For my purposes today, I am going just to list our favorites in North America (I'll be back soon with the rest of the world). We have been to many of America's great cities, big and small. We have liked all of them, but the ones on this list are ones we have either been to more than once or would like to go back to someday. I am going to list them, not in the order of how much we like the city but in distance from home, which means we start with…

Seattle, Washington

Yes, I know we live here, but it is a city we love. A little less than I did a few years ago, but I still love the place. We live about 22 miles east, and before Kathleen retired, she worked downtown for most of her career, about two blocks from the Space Needle. At that time, one of us was in the city almost every day. We enjoyed theater, concerts, and spent nights at hotels afterward. Most of all, we loved trying the amazing food. Seattle has so many incredible restaurants, and we enjoy exploring them. I should mention (as I posted here not long ago) that the city isn’t as safe as it once was, so we think twice about when and where we go in the city. That’s sad, but I still love Seattle.

Vancouver, British Columbia

After Seattle, the city we have spent the most time in since we started traveling together in Vancouver, BC. We made our first trip back in 1998 when Kathleen took me there for a wonderful birthday weekend. Since that time, we have been back more than 50 times. We have gone less since 2005, when we met our best friends Bob and Judy, who live in Chilliwack, BC, about 120 km east of the city. Before we met them, we probably went to Vancouver three or four times a year, but since then, maybe only once a year. But every time we go, we love it. I LOVE taking photos there. Many of my favorite photos in the last few years were taken in YVR (the airport designation for Vancouver and a common nickname). We will go back many times in the future, and I encourage you—if you have never been there—go! Stanley Park, Vancouver Theater Sports, Granville Island, Gastown, Robson Street are all things we love and that you should not miss. Oops! I almost missed our favorite Italian restaurant—CinCin. We went there for our 20th anniversary last August and have eaten there at least ten times. A great restaurant.

San Diego, California

Growing up in Southern California, I spent a lot of time in the LA area (heck, I was born there—in Lynwood–near Compton) and Kathleen is from the Bay Area, right across from San Francisco, but for some reason, it turned out that our favorite California city is San Diego. I think the first time we went there together was for a business meeting I had to attend. We loved it. It's a big city that's really a bunch of small towns. From the Gaslamp District to Old Town, from Coronado Island to downtown, we love the whole place. Even after losing our friends who live there...we still love it and look forward to going back. Great restaurants, nice hotels (even though we got kicked out of our room the last time because the Secretary of Homeland Security wanted three whole floors), and we have had pretty good luck with AirBnBs as well. Of course, there is the world-famous zoo and wonderful Balboa Park that surrounds it. One of my favorite things about San Diego is its waterfront. We have sailed into and out of San Diego harbor a number of times, and it's a great place to start or end a cruise. Besides, as everyone knows, the weather is always perfect.

Santa Fe (and Albuquerque), New Mexico

Once we leave the West Coast, our next stop is New Mexico. Yes, we know we skipped Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas, but even though we seem to visit them regularly, if you told me I could never go back, I would neither cry nor die. If you ask me where I want to go between coasts in the USA, the first place that comes to mind is Santa Fe. We have only been to New Mexico twice, but both trips were favorites. The last trip was the best! Besides Santa Fe, we also got to see the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (worth the entire trip) with good friends and then spend four days in Santa Fe. If you have followed my posts for a while, you know we love food, and we have done food tours and cooking classes with the Santa Fe School of Cooking while there and loved them. Lastly, if you visit, DO NOT MISS Meow Wolf. It is a one-of-a-kind experience that's beyond crazy and a lot of fun.

Toronto, Ontario

One thing I pondered when I added Toronto to this list was this—do we really love the city or am I just listing it because we get to see our friends Tim & Perry when we are there? No, we love the city, and Tim and Perry are just a big bonus. We have visited three times and loved each one. I love walking in the Beaches area where Tim and Perry live (on the shores of Lake Ontario), they have amazing food all over the city (especially when you have two foodies to take you to find that food), a super art festival called Nuit Blanche that we got to attend. Some beautiful places to see within a short distance (Niagara Falls, Port Hope, the Thousand Islands). We have even flown out of the coolest airport in the world (Billy Bishop International Airport) on the coolest airline in the world (Porter Airlines). You should try both. Billy Bishop is on an island right in downtown Toronto, and Porter Air is a HUGE throwback to the 1960s and golden age of air travel. The flight attendants still wear pillbox hats, and they serve you actual food.

Charleston, South Carolina (and Savannah, Georgia)

Even though these two cities are in different states, it is only about a two-hour drive between them through some really cool country. And both of these cities exude Southern Charm. The entire area is known as the "Low Country," and when we visited, we found that their reputation as amazing food towns was well deserved. There are also lots of things to see (old plantations, giant oak trees, Fort Sumter, Hilton Head beaches) and do besides eating...but I liked the eating best. That and the awesome photos I got on my early morning photo walks. I would go back to both cities in a minute, but if I had to pick one thing to go back for, it would be the chicken and waffles at The Early Bird Diner just outside Charleston on the road to Savannah. They were absolutely amazing. I can still taste them in my mind. You can read about our trip to the Low Country on our website.

New York, New York

I debated about adding NYC, but we have so many memories there, and I would go back at the drop of a hat that I couldn't leave it out. We have been three times, and I may be getting too old for the craziness, but when we last were there in the fall of 2023, I did have some great experiences. New York is not a place I need to tell people about. Either you already know or you don't care. I will mention some of my favorite spots and memories, which include walking The Highline at dawn, taking an old yacht on an architectural tour around the island of Manhattan, doing a tour of the area around Ground Zero, and taking a food tour of Greenwich Village and of course, the theater. We have seen so many great plays on Broadway that it is hard to remember them all. And the food...don't get me started. Too much variety, if that's possible. New York is not a city I can't wait to go back to, but I would be really sad if you told me I couldn't go back there.