39. Spokane

           I think everyone who lives in a little town or rural area has a larger “hub” town or city that they frequent for shopping purposes, entertainment or whatever. Spokane, Washington is that city for those of us living in North Idaho. Oh, sure we go to Coeur d’Alene but Spokane is the city and Coeur d’Alene is just a bigger town. I quite enjoy Spokane. I know my way around and I know the various activities and shopping the city has to offer. I don’t know that I’d consider Spokane a particularly safe city, but I know it well enough to not be uncomfortable with that. It has a gritty mid-sized eastern city feel about it. Most western cities don’t seem old, run down or just urban but Spokane does. There are houses upon houses that were obviously built in the beginning days of the 20^th century and they are all in various states of repair for homes of that age. The newer communities were built mid 20^th century so they aren’t too shining either. The downtown area has a lot of old brick buildings that seemed to be in their heyday from the 50s to 80s and only recently have they been given much care to bring them into this century.

I like that industrial feel of Spokane, the city that was built because of mining, timber, farming of the area and hydro-electric power that made aluminum affordable. I like that you can still find curious little shops that take you back in time to my childhood. I like the feel of athleticism that wells up in the city from Bloomsday, Gonzaga Bulldogs, national ice skating contests and Hoopfest yet no major professional teams. It’s a grass roots athleticism. I like that I can go there and see a play or hear a concert and drive home on the same day. I like that I can go shopping there and run into people I know or I can be anonymous depending on the day. I like that I can feel a sense of caring from a medical community that is big enough to do major surgeries, yet small enough that people there know where it is I live. I guess I just really like the comfort of Spokane, it’s gritty feel and the beauty of where it is. I’m just grateful for Spokane.

38. Seattle

While it’s true that I love living where I do, far from the madding crowd, I do have some cities that I love and go to often. I already mentioned San Francisco and New York, but I seldom go to either of those. Seattle is different. I go there all the time. Never less than once a year and sometimes five or six times a year. It is a big city and I always used to shy away from it in my younger years because I get frightened of getting lost or stuck in some wrong neighborhood. But that’s never happened to me in Seattle and my more frequent visits have calmed that fear. I don’t even know if Seattle has any truly “bad” neighborhood. Every time we (my family and I) go there we try to take in something new. We have been taken to Seattle more often than not for medical reasons so Seattle could easily be equated with all the negativity of hospital stays. But the outcomes of those visits have been positive and the people we’ve acquainted ourselves with have been so wonderful.

On a sunny clear day I have gone for runs in the Laurelhurst area above Children’s Hospital and there you can take in views of Lake Washington, the Puget Sound, Mt. Rainier and the Cascades and the Olympic mountains. Similar views (with Lake Union instead of Lake Washington) can be seen from the top of the Space Needle with a fancy dinner. Watching people throw fish in a market where you can buy anything Northwest is something to do at Pike Place Market and you can step out on the street there and see the Olympics rising above Eliot Bay with the high rises of the city at your back. If you want the arts you can find them downtown or in Seattle Center. And professional sports with the Mariners Baseball team, the Seahawks football team or the Sounders soccer team are all at hand and easily accessible for me with a direct flight from Pullman and a half hour transit ride from SeaTac. I won’t lie and tell you that Seattle is an easy city to drive in, but you can do fine with public transportation so there’s nothing to fear. Seattle is my second home and I’m grateful for it.

37. San Francisco

Whether it’s just a drive over the Oakland Bridge, walking across the Golden Gate or picnicking in Presidio Park, there is something about San Francisco that has an allure for me. For one thing the people there seem to be friendly. Yes, it has an aura of eeriness that you can hold onto. Take a ferry ride to Alcatraz or watch the summer fog roll in when you were hoping for that famous California sunshine and you’ll get a gloomy chill. But you also feel a warmth as you stroll your winding way down Lombard Street or ride a trolley to look at the holiday displays at Macy’s. And the chocolate at Ghirardelli? Well, who doesn’t understand the warmth of chocolate? And the strange thing is that it seems like it should always be raining in San Francisco like it is in Portland or Seattle, but it really doesn’t rain very much there. And then there’s China Town. Just wandering the hilly streets and finding cheap trinkets or eating dumplings all seems to be part of the pleasure of San Francisco. I’ve been there quite a few times and I’ve heard all about its reputation of sleaze but by and large that’s not really all that prevalent. You can find sleaze anywhere you can find people, so if you are looking for it in San Francisco you can find it. But you can also find the welcome of the Golden Gate and its escape from the oppressive heat of the valley. When I think of California, I think mega stars, money and shallow people sun bathing on sunny beaches or golfing at Palm Springs. That’s not San Francisco at all. It’s a breath of fresh air and a gateway to the redwood forests. That’s why, in spite of my disdain for most things Californian, I’m grateful for San Francisco.

36. Boston

 There are a zillion things to love about New England and Boston is one of them. Boston has some of the oldest history of the United States with its Puritan heritage. I love the whole idea of our freedom as a nation being started and founded there. Our oldest university is in the suburb of Cambridge. The shot heard ‘round the world was fired there. We are a coffee drinking nation because of our revolt against unfair taxes that lead to the dumping of British tea into Boston Harbor. You can still go see the USS Constitution, Old Ironsides, in Boston Harbor. If you walk through the cemetery off Boston Commons you can find the writer, Sarah (Mother) Goose, of our most belov3ed nursery rhymes. You can still go imagine the lanterns when you view the Old North Church and almost hear Longfellow quoting his famous, “One if by land, two if by sea.” Some of my favorite actors, Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, are from there. That beautiful accent that forgets R’s in the middle of works (Hahvahd) and adds them at the end of others (idear) resounds in my ears. The marathon is there! Its gritty route through all the years is a testament to the resilience and strength—and celebration of all that—of mankind has continued for over a century. There is something transcendent in that phrase “Boston Strong” that Americans all have a stake in. It’s one of those beautiful cities that I take pride in and am so grateful for.