Our Beautiful Country and all it's Wonders
When it's sunny and warm out, I am reminded of all the wonderful things I've seen and places I've visited throughout my adventures across the country. The way the wind blows, and the sounds outside at night sometimes make me think of each pit stop in life. I yearn to travel more and teach my kids about the majestic wonders of the Earth. These are some of the more memorable places I've visited:
San Francisco, CA:
Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Coit Tower, Crookedest Street in the World (Lombard), the Trolleys, Wax Museum, Ghirardelli Square, Candlestick Park (It will always be that to me), Ripley's Believe it our Not Museum, Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf. The City is full of wonderful places to see. There's the prison Alcatraz on one island, and even a real life Treasure Island!
Nashville, TN:
Graceland, Grand 'Ol Opry, I don't remember anything else other than I sat on my dad's shoulders to watch Jimmy Carter drive down the street in some kind of parade. Not far from there is Chattanooga where you can go to the top of See Rock City, the only place in the U.S. you can see 7 states at once.
South Bend, Indiana:
Notre Dame was an incredible sight! I was too young to appreciate much else, but I would can't wait to go back and visit and be able to share it with my children, like it was shared with me.
Chicago, Illinois
Museum of Science and Industry (way cool!), Sears Tower (it takes the special elevator 60 seconds to go 110 stories) Gurnee Mills, Wrigley Field, some places they filmed "Blues Brothers" and "Ferris Buellers Day Off" :D. I almost got ran over by a presidential brigade. Out of nowhere here comes more Cops and Limos I've ever seen coming down Upper Wacker. Almost knocked me into Lower Wacker.
Reno, and Las Vegas Nevada:
Casinos! Reno has some pretty fun places like Circus Circus! but there's much more to see in Las Vegas, Pirate Ships, The Eiffel Tower, a Pyramid, The Sphinx, and a mesmerizing display of water ballet await you, along with the behemoth engineering of Hoover Dam, Carson City, Lake Tahoe, Virginia City in it's Wild West flashback. It's a desert, so for me there's not much else to see unless you're really into sand :D
Atlanta, Georgia
Underground Atlanta, Kennesaw Mountain (canons that have never moved since the Civil War), Stone Mountain (A.MA.ZING), a pickup truck with a gun rack and a Confederate Flag (I saw a LOT), where they filmed Deliverance, any coffee cup you want starting with Mary xxxx (i.e. Mary Jane, Mary Jo, Mary Sue, Mary Ann, Mary Beth, Mary Ellen....) Kudzu is a vine type plant that grows very rapidly and can completely engulf a house and entire forest!
Phoenix, Arizona
The Grand Canyon, other than that there ain't much to see! Haha It's too flippin HOT! They have a pretty incredible Botanical Gardens that are filled with more cactus than you ever thought existed. Butterflies are very popular there. North of the city is Sedona and near that is Montezuma's Castle. Do you think it's a real castle?
Northern and Southern Oregon
Mt. Hood (which you can ski on 11 months a year), Klamath Falls, The Oregon Caves, Columbia River, lots of good rafting, The Goonies House, more Redwood trees. Hood River is the wind surfing capital of the world I hear, and these dare-devils are flying pretty high up! Grants Pass, and the trendy college towns are fun for all. Don't forget to check out the Out 'N About Tree Houses near the caves!
http://treehouses.com/joomla/
Seattle, Washington:
Space Needle, The Upper Cascades, Fish Markets on the Puget Sound, The Ice Caves in the SW part of the state (You are in shorts, sweating. The people 15 feet below you, looking at you, are in snow gear, freezing. Super cool), an exact replica of Stone Henge, (A.MA.ZING) BTW, it sure does seem like a calendar to me. It's very cool sitting there atop Sam Hill.
Washington D.C.
The Smithsonian Institute(s), and boy are there a lot of them, The White House, The Mall, as it's called, with the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflection Pool along with the Washington Monument, are just incredible. It's pretty humid there in August, heads up!
Many more random places I've visited or are on my Bucket List...
Zion National Park, Utah
Yellowstone, Wyoming
Estes Park, Colorado
Roswell, New Mexico
Texas and the Gulf of Mexico
And all the rest of California. I love this state and have been up and down the West Coast in awe of all it's beauty!
Jack London Park, Napa vineyards, Sears Point Raceway, The Nut Tree, The Jelly Belly Factory, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, I've been to at least a half dozen Six Flaggs and two or more are in CA, Isleton Crawdad Festival, Yosemite, Sea Port Village, Padre Stadium, Bodega Bay, La Jolla, Disney Land, Sea World, San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, Wild Animal Park, Sequoia Trees (HUGE)..etc lol
I've traveled by car, truck, RV, bus, train, and plane. My favorite was the train. I've spent a total of 12 days on many different Amtrak trains all over the country. Some are even narrated with the local history of the surroundings, and even more places no one else sees.
This post could go on forever, but I'll try and stop it here. This is beautiful land we got here. There is so much to see and do.
Stop working so much. Live simpler.
Have experiences and memories, not 'things', because things don't last. The memories may fade along with the pictures over time, but both can be preserved and documented and cherished much longer than that new piece of furniture you bought.
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