3.79 million square miles by mouse

You know, I have to say that I've really enjoyed taking this virtual tour of these United States. I have to give props to the world wide web, I mean once you get through all of the advertisements and other BS, there's an entire atmosphere's worth of information on everything I could ever possibly imagine to know about a place. From a state's color of choice, or local dialects, or phobias and taboos, to their highest and least paid jobs, its all there for me to marvel at. And I cannot begin to tell you how much I've enjoyed learning all of these amazing "little known facts", without ever having to leave my seat. Its been very, very cool :)

Ok, so down to business; in my last post I stated that I eliminated about 2/3 of the country from the running mainly due to unattractive weather conditions (I'm not a fan of extreme cold). So that left the deep South, the Southwest, and the Pacific Northwest. With the exception of the Southwest, the majority of the states within these regions are either on or close to the ocean, which is a huge turn on, as I am a water baby. All of them have actual seasons, or some version them, and they all have amazing landscapes with ever changing terrains and textures. So bottom line, nature reigns supreme in these states which means they would provide me with loads of natural eye candy.

But in the spirit of keeping it real, there are states that I know I can eliminate without hesitation, simply because they don't appeal to me; like the majority of the deep South: Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, The Carolina's and Mississippi. Oklahoma and Arkansas are no's for me too as they are breeding grounds for tornadoes, and Florida is out because of a horrible childhood experience that I never quite got over (mosquitoes and I are not friends), and then there's Lousiana, although steeped with history, culture, phenomenal music and FOOD, its plagued with bad luck. Between hurricanes and oil spills, its like a magnet for tough times, and I don't want to leave one version of bad vibes, to go and set up shop in another. So the two left standing in the South are Texas and Georgia.

As for the Southwest, Colorado and Utah are out, although very beautiful, they have pretty harsh winters. And Nevada...really??? Can I see myself living in a place that has played host to some of my guiltiest pleasures.....I'm thinking no LOL. That's the one place that I want to keep sacred :). So that leaves Arizona and New Mexico still in the running in the Southwest. And finally, in the Pacific Northwest we have Alaska, Oregon and Washington. Three of the most beautiful places in the U.S., but one I'm sad to say, would make me feel like I've been exiled (hmmm, I wonder which one that is), which leaves Oregon and Washington still in the batter's box. (Hawaii is...well its freakin HAWAII, I can't even conceive it).

So it's down to the big six: Texas, Georgia, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington. WOW!!! I can't believe how small this list has gotten, I am so thrilled right now that its getting harder to sit still. Now it gets really interesting, now I can begin looking at each of these states with childlike eyes, full of wonder and mystery, and use my naivety to probe deeper into each of them. I feel like I've covered so much ground thus far; but I'm certainly no where near the end of this journey. This is just the beginning, and I'm so looking forward to whatever else I find :) T-minus 358...