Dear Tourists

A Proper Guide for Visiting a Small Town.

Would you like to just send me a “Thank you for this post” tip? That’s the Buy Me Coffee option - through my Venmo. THANK YOU!

I was feeling a little sarcastic – maybe even snarky this week. This week in our small town we drastically increase the amount of people – by easily over 50,000 people – and every year, there’s always some tourists who don’t know how to act right.
I’ve seen this personally and in particular earlier in the week had an experience that prompted this post.

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Dear Tourists,

THANK YOU for visiting our town during tourist season!
The majority of us are happy you are here to enjoy our town’s amenities and support local business.

A few lessons to make everyone’s week more enjoyable:

1. Our small-town more than quadruples (at least) in size during this time of the year. Our roads do not. It takes so much longer to go anywhere. Please know where you are going, don’t looky-loo and drive and please drive at least the speed limit. But not too much over. See point two.

2. The (Main Street through town) is not the Autobahn.
Drivers who park on the side of the road in designated spots need a minute or two to get out of their cars. We practice kindness and courtesy here. Plus, there’s lots of pedestrians – many of whom do not use the crosswalks.

3. Walmart is NOT a tourist attraction.
Make a list and send ONE representative for your family. Same is true for Lowes Foods, Publix, Piggly Wiggly, Food Lion and other grocery stores.

4. We don’t have an abundance of Uber/Lyft etc. here. By that, I mean we maybe have less than a dozen drivers. Plan to drive accordingly.

5. Restaurants are busy and understaffed. Be patient. Good food takes time. TIP your servers. Most servers here only work “in season” and the bulk of their income is made during this time of year.

6. If you have questions, ask a local. You’ll know who we are if you take a minute and observe. Local shop owners are great sources of information, too.

7. Parking is an issue. Plan accordingly and don’t hog a spot. Also, if you are awaiting on a spot to open because someone is leaving, give them space and put your blinker on. If someone beats you to the space, yes, it’s rude, but then that space wasn’t meant for you. Take a breath and move on.

8. Yes, we leave our lawn chairs out the night of the 3rd for the parade. Yes, you can rope off your area. Take the space that you NEED and don’t move someone else’s chairs. This, in particular, is a decades old tradition. Don’t mess with it.

9. Yes, fireworks over the ocean is a great experience! Leave the sea turtles alone and don’t leave trash on the beach.

10. If you see something, say something. There’s plenty of police and Sheriff department officials out and about on foot, on bikes and in their cars.

Bonus Tip: your phone won’t work in the downtown area[insert town name here] when there are thousands of people in one place. Too many people jam up the signal. Take the time to enjoy the Parade and festivities!

Thanks for being here and giving us a “Tourist Season!”