Your city/hometown

[bikerchick68]

[QUOTE=ladyfish]Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona. Home of the Wrigley Mansion (yes the gum people). Close to Goodyear, home of our own Ironwoman--Denise! Famous for saguaro cactus, mexican food, and HOT summers.

QUOTE]


ladyfish... I LOVE the Desert Botanical Gardens too... absolutely stunning... the Suagaros on the mountain side are amazing...

[bikerchick68]

...bikerchick...did you actually cross the Capilano Susupension Bridge?? Wow...you're made of stronger stuff than me. I made it about ten feet before freaking out...I just can't deal with the height!
D'oh...I forgot about the Buchart Gardens! Pretty spectacular, for sure. Did you visit in summer with the fireworks? This past winter they put in a refrigerated outdoor skating rink...now we can ice skate among the palms and cedars. Bizarre but neat

Yep! I thought it was breathtakingly gorgeous... and when you get to the other side, there are gorgeous walking trails thru the forest... really a beautiful area. Of course, I have also bungee jumped once... I'm going to Australia in Sept and will be doing the Sydney Bridge Climb... you have to wear a special suit where they clip ya in so if ya fall they can drag ya back up... falling is very unlikely... but I find it amusing. My best friend, not so much. She is not going, but will sit and wait while she sips an Appletini!

I was there in summer but didn't see the fireworks... have friends in Seattle so plan to come up next year again... but most likely in winter cause they want me to snowboard with them!

for those that haven't heard of the Capilano Suspension Bridge... it's 1 mile up, 1/4 mile across a river, fully suspended bridge... it shakes when ya walk on it! click the link and then watch it play... pretty neat!

http://www.capbridge.com/

[CorsairMac]

This is too good an opportunity to pass up for my first post -
I live/work just outside the Hanford Nuclear reservation. WWII, plutonium was mined in Oak Ridge, shipped to Hanford Washington and refined then sent to Las Alamos and blown up.
We have over 80% of the world's (the whole world's) radioactive materials burried right here.
Come visit, you'll go away glowing from the experience .

Sue

I'm guessing we have the other 20% buried here in New Mexico - which is where Los Alamos is located! Here's trivia: Los Alamos was the site of the Manhatten Project and it was originally a military compound. I have 2 friends that were raised there and you couldn't leave or enter the city without the proper IDs/clearance.

[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.....

[DirtDiva]

for those that haven't heard of the Capilano Suspension Bridge... it's 1 mile up, 1/4 mile across a river, fully suspended bridge... it shakes when ya walk on it! click the link and then watch it play... pretty neat!

http://www.capbridge.com/

A mile-high swingbridge? Duuuuuuude!

[jobob]

Hometown: Victoria BC
Today Greater Victoria is the capital of British Columbia and a city of 350,000 laid-back, slightly off-centre folks, most of whom have ended up here on the island to escape from the harsh climate in the rest of Canada, as well as ex-pats and wanderers from all over the world.

PN, you lucky girl, I adore Victoria ! Hubby and I spent a few days there early June last year, on our cycling tour. It's a fabulous area for cycling. One day we rode around the perimeter of the Saanich Peninsula, with great roads and gorgeous scenery (and some of those homes - wow). Another day we rode out to Butchart Gardens - that hill you have to climb on the way out sure is fun, oy! - and the Butterfly Museum. It's such a cycling-friendly environment, with lots of urban bike trails. We stayed close to downtown and we had no trouble cycling through the city. I need to go back there !

[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

[LittleBlackDuck]

Here'e the second Aussie contribution to this thread ....

For the past 10 years I've been living in the coastal tourist town of Busselton in the state of Western Australia. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive south of where CrazyCanuck lives (I grew up in Tuart Hill Canuck )

Busso, as us locals call it, is famous for having the longest timber jetty in the southern hemisphere. As you can see, it also has a glorious white sandy beach and calm, crystal clear ocean. The four boatsheds that you can see in the photo house the interpretive centre and for those that don't want to walk, or can't walk, the small dinky train takes you to the end of of the jetty.



The jetty is almost 2 km long (about 1.2 miles) and at the end of it is an underwater observatory.



The observatory is a chamber that takes you 8 metres below the surface of the water and has about 3 levels and 11 viewing windows allowing you to see the unbelievably beautiful coloured corals that habitate the pylons of the jetty.



I haven't been inside the observatory but have scuba dived under the jetty and the marine life just took my breath away .

Oh.... and Busselton is host of IronmanWA (Ironman Western Australia) .

[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.

[Popoki_Nui]

PN, you lucky girl, I adore Victoria ! Another day we rode out to Butchart Gardens - that hill you have to climb on the way out sure is fun, oy! - and the Butterfly Museum. It's such a cycling-friendly environment, with lots of urban bike trails. We stayed close to downtown and we had no trouble cycling through the city. I need to go back there !

I hope you do come back! We'd love to have you Yeah...we have a 'few' hills here. Personally, I'm allergic to hills. It is a cycle-friendly area though...so bring your bikes when you come!

~S.

[Popoki_Nui]

[COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]Here'e the second Aussie contribution to this thread ....

For the past 10 years I've been living in the coastal tourist town of Busselton in the state of Western Australia. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive south of where CrazyCanuck lives (I grew up in Tuart Hill Canuck )

Busso, as us locals call it, is famous for having the longest timber jetty in the southern hemisphere. As you can see, it also has a glorious white sandy beach and calm, crystal clear ocean. COLOR]

So beautiful!!! Excuse me while I drool on my keyboard. Wow...that ocean is exquisite. Where's my suitcase.....

[mmelindas]

Wow, what amazing shots, especially the underwater one, you too-cool gal from Australia! Thanks so much for the photos...say how did you get them to display in your post? You are new here but so am I, and I don't know how to do it. Send us more, photos of your beautiful country and Welcome to TE!!

I love this thread, getting some great ideas of places to visit. I think my nosebleed from the Capilano bridge stopped, now I have "rocky mountain quick step disease from even contemplating what being on that swaying, rocking nightmare of a mile high bridge must be like.......eeeeeeeeeekkkkkkk!! I think I'm gonna hurl........

[DirtDiva]

Just above where you type in your message there's a little square with a picture that looks like it's supposed to be a couple of mountains and the moon. Click on that and type in/paste in the web address of the photo you want to add. (Or if you understand how to work HTML tags, the code is IMG.)

[Lise]

Chicago's my home town. I was born in Park Ridge, a NW suburb, moved around as a kid to Syracuse NY and Minneapolis, but back to Lake Bluff, a northern suburb by age 13, and then into "the city" at 18 for college, and never left. I love my home, and I think it would be a beautiful city to visit. We don't have the natural beauty that so many of you live in, and I envy that. But...there's no place like home, right?

CrazyCanuck asked if it's windy all around Chicago...it's the prairie--only thing that stops the wind is the lake, and when it blows off the lake--WHOA! What gets me is that sometimes it seems to blow from all directions at once. In those times, my feeling is: Surrender Dorothy. You're not going to overcome it, so hunker down and let it blow!
About Oak Park--I agree with Betagirl. It's a lovely town. My sister lives there. My grandma was born and raised there. Her dad was a building contractor that worked with Frank Lloyd Wright, and they grew up in a house designed by Wright, "The Balch House". The Hemmingway family lived close by, and Ernest's younger sister, Carol, was close friends with my grandma. My aunt is named for her, and my middle name is Carol, for my aunt. Hence...(six degrees of separation)...my connection to Ernest Hemmingway!