
Trying something new with Github. Help make my US holiday awesome? - xzyfer
https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist
======
xzyfer
Wow the response has been way beyond my expectations. 13 issues in less than
an hour :) too cool.

FWIW this isn't about being lazy. The intention was to tap into the minds of
like minded locals, and past travellers for hidden gems. Anyone who's
travelled to Melbourne, Australia (my home town) knows that that is the only
way to experience Melbourne.

My hope is that this will reach some demi-viral state and be forever
remembered in Google for anyone else wanting to experience SF the way I do.

------
mehulkar
I live in the city and I will be following this to get suggestions for what
_I_ should do too :)

------
beatpanda
A really great way to see a place like a local is to use Couchsurfing(.org)
for your accommodations - more often than not your host also ends up being a
tour guide.

(Disclosure: I work at Couchsurfing, but I was a very satisfied user before I
was an employee.)

------
shalmanese
Hey, fellow Aussie here.

Swing by our offices in the Mission and I can show you around the area. Email
is in my profile.

~~~
xzyfer
Don't mind if I do :) [https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-
checklist/commit/7ca2239...](https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-
checklist/commit/7ca2239f3387aa2f63e30894a2c60fb8b072fdcb)

------
astar
A list on Github (or anywhere else) is an inefficient format for this...why
not a google spreadsheet that anyone can edit, so that you can sort by city,
category, cost, etc?

~~~
xzyfer
I felt like that would be mayhem to manage, and curate. I'm trying to curate a
list of unique, individual experiences.

------
xzyfer
Had a power nap, and now I'm back. Your feedback has been awesome

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ruswick
This sort of seems like a misuse of Github. Github is a place where
individuals or organizations can store an actual product and the community can
interact with and contribute to said product. It's not a place where one
should solicit life advice or ask the community to perform trivial tasks
unrelated to development or an actual product of any sort.

It's not that asking for this kind of thing is necessarily bad, but I think
that it's inappropriate for Github. Quora or maybe HN itself would be a better
forum on which to ask for suggestions about travel to the US.

~~~
icambron
Why? I don't see any reason that Github has to be that just because that's how
most people use it. I find this particular project a bit silly, but there's
nothing wrong with it as a use of Github.

------
richo
Pull request sent.

~~~
xzyfer
Haha I should have guessed!

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wting
Without knowing you personally, it's hard to suggest things to do. I would
suggest you check out wikitravel.org. I found it a great guide when I was
backpacking through Europe.

<http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Francisco>

Edit: Switched to wikivoyage due to comments below.

~~~
mratzloff
Please, avoid Wikitravel. Use Wikivoyage instead.

<http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Francisco>

For more information, see
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikitravel#Community_fork_in_20...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikitravel#Community_fork_in_2012)

~~~
xzyfer
This was interesting. Thanks.

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josscrowcroft
Wow, this is super relevant. I'm traveling to SF for a couple weeks next month
and will watch out in case any advice pops up!

My advice, though: offer something in return for the best advice. I dunno
what, maybe free lunch. That'd be an interesting activity in itself.

~~~
xzyfer
I like your idea though. Lunch is on me! [https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-
checklist/commit/c09178e...](https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-
checklist/commit/c09178e6e25c038c1c6951976a34645b4ad79206)

------
mratzloff
I'm feeling pretty lazy this morning, too... certainly too lazy to fork a
repo, clone it, edit a file and save, commit and push, and create a pull
request just to give you some travel advice.

Try starting a Reddit thread instead. :-)

~~~
ma2rten
Github as a GUI which lets you edit text files in the browser.

~~~
xzyfer
I've been managing the whole thing via the UI. It's been great

------
smiler
I think crowd sourcing should be for gaining knowledge you don't have
yourself. It should not be a replacement for being lazy - you can google tour
dates for all those bands and comedians yourself - you don't need others to do
that for you.

And also, you might want to spell San Francisco correctly :)

~~~
sophacles
I got the impression that it wasn't about seeing those specific artists, so
much as "these are bands I like, any similar music in the area in that time
frame?"

Yes, there may be a certain amount of laziness to it, but there is also
something else. When I travel, I have a tendency to leave a lot of gaps in my
plan, and just go find locals at the watering hole or whatever, and flat out
ask: "hey I'm visiting the area, whats neat to do around here" and usuall get
great ideas from people. They know the good stuff locally, they know the stuff
that is overhyped, and so on. I see this experiment as an extension of that.

~~~
xzyfer
Correct :) Discovering new music is awesome. Plus someone put me onto
Songkick. Awesome discovery

------
jeremymcanally
Thinking of "non-touristy" things for a tourist to do is difficult, especially
one from a similar western country like Australia. I'm pretty sure they have
bars, restaurants, etc. in Australia. I guess a HN'er would enjoy hitting up
user groups and what not.

But in reality, all the stuff that makes America "America" is considered
touristy. Heck, half the stuff he lists is something I'd consider touristy.

In any event, I think a grand tour in America from any other country and not
visiting a Disney park is just Plain Wrong™. :) Then again, it might be too
"touristy."

~~~
sophacles
Well theres "touristy", the theres "touristy". Last summer I went with a
friend to visit southern Utah. We did a day in Zion National Park. It was cool
and utterly beautiful. Then, because she knew the area and had friends there,
we went off into the actual wilderness of the Grand Staircase. We hit some
real back woods areas, explored canyons and hiked a lot of crazy places. We
rarely saw evidence of other people, let alone actual people. I think in the 3
days we were out in the back country we only saw 2 other people and that was
close to (what passes for) a road. When we went back through Zion on the way
home, I actually experience civilization shock - there were like 20 people
visible at once, and other cars!

They were both great experiences but I value the latter far more for a couple
reasons:

* I would never have been able to find it, known how to do that exploration, and been too timid to do it without local knowledge.

*It was an adventure rather than a curated experience. The park is great, but I never felt like I was seeing reality. Like going to Epcot vs going to actual places.

It was still a totally touristy experience. The locals thought I was cute for
wanting to go wander in the desert to see places I had to walk for a long way
to get to, without knowing anything about the desert. I was still just there
to see the sights. Yet different - they all were really eager to tell me about
their favorite spots off the beaten path.

I guess what I'm saying is that I tend to interpret, and mean, touristy as
"not really worth the effort, it's too curated and sanitized and expensive.
It's designed to Disneyify some approximation of local experience and does so
poorly".

Similarly when I talk to people visiting my hometown of Chicago, I always
recommend the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Art institute.
"touristy" yeah, but also the stuff I would do once or twice a year when I
lived there, and I still try to do it every couple of years when I'm visiting
the family.

------
antoncohen
My theory on visiting a city is to do/see things that are unique to the city,
but are not tourist traps, and to experience local flavor. I don't want to do
a pull request because I don't want to do one pull request per item, which I
would have to do so you can pick and choose what interests you.

 _Things to do:_

\- Go to a Giants baseball game. Sit in the _Bleachers_. Even if you aren't
that interested in sports, it's a worthwhile experience. If you are working
for a startup you are probably in SOMA/South Beach, so the baseball park in
near by. Get tickets on <http://www.stubhub.com/> they are dirt cheap ($5-15).
Remember, sit in the bleachers. Drink Lagunitas IPA while you are there. And
eat garlic fries and hot dogs.

\- Go to the Castro, and go to a bar there. It's a nice neighborhood, not very
touristy, and quite unique to SF.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castro,_San_Francisco>

\- Eat Mexican food from a run-down looking taqueria. I think the best one
outside the Mission (in SOMA-ish) is Taqueria Cancun. I recommend trying an Al
Pastor Super Burrito. And then the next time get some tacos.

\- For fancy Mexican food + Tequila check out Tres, probably closer to where
you will be working than Tommy's. <http://tressf.com/>

\- You like drinking early on Sunday? Try brunch with bottomless mimosas. Lots
of places have them. Ironside has an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet and
bottomless mimosas. Farmerbrown has an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet, no
bottomless mimosas, but they will happily serve you cocktails (I think the
mimosas come in pitchers).

\- Eat at a food truck (Korean tacos are yummy!).
<http://roaminghunger.com/sf> <http://offthegridsf.com/>

\- Hmm, pizza. It depends on the type of Pizza you like. Tony's Pizza
Napoletana is probably the best traditional Italian pizza. If you've never
tried a deep dish pizza you should give Patxi's or Little Star a try. Other
than that, whatever pizza place is open near you when the club/bar closes at
2am is probably where you will go, which might be DNA Pizza, but I'd cross the
street and go to Crepes A Go Go. Or maybe I'd get a bacon wrapped hot dog from
a push cart, mmm, with peppers and onions.

\- American beer doesn't suck, you wouldn't want us judging your beer by
Foster's, so don't judge our beer by Budweiser! For brew pubs in SOMA check
out 21st Amendment Brewery and ThirstyBear. If you are at a bar, find out what
beer is local and order it, it will be way better than the big name beers.

\- Drink cocktails at Bourbon & Branch (need to make reservations well in
advance).

\- Take a tour/tasting of Hanger One Vodka (really good vodka).
<http://www.hangarone.com/>

\- No need to see big name comedians, just watch local comedians at any comedy
club. <http://www.yelp.com/c/sf/comedyclubs>

\- Alcatraz is actually interesting if you like historial things, even though
it is a tourist destination.

\- Use Yelp to find places. <http://www.yelp.com/>

\- Use Meetup to find meetups. <http://www.meetup.com/>

(Damn, you are going to be very drunk and full after completing my list.)

 _Things to avoid:_

\- Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf should be avoided, they are just tourist
traps. If you get stuck there, the Sea Lions and Musée Mécanique (Penny
Arcade) are the best things there.

\- People in San Francisco don't eat bread bowls, and neither should you.

\- Cable cars are pure tourist.

~~~
pvnick
I personally love the bread bowl. Locals may not eat them, but the Boudin
Bakery at the Fisherman's Wharf has the best sourdough bread I've ever had in
my life and their bread bowl with clam chowder is something that everyone
should try at least once!

~~~
antoncohen
Boudin's bread is decent, but not great, the soup is mediocre. There are lots
of Boudin cafes around, most of them are much more conveniently located than
Fisherman's Wharf. They even have them in Southern California, including
Disneyland which is 400 miles from San Francisco.

As for bread, my favorite is Acme Bread. They have a retail location at the
Ferry Building. If you are going to the Ferry Building you might as well go on
Saturday for the big farmer's market, which is the most touristy of the
farmer's markets in SF, but the stuff there is still really good.

I had a cousin visit me from England, and he had to get a bread bowl, he
thought that's what we ate here. The reality is the burritos are much more San
Francisco than bread bowls. The Mission style burrito was popularized here,
and has come to be what a lot of people around the world think of as burritos.
And people all over Northern California eat them on a regular basis.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_burrito>

If someone wants a bread bowl they should certainly get one. I just think it's
sad that people visiting San Francisco feel their experience won't be complete
without a bread bowl. There is so much great food in San Francisco, so many
things that make this city special, bread bowls are just not one of them.

