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If you could visit anywhere you want this year, where would it be? With travel restrictions and quarantining mandates, this may seem like a hypothetical question, but the U.S. Travel Association suggests you give it some thought because today is National Plan for Vacation Day.
Yes, it's another one of those silly holidays made up to draw attention but the USTA is promoting this day on your behalf. Americans regularly leave 33% of their paid vacation time unused. We must be crazy because a number of studies (not done by the USTA) have shown that taking time away from work has physical and psychological health benefits. Almost all respondents in a related survey said that having a trip planned makes them happier. Who doesn't want to be happier?
So back to my original question -- where would you go? Start with someplace grand -- like Perth, Australia -- and go straight to YouTube. Never has it been easier to research a destination and YouTube videos will take you there. Looking for museums? Take a virtual tour of the National Museum of Australia or the Museum Boola Bardip. Want to see some of the countryside? Choose a video of a walking tour, kayaking adventure, or bus trip. But don't stop there. The Louvre Museum in Paris, the San Diego Zoo, The Great Wall of China, Legoland and the International Space Station are just a few of the results you can find by Googling "free virtual tours." Some videos are only a few minutes long but are enough to give you an idea of your dream destination.
Exotic locations aren't the only locations getting into presenting virtual tours. The Palmer Museum of Art in State College is not open at this time, but you can find virtual tours of their exhibits online. The National Parks Service has 13 videos related to the Johnstown Flood National Museum on their website, nps.gov, and videos of Little Buffalo State Park in Newport can be found on YouTube.
Even closer to home, watch the gorgeous drone footage of Big Valley on Bill Sisson's YouTube channel or catch a fish on the Juniata River with a variety of different fishermen and women. Visitors Bureau photographer, Buffie Boyer, has built our YouTube channel with many videos she's made from our vast collection of photographs as well as 30 different Moments in Nature videos created during this spring's shutdown.
Even if you're not yet comfortable trekking the world for new adventures in person, take some time today to experience something new from just about anywhere on the globe. It's a great time to be an armchair tourist!