Miles Arnone

Ask Miles Arnone what his favorite thing in the world is, and his reply is immediate. "I love to travel!" he tells you with a sparkle in his eyes.

Miles has traveled to many places around the world. He's journeyed all over Europe and Central America, as well as to many parts of Asia. One of his favorite things to do when he travels to exotic locales is sample the local cuisines. He's eaten eel heart soup and sea urchins in Japan, and fat pork knuckles in Germany.

The trip that Miles remembers most fondly, however, was the one he took when he was 21 years old. He had just graduated from the University of South Carolina. He got behind the steering wheel of his old car, and set out to tour the United States. He refers to that trip fondly now as his "vision quest."

Touring the American South

The first step on Miles's journey was the famous city of Nashville. Miles is a music fan, so of course he had to check out the Country Music Hall of Fame. He also paid a call on Gruhn Guitars where all the most famous country music stars buy their guitars. Miles Arnone was tempted to buy one too, but he figured he should learn how to play it first.

From there, Miles drove through the state of Kentucky. The wild dense grass that grew in the meadows, fields and roadsides was very beautiful, but it wasn't blue!

Touring the Heartland

After that Miles's travels took him through Illinois and Kansas, and then into Colorado. He was amazed at how the landscape changed. The flat farmlands of Kansas and Illinois seemed to go on forever until you reached the rolling foothills that signaled the Rockies. From there, it was straight up.

In Colorado, the desert called him and he traveled south until he reached New Mexico and Arizona. The amazing high desert vistas and seemingly endless vistas of bright blue sky touched Miles's soul. He was particularly stunned by the beauty of the great red rocks outside the Arizona town of Sedona.

Finding Colorado

In the end, however, the mountains reclaimed him. Miles had always loved to ski. He met up with two friends in Denver and got a job at a local ski resort. It was good to be in one place after all his time on the road. But Miles Arnone would never forget the summer he spent, footloose and fancy free, just him and America.