Your city/hometown

[NorCalGal]

This is a great thread! I love hearing about everyone's hometown, either current or where they grew up, or both.

I grew up on the beaches of Ventura, California (south of Santa Barbara...and hello there fatbottomed girl in Simi Valley!) but now live in Orland, California. Hardly anyone knows of us, but when we tell them we're about 20 miles west of Chico, then the light bulb goes on. Good bike riding there, one of the largest municipal parks in the nation, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, and Cal State Chico, which is trying to overcome a party-school rep.

Anyway, when we moved here from Ventura we pretty much went into culture shock. There are REAL COWBOYS here wearing tight Wranglers and REAL SPURS and there are more cows than people. We're at about 6,500 residents, and our county has about 26,000 total.

Orland was once in the Guiness Book of World Records for having the most churches and bars per capita than any other city in the U.S.

We grow olives and rice and almonds. Cal Worthington lives here (but not his dog Spot). We're about halfway between Sacramento and the Oregon border, and Tahoe and Mt. Shasta are an easy morning's drive for skiing.

Besides the wonderful small-town environment, what I love about my little city is that on every holiday where an American flag is in order, such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day, etc., the local Boy Scouts put up hundreds of large American flags along the two miles of the city's main street. They drilled holes in the sidewalk near the curb for each flag's pole, and the flags are spaced about 20 feet from each other. It's absolutely spectacular, and when the flags went up after 9/11, it was nearly impossible to drive down the main drag without crying.

[mmelindas]

Oh,....crab cakes and steamed blue crabs...yummy! I used to go to a cool restaurant in MD that was out over the bay and had a crowd: it had tables covered with paper shelf stuff and the crabs were served steamed on lunchroom trays piled high. There was a deep sink and a waiter with clean towels at each end of the place.

All you could hear was the whacking sound of people beating their piles of steamed crabs to eatable pieces and the sound of shells flying all over...and lots of slurping and gulping sounds of deliriously happy crab eaters...

They served seasoned red salt and vinegar for the crabs and people in all kinds of dress, from mink and diamonds to bib overalls were in there eating. I think it was called "Captain Johns" or something like that.

It burned down and I don't think they ever rebuilt it, but no kidding the best STEAMED CRABS ARE FROM MARYLAND!

I really miss Maryland crabmeat, cakes, everything food related to seafood there....wahhhhhhh!

[mmelindas]

I went to the site for the Capilano Suspension bridge.....and I almost passed out from terror!

Considering I am so afraid of heights, I get a nosebleed in high heels, and stark terror from glass elevators.....it put me over the edge...that's awesomely scary!!! I think I am having a coronary just thinking about walking over it, much less riding a bike..... ahhhhhggggh!

My DH just said, "Yeah, that's my kind of bridge!" at which I promptly elbowed him in a very painful area. (This is the same evil guy who has been threatening to kidnap me and duct tape me to the "Fall of Terror" bungee drop at the Valley Fair Mall in Minneapolis.... )

And HANFORD, WA...yeah, I've been there, lived near there and I DO GLOW!!! I worked with a lady in Moses Lake, Wa who had lived downwind from Hanford for over 45 years and she had dozens of diseases, nearly fatal conditions and all her family did...and she was trying to sue the gov....

So, if you do go to WA state, be sure you are UPWIND from that place!

I am loving all the posts from all over the place and all the historic info you gals are posting...Yee hahhhhha! I'm taking notes for future Rving places...

Keep 'em coming gals, I wanna hear more of the greatest places to visit in the good old USA. Thanks tons for this thread...but you can keep your Capilano Bridge.....

[crazycanuck]

Hey ladies,

Thanks so much for replying...! (I know it's bad form to not reply to posts but been reading the info....)
Just a few things, Popoki(sherry)-I lived in Victoria from kindergarten to gr3 (wayyy back from 77-81) prior to being posted to Lahr, west Germany(ex military brat). Lived right accross the field from of Fairburn school. Eventually ended up in Edmonton, Alberta(yes for West ed mall- ) then in a roundabout way to Auckland, NZ(known for bad traffic, rangitoto island & GREAT mountain biking)

Have been to the US-mainly to the east coast(history buff)-Started in NYC(funky funky funky place-...) & took a backpacker van through the backroads-I can't remember where It ventured to-Anywho I know when i was on my own i know I visited Boston &concord(History major at uni), Arlington(specifically for the cemetary-amazing place & would love to revisit), Washington (had to walk past the watergate building & stand at the lincoln memorial where MLK did his speech), Antietam battlefield(v worthwhile) and the Mason-Dixon line. Baltimore sounds familiar as well...
Have rellies on Bainbridge(sp?) Island near seattle and would def revisit esp if i could tow my mtn bike along...!!!My brother lives in NY state-in fishkill(what a place name!!)

Very cool-Blobfests, ny state,BRAG,Top Gun,Ashville(mmelindas thanks for the photos!!! ), the chisholm trail(looks interesting!), never knew fig newtons came from Newton, Wegmans, San Fran(I have to go and see the corner of Haight & ashbury, alcatraz etc-didn't know robert louis stephenson was from SF)Santa rosa(isn't there a famous parade there every year-Just know about the rose bowl etc), Oak Park-is the whole area around Chicago v windy??? (only know chicago from ER), Albuquerque(would love to visit-not just for the cold war history), VA-remember visiting the pentagon (& only remember the middle bit being a target during the cold war...), Whittier(have to visit...!!!) , wicked georgian accents(i too thought of the B-52's), Los Alamos (also on my list!!!), Mill valley( have a marin....!), like i have to visit the valley now...& visit the presidential library (I remember the reagan years),Austin (country music show-austin city limits & isn't it home to george strait???), the mississippi-(another place i want to go for the history), Orland(are you close to the sierra nevadas..?),


Sorry such a long post but i just had to say thanks for the info!

c

[Popoki_Nui]

[QUOTE=crazycanuck]Hey ladies,
Just a few things, Popoki(sherry)-I lived in Victoria from kindergarten to gr3 (wayyy back from 77-81) prior to being posted to Lahr, west Germany(ex military brat). Lived right accross the field from of Fairburn school.

crazycanuk: whoa...small world or what?! I went to Fairburn elementary! It was the first school I attended when we moved here from Calgary in '68...I was about 8 years old. My dad was posted in Lahr too, but in the 50's.

~S.

[eofelis]

I live in Grand Junction, Colorado. I've been here for about 3 years and I love it here. I'm a (non-traditional, 38) student at Mesa State College, majoring in geology.

Before that I lived in Sheridan, WY for 7 years. It's pretty nice up there too.

I grew up in Ipswich, MA. I love living out west and I don't plan on moving back east. I'd like to go back there, with a bike, to visit more. School keeps me very busy right now, year round.