Trip Planning

I'm planning my trip in my off time during this week. I have a lot of places I would like to go and there are more being added as I go along. The more I sit and plan the trip there is a stronger urge to get in and go. I'm now at the point where I'm dreaming about it. I think this is a healthy obsession.
The first leg of the trip will get me out of New England where I grew up. I have never had any feelings of being homesick, I think that is a quality a wandering soul must have. For me everywhere I am feels like home. Even if I have not been someplace in a long time, when I get there it feels like I haven't been gone more than a day.
I have always loved the southwest and have always made comments about how the colors are more vibrant, the sunrise and sunset are remarkable and unforgettable. Whenever I think of New England, I always think gray. The skies don't offer the color pallet that the southwest has. It also feels closed in, like I'm in a giant box. Out west I can see for miles and miles, so much so that you can see the curvature of the earth. The only place in New England you can see that is out on the ocean or high in the mountains.
The southwest also seems more alive. The storms are beautiful and terrifying with spectacular shows of lightning accompanied by thunder you can feel in you gut. I remember one day when I lived in Wichita, KS. The formally blue sky had clouded over and turned red. The clouds were swirling around like a cup of coffee. A few minute later the radios and tv's were broadcasting tornado warnings. While this incredible show was going on above me in the sky I noticed that there was no wind and it was eerily quiet.
There was a tornado sighting but nothing more. About an hour later the blue sky had reemerged and life went on. You just don't get that in good old New England.