The things I've seen!

I said that I'd seen seven of the 101 things NOT to see before you die (I was wrong -- I've actually seen eight) and Natalie wanted to know what they were, so here you go:

1. The Winchester Mystery House

I take offense at the author's statement that it could be effectively argued that the whole of San Jose could be on the list of places not to see (GASP!), but I agree with her that the WMH isn't anything worth detouring for. I've driven past it a thousand times but only ever went in when I had a friend visiting who'd been sucked in by the billboards they have on the road back from Big Sur.

Big Sur one day, Winchester Mystery House the next. Polar opposite ends of the California tourist spectrum, you guys.

2. Your Boss's Bedroom

As previously covered, I saw it on a tour of his house. The next time I visited he wanted to change into his jammies. I suggested we go OUT for dinner instead.

3. BART

I totally agree with the author -- it makes NO SENSE to have upholstered seats on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit).

G-R-O-S-S

4. Any Place Whose Primary Claim to Fame is a Large Fiberglass Thing

FIRST OF ALL, the beginning of the book is about how ridiculous travel lists like 100 Best THIS or 100 Best THAT are because by targeting destinations on lists created by other people, you miss the whole point of travel and enjoying the journey and blah blah blah.

But LISTEN list haters (BUSTER, I'm looking at you even though I don't think you read this blog), it's not all about the large fiberglass things, but it's about picking something out of a hat, going there, and then using that journey as a reason to see a chunk of the world you'd never otherwise see.

This large fiberglass thing isn't Austin's primary claim to fame, but it's the large fiberglass thing I know I've taken a picture with:



5. The Amsterdam Sexmuseum


Yeah, not something I'd say OMG YOU HAVE TO SEE, but my homie DPi and I killed an afternoon there together:







Ha! Another large fiberglass thing!



6. Nevada

Nevada is so much more than Reno and Vegas. First of all, I happen to believe that the desert is an under-appreciated landscape. "Drive from Vegas to Reno" is on my list of things to do because the drive to and from my cousin's house somewhere in the middle between Vegas and Reno was BREATHTAKING.

Also, when people tell me to think of my happy place I immediately think about floating on my floatie thing off of Sand Harbor beach in Lake Tahoe and Sand Harbor just OMG happpppens to be on the Nevada side of the lake.

See? Nevada looks pretty awesome from here:



And from here:



And from here:



And from here:



Though admittedly, this one doesn't really help make my case for Team Nevada:



7. Black Rock City

That means Burning Man. I get it. It's not for everyone, and it's not for me anymore but there were many years of my life where it was for me and I loved it.

See also: Nevada is beautiful.



And this one is a gratuitous "OMG LOOK HOW PERFECT MY SKIN WAS WHEN I WAS 26!" shot:



(And how perm'y my hair looked! Even though it wasn't a perm! And I have no idea who that guy is.)

8. A Bikram Yoga Studio

Been there, done that. I even posted a post-Bikram-yoga shot to this very blog sometime last summer:



There's a dry spot near the bottom of my shirt so you can see what color the shirt is when the sweat isn't dripping off me.

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So there you have it. There are a few more items on this list that I would actually like to see (Wall Drug, Four Corners, Mount Rushmore and the Testicle Festival), but I think they're more indicative of my desire to travel to roadside attractions to see what else I find along the way, than of my BURNING DESIRE to be in four states AT ONCE or to see some dead presidents carved into the side of a mountain.

LET'S GO, INTERNET!!