I enjoy a variety of tours while on vacation. A few of my favorites are hop on, hop off tours, which are offered in many larger cities. They are buses that travel a specific loop with several items of interest on the way. Riders can hop on and travel until the bus stops at a site that interests them. When they are done, they hop back on and do it again until they have seen all of the sites on the route.
My boyfriend introduced me to the hop on hop off tour when we visited New Zealand several years ago, as his brother lives there.
My first experience in the United States was in Savannah, Georgia. Savannah has been on my bucket list since I was a kid and read Gone with the Wind.
Another place on my bucket list was Bonaventure Cemetery, which began in 1846. While not a tour, I thought it was worth a mention. I love old cemeteries in general and this one was beautiful. Bonaventure was designed as a traditional Victorian cemetery, according to the website. It looks like a park and families would picnic there and spend time with loved ones who had passed.
We visited in February when the roses were in full bloom. It felt peaceful, with the rows of huge, old trees dripping with Spanish Moss and rose shrubs draped over century old gravestones. I spent several hours wandering the rows and taking photos on a hot, humid day while my patient boyfriend napped in the car.
I would have loved to do a tour, but it didn’t work out. However, several of my friends went later after I told them how much I enjoyed it.
I told my boyfriend I’d like to spend a night on Tybee Island. He obliged and set up a reservation…on Hilton Head Island! We decided to keep it and visit both. Hilton Head was beautiful. We got up and watched the sunrise over the ocean as dolphins frolicked off shore. We walked the beach at dawn and I found several sand dollars as well as a horseshoe crab. Once again, the food was amazing.
We also signed up for several tours in Chicago in the last few years.
I loved the river architecture tour. It was a very laid back tour as we slowly wind along the Chicago River. The guide pointed out different styles of architecture
as well as interesting trivia.
Another Chicago tour that we were both impressed with was a mob tour. I expected the usual bus full of people and a tour guide talking about the history. Nope. This one was led by an actual mobster from the 1970s era. My boyfriend booked it, so I had no idea until we arrived downtown and the guide was leaning against a wall, waiting for us. He looked the part and I was nervous to get into his car, but I was too fascinated not to. That tour was the highlight of the year. He gave first hand accounts of mob life, his father and later arrest.
He pointed out where he grew up, the meeting place of the mob members at the time and several other points of interest. I don’t watch mob style movies, so it was all new to me.
The tour guide was also Italian, so of course the tour ended with my boyfriend asking for restaurant recommendations in the area. It was also impressive.
Jamie Lund is the editor of the Moose Lake Star Gazette. She can be contacted at [email protected] or by calling (218) 485-4406
