GadgetFreak

linsj

My main hobbies are reading and traveling/sightseeing. On vacations I have a lot more time to read, including the flights. When I'm not sightseeing, I'm usually reading.

onobond

Besides flying/travelling, wine is another hobby of mine. Also well adapted for the combo.

FatnLoud

Like AEM7AC I like trains and try to factor them into business travel. I was fortunate enough to have a client stump up for the costs of the TransSiberian and on to Shanghai (Travel costs, not the time) as it was cheaper than flying. I've also done .the Empire Builder from Chicago out the the West Coast when a business trip straddled a weekend. I also finished a project in Sydney and took the Indian Pacific to Perth before flying back home.
European high speed rail is a viable alternative to short flights as well as often being cheaper and just as quick city centre to city centre.

Seat 2A

When I was a kid (back in the 1960s/70s) I started collecting airline postcards - or rather - postcards of airliners.
Back then, the airlines used to issue their own cards - you'd often find them in seat back pockets or complimentary stationary packets
Commercial producers like Dexter Press also produced many airport postcards showing airliners
So - during my early travels I was able to get quite a good start on a sizable collection just by flying and passing through airports.

These days, my postcard collection numbers over 30000 cards with thousands of spares. Unfortunately, it's a fairly eclectic hobby these days with most ardent collectors being over 50 years old and few and far between at that. When my travels take me to airline collectible shows, I still add a few postcards, as well as First Class menus, of which I have about 500.

horse glasses

I sometimes use going to see (mostly punk) bands in other cities as an excuse to travel somewhere. It is definitely an odd intersection of hobbies 😁.

Seat 2A

Definitely! As one who had the good fortune to attend over 125 Dead concerts, I remember making many a trip from Alaska down to Oakland, California for a 3 night stand with the Dead at the Kaiser or later at the Coliseum. Red Rocks shows outside Denver were also worth the trip. We'd just rent a car and camp out at Chief Hosa or sleep in our cars at Oakland. Hotels were too expensive and comparatively boring compared to the pre/post show street life.

Whowouldanewman

I always see what sporting events are going on when I travel. I love to see new venues and catch a game.

Playing different golf courses and drinking local beers are also high on my list.

RustyC

Re: OP. In 28 or so years of this being one of my hobbies, I've always tried to make a trip out of things (i.e. very few turnaround MRs unless the benefit is too high to pass up and there's no other choice). Radio talk show host and consumer advocate Clark Howard has always urged people to land the deal first (assuming it's a really good one) and then figure out the reason to go there if you need to, so that part has often meant trying to find the tie-ins to hobbies.

A good one is seeing movies or other shows in grand old theaters that have been saved from the wrecking ball, like the Fox in Atlanta or the Tampa Theater. If you like art then there are lots of possibilities, including even in cities like Kansas City if they have a museum that punches above its weight. Even better is if you can hit an exhibition like I did with the Monet one back in Chicago in 1992 that's not coming to your city, as some of 'em may go to only 2 or 3 cities.

Being a foodie at the high end is beyond the budget, but sometimes there are midlevel places that are institutions of sorts, like the best BBQ places in Kansas City or the Varsity in Atlanta or Dick's in Spokane that are worth a stop. Unrenovated 50s and 60s places that actually date all the way back, like the Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, are usually good because otherwise they would have been closed and torn down long ago (Tiki bars are a whole other sub-genre).

Thrift stores *might* be even be worthwhile in a couple of places...West Palm Beach has been a good hunting ground (lots of label consciousness and stuff you rarely see at home).

There's still a bit of uniqueness left with the local beers, though not like the "Smokey and the Bandit" days. A place like the Brickskeller in DC would be hard to pass up. There's also the booze side (trying runs in Barbados? Scotch in Scotland?) but the liver just can't handle it. Mount Gay 17-year was the Waterloo and turning point there.

I'll often try to see an MLB game on general admission bought at the stadium just to see the stadium. Though only baseball tends to be (sometimes) cheap enough for me, and I'm not like more-enthusiastic people who'll also go see AAA and AA parks and spring training.

Record collecting can work well, as the chains are gone but nearly every city has a surviving independent, and it's best to be able to inspect anything used anyway (something you can't really do with eBay).

One cautionary note: If you've researched well and a metro area is very target-rich, it's possible to come up with many places to hit in a wide geographic area (say, Phoenix), and trying to "catch 'em all" can subject you to a lot of traffic stress.

Outdoorsy stuff is of course a big area, though if on a budget the seasonal pattern of airfare deals often works against you. Places with short seasons like Alaska and Montana can get expensive during their seasons. I'm still a huge fan of Alaska in September even though a lot of tourism-oriented stuff like day cruises stop operating shortly after Labor Day.

rsqrott

The IWM in Duxford is amazing. You don't even need to be a gearhead to appreciate it. The area is huge, the day that we went they had vintage spitfires flying overhead as well as tanks and APCs running over in the "land warfare" area. It's an incredible place and the collection of machines is jaw dropping.

Kagehitokiri

sometimes can get accommodations with kitchens, including via points

Sallycat

I am a big spinning fan (Soul Cycle is my happy place) so wherever I go, I try to sneak in a class or two, whether it be at SC or another local spot. And, I have to buy a tank top or some piece of clothing that has the city or studio name on it once I’m done with the class. Husband thinks I am crazy, but he does the same with golf, so I think we’re pretty even.

rsqrott

Or psychobilly

My thing is motorcycles and I will always try to scout out a local shop or show whenever I travel. My particular passion is vintage British bikes so if I can find something along those lines I'm happy.

flatworm

I’m with Seat 2A and horse glasses - live music provides an excellent structure for travel. Got to see lots of the planet when Leonard Cohen was touring , and music remains my favourite excuse for gallivanting around the planet. I like hunting out craft beer bars too ..

tmiw

Now that I'm thinking about it more, I've been using trips as excuses to ride on various mass transit systems (London's, for example), as well as to test NFC/chip support domestically. Might try to do trips to Portland and Chicago at some point this year to ride on their trains/buses.