Road to 50 States

Road to 50 States:

My parents took me on a lot of nice family vacations when I was growing up.  I already had 19 states under the strict standards plus DC before I did any major travel on my own.  I also had 4 in the lenient category in which I was told that I was there but had little to no memory of it because I was too young.  15 of 19 were in the eastern third of the country from New York on down to Florida/Alabama.  I did have South Dakota, Colorado, California and Nevada under my belt before starting Business school in 2003. 

2003- Road trip to Mobile, Mississippi Coast and New Orleans.  Alabama was a repeat state but Mississippi and Louisiana were new.  Current tally (lenient/strict)- 25/21

2004- Road trip to Texarkana with a stops in Memphis and Louisville on the way back plus detours just to hit new states.  Did enough in Texas and Arkansas to qualify and added 4 to the lenient category (OK, MO, IL, IN).-  31/23.

2005- New England Tour.  Added Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.  All qualified for the strict standard and all were new.- 34/26

2006- Ozarks Road trip to the Kansas border.  Shored up Oklahoma and Missouri but only ate a fast food meal and got gas in Kansas so that’s not enough.- 35/28

2008- Ran the Eugene Marathon and also spent a night across the border in Washington so that’s enough for both. -37/30

2008- Joined my parents on a trip to Utah.  Flew into Las Vegas and crossed into Arizona briefly on the way.  Utah-strict.  Arizona- lenient.-39/31

2008- Chicago half marathon.  Shored up Illinois and Indiana and picked up Wisconsin on the lenient.  -40/33

2009- Fargo Marathon.  Flew into Minneapolis and did enough in Minnesota to qualify as well.- 42/35

2009- Extended a Memphis trip all the way up to the Iowa border but only ate fast food. -43/35

2010- Colorado road trip that included tourist attractions in New Mexico and an overnight stay in Wyoming plus a stop at a grocery store in Nebraska.- 46/37

2011- Half marathon in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho with a sit-down meal and overnight stay in Missoula, Montana.-48/39

2015- Arizona race and road trip, which shored up this state.  48/40.

2016- Half marathon in Kansas, which shored up this state.  48/41

2016- Alaska race and trip with Cara and her boyfriend.  49/42

2018- Epic New England trip which finally shored up Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.  49/45.

2018-Midwest road trip.  Shored up Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin.  49/48

2018- Race in Nebraska, which finally shored up this state.  49/49.

Hawaii is the only one left and I will save it for my last half marathon state.  Even with a decent head start, it took me 15 years to shore up 49.  I recommend taking at least 10 years to hit all 50 states.  As you gain more experience with travel, you will become more skilled at economizing your time to catch as many tourist attractions as possible.