Hello, Reader.

I have a question for you this week:

When did you last play tourist at home?

You know the feeling.

You're planning a trip and suddenly you're three hours deep into TripAdvisor, Viator, and every travel blog you can find (and hopefully one of those is wanderfordays.com! 😉). Ghost tours, cooking classes, food tours; you want all of it. You want to feel the place, not just see it.

So why don't we do that at home?

Seriously. When's the last time you looked at your own city (or the one closest to you) the way you look at a destination when planning your vacation?

Here's what got me thinking about this... I was actually on vacation in the Dominican Republic, searching for excursions, when my mind wandered home. I started wondering what I'd find if I searched for experiences in Indianapolis the same way I was searching for them in the DR.

Weird, I know. But that's how it happened.

So I pulled up Viator and TripAdvisor (my two favorite travel activity sites) and did a quick search. I found several self-guided tours and scavenger hunts (fun, but not what I wanted), but I also found these:

• ​Wicked Wraiths of White River: Indianapolis Ghost Tour | A candlelight ghost walking tour claiming to feature a bit of local history, stories, and just enough spooky to make it interesting.
• ​Japanese Street Food Class in Beech Grove | A hands-on, cooking class; culturally inspired and not at all what you'd expect in the Midwest.
• ​Fountain Square Food Tour | A walking tour through one of Indy's most beloved neighborhoods, with stops for local food and drinks along the way.

I haven't done any of these yet, but here's the thing: every single one of them reminded me of an experience I've already had abroad and loved. Those experiences permanently connected me to those destinations. I wonder if these would do the same at home?

​A Ghost Tour in Salem, Massachusetts​

When I used to think of Salem, of course witches and Halloween and all things spooky came immediately to mind. What I found in addition to all of that is Salem is wonderfully, unabashedly cheesy. There are witch hats in every shop window, as well as on people walking down the street. There's haunted everything you can imagine.

It leans into its reputation hard, and I say that with complete affection because that's exactly what makes Salem so charming.

Without a doubt, I had to take a ghost tour while I was there. And naturally, it had to be at night (that's when the ghosts come out, right?). Full of skepticism and a playful expectation, I was pleasantly surprised by just how special the tour ended up being.

Our guide had a gift. She'd weave in real historical details (a name, a date, a tragedy) and then layer her own theatrical spin right on top of it until you couldn't quite tell where history ended and ghost story began. By the end of the walk, our whole group was craning our necks to peer through darkened windows, half-convinced we'd catch a glimpse of a real ghost of Salem.

That's the magic of a great tour. It's not really about ghosts (or maybe it is), but it's undoubtedly about story.

​Sharing a Family Meal in Sicily, Italy​

Our first cooking class was on a trip to Sicily and that experience has influenced us in multiple ways ever since.

In Sicily, we were welcomed into a family home. Guests from around the world circled the table, and together we made dinner with our own hands.

• We stuffed and shaped arancino in the traditional cone shape reminiscent of Mount Etna.
• We stretched dough and slid a simple, perfect pizza into a wood-fired oven.
• We sipped wine, mixed and cut pasta, and rolled cannoli.

Almost a year and several trips later later, we still find ourselves comparing food we've eaten elsewhere to that meal. It became a measuring stick we didn't know at the time we were setting.

​Shopping Local Markets in San José del Cabo, Mexico​

Before an authentic Mexican food cooking class in Cabo, we met our chef at a local market. We shopped together for fresh ingredients, then headed to his home to prepare a meal together. The food was so fresh and flavorful, the experience so meaningful, that I even tried the ceviche we made, and liked it! If you know me, you understand what a significant personal milestone that is.

Both experiences had the same secret ingredient: someone opened a door. Literally and figuratively. A local let us into their world, their kitchen, their stories. And that intimacy? It flavored each meal with something even more special than the simple ingredients.

Those doors exist at home, too. We just never think to knock.

We spend so much energy chasing wonder in places far from home. But sometimes it's been waiting for us all along, right in our own backyard.

Have you ever played tourist in your own city? I'd love to hear how you did it and what you found. Hit reply and tell me about it.

Until next week, keep exploring (even close to home 🤍).

With love,

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