The song, “I’ve Been Everywhere” released by country music star, Hank Snow, in 1962 was a huge hit for him at that time. Every time I listen to the song, I realize that most of the places listed are places I’ve been able to visit during my years of traveling in this wonderful country. My wife and I have loved visiting nearly every major city in the Continental US, enjoying the sights, museums, great restaurants and simple cafes that we have found. We hope to get to Hawaii and Alaska soon, knowing that these destinations will also be exciting and filled with interesting people. There is not a single town that we didn’t enjoy even though there are a lot of differences depending upon geography, climate, and age and size of the city.
To some degree, U.S. cities are pretty homogeneous with many of the same chain stores and franchises especially in the suburbs, but there are also some major differences. We always look for individually owned restaurants and coffee houses rather than chains to better experience the local people and neighborhoods. Boston is a completely different place than Los Angeles; San Francisco is nothing like Chicago; New Orleans is a totally different kind of town all together.
Even though we have spent time in so many, we still love Greater Kansas City the best. This is most likely because we have lived here for so long and have familiar places to eat and shop. We know where the cool neighborhoods are and what streets we like to drive down. We know the art galleries, antique malls, and the best place for donuts. Every city has those things, we just know where they are in the Kansas City area and the familiar faces we’d likely see there. I suppose that we would feel the same about any place we chose to live for a long time, but this metropolitan area just has so much to offer!
It’s always fun to talk to someone who loves to travel about where they have been and what they find interesting about other places. There also are people who I guess have no desire to walk down Fifth Avenue in New York City or navigate Lombard Street in San Fransisco. I agree that travel takes energy and some advance planning, but I really find that my life is richer because I have walked the Freedom Trail in Boston with its unique history, spent time listening to music on Beale Street in Memphis, and driven down Sunset Blvd in LA with its glamour and famous sites. I look forward to cruising down Woodward Avenue in Detroit again as soon as that is possible.
This is a great country with many beautiful and interesting cities. The people we have met along the way have enriched our lives. Woody Guthrie got it right when he said, “This land was made for you and me!”
