Favorite Places

The Northeast

As vague as it may be, one of my favorite places to be is the Northeast. New York City, Philadelphia, & New Hampshire to  name a few, as well as my absolute favorite, Washington D.C. I love the bustle of a large city - there's always something going on. I love how easy it is to get from one city to another up there - just hop on a train in New York and in an hour or two you're in a completely different city and state with tons of new, exciting things to do. I also love utilizing the subway/metro/whatever you may call it when I'm visiting these places. It's (usually) fast and efficient, and is an excellent place for people watching. 

I was recently on vacation in Philadelphia (and NYC!), and while there I discovered one of my new favorite places, Spruce Street Harbor Park. It's a nice little park and urban beach located on the Delaware River. It has a floating beer garden, free games, and the best part - over 50 hammocks in which to relax. Visiting the park at night was one of my favorite experiences from my recent trip.  

Spruce Street Harbor Park; Philadelphia, PA. Image credit: My own image (2016)

The Beach (or any decent body of water)

I love being near the water, whether it be a beach, river, or even just a backyard swimming pool. One of my favorite things to do is float on the water with a good book, though I haven't been able to do it as often as I'd like since moving to Norman. Tulum, Mexico is home to some of my favorite beaches. I had the opportunity to visit Tulum in 2012 for a wedding; I'll definitely be going back. 

(PS: There was also a hammock park in Tulum. I guess I just really love hammock parks?)

Tulum, Mexico. Photo Credit: Stefano Ravalli, Flickr. Link

Honorable Mentions: Tulsa, Oklahoma (my hometown) & The Hospital 

I was born and raised in Tulsa, OK. It's where many of my friends and family are still located; that alone makes it one of my favorite places. There's also a surprising amount of things to do there, well at least now. I miss it a lot, but I'm very lucky to be able to live in Norman and go to OU. 

One of my favorite places in Tulsa is Saint Francis Hospital, aka "the Pink Palace." Yeah, I already know how weird that is, considering most people hate hospitals, and I know some who won't even go inside of one. But both of my parents work in the ICU at Saint Francis, and have for nearly my entire life; I essentially grew up at this place. I also worked in the main laboratory for 2 years while taking classes at Tulsa Community College. I learned a lot there, and miss my job all of the time. Working "Code Blues" was always an interesting and sometimes emotional experience. 

My love of hospitals isn't limited to Saint Francis, I really just love the hospital environment. Don't get me wrong, I hate being sick, but there's something about the (appearance of) sterility and cleanliness in hospitals that appeals to me, along with the fact that many of the people there are working to save lives. 

Saint Francis Hospital; Tulsa, OK. Image credit:Kong213, own work via Wikimedia Commons. Link