Real love always is. Merely rational love does not produce great cities. If I like a place and can tell you all the reasons I like it, I might stop liking if some of the reasons change. But if I love a place simply for being itself I'll still love it even if everything seems to change. I haven't lived in New York in nearly 20 years and haven't even visited in more than four, but it is still home to me.
Another place I love is Annapolis. I lived there for a couple of years in the 70s and thought it was one of the prettiest little towns I'd ever seen, set in beautiful countryside and close enough to D.C. and Baltimore to satisfy my periodic need for way too many people and the smell of ooncrete and bus exhaust.
Been in Seattle just over two months now and the only things I miss from Detroit are the coneys and competent drivers.
The place that really grabbed me was New Orleans. I first visited while researching colleges and wound up going to Tulane until the funds ran dry. That was a magical city and it breaks my heart that it'll never again be the same as I remember it.
Another cliche, but my hometown, Bozeman, is my favorite. I have lived in Southwest Montana my whole life. I know I miss out on many things on a daily basis, but thats why I make a point to travel as much as I can and see other places. But I alway LOVE to come home. Mountains, open land, outdoor activities. I cant be without it for too long.
I live 1 hour from Yellowstone. I agree, its amazing. Maybe you alrady have, but nearby Jackson, Bozeman, and Paradise Valley are worth visiting. If your interestes include the outdoors, there are many things around Yellowstone worth seeing. The Absorkee Beartooth mountains north of Yellowstone are absolutly incredible.
We took a 5 day camping trip a couple years ago. Here we are at an elevation of 9,600 feet, 8 hours from the nearest town.
Spent a little time there myself (during that same lonely period) and would definitely like to go back to see more. Related to that, Jonatha Brooke's song "West Point" is actually a case of mistaken identity. She was actually thinking of the Naval Academy when she wrote the song.
I used to love this, too. I used to sit up there in complete silence with the OOD (I was an RO) just enjoying the night air. It was a sort of solitude that you just can't find anywhere.
If you go to Yosemite and then hike up the MIst Trail, past Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. Atop the second set of falls, and before the trail forks off to the top of Half Dome, there is about 3 miles of hiking through a little glen called Little Yosemite Valley. Stunning.
Santa Catalina Island, off the southern California coast.
Jeremy, on each of my three trips to Yellowstone, I've also made trips down to the Tetons and Jackson Hole. While the area is beautiful, we enjoy Yellowstone much more. BTW, we flew into Bozeman the last two times we visited. I love the airport, and it seems to be the easiest fly/drive option for getting to the park. Driving from Michigan is a long, tedious journey.
BTW, Yosemite is still on our "to visit" list. My wife and I love the national parks, but we have not made it there yet. This summer's plan is to visit Banff and Jasper in the Canadian Rockies.
Why do people feel the need to throw in gratuitous insults in a thread like this? We're celebrating places we love. No reason to go out of our way to spit on places other people love. (I note that the people most apt to do this sort of thing are also the ones who endlessly complain about New Yorkers having "bad manners." Pot, meet kettle. Kettle, meet pot.)
Malcolm, I'm glad you're happy in Vermont and that you're fond of the Pacific Northwest. And I, too, hope you never have to visit New York again, because you'd clearly make the city just that tiny bit less fun.
I've always wondered about observations about "rude" New Yorkers. To us Bostonians, New Yorkers are downright civil (excluding Yankee fans of course. Then again most of the Yankee fans we see are from Connecticut).
Havasupai, Arizona. Google it (or Google Image it). You have to hike 10 miles to get there, but it's unbelievable, a blue mineral spring/river/waterfall system that flows north into the Grand Canyon. It's on Havasu Indian land and you have to make reservations months in advance to secure a camping spot. Isolation and beauty that's hard to find anymore.