One of the most memorable places I have stayed during a locum tenens radiology assignment was a converted carriage house behind the home of a radiologist I was helping out. It was restored with such attention to detail, charming, with a spiral wrought iron staircase. And it was within walking distance of the hospital.
Another time my wife came with me and we stayed in a lovely two-bedroom condo in Vermont. It was winter and it just snowed and snowed. Maybe because we live in Florida, we found it fascinating to watch the snow pile up higher and higher on the railing around our little balcony. It was this narrow strip of snow, growing taller and taller. It seemed to defy gravity. Then the wind picked up and we watched it gradually tilt, like someone pulling on a coat and walking into the wind.
I also have a particular bond with Wyoming. I can’t explain it, but I have a sense that I lived there at one time (and I was raised in Ohio; figure that one out). I was working in Sheridan, a great town, and staying in a guest house. There was a crab apple tree in the yard and every morning a small herd of deer would wander into the yard to eat the windfall apples. I got the bright idea to take a broom and knock down a bunch of apples. The deer came as usual, and then ate so many apples they were all foaming at the mouth. They just plopped down in the yard, so stuffed they were immobilized. I am not sure whether you should mess with nature like that.
The memories go on and on—a bed-and-breakfast apartment in Ketchikan, right on the water. The sunsets were just amazing. I guess I linger on the cozy places like this and try to forget the crazy little hotels I end up in once in a while. But sometimes that’s all there is in a small town and you make do. The rewards of getting to know a new part of the country, filling these radiology jobs and helping out a colleague, always make it worthwhile.