SENIORS DRIVE THROUGH BOULDER, COLORADO



Seniors Enjoy Another Colorado City

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 This senior still remembers driving from Iowa to Boulder for summer school at the U of Colorado. I saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time,  then I drove a couple of hours to be at the base. They were huge and awesome. In my new “Powder Blue” 1962 Pontiac Grand Prix I drove into Boulder.

I was enrolled for two graduate French courses and had a great experience at the U of C campus. Today students make up nearly a quarter of the city’s population. Historically, Boulder was settled by hopeful miners in 1858 and named for the huge rocks in the area.Alcohol Homepage

Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 5,430 feet. The city is 30 miles northwest of Denver in Boulder Valley where the Rockies meet the Great Plains.

West of the city are slabs of sedimentary stone tilted up on the foothills, known as the Flatirons, widely recognized symbol of Boulder.

I remember that some guy got stranded up on those rocks and the fire department had to rescue him. Arapahoe Glacier provides water for the city, along with Boulder Creek, which flows through the center of the city. I recall that the University campus was well watered with water coming down out of the mountains running in a series of narrow cement canals.

Seniors Enjoy A University Town

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Seniors can enjoy Boulder on Segways, bikes and even hot air balloons. The #1 attraction, the Flatirons is a National Historic Landmark.

Because Boulder is a university town, it offers rich cultural experiences such as the annual Colorado Shakespeare Festival and Colorado Music Festival and has a reputation for hosting world-famous performers and guest speakers at events throughout the year.

Situated in the heart of an energetic city is beautiful, historic Downtown. Surrounded by the stunning Flatiron Mountains and with the crystal clear Boulder Creek steps away, the area is filled with great shopping, dining and entertainment options.

Seniors Enjoy A Top Rated Town

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Recently rated the #1 Sports Town in America by Outside Magazine, Boulder has plenty of outdoor activities that may challenge your adventurous nature.

Forbes Magazine listed Boulder as the “Most Educated City in America,” and the town regularly makes top 10 lists for “healthy places to retire” and “greener” cities.

Whether its  biking, skiing, dining, hiking or climbing up peaks, Boulder invites you to enjoy not only the scenery, but the great mountain air. Frommer’s notes that Boulder is home to numerous high-tech companies and research concerns.  It also attracts outdoor sports enthusiasts with its delightful climate, vast open spaces, and proximity to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Senior visitors will find several quality restaurants as great eats is part of the local tradition. Seniors, you can see for yourself what a great stop Boulder would be. -jeb

SENIORS TRAVEL TO JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA



Seniors Discover Jax

JacksonvilleFL The locals choose to call Jacksonville, just plain JAX.  This senior was curious about the largest cities in Florida, and was I ever surprised. I always figured Miami was #1. I was wrong. It’s JAX with a population of 821,784 followed by Miami with  224,669.

Jacksonville’s historic Riverside-Avondale district ia one of the most well-preserved historic neighborhoods in the nation, with over 5,000 historic buildings. It’s been labeled the Greenwich Village in Florida. Originally called Cow Ford,  the name changed to Jacksonville in 1832 named after our 7th president, Andrew Jackson, who never visited the city.

JAX, the county seat of Duval County, is one of the nation’s greatest art lovers destinations, plus a “Top 10″ list for Jacksonville isn’t complete without at least a passing reference to one of the city’s most well-known attractions, the beach.

Seniors Enjoy Jacksonville’s Beaches

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Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, and Atlantic Beach provide access to wide sandy beaches on the Atlantic Coast. Jacksonville Beach offers vast stretches of gorgeous beach, a newly redesigned golf course, a famous fishing pier and boatloads of water activities.

Yes, 20 miles of wide and uncrowded beaches, close to 40 miles of the tranquil Intracoastal Waterway canal, and the longest stretch of the beautiful St. Johns River provide a scenic wonderland.

JAX started off with the early native Timucuan Indians and early French and Spanish settlers, to the cultural contributions of African-Americans and Hispanic Americans, all have shaped the city and continue to influence life in the city today.

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Seniors who have visited JAX, know about Jacksonville Landing, a 126,000 square ft shopping, tattoo, dining, clubbing, and historic museum complex in downtown Jacksonville. It was built by the Rouse Company at a cost of $37.5 million and opened in 1987.

 Wildlife Sanctuary, Museums and Parks Draw Seniors

TripAdvisor invites seniors to visit the local zoo, 13 museums and parks galore. The city is home to the largest urban park system in the nation, with 10 state and national parks and over 80,000 acres.

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The Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary is the #1 attraction in town. Senior visitors find that Jacksonville is a shopping paradise and the Riverside Arts Market is a great place to start.

The local Chamber of Commerce notes that this time of year (spring), the yellow daffodils are blooming, the trees are budding out, and local deer have resumed their neighborhood strolls.

Something is going on all year-long, like the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, Springing the Blue in April, Jacksonville Film Festival, World of Nations Celebration in May, and the Jacksonville Agricultural Fair in November.

The first time Europeans and Native Americans met for a meal was in Fort Caroline, Jacksonville in 1564. I didn’t know that, did you? jeb

BOSTON IS A SENIOR DESTINATION



Seniors Enjoy A Most Historic City

boston-skyline1My wife, two daughters and I spent a summer living in a suburb of Boston, South Weymouth.  We learned to love the city. Great scenery, super suburbs and one of the most historic cities in the United States…a great senior destination.

Older than the United States itself by more than a century, Boston has been the site of some of the most significant events in U.S. history. Boston is the largest city in Massachusetts and its capital city as well.

Senior visitors can enjoy a baseball game at the historic Fenway Park where we took in a game with the Yankees to touring the spectacular Boston Museum of Science.

Seniors Walk the Freedom Trail

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Founded in 1630, it’s one of the oldest cities in the U.S. The key role it played in the American Revolution is highlighted on the Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile walking route of historic sites that tells the story of the nation’s founding.

The former meeting house, Faneuil Hall, is a popular marketplace. We enjoyed viewing the ancient cemetery in Boston with the names of many famous folks. Massachussets has 187 National Historic Sites and 58 of them are found in Boston.

Boston, first incorporated as a town in 1630, and as a city in 1822, is one of America’s oldest cities, with a rich economic and social history. What began as a homesteading community eventually evolved into a center for social and political change. Boston has since become the economic and cultural hub of New England, and home to over 617,000 residents.

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 Seniors Find Great Food, Historical Streets and Wonderful People

Year round Boston’s calendar is brimming with exceptional musical and theatrical productions, new exhibitions, walking tours or trolley tours, ethnic festivals and festivals of Food & Wine. The City of Boston hosts over 12 million annual visitors from across the country and around the globe.

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This vibrant, thriving city is renowned for its cultural facilities, world-class educational institutions, champion sports franchises, as well as its place at the very forefront of American history.

Tourism is one of New England’s largest industries and Boston is willing to accommodate and entertain senior visitors as few other cities can.

Make sure you also explore some of Boston’s fine museums. Try the Gardner, featuring art masterpieces displayed in their collector’s mansion, old neighborhoods like the North End, and Boston’s Little Italy. And then spend a long evening in Downtown Boston, the lights are always on.

Seniors, you’ll love this wonderful city.  jeb

 

SENIORS RETURN TO NEW MEXICO



Seniors Enjoy Another Las Vegas

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This Las Vegas is the county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico. Senior travelers will find it along side of I-25 at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. At one time, the town became so large that it rivaled Denver, Tucson and El Paso in size. Today the population runs right at 15,000 and has much to offer visitors of all ages.

Las Vegas was established back in 1835 after a group of settlers received a land grant from the Mexican government. The town was laid out in the traditional Spanish Colonial style, with a central plaza surrounded by buildings which could serve as fortifications in case of attack.

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Today senior visitors will discover that it’s not that hard to imagine what Las Vegas might have been like when Billy The Kid, Doc Holliday and other notorious folks wandered the historic streets.

It is said that this Las Vegas was as “Wicked as Dodge City, Kansas” and is said to have been the “Worst of the Worst of the Old West, whatever that means.

 Seniors Step Back In Time In Las Vegas

The Las Vegas-San Miguel Chamber of Commerce notes that a visit to Las Vegas, New Mexico is like stepping back in time. “Landmarks, legends and lore” come to life in New Mexico’s favorite and best preserved outdoor architectural museums and National treasure.

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Senior visitors will discover 5 Main Street historic districts and over 900 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Historic Bridge Street is called one of the 10 Best Main Streets in America.

TripAdvisor suggests starting off with the Pecos National Historic Park in the midst of piñon, juniper, and ponderosa pine woodlands then go visit Victory Ranch, the largest alpaca ranch in the southwest with nearly 200 animals on 1,100 scenic acres.

Two hotels stand out among those in Las Vegas: La Plaza and La Castaneda that is being restored. A northern Arizona hotelier, Allan Affeldt, who restored La Posada in Winslow, AZ, where my wife and I stayed recently, has purchased the  century-old railroad hotel in Las Vegas.

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Seniors Discover Another Harvey House

The mission revival hotel, completed in 1898, was one of the first of the Harvey Houses, Fred Harvey’s chain of hotels and restaurants that furthered tourism development in the Southwest. The Beckers look forward to a pleasant weekend in La Castaneda when it is fully restored.

When the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad reached the Las Vegas settlement in 1879, it was the biggest city between San Francisco and Independence, Missouri. The full revival of this historic city is underway now, spurred by Wild West can-do spirit and the renovation of its landmark hotel, La Castaneda.

The city itself is a veritable museum and well worth a visit, so put it on your travel bucket list today. -jeb

SENIORS DRIVE TO PORTLAND, OREGON



Seniors Enjoy the Willamette Valley

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Growing up in Iowa, the only Portland I ever knew was cement. Then I learned some geography. I discovered that Portland is the largest city in the state of Oregon (600,000+) and located near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. Senior travelers will find Portland 70 miles east of the Pacific Ocean and at the northern end of Oregon’s most most populated region, the Willamette Valley.  

Downtown Portland straddles the banks of the Willamette River which flows north through the city center and consequently separates the east and west portions of the city. Less than 10 miles from downtown, the Willamette River flows into the Columbia River, the fourth-largest river in the US, which divides Oregon from Washington state.

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Travel Portland is a website featuring Things to Do, Places to Visit and Plans for your Trip. Fodor’s Travel finds that what distinguishes Portland from the rest of America’s cityscapes or from the rest of the world’s urban destinations is that in a Northwest nutshell: everything.

For some, it’s the wealth of cultural offerings and never-ending culinary choices; for others, it’s Portland’s proximity to the ocean and mountains, or simply the beauty of having all these attributes in one place. Seniors, it is just one neat place for a visit. 

Seniors Like Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

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I always like to know how towns got their name. Portland is no different. It was initially referred to as “Stumptown” and later “The Clearing” because of the many trees being cut down to allow for its growth.

Later after a coin toss, the name Portland became its namesake. That coin is now known as the “Portland Penny” and you can see it at the Oregon Historical Society.

The famed Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area ranks high with senior visitors, then the International Rose Test Garden. Couple these with some great parks and gardens and gardeners like myself could spend days in Portland. Google adds more suggestions and now you will have to pick and choose as there are so many possibilities for fun and excitement in Portland.

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Like Seattle, 178 miles to the north, Portland lies in an area of exceptional and easily accessible natural beauty, and this proximity to so many remarkable and varied landscapes adds to Portland’s allure. On a clear day, Mount Hood—the city’s alpine mascot—glows on the eastern horizon, about 90 minutes away.

In the heart of downtown at Pioneer Courthouse Square, senior visitors will find the Visitor Information and Services Center. A great place to begin your visit to the city.  You will discover that Portland has a mix of open scenic spaces and parks combined with a busting city life and diverse neighborhoods. Come, see it all for yourself and enjoy the city. -jeb

SENIORS TRAVEL TO MIAMI, FLORIDA



Seniors Enjoy A Popular Vacation Destination

UnknownI am now on a “kick” for Big Cities in the US.  First NYC, then Big D in Texas and now Miami. Boy oh boy, did I ever miss this one.  I thought Miami was large. It ranks #44 for size with a population of right at 415,000. Maybe not all that large, but Miami is loaded with great sites for seniors to enjoy.

Miami is one of the state’s – and the world’s – most popular vacation spots. Though destinations often are said to offer something for everyone, the Miami area offers multiple enticements for everyone: the trendy nightlife of South Beach, the Art Deco district, Calle Ocho and the highly caffeinated energy of Little Havana.

Little Havana, the Cuban district of Miami, isn’t known for its wealth of tourist attractions but more for its distinctive cultural flavor. There are restaurants, specialty food shops, and Latin music. Calle Ocho is the main thoroughfare running through the district and home to much of the activity, but the district spreads well beyond into the surrounding streets and avenues.

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Seniors Like This Hot Spot

Fodors writes that… “Three quarters of a century after the art deco movement, Miami remains one of the world’s trendiest and flashiest hot spots.”

Frommers chimes in and wants visitors to know that “sunny Florida skies, a buzzing nightlife and the insistent rhythm of Cuban culture have electrified this sultry polyglot of a city fronting the Atlantic Ocean”.

South Beach attracts people-watchers, and the Art Deco stylings of the Venetian Pool provide a glimpse into Miami’s sleepy past. From water sports and sunbathing on Miami Beach to alligators in the Everglades, Miami lives outdoors. And fine cuisine: traditional Cuban meets spicy Caribbean and an ocean of seafood to create Floribbean cuisine, which senior visitors will find in a host of Miami restaurants.

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The plush hotels of Miami Beach, the historic hideaways of Coral Gables, the endless shopping opportunities in sprawling malls and the family-owned shops of Coconut Grove draw senior travelers.

Then there’s the lure of deep-sea fishing and golf and tennis. Major league football, basketball, hockey and baseball.

Boat shows and auto racing. Art festivals and outdoor food and wine extravaganzas. An international airport and the world’s busiest cruise port. The Miami area offers all of this.

Endangered Habitat And The Everglades

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The 440 acre Deering Estate at Cutler property encompasses globally endangered pine rockland habitat, as well as coastal tropical hardwood rockland hammocks, mangrove forests, salt marshes, and a coastal dune island.

Outside the city but nearby is Everglades National Park, known for its unique ecosystem and wildlife. TripAdvisor suggests that senior visitors to take in the Zoological Wildlife Foundation and the American Airlines Arena home of the Miami Heat Basketball Team.

Seniors, enjoy this city that is alive. It will take a few days to grasp all the fun that the city has to offer.  -jeb

SUNDAY COFFEE WITH JEB



Seniors View A Lot Of NaCl

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Senior friends, get your coffee and join me in Bolivia this morning.  We’re going to visit Salar de Uyuni, a pile of blissfully, beautiful salt, very famous and one of the most stunning scenes in the world. Made up of some 4,633 square miles of salt, Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia is located in the southwestern region of Oruno and Potosi, near the top of the Andes, at an altitude of 3,650 meters.

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More than 40,000 years ago, the area was part of a giant prehistoric Lake Michin that dried up and left Lake Poopo, and Uru and two salt deserts, Salar de Coipasa and the Salar de Uyuni. The second is the larger of the two and 10,582 square km is about 25 times the size of Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats.

Seniors Discover Flamingo Breeding Grounds

Once a year, in November, Salar de Uyuni becomes  breeding grounds for three species of South American flamingos: the Chilean Flamingo, James’s and Andes. Flamingos chow down on microbes that are attracted by mineral deposits and the potassium salt crust of shallow lakes creating snow rings.

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The landscape is entirely flat, bar a few small ‘islands’ such as Isla Incahuasi, which only accentuates its surreal beauty. The Bolivian Altiplano (high plains) has many beautiful lakes, some fresh, some saline and very colorful, some dry.

The collection includes the largest salt flat in the world, Salar de Uyuni, that is dry for most of the year, but is covered by a this layer of water during the rainy season (usually November-March).

Know anything about lithium? It’s pretty important for electronics today. Salar de Uyuni holds half the world’s reserves of lithium and is used to create high energy density lithium batteries like those used by Tesla, the resources have not been exploited so far.

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 Seniors Find An Other-Worldly Experience

Given the remoteness of Salar de Uyuni, this is a very popular place, and not just with senior tourists. Miners working in the Salar produce a whopping 25,000 tons of salt each year and it is still a drop in the bucket compared with the overall reserves of 10 billion tons of salt offered by Uyuni.

What a neat place to visit? Exotic, yes. For the adventurous, yes. Bolivia, yes. Salar de Uyuni offers an other-worldly experience for seniors that has to be seen to be believed. When it rains at Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, the landscape transforms into a giant and shallow reflection pool that is said to be the World’s Largest Mirror.

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Equally extraordinary is the salt flat’s ‘flatness’. Over the entire 10,582 square kilometers, there is only an average altitude variation of one meter. The area is covered in a several-meter thick salt crust which also covers a pool of lithium-rich brine.

Senior travelers who seek adventure and a new place to explore, here it is: Salar de Uyuni, breathtakingly beautiful, providing an extraordinary experience that will not be quickly forgotten. jeb

SENIORS DRIVE TO DALLAS



After The Big Apple, Seniors, It’s BIG D

imagesYes, it’s Dallas, Texas. Recently, this senior wrote a  travel blog on New York City.  I did not really think that I could do justice to NYC, but my wife liked it. She asked…”Why don’t you write more blogs on large cities.” I had no response.

The first city that popped into my mind was Big D (pop. 1,250,000, #8 in the USA). Dallas is the largest urban center of the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the United States (6.5 million). Dallas and Fort Worth, separated by 30 mi of suburbs, aren’t exactly twin cities, they’re more like cousins who squabble more than they get along.

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Their roots are different, yet intertwined. Dallas has almost always been a center of trade, built on the ideals of capitalism and progress—and great leaps of faith. Loaded with history, Dallas was formally incorporated as a city way back on February 2, 1856.

 Seniors Experience ‘BIG’

I was a little disappointed to discover that the origin of the name Dallas is uncertain as I have always figured that every city, even country has a reason for its name. Not so with Dallas. There were a number of people named Dallas who could have been the inspiration for the name, but back to Big D.

Perhaps you already know that “everything in Texas is BIG” and so it is with Dallas. I do know from experience that the Dallas/Fort Worth airport is huge.

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Let’s go to Texas where it is said, “Big Things Happen Here.” It is quite certain that senior visitors will not run out of things to see and do. Sights and attractions, shopping, great dining, entertainment of every nature, great nightlife, professional sports and more will keep you entertained and engaged.

 AT&T Stadium Attracts This Senior

Wikipedia that provides a huge overview of this great city. Dallas offers a unique blend of Southwestern warmth, cosmopolitan flair, old west charm and modern sophistication.

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A major attraction for this senior would be the AT&T Stadium. On a clear day, you can see the Dallas Cowboys’ $1.2 billion football palace in Arlington from the GeO-Deck at Reunion Tower in downtown Dallas, 18.5 miles to the west.

The Dallas Tourist Information Center is located in the historic Old Red Courthouse at 100 South Houston Street in Downtown Dallas, a great place to begin a visit to this great city.  The Center provides senior visitors with brochures, directions, and information about Dallas and the surrounding areas. Enjoy Dallas. -jeb

SENIORS FIND THEIR WAY TO SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA



Seniors Stop In Northern California

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San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the United States, and the county seat of Santa Clara County, senior travelers find out. The population runs right at one million.

San José is a highly popular destination for senior tourists. San Jose’s location within the booming local technology industry has earned the city the nickname “Capital of Silicon Valley”. Senior travelers will find, among others, Cisco Systems, eBay, and Adobe Systems.

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City history goes back a long ways to November 29, 1777 when the town was founded as El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, the first civilian town in the Spanish colony of Nueva California. When California gained statehood in 1850, San Jose served as its first capital.

Silicon Valley Meets Spanish History Meets Senior Historians

TripAdvisor notes that this is where Silicon Valley meets Spanish history and modern edifices sit alongside meticulously restored 19th-century buildings. Such is the contrast of this city rich in tradition and, thanks to the tech industry, just plain rich.

Five star-hotels and fine restaurants line the streets of the restored downtown area, and the cultural scene is thriving with museums, theater and art to rival any world-class hub. TripAdvisor notes 139 things to see and do in San Jose.

Include a visit to San Jose State University on your stay in town. SJSU has matured into a metropolitan university. San Jose City College has a student enrollment of 20,000, so it’s large as well.

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 “Do You Know The Way To San Jose?”

In 1968, singer Dionne Warwick released her hit “Do You Know The Way To San Jose?” Today it seems that many folks have indeed found the way.

Like many large cities, outside of downtown, things are spread out in San Jose, so an automobile is the best mode of transportation.

Senior travelers will discover that the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, VTA, offers serviceable transit around town. Maybe do some shopping at San Pedro Square Farmer’s Markets on Fridays and Saturdays.

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Area schools such as the Berkeley, University of California and Stanford University add a throng of engineering and computer science graduates into the local economy every year.

The cost of living in San Jose and the surrounding areas is one of the highest in the nation, but that’s the Silicon Valley for you.

I liked what Frommer’s had to say about San Jose: The San Jose of yesteryear — a sleepy town of orchards, crops, and cattle — is long gone… And despite all the growth, a number of surveys declare it one of the safest and sunniest cities in the nation. jeb

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