re: What's your favorite Northern state?

So far Rhode Island. My wife and I go to Block Island every year for a few days. Also Newport is very nice

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Rhode Island

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Been here a year and a half so far and my wife and I are digging it.

-the entire state is like one (big) small town. Instead of 6 its more like 1 or 2 degrees of separation.. Everyone seems to know everyone, which I like.

- 5 min from the beach, an hour from good skiing, hiking, sailing, fishing, 3 hr from NYC/1 from Boston. Always something different to do. being from LA, I guess i am not use to being able to drive an hour and be 3 states away

-the food here is actually really good. Doesn't beat home but it is nice being able to walk onto the pier and buy lobster straight from the lobstermen for pennies in the dollar. Do miss crawfish tho.

-taxes here aren't as high as the neighboring states

-last winter was brutle but I live close to the ocean so it's not as bad as if I was landlocked

Just the places I've been, I really like Montana and thought Virginia was pretty.

I liked Philly bc of the history in the city. They have some pretty authentic markets there. They have a subway that they don't use anymore with markets all in it though I didn't go to that one.

Baltimore was a mess. DC's traffic is terrible. New Jersey has really cool suburbs. I haven't been on the coastal side so missed all the jersey shore trashy MTV types.

I'm not touching anything west of the Mississippi or south of the Ohio River in terms of calling them "Northern" states. To me, those are Western states. However, that said, I love Wyoming, Montana, western South Dakota, and parts of Colorado. Loved SF and northern California. Still want to explore Utah, Wash, Oregon.

But east of the Miss and north of the Ohio, I've been to or through all of those Northern states.

Favorite highlight(s) are:

Maine (coastal) - Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor are both incredible places to visit. Good camera a must, as are hiking shoes and a warm windbreaker or jacket even in summer (if you're going on the water). Swimming for those who can tolerate cold water. Lobsters and lobster rolls are incredible (and cheap). Whale watching. Coolest thing was when we first drove into Maine, there was a yellow "Caution - Moose Crossing" road sign. It was magical. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Michigan - the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) is beautiful. Fishing, hunting, camping, water sports, hiking, photography. Drove in from the Wisconsin side - the little towns are beautiful. Coastal places are incredible - lighthouses; the lake's beaches have some gritty sand, but also are made up of countless round stones in all sizes, washed and smoothed by the lake's waves. Wild blueberries. Went camping there once along the shore of Lake Superior; ferried Lake Michigan to Mackinac Island and visited Sault Ste. Marie on the Canadian border (and crossed over for lunch once). Along the U.P., ate pasties for the first time (not what you think - these are delicious meat pies). I'd go back to the U.P. for another visit.

Massachusetts - great coastal places, towns, layers and layers of history, Boston, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Salem - a photographer's paradise. And did I mention the clams and lobstahs? And to explore Boston is a must; also go to a Red Sox game. We went to the Boston Pops for July 4th, when Arthur Fiedler was still there. That was something special. I'd go back anytime.

New York atate (not NYC), WV, Maryland and PA are states I've driven through as an adult, but would like to go back and explore - beautiful wilderness, mountains, and idyllic farm scenery everywhere. I did spend a couple of weeks with my aunt and uncle in NYC back in the summer of 1963 (I was 14); subways, sky scrapers, museums, amazing urban stuff - this little NOLA boy was bug-eyed. I'm pretty sure it's not as safe now as it was back then, or as relatively clean and orderly. Took the train up from NOLA to get there; that was a great experience in itself. Saw mountains for the first time from the train. Awesome scenery (to a 14 year old who'd never left NOLA much beyond the Gulf Coast). If I could re-capture that innocent time, I'd be tempted to go back to NYC and re-live it. Now I'd like to explore the non-NYC parts of NY; WV, PA and Maryland, too. But in those places, a good digital would be a must-have; there's too much beauty to waste.

I'd also like to go back and spend time in VT and NH. Spent one night in a picture postcard-looking VT small town once. Ate breakfast in a little diner on Main St. They all knew we weren't from there. It was a little bit like falling into a Stephen King story.

Western Pennsylvania. Hate the Philly area.

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Western PA, where I was born and raised

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Is the playground where you spent most of your days?

Maine looked good until I started to watch North Woods Law. Those uptight bastards can keep to themselves up there

Hudson Valley and the finger lakes are god's country

Minnesota