City and Country

We spent most of our year far from cities. On the road, we are far more interested in what small towns and the countryside have to offer. Blue highways. Local restaurants. It was only in the spring and fall that we were parked in a Minneapolis suburb and had access to everything a big city has to offer.

I realized something about the amenities a city provides — it's more than parks, restaurants, and entertainment. It's also about the availability of what you want to acquire, whether it's a particular book, a pair of pants, a tech gadget — or a motor scooter.

Contemplate how easy you have it, if you have convenient access to every kind of store. Imagine how different your life would be if you lived far away from all of them. That's the way it is in much of the country, as we had found out on our travels around the US and Canada..

But then, against the city's advantages you have to balance the roar of power mowers, the snarl of weed whackers and power edgers, the sirens of emergency vehicles, the shriek of airplanes right overhead, and barking dogs.