The top scoring U.S./Canada cities, from Travel + Leisure magazine’s 2006 reader poll (2005 position — if any — in parentheses):  

1. New York (1) 84.75

2. San Francisco (2) 84.29

3. Chicago (4) 82.52

4. Charleston, S.C. (6) 82.48

5. Santa Fe (3) 82.06

6. Vancouver (5) 81.45

7. Quebec City (7) 80.98

8. Victoria, British Columbia (9) 79.92

9. Montreal (8) 79.46

10. Seattle 79.05

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See, all of you who have not visited Seattle are missing out! Seattle is also the only newbie on the list for 2006. I’m surprised Hawaii didn’t get on the list, though…and where is Sacramento? Come on people! All those trees?! You gotta love it! But really, the list is interesting. I would never have guessed Charleston or Santa Fe to  be on the list, but then again, I’ve never been to either of those cities. Not surprised NY and SF are up there, though.

This weekend, we are traveling to city #6–Vancouver. I have to be mentally prepared to have a lot of Chinese food. Hopefully I can find some big haw flakes, though. I’ve been craving those for awhile. And four Ip kids, plus me, in one hotel room. That should be interesting…:)

And speaking of traveling, five guys from the Living Hope Bus Tour finished up their cross-country tour in our chapel service on Wednesday. You can watch a short news clip from one of Seattle’s local news channels here. When Nathaniel Elliott (now 18) returned from a missions trip to Gambia, Africa, when he was 16, he was heartbroken by all the pain that AIDS was causing. He was especially drawn to the children who were being orphaned by parents dying of AIDS. He wrote to someone at World Vision (who still has that original e-mail) and shared his idea about renovating an old school bus, getting together other like-minded guys, and driving across the country the summer after his high school graduation to increase awareness about AIDS. They aim to raise $250,000 to build a school for HIV-infected children or AIDS orphans in Zambia.

Why a school? Because education in many developing countries is not as common as it is to you or me. It’s not a given that kids in other countries will go to school, especially if they have lost their parents and are left raising younger siblings. Giving children the gift of education means giving them a chance at a different–better–future. It shows them there is hope because they can learn more skills and increase their knowledge.

Nathaniel ended up with four other guys, ages 17-23, who joined him on this quest. They met up with large groups, small groups, young and old to tell them about the statistics about AIDS in Africa. Their main message was that five people in Africa die EACH minute from AIDS–and the younger generation need to care and do something about it. They see so many of their peers wrapped up in their own lives–things that are meaningless–and they are perceived as a generation that is selfish and lost. And I have to admit, I’ve thought the same thing…even about my own generation.

These guys want to show other teens that they can make a difference–and it doesn’t just have to be about AIDS. They don’t have to sit back and let the “older guys” do it all. On the bus trip, the Living Hope guys met other teens at various churches and at DC/LA who ended up starting their own fundraisers or sharing their own ideas to make a difference. How cool is that?!

After hearing from the Living Hope guys (who have raised $40,000 so far), I am encouraged that they are so enthusiastic and moved to make a difference in their lifetime. These guys aren’t just goofy teens riding a big bus around and being interviewed on CNN. They have a genuine passion and can clearly convey that. Sure, they are still teens and like to make up lists about lessons they learned on the trip, such as “don’t fart on the bus,” or “don’t jump in the bus when you’re only wearing boxers.” But in the end, you remember their greater message…that when we hear these grave statistics, we have to somehow bridge that gap between knowing the numbers and actually caring…and caring enough to do something about it.