San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco is hills, fog, Mission burritos the size of forearms, and pastel Victorians stacked like dominoes. Karl the Fog has his own Instagram, the cable cars are still mechanically pulled by cables running under the street, and the Pacific shows up at the end of every west-bound avenue. The food is wildly good, the views are theatrical, and yes, you'll get cardio just walking to the corner store.

Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City is Bricktown's canal and warehouses, the Thunder (who get loud), and the deeply moving Oklahoma City National Memorial. The downtown's grown up fast in the last decade, the food scene leans steaks and Vietnamese (the Asian District is legit), and the surrounding plains give the city an enormous sky. The Cowboy Hall of Fame is more thoughtful than the name suggests.