Good Stuff from Joan Eisenstodt

Sometimes a change of scenery does a person good - getting out of one's routine and space.

The last two days, I was in Indiana - surprisingly not there to canvas for my Presidential candidiate of choice for the primary in that state today, 6 May. Spending my early life in southwest Ohio, we went to southern Indiana to see family and friends. It had been years since I'd been back. How beautiful the ride from Indianapolis to French Lick, Indiana - the farm land, the small towns, the beauty of open space.

A city-dweller for more than 30 years and a traveler to many cities for work, I am rarely in the country and marvel that the US still has open spaces. Suburban sprawl has taken so much of that away.

I breathed the air - took in the sites and found it to be a good break while there to faciliate sessions at the Indiana Cultural Tourism Conference. I spent time with people from CVBs, art museums, hotels, artists colonies (Nashville, IN has one of the best), and other cultural and tourism centers throughout Indiana.

Next time you plan a meeting, take time to consider the surrounding areas and consider the cultural aspects and open spaces. We all need to trade spaces now and then.