There she goes... Places that I plan to visit, and some that I already have (because collections).
Guerneville
Berkeley
San Francisco
Nevada City
I stayed here for one weekend in the summer of 2018. I was terrified by what turned out to be the camp host but I thought for nearly an hour was a drunken murderer trying to discover and kill me in my tent. I'm not sure I've ever been more afraid in my life. It was otherwise a very charming campground that is right next door to the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. I got a guided tour and learned all about why full size trains would ever go on such a narrow gauge rail: it's for the tight turns bringing timber down from the mountains.
There are glamping tents and room for trailers and RVs. There is a pool and a central big house for cooking and watching movies if that's a thing you'd like to do with your time in the woods. The showers are really quite nice, like, nicer than my shower at home, and the supply shop when you check in is super handy in case you forget wine or cookies or Advil, etc. I was annoyed by the sound of chainsaws all day long, and it's right off the freeway (like right off meaning you can hear cars and trucks almost constantly), and the aforementioned surprise camp host inspection in the dark of night when I was vulnerable in my pajamas inside a sleeping bag inside a tent—THAT wasn't my favorite. But, perhaps it is those chainsaws that prevented Nevada City from burning to the ground like so much of the rest of Northern California the past few years, and it is easy to get to, and I appreciate the safety provided by the assertive camp host...
Overall, I would have loved it more if it were geared toward adults. It's really a cute and nice place with lots of details taken care of and considered, but it is definitely a place for families with children, which is fine, it's just not my scene.
Calistoga
Many friends have been here, but I have not. It seems magical, so I want to go to there.
Healdsburg
You might not think a small museum in a small town would be a particular focus, but in the basement, there are archives, and if you're looking for something particular from 100 years ago... they might actually have it. They had a bunch of stuff that I wanted to find, and the people we very friendly and helpful.
By the way, Healdsburg itself is kind of nice... (it's really, really nice. You should visit there.)
San Jose
Home to the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts on exhibit in western North America.
Need I say more?
Sacramento
At the State Capitol, the past, present and future of California interact with equal force. The building serves as both a museum and the state’s working seat of government. Visitors to the Capitol can at once experience California’s rich history and witness the making of history through the modern lawmaking process.
New York City
The world's favourite spy museum & experience
Looking for a memorable way to spend time with friends and family? Only SPYSCAPE brings you face to face with the world of secret intelligence, and lets you discover your inner spy. Who among your friends is the hacker? Who’s the spycatcher?
Okay, so this place... couple things. It's in New York, so I'm not sure what they're doing with the British spelling of "favorite" except that I know they had British hacktivist Jake Davis on team as a consultant for the design of many of the interactive elements, but he'll never see his handywork...
Also, kind of a bold claim. The International Spy Museum has existed since 2002 in Washington, D.C. and is pretty beloved, pretty amazing, has a great podcast and has been laboring over a massive expansion to a new site for the past couple years and I expect it will be amazing.
Still, it's a spy museum. I want to visit.
Washington, D.C.
It is the only public museum in the United States solely dedicated to espionage and the only one in the world to provide a global perspective on an all-but-invisible profession that has shaped history and continues to have a significant impact on world events.
I WENT!
It was great. I could have spent all day. Through their podcast, Spycast, I've learned about the intelligence community, history, espionage, COINTELPRO, HUMINT, SIGINT, OSINT, IMINT, MASINT, kompromat, dezinformatsiya, clandestine operations, active measures, agents provocateurs, honey traps, dead drops, brush passes, and fancy and cozy bears.
Very excited about the new facility at L'Enfant Plaza... whenever it opens :)
