As a Civil War and genealogy buff there are several tiny towns associated with various battles my ancestors are involved in that I would like to see. High atop the list is Quitman, Mississippi, a town famous for and convenient to absolutely nothing save for the location of a Civil War hospital where a great-great-grandfather I am indirectly named for (I was named for a great-uncle who was named for him) died and where he is buried in a Confederate cemetery. (This photo of the broken arch of that Confederate Cemetery- taken by another genealogist and sent to me on email- looks like something you’d find on the cover of a southern lit anthology.)
Other completely unexotic locales I’ve wanted to visit:
–the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre near St. George, Utah (as well as several other locales associated with early Mormonism and the life of Brigham Young)
–Lincoln County, New Mexico (the life of Billy the Kid enthralled me for a while)
–I’m planning a weekend trip soon to see Jasper, Tennessee (tiny town that was site of a major cavalry raid) and while in the area the Holocaust/Paper Clip exhibit 10 miles away in Whitwell, TN
My father wanted to go to Vincennes, Indiana due to a George Rogers Clark battle in the Revolution that fascinated him.
What completely unexotic places would you like to see?
Sweden - not that exotic I know. Planning to visit an internet pal there when I tag along with a friend when she visits her brother, as well as check out Stockholm and try and get me some blond swedish cock.
I’ve already been, but I wanted for years to visit Indianola, Texas. It was the first major seaport in Texas and the “Ellis Island” of the early 19th century.
The town was washed away in a couple of hurricanes over one hundred years ago, and nothing remains. The courthouse foundation was there until after 1950, and a locomotive is still in the bay and shows up from time to time at low water (They drove it to the end of the pier to try to keep the wharf from washing away.)
I went to Canberra a couple of months ago with Dad to see the Australian War Memorial.
There’s nothing else in Canberra, by the way. Some Parliament building or something , but otherwise there’s no compelling reason to go anywhere near the place.
I’d also like to visit Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) for a couple of hours as well- just long enough to clear customs, have a coffee somewhere outside the airport, and then get back on the plane and fly somewhere else.
Years ago it was Rhode Island because it was the only New England state I had never visited and I was consumed with curiosity. My mom, the old crank, when I said I wanted to go to Providence just to see it, asked why on earth I would want to do that. Then my dad was called to a church here when I was well into adulthood and I visited for the first time. I didn’t even visit Newport or anyplace fancy, just East Providence (not even Providence) but somehow I knew I could live here and have for almost 12 years.
On the literary tip - I’ve always wondered about visiting Knoxville Tennessee (I’m pretty sure this is not an exotic place, but I could be wrong). I’m a big Cormac McCarthy fan and his masterpiece, Suttree, is set there. It’s a mesmerising account of the denizens of the Knoxville ghetto in the 1950s - probably in my top 3 all time novels. It would be very cool to see the Tennessee river where Suttree stayed in his houseboat. I probably wouldn’t make a trip to the US just to see Knoxville, but Tennessee sounds like a great state for outdoor pursuits like hiking, mountain biking etc so it might work as a vacation. A few other of McCarthy’s books are set in Tennessee.
I also like the sound of Bloomsday in Dublin, every year on June 16th. People meet up and re-trace the steps Leopold Bloom took around rather un-exotic parts of Dublin in Ulysses. Now, this sounds like it might be a bit of a nightmare - join up with other single, earnest young men shuffling around Dublin gazing at their shoes! But it’s really not meant to be like that. There are street parties, re-enactments, much drinking (the Davy Byrne’s pub chapter) and it all sounds like a great way of evoking the spirit of the book.
Tasmania. I’m going there later this year. Most people probably wouldn’t include it on the itinerary for a first trip to Australia, but somethng about it has always fascinated me. Maybe it’s because it’s at the same latitude south that I am north.
I’m sorry to hear that, because I’m going there, too. But only for a day, and only to see the War Memorial and Parliament.
Wisconsin. I took a ‘where would you like to live’ quiz and over half of the top ten cities it listed were in Wisconsin. I’ve never been and am now hungering to.
, but otherwise there’s no compelling reason to go anywhere near the place.