Since you can get online, use the internet to check sites like Yahoo city guide. Many cities and counties have visitors guides online.
Try entering in search engines things like "bike rental" + "Hennepin County" or Hiking + "Portland Oregon" or "Horseback riding" + "Quad Cities". Note the punctuation in these phrases. Take some time to learn how to better use search engines to find what you seek.
Most hotels and all state welcome centers have racks of tourist info. The web sites found in those brochures may be of use too. Welcome centers often have whole catalogues showing attractions region by region for the whole state. Even if you don't plan to lay over in a state, start picking up those books to familiarize yourself with them. While you are at it, pick up a free state road map too. You never know when it might come in handy.
Visit with other expediters you see. Exchange phone numbers with the ones you'd like to see again. Call them when you are in an area and ask what they'd do if there. For example, if you were in Minneapolis and called us about walking, we'd tell you to go to the Mall of America and park there. Go inside the mall and catch the light rail train toward downtown Minneapolis. Get off near one of the city parks, all of which are connected to each other by paved walking trails that wind around in the City of Lakes. You can walk all day and not cover it all. For more fun, rent roller blades and use the bike lanes.
I have a database of all Wal-Mart locations, saying if they are SuperCenters (open 24 hours) and giving their phone numbers. I developed it off Wal-Mart info I found online. Anytime we are going to layover for a while, we go to that database. Entering the first three numbers of the zip code for our delivery produces a list of the Wal-Marts that have the same three numbers (or two numbers if we want to broaden the search). That's often our starting point. Once we've found one we know we can stay at, we explore around to see what else might be in the area. Use the online yellow pages to do the same. They show zip codes for the stores.
Parking on the street near 24 hour resturants works. Waffle House, Perkins, IHOP and others fill the bill. Use the internet or yellow pages to search for stores that locate in good areas to find the good areas for yourself. LensCrafters, Dillards, Boston Market, Red Lobster, etc, are often in good areas (not foolproof way to stay clear of bad areas but works most of the time). Airports and golf courses often indicate good areas too, especially those offering charter flights on Lear Jets. Plastic surgeons and MRI clinics are usually in good areas. Let your fingers do the walking. Then find the IHOP or whatever in the same area.
Modern office parks are excellent places to take a brisk walk. Trucks go in and out of them all the time so parking is often easy. Again, locate the high-end neighborhoods and seek office parks there. Investment offices like Charles Schwab are often located in such parks.
Steak and Shake resturants are open 24 hours and sometimes have large parking lots. We've gotten management permission to spend the night there too.
We believe it helps to have the FedEx logo on our truck when parking or seeking permission to park. Managers know the FedEx brand and trust it. We're also mindful of our appearance when asking permission. Our FedEx uniforms (including the black dress slacks and shined shoes we wear) are an asset in that regard. If we are not in uniform, we dress casual, but not in T-shirts and tennis shoes. Shirts with collars are a plus. If in a grocery store, we ask to see the manager after we have our bag of purchased items in hand.
You kind-of got me going on this one. There is probably more that will come to mind after I sleep on it, but this should get you started. Hope it helps.
And by all means, have some fun out there!
