Whether you’re visiting Spokane for a weekend or you’ve been a life-long resident of our beautiful “near nature” city, one question always seems to linger: “What should we do?” For a reason I’ve never been able to put my finger on, Spokane has an oft-spoken aura of boredom and indecision; a sentiment that leisure is lacking if you’re not hunting, camping or smelling flowers at one of our sprawling parks. I’ve always cringed at Travel Advisor Top Ten lists and the cut-and-paste tourist to-dos overheard at busy intersections. It’s not a personal aversion to garbage goats and oversized Radio Flyers, it’s just an unassigned obligation I have to pulp. The unfiltered chunks that give a city its culture. Businesses created with a “What if” rather than a “We should.” The quirky locally owned underbelly you might only hear about after a couple beers at a dingy bar. Luckily, I’ve spent an ample amount of time in bars …

Jedi Alliance If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, your Sunday probably involved the phrase “pause your video game, it’s time to go to church.” Jedi Alliance (who just celebrated their third anniversary) is the passion project of two brothers who decided to combine both worlds. Imagine 300 of your favorite retro pinball and arcade machines set to “free play” with a $12 admission. Included in that price you can tour an impressive underground toy museum and browse their collection of movie props. The kicker? This nostalgia bomb is a certified church of the Jedi. If you’re unfamiliar with the popular Star Wars reference, the Order of the Jedi are special powered peacekeepers tasked by the Galactic Republic to protect the Universe. Our local arcade doesn’t seem to be under any great threat (outside of the dumb pixelated cars that keep smashing my frog), but young padawans can come train, learn the art of the joystick and help defeat the darkside. 2024 E. Boone Ave.

The Robot Hut It doesn’t take a T-1000 Terminator to track down John Rigg. If he’s not watching “Lost in Space” he’s probably building a life-size replica of its infamous M3-B9 G.U.N.T.E.R. Of course, the rest of us would never know much beyond “Danger, Will Robinson.” John lives, breathes and builds robots. What started as a hobby quickly turned into an obsession that culminated in early 2000 when he housed his collection in a barn-sized building on his property and started taking visitors. Now dubbed “The Robot Hut,” John shows off his more than 3,500 automated army who sit sealed in glass cases, stand sturdy with blinking bulbs and even race wreckingly on the floors of his wondrous warehouse. What has been touted as maybe the largest robot collection in the world, the sleepy town of Elk may be ground zero if artificial intelligence goes the science fiction route. Note: The Robot Hut is currently invite only. Please inquire by contacting Rigg at [email protected]. US Hwy 2, Elk

Vercler Castle When I first moved out of my parents’ house, a roommate and I moved into a modest valley apartment on the corner of Broadway and Vercler. It only took two days to notice a giant handmade iron-clad castle was secluded about a half-block down the road. Owner Jeff Jensen, a welder by trade, started a few home improvements on his roof and never stopped building. Years later, a multitude of metal and brick mortar line the streets silently waiting for a passerby to stop mid-migration to awe in her beauty. If you’re lucky, Jeff occasionally puts out a small “take a tour” sign adorned with a phone number. Make sure you’re up on tetanus shots, then call him and arrange your chance to climb Vercler Castle’s circle stairways atop one of its battlements or towers. 924 N. Vercler Rd.

Coeur de Lion If you’ve ever watched a movie where a bunch of semi-strangers are invited out to a millionaire’s giant castle secluded on top of a mountain and find themselves lost in rooms with funky relics, creepy paintings and giant sets of medieval armor … that is pretty much what it is like to stay at Coeur de Lion in Coeur d’Alene. Granted, instead of the lights flickering and someone getting murdered, the amazing staff customizes the stay to your every need and then serves you crepes and fresh fruit in the morning. Listed as a bed and breakfast, Coeur de Lion serves more as fairytale staycation where picturesque windows surround claw-foot bathtubs and the 6-acre property is devilishly beautiful with a view down the range to the lake. An unmatched unveiling for a romantic romp or simply sipping the weekend away with 12 of your closest wine-friendly foodies. Play chopsticks on the ruby red grand piano, BBQ on the sweeping decks or nestle away by the fire after a day of skiing in the library. 8137 W. Clemetson Rd., CDA

Lava Links Golf Course When you imagine Tiger Woods switching up his 5 iron for a pitching wedge, you don’t expect him to be making a chip shot from a pile of volcanic lava rock. Clocking in at just over an hour drive, Soap Lake might be home to the furthest attraction on this list, but Lava Links is a must for anyone who falls in the range between “avid golfer” to “ate one too many edibles.” This unattended 9-hole all-hazard hodgepodge is less PGA and more “Man vs. Wild.” If you’re looking to make the trek, be sure to trade in your gold jacket for a pair of good hiking boots and a couple garage sale 9-irons. Your stop at this secluded Soap Lake sand trap will mostly be mulligans amassed in sagebrush and desert vegetation. Say farewell to yelling “fore” on the fairways, you’re more prone to twisting your ankle than hitting fellow golfers on your tee shot. With the benchmark being bogey, skip the score sheet and bunker down with a cold one and your caddie for what’s sure to be almost purely grassless golf. 311 2nd Ave. S.E., Soap Lake