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My own Paris syndrome is when I get feverishly obsessed with visiting a town only because the name or place strikes me on a map. Then, when I arrive, it’s a dumpy little place. This is not an uncommon experience for me.

I bought a big map in an antique store a few years back, and it turned out to be a map of a place not too far away: Crescent City, CA. I fell in love with the name, and, looking at it on my wall every night, I had big ideas about going there. When I finally dragged my girlfriend along on the road trip, it was much dumpier than I expected-- The definition of a town to stop in and take a shit before continuing on your way to San Francisco or another real city. But now I can connect the map and the name to a real place in my brain! And just outside of town is the Jedediah Smith Redwoods, a very nice place to visit. Despite the troubles… Crescent City? Still pretty.

Ashland, OR was another one of those cities which struck me, not for its existence on a map but rather in a legend-- Tall tales my dad used to tell me about college days, motorcycling there on long weekends. He never stops gassing the place up, with its Shakespeare Festival and European look. When I went last spring, I found it to be a tourist trap surrounded by miles of blisteringly cold shrubland. But I also went in the middle of a snowstorm, and most of my time consisted of volunteer service in parks pulling up weeds. Ashland? Still pretty.

This spring break I’m going to another town I’ve been obsessed with, Port Angeles, WA. It struck me for being one of the northernmost cities in the state (And by extent, the country). It’s also a good excuse to see old friends, and to finally pop my Olympic Peninsula cherry (The holy land of all PNW lovers). The jury is out on old P.A., but I’m very hopeful. It’s been too long since I’ve been up towards B.C. and all that wild wild forest. It’s the kind of place that’s dangerous to visit because you’ll never want to leave. Port Angeles? Pretty? Will update.

P.S.

Here’s how you can tell if a town is dumpy: Look it up on Google Images and do some reverse logic. Are all the images oversaturated? Then it’s very gray. Are the images avoiding the city? Then the city’s ugly. Do they only show the skyline? Then the streets are dirty. It's not what they show, but what they hide.