My Wanderlust Problem

City on a hill
Originally uploaded by Butch Wynegar.

Like most people who aren't suffering from dementia, I never thought I would utter the following words during an enjoyable vacation: "We better get up at 7 if we want to make it to Pittsburgh on time."

Turns out, Pittsburgh is a great town, and this is part of a larger problem I have.

I'm notorious among my friends for a lack of adventurousness, and I'm conscious of several reasons why I lack it. For instance, JF was describing to me today how the Chinese pride themselves on eating extraordinary things, and how one of his friends, while there, was slowly served everything BUT the meat of a particular animal. This experience and the electric chair would be a toss-up for me.

So that's why China isn't at the top of my list. But even within the States, I don't travel a great deal, and I got a glimpse of a potential subconscious reason today. I tend to fall in love with most places I visit. Pittsburgh is no different.

The picture above might not be the clearest representation, but the city is surrounded by hilly terrain, perched on top of which are charming homes, churches, and (as on most hills) trees. Famously, three rivers converge downtown. The baseball stadium is, objectively speaking, the best I've ever seen. The area around Carnegie Mellon is a bit like areas of Brooklyn, though presumably with fewer subscribers to n+1. What's not to like?

Now, though, I have to add Pittsburgh to the list of places that I would like to live in for an extended period of time, but which offer me no reason to do so. I have to stumble around heartsick for Pittsburgh. What kind of a life is that??

This theory of my infatuation with places will be severely tested as we make our way to Columbus and South Bend over the next two days, but I'll keep you posted. That's what blogs are for. --JW