The Perfect Place

Abe,

How did you decide to live in Germany?

Jo Elle,

Which contiguous state has eluded you?

Alice,
yes it was a decision of choice. Traveling to an area doesn't allow the time needed to know if living there would suit. I think one must live in an area for a while to get a true feel for what it is like.
Having lived in numerous areas within the US, two locations in Canada, several locations in Germany, in Holland, in Greece and in the Middle East, I had a feel for where I would like to settle down. I was always drawn to my home state of PA for nostalgic reasons and family, however once my parents no longer existed I did not feel the same attraction. I therefore chose a place that I felt would suit me and my wife.
It has the quiet and security that I desire, the forests that I love and the freedom to live my life as I choose.
Do I miss my friends and relatives in the states? Of course. Does their lifestyle agree with mine. For the most part no. What we have in common is the fact that we're related. I don't want to live my life to suit someone else, and living in my hometown without conforming to their way of living and philosophical thinking makes me an outsider.

Well it isn't Ohio, to many buckeyes over there. Charlottesville, Virgina is nice you do have to be careful not to get in the yuppies way. Hawaii I enjoyed but I didn't be surrounded by water. Japan was okay but I knew I would never be able to learn the language. I think I'll stay in the mountains of West Virgiania. It's far from perfect but what home is?

Last summer, I visited Tatton Park in Cheshire with my husband and brother. Here are a few of the photos I took. The first is Tatton Hall and the next three are taken in the Japanese gardens:

Ok, I've changed my mind. I want to live at Tatton Park.

Those are gorgeous photos, Shelagh. The world is so full of beauty and everyone had great ideas on the perfect or not so perfect place.

And beauty is so diverse, isn't it, Zada?

Shelagh, being able to see such magnificent scenery on a regular basis has to be uplifting.

Alice,

Are you and David really coming to SA? If you are, There are many more "uptown" places here. (The Luckenbach song was sort of a joke.) You could see the Botanical Gardens



Go to the Paseo del Rio, or Riverwalk, which runs through the middle of the city, and have lunch at Casa Rio. It's by the colored umbrellas. I was seven years old the first time I ate there. The last time, a few months ago, the food was as good as ever.


Or, the San Antonio Symphony performs at the Majestic Theater. My son-in-law played with them as a guest hornist several times. It's an old art-deco theater from the 20's.



Or take a walk with me in Voelker Park, about a mile from my house



There's also the McNay art museum, SeaWorld, where my son-in-law is now the director of theaters, the Institute of Texas Cultures, La Villita - a series of art studios and gift shops on the riverwalk, several old Spanish missions, and, if you must, that old tourist trap right in the middle of downtown called the Alamo.

Ann

Ann,


Gorgeous pictures.

We really want to come---I want to see San Antonio--Dave was there for Basic training.

We will take you to lunch--there is noway I would subject a friend to cooking for me. I am on such a limited diet, it is ridiculous.

Abe,

Good answer--wise choice.

Shelagh,

How beautful!

I just have to add to Abe's post about why he lives where he does in Germany. It is a wonderful small town with grape vines and lovely old buildings and Abe has many, many friends there. (His wife grew up in Germany and loves this town also.) We visited there a couple of years ago and found it wonderful.

My ancestors were wanderers. They never seemed to stay in one state or country for more than one generation.

The town we live in has people who have lived here for many generations. There are certain names that are very prevalent in the phone book. Very few people stayed in the town I lived in as a child.

Carol

Alice wrote:

Jo Elle,

Why do you like North Bend, WA?

.....

It is so close to Snoqualmie and is absolutely gorgeous and I pick free blackberries at the truck stop every summer.

I really just love the forests of western Oregon and western Washington. And the wild blackberries!!!

Alice wrote:

Abe,

How did you decide to live in Germany?

Jo Elle,

Which contiguous state has eluded you?

Vermont.

Been close.

Been to Massachusetts. Been to Maine. Been to New Hampshire.

But just not made it over the state line into Vermont.

alj wrote:

And beauty is so diverse, isn't it, Zada?

Shelagh, being able to see such magnificent scenery on a regular basis has to be uplifting.

Alice,

Are you and David really coming to SA? If you are, There are many more "uptown" places here. (The Luckenbach song was sort of a joke.) You could see the Botanical Gardens.
Go to the Paseo del Rio, or Riverwalk, which runs through the middle of the city, and have lunch at Casa Rio. It's by the colored umbrellas. I was seven years old the first time I ate there. The last time, a few months ago, the food was as good as ever.
Or, the San Antonio Symphony performs at the Majestic Theater. My son-in-law played with them as a guest hornist several times. It's an old art-deco theater from the 20's.
Or take a walk with me in Voelker Park, about a mile from my house

There's also the McNay art museum, SeaWorld, where my son-in-law is now the director of theaters, the Institute of Texas Cultures, La Villita - a series of art studios and gift shops on the riverwalk, several old Spanish missions, and, if you must, that old tourist trap right in the middle of downtown called the Alamo.

Ann

Ann!

We used to live in San Antonio!

We always took our "visitors" to the Botanical Gardens, the Alamo, and the Riverwalk. We also took them around downtown on those little trolley cars. They used to cost only 5 cents.

We may live out west now ... but San Antonio Spurs is still our team!!

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I'm a bit of a wanderer. My husband is also, but maybe a bit less than me. We moved seven times in six years at one point. There's probably no perfect place for us... we've been sure we'd found it a few times, and then moved again. We moved to the coast, for the air and the light. We didn't expect to stay (unlike our other moves, when we were certain we would), and yet we have, and we have no plans to move again. We toy with the idea of moving to France, but whether or not we'll do it years from now is anyone's guess.

Ann!

Quote :

We used to live in San Antonio!

We always took our "visitors" to the Botanical Gardens, the Alamo, and the Riverwalk. We also took them around downtown on those little trolley cars. They used to cost only 5 cents.

We may live out west now ... but San Antonio Spurs is still our team!!
_________________
~ JoElle ~

I don't think the trolleys are still here, Jo Elle. I hadn't thought of them in quite a while, although I remember them from earlier visits. I don't get downtown often, but when I have, I haven't seen a trolley.

But what I do see, and you probably remember, are the hills, and in spring, the bluebonnets. It's a very "feel-good" place to be, except maybe in late August.

I always wanted to go to a country in Europe and live in one place for a couple of months. There have always been factors keeping me from doing this.

Carol

I tend to write about my favourite places in my stories and blog. I don't think there is any one perfect place for me, but there are places that evoke some pretty strong emotions for me. Being close to the water or around forests brings about a feeling of peace. Small towns with friendly people and things to explore make me feel happy. Cities with hustle and bustle help me feel creative and energetic. So far, I don't think I've actually been anywhere that I didn't like a lot about what I saw. Except maybe driving through Montreal during rush hour in the midst of torrential rain. Was not too crazy about that!

Pam, try Leesville, Louisiana. That may make you change your mind.

In NewZealand, we went on a tour of the West Coast of the South Island. When we arrived at this bridge (Haast Gates), the road at the opposite end of the bridge had been washed away completely by twelve inches of rain that had fallen in twenty-four hours. The water below the bridge had swollen to a raging torrent that came over the top of the road bridge. Cars were only allowed through twice a day while the road was being fixed. We had to park in the lay-by and wait until 3p.m. and then made our way across the bridge to a track of deep, slurring mud. It was pretty scary and stalling the car was not an option!

I’ve lived in six states and still haven’t found the perfect one for me. I love trees, rivers, and lakes, but found if I live near them, I also have to deal with mosquitoes, ticks, and every other stinging insect that flies or crawls. I lived in northern MN and could deal with the extreme cold and several feet of snow, but it was the insects that made me run.

The southern landscape in Louisiana, where I grew up, is beautiful with all the green and the Spanish Moss dripping from the huge oaks. People are so friendly there, as they are in Mississippi, Florida, etc. But for some reason, I no longer think spotting a copperhead or coral snake is fun. I love to swim, but really don’t care to wonder if that slippery thing that just brushed my ankle in the lake is a fish or a snake.

In Southern CA, I live near Palm Springs, but it’s so deserty that the heat in the summer is horrible. Here again, I don’t wander around outside of town because of the snakes and Gila monsters. But no mosquitoes and little humidity, so at least I can get out at night and do my shopping without wilting or my hair frizzing.

I love the mountainous area in SW WV, but I’ve seen photos of the mountaintop mining and heard what it's done to the once-clean rivers and creeks. Where beautiful forested areas used to cover mountains, the landscape now resembles the barren Martian planet. I saw a photo of people in a small town in southwest WV wearing masks to protect their lungs from coal dust. Even their water wells were contaminated. What a tragedy.

If I had my choice, I’d live so close to the ocean that I could see and hear the waves, but I haven’t found a place that one month’s stay wouldn’t equal my life’s savings.

So a perfect place? I’d love to find it. But since I doubt one exists, my goal is to buy a small motor home and travel the States, go when I want and stop where I want. There’s so much beauty here – even the deserts have a unique beauty. But snowcapped mountains and waterfalls rank pretty darn high. I want to see it all.

I am glad I get paid to wander.

Yesterday I saw Mount Hood, Multnomah Falls, and the Columbia River.

Today I was on the Oregon coast near Newport.

There is beauty everywhere.

I have now lived in Florida from 1980-88, 93-98, 2003-2009. I guess I must like it the best. The truth is that I find something to love where I live. While I am living and working in a location, it is my favorite. Then, I also enjoy visits to special places also. Florida does have a big chunk of warm, sunny days, an exotic Everglades and a magnificent Gulf.

Idaho was an unsung gem in my mind. I loved every day there, every travel to a new wonder, ever change in weather and change in topography. The lack of an ocean was a loss, but the spectacular mountains and lack of traffic came close to making up for it.

When I lived in Butzbach, Germany and Weisbaden, Germany, I felt like I had returned to my "previous life." Every day was unique and special, full of warm and generous friends with whom the materialism of the U.S. dissipated. Returning to the U.S. both times was a shocking disappointment.

I found California exciting and challenging. For me it was the youthful memories of Sunset Strip, Hollywood Blvd., Huntington Beach, Surfside and more that made it a magical place. In 1989 I lived in Solvang, horse country; and the beauty was mesmerizing.

My list covers the U.S., Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Venezuela, the Caribbean Islands and more...yet, my favorite place was wherever that special someone shared the joy and beauty with me. Those places include South Korea, Lake Tahoe, Philadelphia, Muskegon, San Francisco, Boston, Cupertino and Fort Myers. Every place else has special aspects I will always cherish, but these last make the rest dim by comparison.

I've never lived anywhere I didn't find beauty and joy. Big doses of natural environment make me the happiest; yet, the rhythms of Miami also made me sing and dance with life.

YOU ARE ALL PRECIOUS AND I AM SO GLAD YOU LIVE--WISH I COULD VISIT YOU ALL.

If it isn't against the rules, I'd like to write about a place I love today, the inspiration for my next novel, "About the Ghost Orchid." This article is from the Naples Daily News, July 2008

Home › Lifestyle › Neapolitan


Fans come and go, but apostles of ghost orchid are faithful in their devotion

By KATY BISHOP (Contact)
6:45 p.m., Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Video


A blooming ghost orchid at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary attracts many spectators Watch »


Photo Gallery

Ghost Orchid

The Ghost Orchid had it's first bloom on June 23rd 2008 at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Last year the rare orchid brought visitors from all over the world when it became known that the flower existed at the sanctuary.



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Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

375 Sanctuary Road West, Naples, Fl

They are amazed and excited like new mothers marveling at tiny fingers and toes. They coo, worry and measure minute changes: A bud about to burst, a tender, green root tip, the browning oldest flower and the pristine white baby bloom.
Some visit it every day, talking to it like an old friend. Others take hundreds, even thousands of pictures. But if you’re squinting through the spotting scope for the first time, you might be surprised.
Ghost orchids are strange looking creatures.
At Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, the treasured blooms float high on the trunk of a 400- to 500-year-old bald cypress tree. Delicate white petals dance naked in the breeze, disembodied and without leaves. Beneath, brown roots cling to the tree bark. They are long and spindly like the fingers of Greek mythology’s three Fates: The women who spun, measured and cut the thread of life.
The ghost is primal, like the swamp itself.
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Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/jul/09/fans-come-and-go-apostles-ghost-orchid-are-faithfu/

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