It’s 8 a.m. on Labor Day and I am sitting in a train station in Eugene, Ore., waiting to go home. I am barely awake after a friend’s wedding the night before, and an adventurous midnight hike the previous evening.

It was a great time and all, but I missed a three-day weekend at home, and some great things to do – specifically, Bumbershoot.

This kind of thing happens all too often. I return home to Oregon for a weekend for whatever reason, and I miss a great event here or somewhere else in the region.

That’s why I am trying something out for the next few months: a travel ban.

That means no leaving town between now and Thanksgiving (excluding emergencies of course). This has its drawbacks, but mostly I am hoping it will give me a chance to become further connected with the area I have lived in for more than three years, but still feel like an outsider most of the time.

Coming from Oregon, I am six-hour drive from home. Just far enough away to not be able to come for a standard weekend, but too far to be fully connected. In essence, I feel sometimes like a man without a city.

So this fall I am going to dedicate myself to become re-acquainted the area. That means being around on weekends if I want to go to a Seahawks game. It means checking out crazy haunted houses like Beaver Lake around Halloween.

People come from all over the world to see the Puget Sound region, and I feel as though we residents often take for granted what we get to see every single day. We scoff at all the tourists trying to drive around Pike Place Market, rather than enjoying all of the restaurants, and we snicker at the people who marvel at Downtown Park, the place where we eat lunch every day. During this time, I not only want to learn more about my home, but I want to regain an appreciation for everything it has to offer, both the hidden gems and the well-known tourist attractions.

Staff writer Nat Levy can be reached at 425-453-4290 or nlevy@bellevuereporter.com