, and we're putting money into the local economy.Moreover, a lot of the places are close enough to ride our bikes to or even run, well except for my wife. She's not a big runner.We still take the occasional trip but when we do, we do like to take eco-friendly trips.Be a tourist in your own town. That's a really green way to be a tourist and most people have no idea what their local communities have to offer, because when most people take vacations, they typically want to go somewhere else.Have a good one. I hope to see you out on the trail.regards,Tom from SCp.s. I have to be honest. I'd never heard of you until about 2 weeks ago, when I saw a replay of your 60 minutes episode from 2004 on 60 minutes on Yahoo!. That led me to checking out your website and your book. Without sounding to sappy, I'd just like to say that your message has gotten me back into running after about a 5 year hiatus and has had a really positive impact on my life in general. Keep it up!
Alexuus Dean,I live in the tourist mecca of Charleston, SC. Well, aclluaty, I live in Mount Pleasant, which is just over the Charleston Harbor from the Charleston Peninsula. So, I have both perspectives of tourism.Yes, it is nice in early fall when the tourists leave and we locals get our beach back. The locals here like to rent Harley Davidson's, so the sound can get deafening. Jimmy Buffett has a song called, When the Coast is Clear, which speaks poignantly to this point.However, there is another side to the tourists, which is they bring in money. In Charleston's case, which is a tourist attraction to a lot of wealthy snow-birds from the Northeast, they bring in a lot of money. Tourism is the number one industry in Charleston County and if the tourists stopped coming, many businesses would go under. So, as I can surely understand from one aspect, the lack of tourists in Yosemite is nice, I'll bet my paycheck that there are local hotel owners, tour-guides etc., who are hurting from it.The door swings both ways.So, what my wife and I like to do is become tourists in our own town. Of course, we're lucky enough to live in a place where people go on vacation. However, most places in the US have something different to offer. We often take historic tours, go to the beaches, take boat-rides, tour the forts etc., things that the tourists do. That way, it's like we're vacationiong, but we're not spending money on gas or hotels, and we're putting money into the local economy.Moreover, a lot of the places are close enough to ride our bikes to or even run, well except for my wife. She's not a big runner.We still take the occasional trip but when we do, we do like to take eco-friendly trips.Be a tourist in your own town. That's a really green way to be a tourist and most people have no idea what their local communities have to offer, because when most people take vacations, they typically want to go somewhere else.Have a good one. I hope to see you out on the trail.regards,Tom from SCp.s. I have to be honest. I'd never heard of you until about 2 weeks ago, when I saw a replay of your 60 minutes episode from 2004 on 60 minutes on Yahoo!. That led me to checking out your website and your book. Without sounding to sappy, I'd just like to say that your message has gotten me back into running after about a 5 year hiatus and has had a really positive impact on my life in general. Keep it up!