Longing for faraway places

Most of the time, I am extremely grateful that I have been able to travel a little bit around the eastern United States, and have lived in a handful of states so far in my life. But today? Today I am thinking about sitting on the front porch of Casa Fiesta in Antioch, Tennessee, enjoying nachos and a margarita. I am thinking about the amazing view from Ray's Seafood in Rye, New Hampshire (and their key lime pie - of course their key lime pie). I am thinking about walking down the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the quietness of the fall when everyone has gone home for the season, but the casinos are still buzzing with life. I'm thinking about walking up and down Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee - live country music leaking out of Legend's Corner and Tootsie's. I'm thinking about late-evening adventure with my friend Rachel in Maryland, though we usually just ended up at Denny's, talking about nothing and everything. I'm thinking about going to visit my friend Adele, and how I'd always convince her that it's always a good time for some Shady Maple. I'm thinking about how easy it was when I lived close to my best friends, and how I could just call Beth and tell her I'd be right over, and we'd sit and talk and have a drink on her back patio - which was only a hundred yards or so from my own.

Once in a while, I let myself get lost in my thoughts of the places I have lived or visited. Sometimes, it's simply nostalgia or a craving for a certain food that northeastern Pennsylvania seems to be lacking. Roots are great, of course, but having been immersed in other places makes me a little sad sometimes. Sad for the friends I left behind when I moved on, and sad for the places and experiences that I can't just relive on a whim.

Sometimes, I just want to feel the breeze from the Great Lakes, or view Niagara Falls from the observation desk, or have my feet in the sand on Long Beach Island in New Jersey.

My vacation starts in two weeks, but has evolved more into a staycation, so I am going to make myself soak up northeastern Pennsylvania for all it has to offer. One day, I may be sitting somewhere else in the country, and long for something that just can't be replicated that reminds me of my childhood here, or something that I discovered when I came back as an adult.

I wish I could just take all of the places and people and things that I love and miss, and put them together so that I can visit them easily whenever I like. But then, I guess that would make them less special.