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Some vacations are for adventure. Others are for rest. And then there’s the kind of trip that has a deeper meaning, a journey to a precious, even sacred space. A place full of memories, of promise. A place that automatically puts your mind and heart at ease.
These eight Americans were kind enough to share their most treasured places with us. Maybe their stories will inspire you to visit one of these spots. Or maybe you’ll get the urge to return to your own happy place — one you’ve been away from for too long.
Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, San Diego
Gregory Porter, 52, Grammy Award–winning jazz singer
So few things in life are permanent. The house I grew up in got torn down. People come and go. But Sunset Cliffs is a forever place.
I was recruited to college in San Diego on a football scholarship. Coming from the hot and dry agricultural town of Bakersfield, Sunset Cliffs felt tropical and exotic. Ocean waves crashing on the rocks. A sea cave with a hole open to the sky.
My father died when I was 20 and my mother died when I was 21, and going to Sunset Cliffs brought me solace. It gave me hope that I could be happy again. I had a ’68 Lincoln Continental, and I would drive out to the cliffs and just sit and reflect. I wrote my first songs at Sunset Cliffs. The title of my first album is Water.
After my brother died from COVID in 2020, I went back. At Sunset Cliffs, you can cast your cares upon the water. Just being there makes me feel lighter.
While you’re in San Diego …
• Tour long-retired Old Point Loma Lighthouse for a glimpse of the past and the Pacific Ocean.
• Stroll sandstone cliffs at La Jolla Cove as seals lounge about on the rocks.
• Wander the USS Midway to learn about life on an aircraft carrier; most of the docents are veterans.
The Old Mill, T.R. Pugh Memorial Park, North Little Rock, Arkansas
Mary Steenburgen, 71, Academy Award–winning actress, singer and songwriter
As a child, I was in love with reading and obsessed with books about elves and fairies and gnomes — all those magical worlds. So when my mother would bring me to the Old Mill, a 1930s reproduction of an 1880s water-powered gristmill, it felt like I was entering a storybook. It’s just a magical place, especially in the springtime, because there are lots of flowering plants and trees. It has even been in the movies — you can see it in one of the opening shots of Gone With the Wind.
North Little Rock, where I grew up, is across the river from the state capital of Little Rock. The capital city was always considered the spot where all the important and beautiful things were, but we kids always felt so proud that we had our own special thing in our town, and that was the Old Mill.
I’ve probably been there more than 50 times; I still take friends there. It’s a really special, unusual, beautiful place. It’s like the physical manifestation of all these worlds that I used to love to dream about.
While you’re in North Little Rock …
• Drink an award-winning Victory Pale Ale at Diamond Bear Brewing Co.
• Drive to Emerald Park for scenic views of the Arkansas River.
• Enjoy the pulled pork and brisket at Lindsey’s Hospitality House — but don’t skip the catfish.
Palmer House Hotel, Chicago
David Sedaris, 67, humorist
In college I thought, Oh my God, the Palmer House is just it. The hotel is in that part of downtown where the big department stores were. The lobby would bustle with tourists from other parts of the Midwest. I was broke as a student, but I would go to the coffee shop every Friday and linger over my little cake.
Whenever I’m back in Chicago, I can’t help but think of my younger self and how I’m living the life I dreamed about in those days. I’m delighted the Palmer House is still there. They don’t have that coffee shop anymore, but I love the memories. They used to have those standing ashtrays outside the elevators, and someone would stamp the hotel logo into the sand. I literally wanted, when I died, to have my ashes put in the ashtrays of the Palmer House hotel and have their logo embossed upon my remains. I think the ashtrays are gone now too.
While you’re at the hotel …
• Eat a brownie — legend has it they were invented there — in the ornate, French-style lobby.
• Walk to the Art Institute of Chicago, home to American Gothic and Nighthawks.
• Visit The Ledge, a glass balcony at Willis Tower.
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