We all have a bit hometown pride. Idahoans have their potatoes, New Yorkers have their bagels (to say the least), and Texans have their big hair. But who can claim to be the healthiest? Here at Spa Week we want you to live your healthiest and happiest life, that’s why if moving to a healthier city isn’t in the cards, at least you can find a local spa.

Self Magazine featured the 2011 Best Cities for Women based on 7000 bits of data. Here are some of the nation’s best cities for your health:

Cleanest Air: Cheyenne, Wyoming

The capital of the Cowboy State, Cheyenne has the cleanest air and the shortest commute for its residents. Oh, and they are really into boot art.

Dirtiest air: Los Angeles.

Walks to work most: New York, NY

A mile long walk to work for New Yorkers is a walk in the park! And sometimes quite literally. New Yorkers have no patience for long commutes with annoying transfers, so many opt to walk to and from work every day. A good way to burn off those delicious bagel (and pizza) calories.

Walks to work the least? Birmingham, Alabama.

Most green buildings: Burlington, Vermont

Burlington is the largest city in the Green Mountain State and they are definitely living up to the state name. Burlington has the most green buildings and more farmer’s markets than any other city.

Fewest green buildings? Wichita, Kansas.

Soundest sleepers: Santa Barbara, California

The American Riviera understands the need for beauty sleep. Don’t live in Santa Barbara? Here are 7 tips for a sound night sleep.

Most fitful sleepers? Charleston, West Virginia.

Lightest smokers: Provo, Utah

Prov-who? Provo is the third largest city in Utah and where you’ll find the least amount of fast food restaurants per capita. Hate the smell of smoke? Move to Provo where they have the least amount of smokers.

Heaviest smokers? Vegas, baby!

Slimmest: Honolulu, Hawaii

The good ol’ Aloha state. Not only do they get to wake up to water so blue that you would think it was a screen saver but they also have the slimmest population. So not fair!

Heftiest: Detroit, Michigan.

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Pandora in Hawaii

After a long weekend in Cancun with her boyfriend, my roommate fluttered in the door last night, head in the clouds, feet in the sand. When picture-showing and storytime ended, I watched her face shift from unstoppable smiles to tangible fear of facing her boss at her miserable job.

This morning I caught up with a good friend who also just last night got back from 11 days in Puerto Rico with her man. “Euphoria” was how she described it, and as she sprinted from the subway to her office, late for a meeting, her voice grew shaky with denial and mild depression.

As of Sunday, Avatar officially became the  highest-grossing box office record of all time — $1.288 billion worldwide, sinking Titanic’s 13-year title. What does this have to do with coming back from vacation? Many fans of the James Cameron-directed fantasy have experienced the same sort of withdrawal, claiming the film has thrown them into depression because they don’t live in utopia, coping with the fact that “the dream of Pandora is intangible”.

Avatar's Pandora

Brilliant fantasy film-making, just like vacation, is meant to transport you to unattainable heights. But when the movie or vacation ends, how long should it take to bounce back? In many cases it takes up to 4 weeks to brush off vacation blues, but with a million and one ways to interact with Avatar and the characters online, will these blues have longer-lasting implications? WebMD has some great tips for bouncing back from vacation here; some of which might be applicable to Avatar’s resonating impact.

Tell us, have you had a recent experience that left you in complete withdrawal, and how did you cope? For me – 12 days in Hawaii a month ago was a tough one to come down from. Solution? I waited until last night to upload my pictures and imagined myself back one day. The good news: Hawaii’s not going anywhere… and Avatar will be on Blu-ray before you know it.

The Maui Coastline... a house riiiight there would be perfect, thanks.

Avatar photo courtesy of wallpaperstock.net.
Hawaii photos taken by me with a Canon PowerShot SD750 (not sponsored – just a great camera so I had to tell you!)

The Best Coconut Water in Poipu, Hawaii

Meet James.

James was born and raised in Alaska. Ten years ago he was given a coconut, and after one taste it became his favorite food. A few days later, his teacher gave him a one way plane ticket to anywhere in the US. He now fetches coconuts from trees in Poipu, Kauai in Hawaii, and carves them into drinkable masterpieces at scenic lookout points for tips for a living.

If you ask James what his second favorite food is (I went there), he’ll tell you it’s avocado. If you ask him what he does with avocado, he’ll tell you: he blends it with banana, coconut water, cashews and any seeds he has laying around and makes a creamy spread. And if you tell him “that sounds out of this world!” he might fetch a big jar of it from under the driver’s seat of his palm tree-covered pickup truck, and let you take a spoonful. (Out of this world, indeed!)

Two all-natural, scrumptious Hawaiian treats in one… not to mention the beautiful waterfall you came to see!

Try Zico for the best coconut water in any of the other 49 states.

And try blending up James’ creamy, nutty, avocado-banana-cashew-coconut concoction and spreading it on a piece of whole grain toast for a healthy snack– not sure how easy it’ll be to duplicate but I’ll certainly try!