Where you live

[Sadie G]

K - Thanks for sharing the info and photos of your area. Its a beautiful state, I've been there many times. I love the photo of your downtown area with the buildings lit up. What a beautiful photo. My brother and his family have lived in Virginia Beach for 25 years or so. One of my nieces lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains, thats a beautiful photo you took.
Thanks for sharing!

[marymac]

Great idea Tracy!
I live in Livingston, NJ it is a suburb of Newark and about 25 miles west of Manhattan. We are in the foothills of the Appalachia Mountains. We have ski slopes less than 45 minutes away and the famous Jersey Shore less than an hour. (btw most of the people on THAT show are New Yorkers!) Livingston has about 28,000 residents in 14 square miles. The town was first settled before 1700, purchased from the Lene Lenape tribe. We have easy access to so many things, NYC, hiking, skiing, boating, camping, you name it. We have four distinct seasons and fall is almost over, but what a sight when the leaves change color. We can get severe Hurricanes in late summer early fall, but (rare, brief) tornados, no earthquakes.
There are several famous Livingstonites, Jason Alexander (George from Seinfeld), Author Harlan Coban, Chelsea Handler of Chelsea Lately, Roger Tsien( nobel prize in chemistry) to name a few.
New Jersey is the 3rd State and one of the original 13 colonies. 5 New Jerseyans signed the Declaration of Independence. The topography of the state changes drastically and the southern part is mostly flat and farmland, and the north more mountainous or hilly. It is the third smallest state but the most densely populated in the country. We have the highest percentage of post graduate degrees in the nation. Atlantic City is home of the first Miss America Pageant and the design for the original Monopoly board. The first Baseball game was played in Hoboken, the first football game between Rutgers and Princeton was in New Brunswick. The Hindenburg crashed in Lakewood, NJ and the Lindbergh baby was kidnapped from East Amwell. The light bulb, phonograph (record player), motion picture projector were invented by Thomas Edison in Menlo Park.
The nickname is the Garden State, if you have ever tasted our corn or tomatoes you know why. New Jersey's agricultural outputs are nursery stock, horses, vegetables, fruits and nuts, seafood, and dairy products. New Jersey ranks second among states in blueberry production, third in cranberries and spinach and fourth in bell peppers, peaches and head lettuce. New Jersey's economy is centered on the pharmaceutical industry, chemical development, telecommunications, food processing, electric equipment, printing and publishing, and tourism. Home of Taylor Ham and Lenox China.
New Jersey has some really famous sons and daughters:
Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Jon Stewart, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Brian Depalma, Danny DeVito, Anne Hathaway, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Michael Douglas, Abbott and Costello, Nathan Lane, Jerry Lewis
Sandra Dee, James Gandolfini, Jon Bon Jovi, Queen Latifa,Thomas Edison, Grover Cleveland, Buzz Aldrin, etc. etc.
Thats just a drop in the bucket, for more see http://www.famousnewjerseyans.com

[purdyandi]

Oh, the Blue Ridge Mountains are so beautiful! And what an evocative name, as well.

And marymac, what a great tribute to New Jersey. We always hear the negative comments from biased New Yorkers but I've always been impressed with how pretty it is. And I got my very worst sun burn in New Jersey, too!

I'm originally from the Cleveland, Ohio area. I was just talking to someone who was in the process of choosing a college for her son. She was saying how she had decided against Oberlin College--an incredibly good school (that we lived in the next town over from) since Cleveland was the closest big city. She equated it with Detroit--which really has been in a lot of trouble for many, many years (--hugs to Detroit!)

While Cleveland has its problems, there are some very cool things happening there. First of all, a world class hospital system--Middle Eastern sheiks come there for medical care. Some fabulous museums--the symphony and the art museum are also world class (but then they ignore their local artists so they're forced to go to New York to become famous. ) We've got a Frank Gehry building on the campus of Case-Western Reserve University in University Circle. The Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain is also a Gehry. And, if you're looking for hip & cool, go to Coventry (St.).

Yes, it's pretty gritty, but that often leads to some amazing creativity. the movie "American Splendor" about Harvey Pekar, the cartoonist is set in Cleveland. If you've ever heard of Jim Jarmusch, the movie director, he's from Cleveland. His "Stranger than Paradise" was set there, too. Krissy Hyne, from the Pretenders, is from Cleveland, and one of the greatest rock bands of all time (in my opinion ), Pere Ubu is from there, too.

We will, however, NOT talk about the sports teams, especially LaBron James. (OK, for those who don't know, NONE of its professional teams can manage to win, and LeBron, King, James, their homegrown superstar, just deserted the Cavaliers, for Miami--imagine!)

You know, I'm starting to miss it. Cleveland rocks!

[Sadie G]

Marymac, I'm not sure where I thought you were from, but its sure wasn't New Jersey
I'm thrilled you mentioned Thomas Edison. We just toured his summer estate in Ft Myer Florida and we thought everything was amazing. They mentioned New Jersey as his winter home and where he originally hailed from, I thought you would appreciate that

Janis - Cleveland does rock! They have a Rock & Roll museum that I would love to tour. We got a great photo of granddaughter with a huge guitar at the Cleveland airport recently.

Very interesting thread.

[Deerie me]

Marymac I'm glad you mentioned Jon Bon Jovi. He is all I know about NJ. I have been in lust with him for twenty five years.

Janis, thank you for telling us about Cleveland. I have heard of it but knew nothing. Of course we want to here about your home now too. Am I right in thinking you are in San Fransisco?

[RubyJeansMom]

Marymac I'm glad you mentioned Jon Bon Jovi. He is all I know about NJ. I have been in lust with him for twenty five years.

Tracy, Who isn't in lust with Bon Jovi?

I love hearing all about where everyone else lives, I haven't travelled much, so this virtual travel is very interesting.
Great idea Tracy!

[Deerie me]

I'm being really thick but....

NJ and New York????? NY is in what state? Is NJ just really close by? I know they both seem to have that same wonderful accent. I'm trying to sort the geography in my head.

My wish list for the DP has always been to have a map that we could pinpoint all the regular members on.

[Molly&Hudson]

Ahem,...ahem,...and you said way back i was weird for doing just that,

[RubyJeansMom]

NJ and New York????? NY is in what state? Is NJ just really close by? I know they both seem to have that same wonderful accent. I'm trying to sort the geography in my head..

Tracy, New York City is in New York state, you can get to New Jersey from New York by crossing the George Washington Bridge. That's all I really know, as I haven't been to either state.
I'm sure the locals will be back with more info!

[Deerie me]

And Manhattan is an area of New York City isn't it?

Lizanne lives in that area somewhere doesn't she?

[Madi P]

I love the idea of a map!
LittleK, Ive been to Virginia Beach - went there for a chorus competition in high school, lol. Beautiful pictures of the mountains! I would love to live in the mountains! But then again I may not be able to stand the cold for very long... Because, I live in Lexington, South Carolina, where it is Hot most of the time. We do have 4 seasons though. Hot summers often reaching 100 degrees, mild winters - snow is rare and wonderful! Though everything shuts down because no one here knows how to drive in snowy weather Spring is probably the best season around here and Fall is pretty nice and mild as well.

Lexington is right outside the capital city of Columbia. Known for our South Carolina State Fair (pictured) that comes every year in October and the South Carolina Game Cocks! The Game Cock is the University's mascot - the University of South Carolina. We have a very heated rivalry between the Game Cocks and the Clemson Tigers. Another state university located about 2 hrs from Columbia, in Clemson. My husband and his family are Clemson fans and me and my family are Carolina fans - it makes for fun family get togethers~

There is always a lot of activity in the "downtown" area of Columbia - termed "Five Points" where the college kids go. And lots of history with the capital city, which was almost totally burned and destroyed during the American Civil War, including the old SC State House and the then interior of the new State House.
Really funny story: Legend has it that Columbia's First Baptist Church narrowly missed being torched by Sherman's troops. As the story goes, the soldiers marched to the church and asked the groundskeeper if he could direct them to the location of the church where the declaration of secession was signed. The loyal groundskeeper directed the men to another church, a Methodist church located nearby; thus, the historic landmark avoided being destroyed by Union soldiers
Gotta love the "Bible Belt"!

We have a huge man-made lake, Lake Murray (pictured). It is always populated with hundreds of boaters. My parents and my husbands family live on the lake. The Lake Murry Dam, was the largest earthen dam in the world when it was completed in 1930.Considering Lake Murray now covers an area that was once populated, the story of what lies beneath its surface is the story of Lake Murray itself ~ creepy!

Beaches are big vacation spots here. Myrtle Beach, located about 3 hrs from Columbia is a big tourist attraction (pictured)! Its often hard to find a place to sit on this overly crowded beach (though the pic suggests otherwise). So many people also opt for the beautiful, historic city of Charleston (wanted to out a picture but couldnt). The Battery, first used as a public park in 1837, became a place for artillery during the American Civil War. It stretches along the shores of the Charleston peninsula and is said to be one of the most beautiful places in the US.

We do have some mountains here in the South. Caesars Head and Table Rock and two mountain tops I used to go to when I was little. My family had a cabin near Table Rock. There are many other mountain peaks but those are the two I know and have been to personally.

Lets see.. famous people who came from SC - Darius Rucker, lead singer and guitarist of Hootie and the Blowfish! There was recently an unveiling of a statue in Five Points (downtown) as a tribute to these guys and SC being their home.
I believe Andrew Jackson, 7th president of the US, was born here, his vice president may have been also... Eartha Kitt (1927–2008) from North, South Carolina, best known for her role as Catwoman in the 1960s Batman TV series! Im sure there are others.

I love it here! I wouldnt mind moving around for a while,trying out Florida maybe going north a little also, but I would always want to come back to the good old "bible belt" and South Carolina ~ ha!
And i wish we could post more than 3 pictures!

[purdyandi]

Tracy, New York City is in New York state (south east corner). New Jersey, another state, is right across the river from NYC so those towns are basically suburbs of NYC. I had a roommate in college from Englewood Cliffs (who was best friends with John Travolta's older sister, said he was basically just a pest ), one of the suburbs. Their respective accents (as well as Boston's!) are very distinctive!
Manhattan is the burough (sp) where Wall Street, Central Park, etc. are.

And yes, I live in San Francisco now and I'm staying put. I spent nearly a decade out here, originally coming out to go to school, went back to Ohio, planning only a short stay, then life kinda gets in the way, and now I'm back for about 4 years now.

I lived in Berkeley for a while, it's right across the bridge in what we call the East Bay. The north bay is Marin County, that Kian's ex's family (?) is from. Marin is sooo beautiful. If you've seen those car commercials on that incredibly winding road--that's in Marin County on the way to Stinson Beach. They also make car commercials on the freeway just south of San Francisco where they're driving in a very rocky area right along the ocean. Probably wouldn't see those in the United Kingdom, though.

[Deerie me]

Thank you Madi P. It is lovely to hear about where you live. I've heard of Myrtle Beach and I was trying to think where I knew it from. I think Kathy Reichs character, Temperance Brennan went on holiday there from NC, in one of her books. Funny what sticks in your head.

I love how much effort everyone is putting into this.

[Molly&Hudson]

After i first joined the forum i realized i was at a great disadvantage not even knowing what PA,..or CA,..represented,..nor even the location of States where members lived,..so i purchased a 4ft by 4 ft map of the USA and Canada,..started sticking pins to represent each member,..then of course locations i visited,..from Chicago to Indiana,..to Utah,Idaho,Wyoming,Montana,California and Ohio then back and forth a few times,..i have the map close to where i sit at the computer,..it makes life easy when communicating.

[Deerie me]

I did suggest to DP along time ago (when Stacie was around) that they produce a map so that we could see each other's locations but I don't think there was any way of doing it.