18 Cities

After discussing with a co-worker his great volume of worldly travels, I took it upon myself to see more of the world in the best way that I could. It can be tough to get out and see the entire world at this point in life, even if it is supposed to be 'affordable' to backpack through europe. I still consider myself to be fairly well travelled though our own country. No longer is it suprising to find individuals who have never been out of New York State, and some who occasionaly have been to an adjacent state. I have seen the western coast from California, I have been to Florida many many times [having your parents move down there helps,] and most of the states in between on the east coast. Hell, I even drove out to Iowa as a kid for a wedding. IOWA. Exactly. And, as anyone in the western portion of New York state knows, we have the second largest country in the world quietly bordering us to the north. I think we take advantage of that a lot. Hell, this is the only border in the world where you can freely pass from country to country. Although the cultures are nearly identical, it still is another country. I know for a fact people take it for granted, making such claims as "Canada sucks," or "I'm from Canadia, eh." But I have embraced being so close to a different country. I actually got excited when there was talk that Québec was going to secede from Canada, and we might have had a new country right around the corner, speaking french and everything.

So basically what I am getting at is temporarily satisfying the urge to travel until the ability to do some REAL travelling is available. We have the advantage of being roughly in the middle of an area of vast expansion, basically sprawling out in all directions. I compiled a list of 18 cities that are under 9 hours driving time from Buffalo, NY. Obviously leaving from Rochester, either add or subtract about 1 - 1.5 hours. Of course, flying is becoming an ever-cheaper alternative, but we all know the value of taking a roadtrip to somewhere new with a carload of close friends. So, in order from closest to farthest [by mileage], here are some cities that would be an easy long weekend, perhaps longer:

1. Toronto, ON - 106 miles [1hr 57min]
2. Cleveland, OH - 191 miles [3hr 8min]
3. Pittsburgh, PA - 216 miles [3hr 32 min]
4. Detroit, MI - 275 miles [4 hr 44min]
5. Columbus, OH - 327 miles [5hr 14min]
6. Ottawa, ON - 329 miles [ 5hr 33min]
7. Baltimore, MD - 373 miles [6hr 42min]
8. New York, NY - 374 miles [ 6hr 34 min]
9. Philadelphia, PA - 381 miles [6hr 27min]
10. Washington, DC - 383 miles [7 hr 17min]
11. Grand Rapids, MI - 392 miles [ 6hr 21min]
12. Montréal, QC - 392 miles [ 6hr 31min]
13. Cincinnati, OH - 428 miles [ 6hr 49min]
14. Boston, MA - 456 miles [7hr 14 min]
15. Trois-Rivières, QC - 476 miles [7hr 59min]
    
16. Indianapolis, IN - 500 miles [7hr 56min]
17. Louisville, KY - 532 miles [8hr 33min]
    
18. Chicago, IL - 533 miles [8hr 27 min]

Hey, it's not backpacking around europe, but it sure is a way to get out and see the world to some degree. We should all go to more places, meet the people that live there and make each city what it is. I have lived in enough cities to know that each one is unique with wonderful aspects that would be great for outsiders to learn. Summer roadtrips, plan 'em now!