ONE MAN ON EARTH: THE USA

MICHIGAN


The Motor City. Motown. Detroit, Rock City.

For the first 37+ years of my life, I always resided somewhere on the outskirts of metro Detroit (and I have lived in the actual city a few times). Until moving to Bangkok, Thailand in the summer of 2007, I never even lived in another state before. For that reason, Detroit will always be my home, no matter what my address is.

When I tell people where I'm from for the first time, the first reaction is often "Detroit?" followed by some disparaging remark. In my opinion, most of those comments are unwarranted.

I'm not saying that Detroit is the greatest city on Earth, but it is far from the worst. There are a lot of fun things to do around town, if you know what they are. Some of the areas north of the city are very nice places to live and raise a family.

Detroit is also the undisputed rock and roll capital of the world. Don't believe me? Then check out this list of artists from Detroit (and its surrounding areas) and tell me another city that can even come close to this kind of talent:

Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Four Tops, the Temptations, Madonna, Bob Seger, the White Stripes, Eminem, Kid Rock, the MC5, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, John Lee Hooker, Bill Haley, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, Mitch Ryder, ? and the Mysterians, Brownsville Station, Grand Funk Railroad, the Romantics, Sponge, the Knack, and Glen Frey (from the Eagles)...

These are just some of the musicians that have put Detroit on the map. There must be something good going on there to inspire such a broad range of creativity and that fact alone makes Detroit cool.

The rest of the state is nice too. Northern Michigan is home to some of the most beautiful parts of the country and there's a reason that Michigan is called the Great Lakes State.

I could go on and on about my home, but I will save all that for a future blog.

I've also traveled quite a bit throughout the rest of the country (both for business and for pleasure) and all that is detailed here:

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Despite the fact that it's currently the home of the Worst President in the History of the Country, our nation's capital is still a great tourist destination. There are a lot of amazing museums and things to see around every corner. I would highly recommend a visit there.

One note about this logo: you'll notice that in the International section, all of the logos have the country flag even though they're about a particular city ("One Man in Bangkok" for example). For the USA section, I chose to use the individual state flags, because there are so many of them and it would look a bit boring if they all had the American flag on them.

Even though the District of Columbia has it's own unique flag:

I think the American flag is the best one to use here because it is so recognizable and therefore the perfect symbol for the country's capital city.

OHIO

Anyone who criticizes Michigan and Detroit should really take a ride through Ohio sometime.

Sure, there are fun things to do there like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland (it should be in Detroit though), the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, and Cedar Point in Sandusky. Also, Tony Packo's Cafe in Toledo (made famous in the classic TV show M*A*S*H) is the home of the World's Greatest Hot Dogs.

But aside from that...

ILLINOIS

Chicago is a great town. If had to live anywhere else in the US besides Detroit, the Windy City would be my first choice. It's exciting, vibrant and has a lot of great cultural attractions. I've been there many times and I'm dying to go again.

CALIFORNIA

I've visited California on several different occasions, both for work and for vacations. Besides LA, I've checked out San Diego, Hollywood, San Francisco, San Jose and several other memorable places that I just can't remember right now. I'm not sure I would want to live in California, but it's still a must see state in my opinion.

FLORIDA


Florida is a lot like California: fantastic tourist destination, but not somewhere I would want to plant my roots. I've been to Tampa, Orlando, Key Largo, Ft. Lauderdale, and most recently Miami. There's always something to do in Florida.

MISSOURI

My sister lives in Kansas City, so I've been there a couple of times. Once, we stopped in St. Louis along the way and checked out the famous Arch and other points of interest.

NEW YORK

The Big Apple. The City that Never Sleeps. No matter what you call it, New York is one of the greatest cities on the planet. Everyone should go there at least once before they die.

NEW JERSEY

A few years ago I had to go to Newark for a friend's wedding. The nuptials were on Sunday, but we arrived on Friday. On the days leading up to the wedding, we spent all of our free time in Manhattan (easily accessible by train). I think that tells you all you need to know about Newark.

MASSACHUSETTS

I haven't spent too much time in the New England area, but we did take a trip to Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard a couple of years ago. While there, we stayed at a cozy bed and breakfast in a quaint little town called Sandwich. For some reason, I was constantly hungry there...

I've never been to Boston, so next I time I'm in Massachusetts, that's a high priority for me.

CONNECTICUT

On the same trip detailed above, we also stopped in Hartford. The one thing I remember from the town was Mark Twain's house. Other than that...

NEVADA


Vegas Baby!

Sin City is a great tourist destination and I've been there several times. It's always fun and want to keep going back again and again.

That being said, I can only take the place for a few days at a time. I don't gamble too much, but the food is fantastic, the shows are phenomenal, the freakish people watching is always a blast, but the whole experience always wears thin after awhile.

Still, we got married in Vegas, so it will always be special to me.

ARIZONA

On one of our trips to Vegas we rented a car and drove to the Grand Canyon. That was one of the most breath taking experiences I've ever had and something everyone should make the time to do. Wow!

UTAH

Same trip as above: from the Grand Canyon we drove to Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park in Utah. It was most impressive!

That week was probably one of the best trips we've ever took. You start with the high stakes, high rollers and hi jinks of Vegas and when you're sick of it after a few days, you hop in a car and check out some of the most amazing natural wonders on the planet! The result is a well-rounded trip that covers all of the bases. I would highly recommend this kind of itinerary to anyone visiting this part of the good 'ol US of A.

I really have to give my wife credit for planning that one. She is really great at that kind of stuff.

WEST VIRGINIA

In 1992, I went on a white water rafting trip on the New River in West Virginia. Despite the fact that it was summertime, it was unseasonably cold that weekend and I almost caught hypothermia when I fell into the River. Still, it was a fun time and my first foray into adventure travel.

MINNESOTA

I've been to the Twin Cities a few times in the past (always for business). In the summer, it's a pretty enough place (a lot of lakes) and I'm sure there's a lot to do there. When winter hits, it's deathly cold, but still full of potential. Unfortunately, I didn't get to experience any of that stuff there. Most of my free time was spent at the Mall of America (across from our hotel), which got old quick.

NORTH CAROLINA

Another business trip, this time to Charlotte. Not much to report on here.

TEXAS

Yet, another trip for work. El Paso was OK, but I want to go to Dallas, Houston or San Antonio (or all of them) to say I've really experienced Texas.

I was there in 1995, right around the time when the aforementioned Worst President in the History of the United States was starting his not-so-illustrious political career as Governor of Texas. Ugh...

NEW MEXICO

Same business trip as above. Not too memorable, but it was fun in it's own way.

KENTUCKY

I went to Louisville, Kentucky as a kid. I don't remember too much about it, but we did take a trip to the place where they make baseball bats and that was fun for me at the time.

Well, that covers my travels through the US. In order to get included on this list, I had to have spent at least a day or so in the city and had some sort of experience there. Places that I've just driven through (Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, etc.) or airports I've stepped foot in just to change flights (like Denver) don't count.