Favorite Place In My City…?

What is your favorite place to go in your city?

I’ve lived in a few different locations up to this point; to enumerate them (and the number of different addresses in each):

• York, PA (3)
• Philadelphia, PA (2—though both on campus, just different dorms)
• Columbus, OH (1)
• Elmer, NJ (1—summer arts camp but it counts, working 24/6!)
• Berkeley, CA (3)
• Albany, CA (1)
• Hazleton, PA (1)
• Charleston, WV (1)
• Greensburg, PA (1)
• Latrobe, PA (1)

You can see why, when I have to renew my “I never molested children” clearances mandated after the Penn State/Sandusky scandal, I need to take an afternoon to complete it by listing all past addresses.

The prompt seems to suggest that I currently live in a city, but Latrobe (home of Arnold Palmer, Mr. Rogers, and the first banana split) would be considered a small town (and for arts granting possibilities, even a rural area). So I already have to fudge an answer.

Looking back over the list above, I tried to think what my favorite place in each would be, and then considered my favorite of all. And at first I was distracted, thinking that the place had to be a building or some sort of business destination. Then I realized that, perhaps it did not.

So I think my favorite place in all of these locations, barring restaurants and theatres, would be Wildcat Peak in Berkeley. I would often hike the trail to the top alone, to get some exercise, to be away from everything, and to enjoy the view at the top. Google Maps “street view” (with no streets or roads visible!) has a really excellent panoramic view of the surrounding area that you can check out. I think you’ll see why it’s a favorite place. I miss it.