During the University at
Buffalo’s spring break, I had the privilege of driving 7 students and another
CA staff member to Texas to do disaster relief for Hurricane Harvey.
One of my favorite things I
like to do during a trip is to give clues along the way to what path we are
taking. So, now that the trip is done, I am going to present the clues all at
once, and then offer the answers and my explanations.
If you like maps, get one out and follow along.
1 Bison country
2 North of Namibia
3 Lake, city, canal, county?
4 Sage, sensei
5 Not a woman’s piece of earth
6 Christopher’s town
7 Baseball’s crimson
8 Her majesty’s village
9 Playing ten pins in St. Paddy’s color
10 Why would you want to live with predators?
11 Did they name the town after #7?
12 St. Jude likes it here
13 Roll river roll
14 Not east Memphis
15 #42 was governor here
16 Noah’s city?
17 Come on now, just what state do you belong
to?
18 What what? I thought we were in Texas, not
Georgia
19 Louisiana purchaser
20 John, Thurgood, enforcer of the law
21 Mercury, Gemini, Apollo
22 Sweet earth
23 Spouse of Prince Albert, mother of Edward VII
24 This is not like Oregon at all…
25 Solid mineral harbor
26 Barbara Mandrell’s younger sister
27 Some people need to eat this kind of pie
28 #22 & #24
29 I thought we were at Walmart headquarters,
but we are missing the “ville.”
30 Bass Pro Shop is shaped like a pyramid –
appropriate for this Egyptian city
31 Fort Nashborough
32 Its water tower says, “Florence Y’all”
33 It’s not the Kentucky River
34 Paris of America
35 I am fairly sure that Jayne was not from here.
36 Unlike Worcester, MA, the people of this town
pronounce the name of their town the way it is spelled.
37 This is not Switzerland (or New York)…
38 Not South West
39 Most of us had one when we ate at Steak &
Shake.
40 College at Beautiful Water
Now for the answers:
1 BUFFALO, NY
Ironically, buffalo/bison
have never lived in this area of the country, except in private ownership or a
zoo
2 ANGOLA, NY
In Africa, the country north
of Namibia is Angola
3 ERIE, PA
Lake, city, canal, county?
Lake Erie, Erie PA, Erie Canal, Erie Country
4 MENTOR, OH
Sage, sensei are synonyms for
mentor
5 MANSFIELD, OH
Not a woman’s piece of earth
6 COLUMBUS, OH
Christopher’s town
7 CINCINNATI, OH
Baseball’s crimson – the Cincinnati
Reds
8 ELIZABETHTOWN, KY
Her majesty’s village
9 BOWLING GREEN, KY
Playing ten pins in St.
Paddy’s color
10 NASHVILLE, TN
Why would you want to live
with predators? Nashville’s hockey team is called the Predators
11 JACKSON, TN
Did they name the town after
#7? When you see me just refer to a number, it is most likely I am referring to
a president. Remember that.
12 MEMPHIS, TN
St. Jude likes it here. The
famous children’s cancer hospital founded by Danny Thomas is located here.
13 MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Roll river roll
14 WEST MEMPHIS, AR
Not east Memphis – please don’t
tell me you could not get this one.
15 LITTLE ROCK, AR
#42 was governor here. This
would be Bill Clinton’s job before he became president
16 ARKADELPHIA
Noah’s city? – OK, that was a
bit of a stretch.
17 TEXARKANA, AR or TX
Come on now, just what state
do you belong to? This is a city that literally exists on the state borders.
18 ATLANTA, TX
What what? I thought we were
in Texas, not Georgia. Who knew there was another Atlanta?
19 JEFFERSON, TX
Louisiana purchaser – Perhaps
I just should have said “#3”
20 MARSHALL, TX
John, Thurgood, enforcer of
the law – John Marshall – first Supreme Court justice; Thurgood Marshall –
first African-American Supreme Court justice
21 HOUSTON, TX
Mercury, Gemini, Apollo –
These are references to the first manned space flights by NASA, which is
headquartered in Houston
22 SUGAR LAND, TX
Sweet earth
23 VICTORIA, TX
Spouse of Prince Albert,
mother of Edward VII
24 PORTLAND, TX
This is not like Oregon at
all… I know, I could have said Maine too.
25 ROCKPORT, TX
Solid mineral harbor – This is
the first landing place of Hurricane Harvey and where Samaritan’s Purse’s
headquarters for this disaster relief is located.
26 LOUISE, TX
Barbara Mandrell’s younger
sister – I know this was a tough one, but there are not many famous Louises
about.
27 HUMBLE, TX
Some people need to eat this
kind of pie
28 CLEVELAND, TX
#22 & #24 – It is the president
thing again. Grover Cleveland was the only president to serve two terms non-consecutively
29 BENTON, AR
I thought we were at Walmart
headquarters, but we are missing the “ville.” Bentonville, AR is the
headquarters for Walmart. Benton is not near it.
30 MEMPHIS, TN
Bass Pro Shop is shaped like
a pyramid – appropriate for this Egyptian city. Memphis was an ancient Egyptian
city.
31 NASHVILLE, TN
Fort Nashborough Before it was Nashville, it was this.
32 FLORENCE, KY
Its water tower says, “Florence
Y’all” Please don’t tell me you missed
this…
33 OHIO RIVER
It’s not the Kentucky River. Perhaps it should be.
34 CINCINNATI, OH
Paris of America – I don’t
know why Cincy has this nickname, but it does.
35 MANSFIELD, OH
I am fairly sure that Jayne
was not from here. This was an allusion to Jayne Mansfied. If you don’t know
who she is, never mind.
36 Wooster, OH
Unlike Worcester, MA, the
people of this town pronounce the name of their town the way it is spelled.
This is probably my favorite. The people in MA actually pronounce it Woostah,
because as I like to say, “New Englanders add r’s that aren’t and ignore the r’s
that are.”
37 GENEVA, OH
This is not Switzerland (or
New York)…
38 NORTH EAST, PA
Not South West
39 HAMBURG, NY
Most of us had one when we
ate at Steak & Shake.
40 UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, NY
College at Beautiful Water –
Some people believe that Buffalo’s name actually was a reference to Lake Erie
from the French, “Beau l’eau” (beautiful water).
