Ask before you go (or while you're going)

If you're planning a trip, solicit suggestions from friends and family. Okay, so that's a no-brainer. If they've been to where you're going, their tips on what to do/see/eat can be invaluable. Even if they haven't been, they might have heard a thing or two that you haven't. The angle that I hadn't considered, and what I'm offering now, is to solicit recommendations even if you're going for a day trip or if you think no one you know would have any tips to share.

Case in point: As I wrote yesterday, we spent the day exploring Connecticut on Sunday. Because it was a short and somewhat spontaneous trip, I didn't think to mention it to anyone. Come to find out, if I'd talked to my parents (we had plenty of drive time during which I could have called them), I would have found out that I am a direct descendant of some of the founders of the town of Milford, Connecticut, and there is apparently a memorial bridge in town inscribed with their names. Wouldn't searching out those inscriptions have been a fun quest for a Sunday afternoon?

Next time, I'll remember: no trip is too short, no destination too close, to solicit recommendations from others who might know more than you.