What is an Indie Traveler?

This week's topic from BootsnAll Indie Travel Guide : you can be an indie traveler without even leaving your hometown – as long as you’re challenging yourself and your assumptions about the world, learning about people or a place different than your own, and seeking out experiences that help you better understand the local culture.
What does indie travel mean to you?
I think I've always been an "indie traveler." I always want to see what's out there. My vacations are often jam-packed with sight-seeing and museum stops. In fact, there have been some people who hesitate to go places with me, as they know what the pace is going to be like and that museums are always going to be on the itinerary.

I'm not the best photographer, but I like attempting to record what I see. And what I will want to remember. 

I loved seeing the ceramics factory outside of San Miguel de Allende. We toured the show rooms, but also parts of the manufacturing buildings. Each ceramics painter has a chair, a table for glazes and brushes, and an easel or stand to support the object currently being painted. Completed pieces are sent to the kilns for final firing.

I found the deep sea drilling museum in Galveston, TX interesting. Building those rigs is an amazing feat, let alone working on the platforms themselves and getting the oil and gas out from under the sea. We should all know more about how we get our energy.

Museums can be park-like and have little to do with art. I had no idea that Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were good friends and had winter homes in Ft. Myers, FL. Thomas Edison did research in Florida on plants that produce latex. You can tour laboratories and restored homes at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. Fascinating.

 "See if you have what it takes to join the ranks of noble knights."
I saw this poster advertising knight school in a bookstore in Brisbane, Australia.Really enjoyed taking a minute or two to wonder who would send their kids to knight school and if my son and/or daughter would have liked it.(They do take girls.) Used bookshops are a great way to soak up local culture.






I enjoy a sunset and a sunrise, too. Just kicking back by the water is a favorite pastime. Taking some time to just be in a place is important, too. I am trying to appreciate that aspect of indie travel more. Maybe giving up some of the "forced march" pace will be good for me.