The 8 Homes Game: Where would you have yours, if you were as insanely rich as the McCains?

OK, so the fact that John and Cindy McCain have a rather large amount of properties to their name is old news.

I found it interesting that they’re all in the States, and the fact that they are has left me with certain criteria for this little bit of Fun Distraction in these End-of-World Times (awesome Mad Max future, here we come).

I have been thinking about all of this for a while, and the thinking has turned to dreaming, and with a little extra Bloody Mary-swilling on top of the dreaming, I have come up with a very simple game:

Where Would Your 8 Homes Be?

List them. You don’t have to list your reasons, but if you do at least for a few of them, it would be more fun. And remember that the only rule is: the homes must be within the borders of the United States of America or else, within the borders of the country you live in, so as to utterly emulate the McCains. When you’re done, tag 8 people, so that they may join in the self-indulgence, forgetting about the crappy property market and the equivalent of The End of Pompeii on Wall-Street. You could spend your time hammering your doors and windows shut in preparation for the apocalypse instead, but it would be much less fun.

OK, mine are as follows:

1. Charlotte, NC. I even know where exactly: preferably somewhere off of Rea Road, or else off of Carmel. Charlotte is where I lived for eight years. I love its silences and autumn drives (during which I will invariably play the “Fellowship of the Ring” soundtrack, because I’m cool like that), and the occasional freak snow-storms that shut down the city completely, and the smell of honeysuckle in the spring. I would string up a garland of lights over my back porch, and sit there with Boyfriend and a lovely, well-behaved dog (puppy class a must this time around), and read Kate Atkinson out loud.

2. Atlanta, GA. Preferably in Buckhead. Call me pretentious, whatever.

3. Somewhere in N. California. I’m thinking Palo Alto. So I can streak over to Anna’s house in the middle of the night. And Stanford’s right there. Anyway, I haven’t been out West yet, but when I’m suddenly a gajillionaire, that won’t be a problem.

4. I want a flat on the Upper East Side too. I could pretend to be cool and say that I want a flat somewhere more “chilled out” or “laid back” in New York, but I would only be lying. It would be very modern too, with those weird new sinks I absolutely love.

5. I definitely want a house in the vicinity of Lake Tahoe.

6. I want a small place on the Carolina coast. IT WILL NOT HAVE ANY TACKY BEACH PARAPHERNALIA DECORATING THE WALLS . OK, maybe a glass dolphin, or something.

7. One of those old Gothic-revival houses in Louisville, Kentucky. Definitely. I love Louisville. And Gothic revival.

8. I want a cozy place in one of those skiing destinations. I’m thinking Aspen, although that might be too obvious. I can’t ski worth a damn, but I like sitting around in a warm sweater and a hat with flappy ears, drinking spiced rum. Which is totally the same thing, right?

For this exercise in fun, I tag: Renee, Daisy, Wallace, Ren, Kim, Belle, Bint, ParallelSidewalk, and anyone else who wants to be tagged. Including anyone in the comments section.