Thursday, November 15, 2007

What is it about your hometown?

So I am living as an adult in my hometown. I was born at the local hospital and raised in the Scarsdale neighborhood of Arlington Heights. After years in Ohio for college and then in the suburbs of Chicago as well as in the City, I chose to raise my son where I grew up.
Over drinks with a friend last night who shares the wanderlust I do for travel, I shared my recent travel stories as well as my sadness that my most recent international trip put me off of traveling for awhile. All I really wanted to do was go home and nest. I think it was my general distaste for Italy but I also think there is something about your hometown that literally draws you home.
Growing up, my family and I lived in Arlington Heights, but my parents also had homes in Colorado and Florida where we spent every holiday and 3 months each summer. My "hometown" of Gulfport Florida is a sleepy bay town on the Gulf of Mexico and every few months I wake up with the desire to go "home" to Florida. As soon as I can smell the saltwater in the air, it feels familiar.

So I did some research on books about this topic, and found some good ones.
Hometown Tales:Recollections of Kindness, Peace and Joy by Philip Gulley








and American Profile Hometown Cookbook: A Celebration of America's Table by Candace Floyd









I am already getting restless for another trip, so it's off to Las Vegas in 2 weeks. Now I have to finish my Vegas travel books.

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