The Local Tourist

The Local Tourist Author. Speaker. Storyteller. Lover of travel, road trips, Chicago, & the great outdoors.

The Local Tourist digs deep into destinations, exploring culture, history, food and drink, and the great outdoors.

Cozy Girls Collective 💐✨ saw me coming a bookshelf away! Awesome event at Crystal Lake Brewing , and I even bought my FI...
15/08/2026

Cozy Girls Collective 💐✨ saw me coming a bookshelf away! Awesome event at Crystal Lake Brewing , and I even bought my FIRST romance book! Check the title and you'll see why I had to have this book from Stephanie Jayne / Stephanie J. Scott

Cotswolds.Sigh.
23/05/2026

Cotswolds.

Sigh.

When Jim asked the concierge at our hotel for a recommendation for a haberdashery, we had no idea what magic we'd experi...
08/05/2026

When Jim asked the concierge at our hotel for a recommendation for a haberdashery, we had no idea what magic we'd experience.

He spoke highly of Lock & Co. Hatters, mentioning that it's over three centuries old and was a hat maker for Winston Churchill. Imagine our surprise when we walked in and we recognized the gentleman who greeted us.

We've been watching The Repair Shop for years and we love any time Jayesh has an appearance. His care with the hats that are entrusted to him is obvious. He's dedicated to preserving an object's history and its emotional resonance. These are more than just objects. They're memories.

We had an inexpressibly delightful time as he spent over an hour with us. Jim came in to look at flat caps and we left with memories ourselves.

And this birthday girl left with her own very special present! Thank you Jay, it was an absolute pleasure to spend time with you today.

We had already planned to visit the Weald and Downland Living Museum, which is where The Repair Shop is filmed, and now it'll be even more special.

Looking for romantic getaways in Wisconsin? I rounded up seven destinations I’ve personally visited, from lakeside resor...
08/04/2026

Looking for romantic getaways in Wisconsin? I rounded up seven destinations I’ve personally visited, from lakeside resorts and charming small towns to a hidden Northwoods retreat where the fireflies do the entertaining.

Featured:
Lake Lawn Resort
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Visit Sheboygan
Canoe Bay (pictured here)
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Destination Door County
Madison
Travel Wisconsin

https://thelocaltourist.com/romantic-getaways-in-wisconsin/

Fun fact: the father of the man who brought Chicago the Auditorium was brought to Chicago by Captain John Naper, the fou...
23/02/2026

Fun fact: the father of the man who brought Chicago the Auditorium was brought to Chicago by Captain John Naper, the founder of Naperville:

Ferdinand’s dad was a Chicagoan before there was a Chicago. His father, Philip Ferdinand Wheeler Peck, arrived in 1831 from New York aboard a schooner named Telegraph. The Captain of the ship was none other than John Naper, the same John Naper that would move west and start his own settlement, which would become known as Naperville.

Read more about Ferdinand Peck, one of Chicago’s unsung cultural heroes!
://chicagolandmarks.substack.com/p/auditorium-building

21/02/2026

It's a wrap on Day 1 of the . What an AMAZING day!

21/02/2026

Come see me at the Travel and Adventure Show this weekend at the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. We've got candy!

06/11/2025

O. M. G. This is amazing. I sent three paragraphs and he created audio - using a real person's voice - with in five minutes. On his phone!

Readers have been asking me for audiobooks for ages and now I can give them what they want! And yes it's powered by AI, but the voice actors get paid, and I can clone my own voice (which I will do).

The Monadnock Block is one of Chicago’s architectural darlings. To the casual observer, this block may not seem revoluti...
14/10/2025

The Monadnock Block is one of Chicago’s architectural darlings. To the casual observer, this block may not seem revolutionary, but it’s a two-in-one time capsule of trailblazing construction techniques and evolving aesthetics.

Discover why it's actually four buildings in one, and why Peter Brooks refused to have any ornamentation on its exterior.

https://chicagolandmarks.substack.com/p/monadnock-block

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