One of the favorite sayings of my mother was “oh, she’s just a street runner”. I don’t remember it being a compliment. But, I am a street runner. Bad. If I’m at home I’m either sleeping or doing laundry. The rest of the time I am on the road.
I think I’ve always been someone who wanted to go but for the last 5 years I’ve taken it to a new level. I’m gone much more than I’m at home. I do outside sales. My territory is the northeast US. Not that I go to every state in my territory. I don’t. But if business became developed there, I would.
And I have found some places to go.
- Niagara Falls – north western New York is beautiful. When I go to that area I don’t even have to go to the Falls. I can just drive the interstate. The terrain is beautiful and there are so many farms. That just enhances the natural beauty. But if I have time you may find me sitting along the Niagara River banks. I love to watch water move. Especially that fast. If I have someone with me I’ll go up to the Falls just to show them. And I always make sure to have my passport so that I can see the Falls from Canada.
- Michigan – what? you ask. Michigan is so industrial. This is true but it is a big state and not all of it is industrialized. There are a lot of farms in Michigan and two Great Lakes. You can go from one side of the state to the other, and back again. My favorite area is western Michigan. I absolutely love Traverse City but there are so many small towns that are just fun to explore. And don’t forget Mackinac Island.
- Ohio is full of history. They don’t flaunt it, which, I think is strange, but it is all over that state. And it seems I have to go to Ohio to get anywhere.
- Pennsylvania really should be two or three states. It’s huge. There’s western Pennsylvania which I consider to be “newer” than the rest of the state. It doesn’t feel as though it has anything to prove. You either like it or not. It doesn’t matter either way. Eastern Pennsylvania wants to be everything to everybody. It’s rough and it’s classic and it’s historic and it’s natural and it’s industrial. Honestly, it can be overwhelming.
- Alright, this might be considered New England but I don’t think so. This is upstate New York, in the mountains, and then cut over to Vermont, then down to New Hampshire, and if you have time and the weather is good, you can go to Maine. For sure you need to go to Portland. I love this trip. Well, I don’t like it in the dead of winter but I don’t like anywhere in the dead of winter.
- Virginia! Well, if I didn’t live in Kentucky I would live in Virginia. From the minute I get into that state I feel at home. It doesn’t matter if I go in from the south or from the west. And, it doesn’t matter if you like the beach or you like the mountains, you get both. Oh, and the history! You don’t have to search for history here. It comes to find you. The only part of Virginia I don’t like is around DC. But it is better than DC so I can appreciate the people who work in the nation’s capitol and live in a much calmer environment.
- Delmarva. This is a cheat because it’s still Virginia. Del, for Delaware. Mar, for Maryland. Va for Virginia. It’s the beach y’all. It is so coastal. Wherever you stop there is the Atlantic Ocean. Just don’t go between Memorial Day and Labor Day. You can’t afford it. And there are way too many people there.
- And then the real New England: Massachusetts, Connecticut, okay, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. We’ve already talked about my favorites of these. I will just say this, Massachusetts has way too many cars than they have roads. Boston would be a very busy town anyway, but it is a huge tourist area so there are people everywhere.
I have not been everywhere I want to go in my territory. I do intend to keep running the road and still realize that my mom was right all those years ago. I am a street runner.
Beautiful read, makes me want to see all those places! Thank you!