Expert Advice

I collect coffee mugs. Some mugs were given to me by friends. Some I bought as mementos while on vacation. Some are reminders of the various baseball parks. football stadiums, etc. that I have been to. And I have a mug for each state that I have visited. Needless to say, I have a lot of mugs!
I use a different mug every day, and today's mug is my Chicago mug (see photo). My family went to Chicago on vacation a couple of years after we moved to Rochester so I bought this mug. It is significant because I was amazed at the amount of graffiti adorning the walls and buildings in Chicago.
Before we went on vacation, I sought the advice of someone who once lived in Chicago. I figured he could tell me the best places to stay, eat, and tips for getting around the Windy City. One of his recommendations was to get a hotel near the airport and take the "El" (Elevated Train) downtown to see all the touristy things. That made sense to me, so we booked a hotel near the airport.
The first morning after arriving, we headed for the airport, parked our car, bought a week-long family pass for the El and buses and climbed aboard the first available car. The ride downtown was amazing! We saw parts of Chicago that I know we never would have seen if we had driven. We caught a glimpse of a commuter's life aboard the El. It was an eye-opening ride. And it took FOREVER!
By the time the train made its way to downtown, and we transferred to a subway, then transferred buses a few times to get to our first museum, we had spent 2 hours getting from the airport to our destination! I decided to try an alternate plan for the next day. The next day we waited until rush hour was over, drove directly to the museum-of-the-day, parked our car and walked into the museum in about 45 minutes.
I mention this because my "expert" advice was incorrect for me and my needs on this trip. We can assume that because someone has performed a certain type of work for years, that this person must be an expert on similar tasks that we are about to undertake. And most of the time, we will be right. However, we should never assume that is always the case. If I had been commuting to work, the El was probably the best method of transportation. But for tourist activities, a well-planned drive in the family minivan turned out to be the best. Listen to the experts, try their suggestions, but be ready to adapt it to your own situation.
Oh, and if you are the expert, don't be offended when someone tries your suggestion and then does it differently. It is not a slam on your knowledge; it is just a recognition that there is enough of a difference to warrant a different approach.