American Geography 101: My top fives

MY TOP FIVES

Favorite drives

1.) Road: Interstate 40 East. Cities and towns: Between Asheville, North Carolina and Newport, Tennessee.

As beautiful as Asheville is, your remaining time on I-40 after getting ripped off at the Biltmore Estate is worth the inflated price of gas. This stretch takes you through the great Smoky Mountains in extreme western North Carolina. Depending on how fast you drive, this 65-mile trek should take no more than an hour. The best time to take this trip, without a doubt, is in fall.

2.) Road: US 101 North. Cities and towns: Ventura, Santa Barbara, Montecito.

As if her millions weren't good enough, this is the drive Oprah Winfrey (a Montecito resident) takes into the outskirts of Los Angeles county. This trek up 101 rides along the Pacific shoreline from Ventura to Santa Barbara, a stretch that is home to some of the Golden State's largest waves. To your right you cannot miss the picturesque Santa Ynez mountains, one of the few east-west ranges in the United States. This is a great drive at any time of the year.

3.) Road: Encinal Canyon Road north off PCH to Mulholland Drive. Cities and towns: Malibu and Westlake Village, California.

This half-hour drive is not for the faint of heart. It is chock-full of twists, turns and shear rock formations. Those of us who like to enjoy the view of the Santa Monica Mountains should be weary of expensive sports cars who like to turn this stretch of road into a Rally track. This is a great trip year-round, though it could get dicey during fire season.

4.) Road: Highway 1A off US 1. Cities and towns: York Corner, York, York Harbor and York Beach, Maine. This two lane road takes you several miles along the shore of the Atlantic Ocean through several small vacation settlements in southern Maine. Most any drive in Coastal Maine would suffice, however. If you are in town, stop in to the Lobster Cove restaurant, situated about 50 feet from the Atlantic shoreline. They serve a mean clam chowder and are famous for their bisque. I had a burger, of course. The Cove is more house than restaurant, with two stories of dining and two roaring fireplaces.

5.) Road: SC-46 to SC-170 to US-17. Cities and towns: Bluffton, South Carolina and Savannah, GA.

This 26-mile drive through the lowland pines of South Carolina culminates in the rise of the Talmadage Memorial Bridge in Savannah. The beautiful cable-stayed bridge over the Savannah river dumps you off into the city center, just blocks from the famous historic district.

Honorable mention: I-90 through Hidden Valley, upstate New York; US-31 between Charlevoix and Petsokey, Michigan; The Flint Hills in Southeastern Kansas; Ocean drive, Miami Beach, Florida; West Side Highway, New York City; PJ McArdie Roadway, Mt. Washington (Pittsburgh, PA); North Long Beach Blvd., Seaside Heights, NJ; Lakeshore drive, Chicago, Illinois; The King's Highway (Eastbound 401) between Missasauga and Toronto, Ontario (18 lanes of fun);

Favorite cities

1.) Savannah, Georgia
2.) Charleston, South Carolina
3.) Miami, Florida
4.) New York, New York
5.) Toronto, Ontario

Favorite states

1.) South Carolina
2.) Michigan
3.) California
4.) Maine
5.) Alabama

Favorite climate zones

1.) Mediterranean
2.) Humid Subtropical
3.) Continental Steppe
4.) Humid Continental
5.) Highland

Favorite regions

1.) Old South (Carolinas and Georgia)
2.) Southland (Southern California)
3.) Up North (Michigan)
4.) New England (Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine)
5.) The Bible Belt (deep south portion)

Favorite expressways

1.) US 101 (Southern California)
2.) US 40 (Western North Carolina)
3.) Highway 401 (Toronto, Ontario)
4.) I-35 (Southern Kansas)
5.) I-90 (Upstate New York)

Favorite mass transit systems

1.) New York City (Subway)
2.) Toronto (The Rocket and electric trolleys)
3.) Boston (The Red Line and electric trolleys)
4.) Washington D.C. (The Metro)
5.) Chicago (The EL)

Skylines

1.) Pittsburgh, PA
2.) New York, NY
3.) Chicago, IL
4.) Cincinnati, OH
5.) Toronto, ON

Favorite state capitol buildings

1.) Des Moines, IA
2.) Albany, NY
3.) Boston, MA
4.) Charleston, WV
5.) Columbus, OH

Traffic nightmares

1.) Los Angeles, CA
2.) Chicago, IL
3.) New York, NY
4.) Atlanta, GA
5.) Detroit, MI

Cities on the rise

1.) Nashville, TN
2.) Charlotte, NC
3.) Birmingham, AL
4.) Atlanta, GA
5.) Oklahoma City, OK

Cities on the decline

1.) Detroit, MI
2.) Saint Louis, MO
3.) Memphis, TN
4.) Pittsburgh, PA
5.) New Orleans, LA

Best small cities

1.) Augusta, GA
2.) Mt. Pleasant, SC
3.) Santa Barbara, CA
4.) Petoskey, MI
5.) Portland, ME

Best major airports

1.) Charlotte Douglas (CLT)
2.) Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW)
3.) Atlanta Hartsfield (ATL)
4.) Miami International (MIA)
5.) Sky Harbor (PHX)

Restaurants on the road

1.) Chick-fil-a
2.) Chick-fil-a
3.) Chick-fil-a
4.) Chick-fil-a
5.) Chick-fil-a