I was taking a stroll through some posts around Hive, and some of you are sharing some beautiful photos of the very picturesque areas that you live in. That's the thing about living inland in the rust belt, not much to see here in a place that the natives are trying to get away from.

There are some parks nearby of course, but the nicest areas are down by the river, or up in the hills. I'd love it if we had a river as wide as the Mississippi, but we just have a normal-sized one, and we're downstream from the local sewage plant.

The hills are nice, and covered in dense forests, but they have bears up there, and I haven't been back since me and my buddy were chased downhill by one years ago and I don't want to be on the menu. :)

I'd love to have a place on the Jersey Shore or on Chesapeake Bay, as I could get some great shots from the beach (whoops! "beach" is used on the West Coast, while "Shore" or "The Shore: is used on the East Coast of America. I don't know what they call it in the South, the "Bayou?").

In reality, I've always said that I was born on the "wrong coast" While my body is from the East, my heart has always been out west, in the three West Coast states of Washington, Oregon and California, as well as Alaska and Hawaii.

I could live in any of those areas, not counting about the worrying about earthquakes out west. Can you imagine the photos I could get of Mt. Hood, The Cascades, the Giant Redwood forests and the sunny beaches of 'The Big Island?'

I know, it always seems like it's better somewhere else, and we do have our own little charms here, you just have to go out and find them. Here, at least the earth doesn't usually shake like it does out west. In fact, I've only ever experienced two minor earthquakes here in my entire life.

Of course, it scared the bejesus out of the locals, while the California transplants just chuckled at all the fuss that was made over what was (to them) just a tiny little shake.

Someday I'll make that move to those wide open spaces, but for now, I'll just count my blessings. I'm happy, I'm healthy (I almost never get sick), and I'm proud to live in the land of opportunity. There are so many things to be grateful for, and I am. Life is like a peach, and I'm enjoying every bite!