Year of First Visit – 1999
Point of Entry – Green Airport (Providence)
The vast majority of my time and memories of Rhode Island at at the airport in Providence. I've flown in and out of there a few times for work meetings in southern Massachusetts so Rhode Island was my gateway to southern New England.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Pennsylvania
Year of First Visit – 1997
Point of Entry – Philadelphia International Airport
Unusually sweltering temperatures made was a bit more than we had anticipated when we arrived at the campground. Though we were living in Texas, the indoors are well air conditioned there while this Pennsylvania campground afforded us to sweat at the great outdoors.
The pool soon lured us to seek some relief. We set our towels on the patio furniture and headed for the water. We simultaneously stepped in and simultaneously screeched as we stepped back out. The water was colder than anything in the Lone Star State.
Over the years we've spent the night in several locations in the state. Each time we've gone for a swim in the hotels' pools, we found that they are all set at the same temperature. Now, no matter what land we are in, when we find chilly water we refer to it as a "Pennsylvania Pool."
Of course, I've done more in Pennsylvania than simply attempting to swim. I've been to historic sites like Gettysburg, Constitution Hall, and the Liberty Bell. Few places I've been have helped me connect with history as completely as have the sites of Pennsylvania.
And if I were to list the most significant spiritual experiences of my life so far, Pennsylvania hosted a disproportionate number of them, especially considering that I've never lived there. Who I am today was greatly shaped by events in the Keystone State.
So for me, Pennsylvania is the place where the water is cold and where I can still expect to swim in the deep end.
Point of Entry – Philadelphia International Airport
Unusually sweltering temperatures made was a bit more than we had anticipated when we arrived at the campground. Though we were living in Texas, the indoors are well air conditioned there while this Pennsylvania campground afforded us to sweat at the great outdoors.
The pool soon lured us to seek some relief. We set our towels on the patio furniture and headed for the water. We simultaneously stepped in and simultaneously screeched as we stepped back out. The water was colder than anything in the Lone Star State.
Over the years we've spent the night in several locations in the state. Each time we've gone for a swim in the hotels' pools, we found that they are all set at the same temperature. Now, no matter what land we are in, when we find chilly water we refer to it as a "Pennsylvania Pool."
Of course, I've done more in Pennsylvania than simply attempting to swim. I've been to historic sites like Gettysburg, Constitution Hall, and the Liberty Bell. Few places I've been have helped me connect with history as completely as have the sites of Pennsylvania.
And if I were to list the most significant spiritual experiences of my life so far, Pennsylvania hosted a disproportionate number of them, especially considering that I've never lived there. Who I am today was greatly shaped by events in the Keystone State.
So for me, Pennsylvania is the place where the water is cold and where I can still expect to swim in the deep end.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Oregon
Year of First Visit – 2007
Point of Entry – Portland International Airport
Oregon is another state whose memories for me started with a layover in the airport. Along with the requisite Starbucks and other standard airport fare, our terminal had a Powells in it. Used books at the airport? This was definitely a place for me to return to.
A couple years later we did, though not to the airport. And like that bookstore, Oregon had some wonderful things that seemed a bit out of place.
Like a spectacular waterfall --- along the freeway.
Like open flatlands --- with giant volcanoes rising out of them.
Like a stunning, giant, deep lake --- on top of an old volcano.
Like people bicycling --- on the Interstate.
Like a lecture at Fort Clatsop --- on the Battle of Baltimore.
Even the road we were on one Sunday afternoon was a bit out of place. We were on a newly opened bypass about which our GPS knew nothing. My kids squealed and laughed as the poor thing tried to tell us how to navigate across open fields.
Yes, much of what I remember of Oregon seems a bit out of place. But I'm one who loves sweet surprises so Oregon's memories are all real treats.
Point of Entry – Portland International Airport
Oregon is another state whose memories for me started with a layover in the airport. Along with the requisite Starbucks and other standard airport fare, our terminal had a Powells in it. Used books at the airport? This was definitely a place for me to return to.
A couple years later we did, though not to the airport. And like that bookstore, Oregon had some wonderful things that seemed a bit out of place.
Like a spectacular waterfall --- along the freeway.
Like open flatlands --- with giant volcanoes rising out of them.
Like a stunning, giant, deep lake --- on top of an old volcano.
Like people bicycling --- on the Interstate.
Like a lecture at Fort Clatsop --- on the Battle of Baltimore.
Even the road we were on one Sunday afternoon was a bit out of place. We were on a newly opened bypass about which our GPS knew nothing. My kids squealed and laughed as the poor thing tried to tell us how to navigate across open fields.
Yes, much of what I remember of Oregon seems a bit out of place. But I'm one who loves sweet surprises so Oregon's memories are all real treats.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Oklahoma
Year of First Visit – 1993
Point of Entry – Will Rogers Airport (Oklahoma City)
Some people wouldn't count my first two visits to Oklahoma as being legitimate. The first was in Oklahoma City on a flight to Texas and the second was a few days later in Tulsa on a flight home from Texas. We didn't get off either plane.
So even if you dispute our original stake in the Sooner State, they did mark us for further Oklahoma travels. For on that trip to Texas via Oklahoma my wife and I both got our first "real" jobs.
Just a couple months later my wife, my mother-in-law, and I buckled ourselves into the cab of the U-Haul and, car in tow, drove through Oklahoma on our move. That was the first of several trips across the state. I don't remember the name of the town we spent the night in but, like our first stops in the state, we were filled with anticipation of the future.
So you're free to question the legitimacy of my first claim to Oklahoma. That's how it worked for the folks in the state's land rush, too. Like them, I know what I claim and I plan on holding onto it.
Point of Entry – Will Rogers Airport (Oklahoma City)
Some people wouldn't count my first two visits to Oklahoma as being legitimate. The first was in Oklahoma City on a flight to Texas and the second was a few days later in Tulsa on a flight home from Texas. We didn't get off either plane.
So even if you dispute our original stake in the Sooner State, they did mark us for further Oklahoma travels. For on that trip to Texas via Oklahoma my wife and I both got our first "real" jobs.
Just a couple months later my wife, my mother-in-law, and I buckled ourselves into the cab of the U-Haul and, car in tow, drove through Oklahoma on our move. That was the first of several trips across the state. I don't remember the name of the town we spent the night in but, like our first stops in the state, we were filled with anticipation of the future.
So you're free to question the legitimacy of my first claim to Oklahoma. That's how it worked for the folks in the state's land rush, too. Like them, I know what I claim and I plan on holding onto it.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Ohio
Year of First Visit – 1987
Point of Entry – I-75 near Toledo
As my coworkers and I checked in to our hotel in suburban Cleveland that late November, the desk clerk gave us an exasperated, "Why are you here?!?!?"
"Business," we answered.
"Oh. That explains it. Nobody comes here this time of year without a reason."
The gloomy early winter gray drizzle even had the folks in the hospitality industry questioning our arrival in Ohio.
Not all of my Ohio memories are dismal and gray. They are made up of an odd combination of "Thru" and "To."
I-75 from Toledo to the Ohio River was my first experience in the Buckeye State. We were on our way to visit family who lived near the southern tip of Illinois so that was the most direct route.
Once living on the East Coast, the Ohio Turnpike (which, by the way, is the highway voted "easiest to drive" by members of my immediate family) became a regular through route from the Pennsylvania line to Toledo.
Separate from almost all these road trips, though, was a series of trips, mostly flights, to the Cleveland area.
In the early 2000s, my employer realigned our field and Cleveland became a central meeting point. This was especially handy for getting meeting space since we had historic sites and facilities in the area. For a few years I had an annual trek to gray and dismal Cleveland for week of gray and dismal meetings.
I've been back to that same site for meetings and retreats in the spring when the trees are in bloom and in the early fall when the leaves were at peak color. I've taken family and some work interns there in the summertime and experienced wonderful gardens in bloom.
And though I've been "thru" and "to" Ohio many times, I've got some places I've been near but not visited. That checklist includes places like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I'd also like to catch a baseball game in Cleveland and in Cincinnati.
So even if the folks checking me in to my next Ohio hotel don't know, I have good reasons to go back for a visit.
Point of Entry – I-75 near Toledo
As my coworkers and I checked in to our hotel in suburban Cleveland that late November, the desk clerk gave us an exasperated, "Why are you here?!?!?"
"Business," we answered.
"Oh. That explains it. Nobody comes here this time of year without a reason."
The gloomy early winter gray drizzle even had the folks in the hospitality industry questioning our arrival in Ohio.
Not all of my Ohio memories are dismal and gray. They are made up of an odd combination of "Thru" and "To."
I-75 from Toledo to the Ohio River was my first experience in the Buckeye State. We were on our way to visit family who lived near the southern tip of Illinois so that was the most direct route.
Once living on the East Coast, the Ohio Turnpike (which, by the way, is the highway voted "easiest to drive" by members of my immediate family) became a regular through route from the Pennsylvania line to Toledo.
Separate from almost all these road trips, though, was a series of trips, mostly flights, to the Cleveland area.
In the early 2000s, my employer realigned our field and Cleveland became a central meeting point. This was especially handy for getting meeting space since we had historic sites and facilities in the area. For a few years I had an annual trek to gray and dismal Cleveland for week of gray and dismal meetings.
I've been back to that same site for meetings and retreats in the spring when the trees are in bloom and in the early fall when the leaves were at peak color. I've taken family and some work interns there in the summertime and experienced wonderful gardens in bloom.
And though I've been "thru" and "to" Ohio many times, I've got some places I've been near but not visited. That checklist includes places like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I'd also like to catch a baseball game in Cleveland and in Cincinnati.
So even if the folks checking me in to my next Ohio hotel don't know, I have good reasons to go back for a visit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)