My United States

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It's a different story when you get to the U.S. Just so you don't have to count, I've visited 44 out of 50 states, plus D.C.

When I was a kid, I definitely counted states in which I'd only been to the airport (I used to know Denver Stapleton Airport better than the back of my hand, from flying across the country to see my dad, but I didn't actually visit Denver itself until 2001) as states I'd visited, because when you're a kid, well, everything counts, as long as you want it to, and if not, then it doesn't. Because the best thing about childhood is that sense of elastic reality.*

But I don't have to do that anymore, because every state above is a state I've actually visited, on the ground, even if I was just driving through on my way to another state. The only states I have left to visit for the first time are Alaska, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and Rhode Island. And I actually think I might have been in Rhode Island before, but I can't remember for sure.

My favorite states are, in no particular order, and based primarily on scenery: California, South Dakota, Washington, Oregon, Maine, New Mexico, Colorado, Kentucky, and Idaho. My favorite cities are Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans, Washington D.C., Portland, Austin, and Philadelphia. And I actually am quite fond of Orlando, but you will never catch me admitting that in public.

* If I had a band, I think I'd name it that. Elastic Reality. Chances are, I will never have a band. If you do, feel free to take the name, provided you thank me in the liner notes and send me a copy of every album you release.