Interesting thread - I don't think I've ever been "despised" for being a spotter. I've been the source of amusement many times, the object of interest frequently, and questioned by the police once (EWR, watching the CO E145s while waiting for a flight to BHX).
I've been all over the world - Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong, Singapore, Melbourne, Toronto, Vancouver and more US cities than I care to remember and I've always done the tourist things as well as chasing the numbers. I know my list of overseas visits pales into insignificance compared to some, but I enjoy myself and I've been to many more places than some of my non-spotting friends.
But it's not just the numbers - I'm just as happy sitting at the end of a runway photographing the inbounds, even if I only "make" one or two all day. Likewise, watching sheer brute force make something weighing tons effectively weightless is still something I marvel at. Just how do C-5s fly? It never looks like they're trying hard enough.
Off to Fairford this weekend for a good deafening - hope to see many of you there!
Regards
Jim