Best Things About My Town
I grew up in New York, on Long Island, but four and a half years ago, I moved to a little town in East Texas called Nacogdoches. While the first few months caused a bit of culture shock, and while I often long for things I can't get here (decent bagels, good theater, vegetarian restaurants) I've come to appreciate many things about the place that I now call home. Here, in no particular order, are the best things about my town!
1. The Blueberry Festival - the only state-sanctioned blueberry festival in all of Texas, this yearly event features a pancake feast, a street fair, and a ride to a local farm where you can pick all the blueberries you can carry.
2. Tonkawa Spring - a swimming hole with a rope swing. The best way to cool off during the sweltering Texas summers.
3. Sushi Y'all - our special name for the surprisingly delicious sushi place in town.
4. The Pine Knot - a monthly event where local musicians perform foot stomping tunes in an old church, for free. It's always BYOB and even if the music were terrible, being able to drink beers in church pews would make the night worth it!
5. Lanana Creek Trail and Pecan Park - a 5 mile trail that passes through the biggest, best park in town. It has a really fun disc golf course, which is a great way to spend time outside with your friends and your dogs.
6. Mild Winters - see that picture at the top of the page, of the tulips? I took that last February. Yes. February. Kind of makes the sweltering summers worth it!
7. Friends! - a place is nothing without people, and my town has some of the best ones I know!
If someone were visiting your town, what would you take them? What would you do? What are the best things about the place where you live? I can't wait to find out!
Posted by Chrissy
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1. Finding a secret trail to Lanana Creek where we can run through the ankle deep water trying to not slip on the wet rocks and play frisbee. *Back in the day, I loved sitting in the creek's mini waterfall and feeling the rush of the water on my back on a 102 degree summer day, but I was a little icked out about sitting in creek water.
2. Running/Walking/Walking the dogs/Riding a bike through Pecan Park and hitting the trails.
3. Picking blackberries in the summertime.
4. Eating homemade ice cream in my aunt and uncle's back yard before or after taking a swim in the pool.
5. Visiting friends' homes on a chilly night and being able to build fires in the backyard.
6. Eating at a restaurant that has no liquor license and being able to BYOB into the establishment.
I bounce back and forth between two different towns/cities. So, I'll compose two lists.
Kalamaoo:
1. My university!
2. All the delicious restaurants like Sushi-Ya and Ye Olde Peninsula
3. Everything is with in walking distance. Well, mostly anything. And if it's not, then free bus fare for students!
4. A really big downtown filled with anything the heart desires
5. $5 movie tickets any time for students and the Rave Theater (and free popcorn and sodas for students too!)
6. My apartment and my independence!
Now, I happen to like my "hometown" of Jackson better, so the list is a bit more extensive.
1. The country. I'm talking corn fields, yards filled with broken down tractors, and my 3/4 mile long dirt road.
2. The small downtown filled with small goodies (like, the Michigan Theater-- a super old school movie theater with one screen and elaborate decorations.
3. My family and my boyfriend
4. The STATE PRISON! Ok, so that's not really that great. BUT, it does provide a lot of jobs, and a lot of people seem to know Jackson as Prison City.
5. It's quiet, unlike bustling Kalamazoo. I like quiet.
6. The Farmer's Market in downtown. Some of the best peaches in the world can be bought at the Farmer's market.
7. The Book Exchange. Bring back a bunch of books for a handful of book points. Then, spend the points on other books instead of money. If you don't have books to exchange, it's still a great shop for cheap, used books.
8. Cruise Night!!! Once or twice a month during summer, a bunch of people gather on the streets of downtown and bring their old cruisers from the 1920-1970s. People can meander around and sometimes sit in these old automobiles.
9. Some of the best restaurants in the world, I swear. Crazy Cowboy! Oak Tree Lounge Cafe! Anna's! Ahi Sushi! Matt's Cafe!
10. Zero light pollution. At least in my neck of the woods. There are two sides to Jackson-- the city and the boonies. I happen to live in the boonies where street lamps don't exist. The sky seems to spread on for miles. It's so beautiful.
Aww...I just made myself homesick for Jackson =[
My fave things about Los Angeles...
1. The weather (Duh)
2. Movie theaters. I love getting early release films here, as well as having all sorts of indie specialty theaters. If you want to see it, you can probably find it here.
3. Diversity. I live in the traditionally Jewish neighborhood (GREAT delis, bagel shops and bakeries), but just a mile in one direction is little Ethiopa, a mile in another is Koreatown and a mile in yet another direction is West Hollywood, the traditionally gay part of town. I love that you meet people from all over the world here...and that they all bring their food with them! Mmmm...Korean bbq, Mexican taco stands, Cuban, Caribbean...as;ldkfja;lsd
4. Griffith Park. The observatory, lots of hiking trails, and even an abandoned zoo!
5. Dodger games! I love nothing more on a warm summer evening than going to Dodger Stadium, grabbing a beer and a Dodger dog, and watching some baseball.
6. Cool bars. The Edison downtown is a 1920's themed bar in an old power plant. SO COOL. Then there are all my favorite dive bars across town, British pubs, all sorts of themed bars...etc etc.
7. My neighborhood. From the open air newstand on the corner, to the 24 hour deli down the street, and the Grove (outdoor mall and permanent Farmer's Market) a 1/3 of a mile away...I couldn't find a better place to live. It's a neighborhood of 1920's Spanish style buildings filled with mostly 20 and early 30 somethings. It's extremely walkable so I don't have to deal with the notorious LA traffic. I honestly couldn't be happier with where I live.
Thanks for this theme! There are times (usually when I'm stuck in traffic or the bank near my house has been robbed...AGAIN) that I kind of get down on LA. But writing this list made me realize just how much I actually LOVE about living here. And Nacogdoches sounds cool! I actually grew up in a small somewhat rural town, so I can definitely appreciate a swimming hole and picking blackberries. Mmmm. :)
1. Stag & Spey - a water hole with waterfalls. It's on private land so you pretty much have to be a local to go there!
2.Mouth of the Kowhai River for a bonfire
3. Mount Fyffe - it takes a few hours to walk to the top, and there is a hut about 3/4 of the way up to stay in overnight
4. Clifftop walk around the peninsula
5. Fish and chips on the beach
I'm currently based out of Minneapolis, which is pretty lovely place if you can get past the six months of snow.
- The best indie rock radion station in America, nay, THE WORLD
- home to post-it notes, cheerios, Target, Charles Schultz, the Coen Brothers, Al Franken, Bob Dylan, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Charles Lindberg. You're welcome.
- Movies and Music in the Park every summer
- a fantastic and affordable music scene
- the Hmong veggie market in Frogtown all summer and fall (red peppers for $2 a pound? Yes please)
- opportunities for swimming at every turn
- great restaraunts
- heaps of bike paths
- people I've known since ever
Oh Boston, I love you.
1. It's a clean city.
2. Historical sites...Paul Revere's house? Check. Bunker Hill (and other American Revolution sites)? Check. Boston Tea Party? Check.
3. Great colleges and universities (Harvard, BU, MIT, Tufts to name just a few)
4. Liberals!! If you're looking for a city (and state) of Democrats and environmentalists, pro-choicers and liberals, come to Boston!
5. Decriminalized marijuana.
6. Friendly people (despite the rumors) & close-knit neighborhoods
7. Close to Cape Cod and Cambridge, two of my favorite places in the world
8. Great sports teams and HUGELY dedicated fans (Go Bruins and Pats!)
9. I live there! (Even if it's only for a few weeks at year while I'm at college)
Adelaide, South Australia
1.) "Spheres" statue aka. The Mall's Balls
2.) Adelaide Fringe Festival
3.) Everyone knowing everyone - You meet someone "new"... Turns out they're your brother's ex-girlfriend's sister's best friend... Or have some other equally convoluted relationship to you... Haha!
4.) Everything in close proximity
5.) Weather
6.) Fashion
7.) Late night cafe's - especially Spatz and the Elephant Walk.
8.) Strawberry picking at Hahndorf
9.) Random street art e.g. Pigs in Rundle mall, Stuff in Hindmarsh Square
10. Wine!
Loughborough is a boring little town, but it does have a few notable features!
1. A university which produces a ridiculous amount of Britain's Olympic athletes.
2. A heritage railway that runs beer festivals on steam trains! (I'm a big geek, I love it!)
3. A traditional bell foundry that made the bell in Big Ben.
4. A very ugly statue in the centre of town called the Sock Man.
5. One of only 15 Carrilons in the UK, in the middle of the park.
6. A huge amount of gyms!
Reno/Sparks, NV
1. Artown - a month long arts festival held every July, with the majority of events being FREE
2. The weather. We get snow in the winter, and in the 100's in the summer. I love the variety.
3. Lake Tahoe is just a 30 minute drive away, which includes several ski resorts, hiking, swimming, camping, etc.
4. All the other special events, including but not limited to: Great Reno Hot Air Balloon Race, Rib Cookoff, Hot August Nights, Italian Festival, monthly wine walks, etc.
5. It's NOT Vegas.
Sydney, Australia
-NEWTOWN!! Oh my God, all the pretty people and cool little stores up and down King St, and that cute busker kid who sits and plays like a fiend on the guitar near the train station
-The path you can walk around to get around the Harbour, it is really a beautiful sight
-All the little hidden shops and places tucked into the corners of the city
-The diversity, oooh!
-Awesome little gigs and festivals you can find around the place
-STREET PERFORMERS.
Oh, and how could I forget?!
THE CARNIVAL OF ELECTRIC ILLUSIONS.
Google it!
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