Minnesota.

I was born in Northern Minnesota, and if you paid attention in 3rd grade you know that Minnesota is the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". If you paid really close attention you might even know that the word Minnesota comes from the Dakota word meaning "Sky-tinted water". Because of the insane lake presence in the territory I was exposed to lots of water sports at a young age. Activities ranging from swimming and water skiing to fishing. Fishing... whether it was July or January. The fine people of Minnesota have never been known to let a thick layer of ice stop them from fishing, they just throw the auger in the back of the truck, drive out on the ice and drill a hole, then slap a shack on top of it and get their lines wet. Being exposed to the wilderness at such a young age gave me a great appreciation for the outdoors that has stuck with me until now. Unfortunately my family was forced to move away from the state in search of a better financial future for my family. Don't get me wrong... North Carolina has some good lakes, but they're a lot less common than they were "back home" - if I can still call it that after being gone for well over two thirds of my life. So anyways, I started thinking about how lame it was that forty million tons of raw sewage seeped into my local lake last year, and how I missed the clean wilderness lakes from my childhood.