I am working toward rebuilding a new member map, but in the mean time I'd like as many of us as possible to respond to this thread to tell us about your part of the globe, maybe something you love about your hometown or country.

I am originally from a little town that was named for its lumber and canal history, called Lock Haven. I lived in Indiana for a few years but had to return nearer to home and my hills, ridges and small mountains where the Susquehanna river flows through Pennsylvania.

I love it here. There are countless places for boating, hiking, fishing, birding. It's an outdoorsman's paradise.

So tell me about where you are from.

I was born, raised and continue to live in the Milwaukee area. My ancestors were pioneers settling virgin forest along the shores of Lake Michigan and turning it into farm land in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory. While this has always been home, what I appreciate the most is how quickly I can get to the wilderness of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the shores of Lake Superior. I hope to some day retire in a home next to the cold, crystal clear waters of Lake Superior where I can spend my last days watching the ever changing beauty of the lake through calm and storms, ice and rain.

David

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world" - Mahatma Gandhi

I was born and raised around Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada...but have taken up residence in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Say that 3X fast, eh?).. love it here! Saskatoon is a very cosmopolitan city. It has a beautiful riverbank area as the city owns all of the land surrounding the North Saskatchewan River... Clean clear water running right through our "City of Bridges".. Beautiful city and the people that live here are great too.

Broadway_Bridge.jpg (52 Kb, 6 downloads) The Broadway Bridge - Saskatoon

MY MATE AND I ARE FROM FLORENCE, SOUTH CAROLINA, WHERE WE HAVE LIVED TOGETHER FOR A LITTLE OVER 15 YRS

Thanks for responding, David, Wiz and Bigdaddy. And I LOVE that pic of the bridge. It looks beautiful there! I'll post a pic of the river here too.

Let's keep this going, guys. And hey, if you have pics or links of local interest, please include them if you can. Just click on "add attachement"

The West Branch of the Susquehanna from Hyner Point. About 30 miles north of my home town.

Hi all, long time no participate on my part. My partner Abie and I live in Houston, TX. I'm originally from Oklahoma and Abie is originally from El Paso, TX. Houston is a great place to live with lots of "small communities" it has that small town atmosphere, but with the big town amenities. We love it! Tomorrow we're off to the annual Renaissance Festival after my normal flea market run, LOL!

We haven't been up to much, just working, relaxing and worrying about my youngest daughter who has run off to Hawaii, but perhaps more on that later.

Thanks for the question.

Larry

Hi All,

Well my folks moved from Ireland (Ballymena in CO Antrim, Ulster) to England where my sister and I were born. We moved about quite abit and eventually moved back home in 1973.

I now live with my partner David in Newtownards in CO Down which is just celebrating its 400th anniversary this year as a market town. David hails from a town called Banbridge where his parents and sister still live. N Ireland is a beautiful place to live and as our founding father David and his partner Brian and son Josiah found out recently, when its not raining it really does have some fanatstic scenery, great historic places of interest, and the botttum of our garden on the deck is as quiet and peaceful a place to sit an talk as any...and we were surronded by Tits (Great/Blue/Coal/Long tailed...all types of small bird!!)

Belfast is a bustling vibrant city with an old and growing gay scene....it is a small place so the 'community' is even smaller....the city is about a 20 min drive from where we live. We have any amount of old buildings/castles etc etc that have survived the bombings of WW2 and the IRA.

My favourite spots are Scrabo Tower above my town where I live, White Park Bay on the North Coast and the Mourne Mountains. Politically things are still in the doldrums but there is hope for a better future.

So a good place to live...would I choose to live elsewhere?...perhaps yes...Vancouver...NYC.. The Susquehanna Valley in PA, a little Village I know in Southern Britanny in France...LOL if my ex is reading this....HELLO Dear, I am sure she wishes I would move there..lol...but we are settled now with a beautiful home, I am happliy retired and my partner has a great business of his own, and for the time being my son lives with us...perfect!

Cheerio for now...Vincent...x

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Vince in Ireland,

Ok, Blue Ridge GA is in North Georgia, in Fannin County, on the North Carolina/Tennessee Border. It's in the south end of the Blue Ridge Mountains,
the Appalachian Trail begins on Springer Mountain (and the approach trail is quite near my boyfriend's place). The Olympic whitewater venue is just downstream on the Ocoee river in Tennessee.
It's a dang redneck place, but has had a high inmigratin of gay folks in the last few years, with a surprisingly high number of gay owned businesses opening in the tourist oriented area.
What else? Some 50% of the county is in National Forest, with a TVA lake. We just had a brilliant if brief fall leaf season...

quote:

Appalachian Trail

!!!!!! I have curious pictures in my mind of that area based on Bill Bryson's book, A Walk in the Woods. He and his college friend took the trail and suffered many humiliations, a few laughs, and learned a thing or two about each other. Part of me wants to take that journey before I feel to .....comfortable...!!!! It sounds like it is beautiful and terrifying....not to sure I could get my david to do it with me....would the birding be good SonofWalt?

Sounds great Mr Bill...and getting gay friendly too

Cheerio for now...Vincent...xx

Bryson's book is great, although he didn't really interact with the local on my end of the trail beyond some stereotypic depictions...Of course, the film "Deliverance" was shot some two counties over, ("Squeal like a pig!" has become a joke..)and one of the stores sells a t-shirt reading "I hear banjo music. Paddle faster!".
Bryson's other work, like 'Notes on a Small Island' or 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' are highly recommended.
And there is that old joke "Q:What's the difference between a gay man and a redneck? A:
Six beers.."

Yes we have those books, my partner just finished reading his latest book, The life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. It appears to be a book dealing with him growing up and American society at that time. Apparently it is well worth a read. I have grown a little tired of his tried and trusted format....however, A Short History of Nearly Everything was a clever diversion for him. I have watched Deliverance a couple of times, and we have jokes here referring to Banjo country...all in good humour!

Only six beers...you say, lol

Cheerio for now...Vincent...xx

I'm in Arlington Heights, IL, which is about a half hour from Chicago - so always plenty of things to see and do around here. I was born in Decatur, which is about 3 hours south of here. I've lived in many different states as well - Culpepper,VA; South Charleston,WV, Raleigh and Wilkesboro,NC; Nashville,TN; Plano,TX; and Altoona & Hamlin,PA. I'm so tired of moving!

Altoona, PA... not so far from me... well, a few hours anyway. Lovely places around here, really. Though I imagine Nashville was interesting. I hope you settle where you are most happy.

I am in Old Saybrook CT which is on the CT shoreline. OS is at the mouth of the CT river and has a historic lighthouse and is a tourist town. In the summer, the place is packed! I couldn't stand living inland!

Jay