Fifty Nifty United States

I had a call from a client last week asking about Alaska because it was the last of the 50 states she has to visit.  It got me thinking about my status and how many states I have visited.  Being a product of the 60's, our means of travel consisted of a car and 6 people driving countless hours as a vacation.  While there was always a destination in mind, getting there was half the fun!  My children have mostly played with the end game only.  Pack a bag, head to the airport, land at a destination.  And air travel being what it is today, getting there is definitely NOT half the fun.

But, back to my tally... As a kid, we had many wonderful east coast driving vacations from as far west as St Louis to the Atlantic.  One year was the New England loop...Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.  Of course, I was well versed in New York, since that is where we live.  On our trip to Florida, we hit the entire Eastern Seaboard...Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia (where I bought a scandalous T-shirt that read West Virginia is for Lovers), Maryland (another shirt... Maryland is for CRABS), North Carolina, South Carolina (including a guaranteed stop at the iconic "South of the Border" rest area), and Georgia before reaching Florida.  We also drove across the top of the Gulf adding Alabama and Louisiana for a quick stop in New Orleans.  That gave me 17 states in just two trips!

Since my Uncle lived in Ohio and my Great Grandmother lived in Missouri, we often crossed Indiana and Illinois for the visit.  Almost half way there (21 states) before I am twelve.  At 16, my parents produced the GRAND ADVENTURE... three weeks in a motor home across the US.  Add on Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Michigan, bringing my grand total to 29 states.

Fast forward to married life and we continued to discover our vacation by car.  The time my in-laws lived in Virginia and we decided to drive to Atlantic City on the way home by way of Maryland and Delaware (crossing by ferry into New Jersey).  That put me at 32 states before age 25!  When my oldest boys were two and five, Pete's parents moved to Arizona.  A perfect time to duplicate my teenage adventure.  This time, I dropped south at the Mississippi and discovered Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas (yes... the panhandle counts) and Michigan.  Add in my two trips to California and that puts the number at 39 and counting...

I plan to add Alaska next August giving me an even 40.  I guess I will have to start thinking about a  trip to the Pacific North West... it will have to be a driving adventure...  I would love to pick off those last nine continental states, but the ones in question are all rather large in size.  Perhaps a train adventure across the northern border!  I'd better get planning!