MINNEAPOLIS

Although the winters in Minneapolis are brutal, the summer is hard to beat anywhere in the US. With tons of trails for biking, running, and strolling....and beautiful lakes everywhere....it is easy to see why the residents of Minneapolis put up with the miserable winters. My first trip to Minneapolis was in the dead of the winter, and it was so cold that I thought I was going to die that weekend. My body never felt so cold. Now I only visit Minneapolis once the weather gets warmer. With an average summer high in the 70s, Minneapolis becomes an outdoor paradise.

When I am in Minneapolis, I stay close to St.Louis Park. I like this area, because there are a ton of restaurant and gym options within a short drive. I tried staying downtown one weekend, but the downtown area pretty much shuts down during the weekend....and finding restaurants and shops open during the weekend can be challenging.

I have found 2 great gym options in Minneapolis. By far the best is the Lifetime Fitness in St.Louis Park. This huge facility has both great equipment and a ton of hot guys. Although most of the guys are straight there, the gym is known to be very cruisy in the wet areas.

The other option is the LA Fitness in Uptown. Although this gym is only a few months old, a ton of hot metrosexuals and hot gay guys have migrated to this gym. Equipment-wise, this gym can not be beat. The equipment is all new and top-notch. Although I never entered the "wet area" of this gym, it did not seem all that cruisy. I get the impression that guys go to Lifetime Fitness if they want the steam room action, and the LA Fitness if they want a serious workout.

If you are in the mood for some serious shopping, the largest mall in the US is located in Minneapolis. The Mall of America is so large that there is even an amusement park located in the middle of the mall (pictured above).

Minnesota is also the hometown of a number of porn stars including Brandon Wilde, David Dakota and Hayden Chandler.

All in all, I love visiting Minneapolis.....I just avoid it at all costs in the winter.

ATLANTA

After numerous requests, I have decided to finally write about my home city, Atlanta. I moved to Atlanta after graduating from Notre Dame and loved every minute of it. I often get asked when traveling "why Atlanta" and "what is special about Atlanta"? At least for me, Atlanta seems to have a lot of the qualities that I love in a city. Do not get me wrong, there are a number of equally good cities, but few that have as many great qualities as Atlanta possesses.

First of all, Atlanta is a large city (which I prefer), so as a city it possesses all of the qualities that most big cities have (i.e. a huge gay population, a ton of business/work opportunities, the arts, shopping, and lots of great places to eat). Where Atlanta beats most cities is on the cost of living. Compared to places like DC, Chicago, Boston, LA, San Francisco, NYC --- Atlanta is CHEAP! Housing is cheap, food is cheap, and most of the services are cheap as well. So you get to live in a big city without the expense of one.

If you decide to visit Atlanta, I would recommend staying in the Midtown area. Midtown is the center of gay Atlanta. Midtown is filled with a ton of restaurants, gay owned shopping, gyms, nightlife, and most of the culture/arts for Atlanta. Although most of Midtown is walkable, it is definitely easier if you have a car.

The other option is to stay in Buckhead. Just north of Midtown, the Buckhead area is where you will find all of the best shopping in Atlanta. There are two major malls in Buckhead (across the street from each other).....Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza. Lenox Square has more of the traditional mall stores (but in larger formats) and Phipps Plaza has more of the ultra high-end shops.

If you want to workout in Atlanta, there are a number of good options for visitors. The Ansley Mall location of LA Fitness is considered the gay gym in Atlanta (although there is a gym called Gravity Fitness that is also gay....but since this gym is off the beaten path, I would not recommend trying to find it). If you are looking for more of a mixed (gay/straight) gym, then the LA Fitness/Esporta Gym at 5th/Spring or the LA Fitness in Buckhead are also good options as well.

There is a ton of nightlife in Atlanta. If you are looking for more of a cocktail bar, then Blakes (younger crowd) and Burkharts (older crowd) are your best bets. If you are the leather/levi type then there is the Heretic (more levi/leather) or the Eagle (all leather). If you are in the mood to dance, then Jungle is a great option (it is a huge dance club). There are a ton of other options in Atlanta, but that will get you started.

If you like strippers, one of the best stripper bars in the country is in Atlanta. Swinging Richards is one of the few places where the guys get totally nude on stage. And unlike the strippers I have encountered in a lot of cities, these guys are truly hot (although a large percentage of them are straight). It can be a lot of fun to get a lap dance from a hot straight guy!

Atlanta is also home to my porn studio (Jason Sparks Entertainment and ClubJasonSparks.com). When you are there, stop in Brushstrokes (the big gay porn store) and ask to see the Jason Sparks Entertainment section....and say hi to the owners Mark and Tom for me. :)

The one thing you will notice about Atlanta is a ton of hot young guys. Being the center of the southeast, Atlanta attracts all of the young southern boys trying to escape small town southeastern cities. There is continual "fresh meat" moving to the city...and that makes it fun!

BOSTON

Boston in the spring/summer/fall is amazing! Boston in the winter is just harsh! I visit Boston 2 times a year.....and my winter trips are my least favorite. Like a lot of northeastern US large cities, Boston is a walking city. As with any walking city, you can not escape the elements. That walk to the gym in 20 degree weather (with the wind whipping around you) is downright miserable.

When I am in Boston, I usually stay in the Copley Place area or in the Theatre District. Either area is convenient. For those of you that have never been to Boston before, Copley Place is a huge indoor mall that spans a dozen office buildings and hotels. Each part of the mall is connected over street level by 2nd story skywalks. If the weather is bad in Boston, you can literally stay at one of the hotels above the mall and never go outside. There is a gym in the mall, a ton of restaurants, and a lot of shopping too. Just about anything you need you can find in Copley Place.

If the weather is nice outside, I prefer to stay in the Theatre District. Halfway between the South End (the gay area of Boston) and Copley Place, this hotel is within walking distance of just about everything in Boston. One of my favorite places in Boston is the Boston Commons (pictured above). This large park right in the middle of the city is a great place to get away from the hustle and bussel of the city. It is a great place to relax and one of the places that makes Boston special.

Just a few blocks from Boston Commons is Newberry Street. This is Boston's high-end shopping area. Since most of these shops are in old townhouses, it is a very quaint street. There are lots of cool restaurants and a plethora of boutique shops.

As far as gyms go, Boston Sports Club (BSC) dominates this city. With locations everywhere, you are within a 10-15 min walk from one of their locations no matter where you stay in the city. I prefer the South End location. This location is the "gay" gym. I have heard that the showers/sauna is cruisy there....but I have never showered at this gym. When I stay at Copley Place, there are 2 BSC's close by. Once is just across the street from Copley Place...and the other is on Newberry Street. I have been to both of them....and neither seem all that gay. Regardless of which one you go to, all of them have great equipment and you will get a good workout.

One of the things you will notice about Boston is the amount of young, hot gay guys in this city. With a ton of colleges and universities in an around Boston, this city is FILLED with hotties. So...if you like the younger guys....and can take the weather....then this city is definitely for you!

HOUSTON

For those of you that have never been to Houston, it is one hell of a spread out city. The car definitely rules in Houston. Houston is also home to most of the major oil companies as well; so the automobile is king here (and traffic is bad too!).

When I am in Houston, I stay at (or close to) the Galleria. The Galleria Shopping Center is one of the largest malls in the country. You can find just about anything here. There is also a cool ice skating rink in the middle of the food court; so there is plenty to watch as you eat. The Galleria area is one of the Houston business districts; so there are a ton of hotels next to the mall (and some in the mall as well). I prefer staying in this area because you can get everything you want within a few blocks of the mall.

If you are looking for gyms, I have found 2 great options in Houston. There is a very nice (and new) 24-Hour Fitness on Richmond Ave (just a few blocks from the mall) that just opened recently. The facility is very nice and one of the best gyms I have found in the Galleria area. If you are willing to drive, there is a heavily-gay gym located across in the Montrose/Midtown area. This 24-Hour Fitness Super-Sport is not only very nice....but filled with gay-boy eye candy during the 5pm-7pm prime time hour.

If you are wanting to go out in the city, most of the gay bars are located in and around the Montrose section of Houston. There is also a very nice bathhouse (Club Houston) located between Montrose and downtown. The bathhouse has a nice relaxing outdoor clothing-optional pool that helps you escape from the south Texas summer heat. Although I did not make it to Club Houston this trip, I was able to visit the club a while back with a few friends that were also visiting the city. It was a relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Also, as a bonus, it has a pretty nice gym as well.

Houston is also close to the Johnson Space Center. The space shuttle control center for orbiting spacecraft is located in Houston. That is where the picture above comes in. This is a piece of art in the middle of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (the main airport in Houston). It is a statue of a cow in astronaut gear with the words "Houston, we have landed" at the base of the statue. It is one of the first things you see when you land in Houston....and I thought it was pretty cool.

DETROIT

Detroit is a very unique city. With rare exception, in most cities the gay population lives close to the city center. The "gay ghetto" effect where the gays move into a run-down area...fix it up...and then the straight population moves in. This is not at all what has happened in Detroit. With the exception of a very small area downtown, the city of Detroit is mostly run-down. Not even the gays want to try to fix up areas within the city limits. So...the gays moved to the suburbs. There are 2 heavily gay suburbs of Detroit. These are Royal Oak and Ferndale. They are both just outside of the road called 8-Mile (8-Mile Road is the boundary of the city limits of Detroit). Both Royal Oak and Ferndale are very quiet and quaint areas....and that is also where you will find a majority of the gay bars as well.

When in Detroit, I prefer to stay in the City of Troy. I usually stay close to Big Beaver Road (I think lesbians must have named this road!). A good location is the intersection of Big Beaver and I-75. This gives you easy interstate access to most of the suburbs of Detroit. There are a good number of nice hotels and great restaurants in the area.....and a TON of healthy eats up and down Big Beaver Road.

If you like shopping, there is one of the largest (and nicest malls) in all of Michigan. Summerset Mall is right on Big Beaver (just a few blocks west of I-75). This mall is so big that it spans both sides of Big Beaver (connected by a huge moving sidewalk above the street). You can find pretty much anything you want in this mall.

There are a number of gyms in the area as well. One of the busiest is the Bally Total Fitness on Big Beaver Road. It is one of the nicer Ballys and it gets very packed at peak hours. A few miles away is a huge Lifetime Fitness. I tried this out and did not like the vibe in the gym. Too many families and not enough hotties. Now I usually just go to the LA Fitness on Big Beaver. It is a very nice gym with a lot of hot guys....but not very busy (even during peak hours). I have been told there is a huge LA Fitness under construction in Royal Oak and everyone seems to think that will be THE gym to go to once it opens. We will see......

If you are lucky, you may run into Raging Stallion Exclusive RJ Danvers. The hot, young, hairy porn star lives in the Detroit area and you may just see him around town. He is one of many porn stars that make Detroit their home.

Now for the picture at the top of this post. This is the Ambassador Bridge. It connects Detroit with Windsor, Canada. It is an easy hop-skip-and jump from Detroit into Canada.