A brief log of our 50 state journey in 2018
Road trip status as of 11/23/2020:
Interactive Map
We visited all 50 states in 2018. I wish I could say that we did the "big ticket item" in each state. But at some point halfway through the trip, I realized that doing all of the best things in each state was not a realistic goal for just six months of travel.
Instead, we started going with the flow more. I fit most of this trip into the summer of 2018. I reminded myself that little kids are involved, so it should be about fun and accomplishment, not about the stress of completing everything there is to do. So some things, like the Grand Canyon, we missed... but we'll be back! I'll see it again another time. Cultivating this mindset was the key to letting the good times roll.
Here's a list of the highlights. I'll be making a documentary with all of the footage I've collected.
- Loop 1
Begin in Austin, TX- Roswell Alien Museum
- Loretto chapel staircase in Santa Fe
- Santa Fe, NM
- Route 66 diner in Kingman
- Hoover Dam
- Las Vegas (7 days here since family lives here, stays at MGM Grand, NY NY, and Flamingo... we saw a ton...)
- Mono Lake and Mammoth Lakes, CA
- Yosemite
- 7 Days in the Bay Area, so cable car museum, kite flying at the marina, zoo and Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, Fentons in Oakland, etc
- Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, CA
- Drive around Napa and Sonoma wine country
- A drive down a portion of coastal Highway 1
- Avenue of the Giants
- Redwood National Park
- Lighthouse in Crescent City
- Salem, OR
- Short Portland tour
- Olympia, WA
- 6 days in Seattle (Space Needle, Ballard Locks, Lake Union, Ferry to Bainbridge, etc)
- Point Roberts, US (go read about this unique place!!)
- Vancouver and Stanley Park
- 6 days in Victoria BC and many of the things you can see there
- Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- Drive through British Columbia and Okanagan Desert to Kelowna
- Grand Coulee Dam, WA
- Lake Coeur D'Alene, ID
- Scenic drives in beautiful Western Montana and visits in Missoula and Bozeman
- Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Jackson
- Watching rafters on the Snake River
- Raspberry Shakes at Bear Lake, UT
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Temple Square in Salt Lake City and dinner in Park City
- Arches National Park and a great diner in Moab
- Monument Valley in Utah and Arizona
- Tour of Flagstaff
- Phoenix, AZ
- Six days in Phoenix visiting friends and the local sights... several days at The Wigwam resort
- Sonoran Hot Dogs in Tucson
- Saguaro National Park
- Dinner in Tombstone, AZ (my son's name is Wyatt so this was a must)
- Sledding in White Sands
- Tour of El Paso and lunch at Chico's Tacos
- Star Party at McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, TX (2nd largest telescope in the world, in the middle of nowhere)
- Several bucket list scenic drives in my home state in beautiful west Texas
- Amistad Reservoir in Del Rio
- Scenic highways from Del Rio to Fredericksburg to Austin
- Loop 2
- President Eisenhower house in Dennison, TX
- Get through Oklahoma as quick as possible.
- Scenic Highway 7 in Arkansas
- Branson, MO and Mel's Hard Luck Diner
- Caving at Fantastic Caverns in Springfield, MO
- Tour of Kansas City fountains, Gates BBQ, and Arthur Bryant's BBQ
- Drive by Warren Buffett's house in Omaha, see the CWS stadium
- Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and Twin Bing candy factory in Sioux Falls, Iowa
- MN-IA-SD tri-state marker in a cornfield
- Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD
- Krolls Diner and tour of downtown Fargo
- First DQ in Minnesota and Mall of America in Minneapolis
- St Paul, MN
- Mayo Clinic and Subway in Rochester, MN with family that live in the area
- Explore Wisconsin Dells
- Madison, WI
- John Hughes home tour (Home Alone, Uncle Buck, etc) and Gino's East in Chicago
- Lake Michigan in New Buffalo
- Indianapolis, IN
- Pres Benjamin Harrison home in Indianapolis
- Pictures of Cincinnati from Covington, KY side and Skyline Chili
- New River Gorge Bridge and Huntington, WV
- Charleston, WV
- Bristol, VA and Bristol, TN main street shared between two states and Bristol Motor Speedway
- Drive 421 "The Snake" from Bristol to Boone, NC
- Visiting Grandma in Chapel Hill, NC
- Raleigh, NC
- Driving tour inside Fort Bragg, NC
- South of the Border, South Carolina
- Beach day in Hilton Head Island, SC
- Photos in Forsyth Park, Savannah, GA
- Beach day in Daytona Beach, FL
- University of Florida Football Stadium Tour, Gainesville, FL
- Tallahassee, FL
- Exploring Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
- Driving the Emerald Coast from Panama City Beach, FL to Pensacola, FL
- Henderson Beach State Park, Destin, FL
- Buffet at Palace Casino, Biloxi, MS
- Beignets at Cafe Du Monde, French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
- Muffuletta at Central Grocery, French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
- Popeye's Chicken, Kenner, LA
- Baton Rouge, LA
- LSU Tigers Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA
- Louisiana State Capitol, Baton Rouge, LA
- Bucee's, Katy, TX
- Loop 3
- Burlington, VT
- Ben and Jerry's Factory Tour, Waterbury, VT
- Montpelier, VT
- Sugarbush Cheese Farm, Woodstock, VT
- Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
- Concord, NH
- Lobster Roll at Nubble Lighthouse, York, ME
- Providence, RI
- Clam Chowder, Newport, RI
- Times Square, Manhattan, NY
- Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY
- Plaza Hotel Food Court, Manhattan, NY
- Central Park, Manhattan, New York
- Nintendo Store, Rockefeller Center, NY
- Famous Original Ray's NY Pizza, Manhattan, NY
- Grand Central Terminal and Bryant Park, Manhattan, NY
- Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, New York, NY
- Largest Macy's, Manhattan, NY
- Trenton, NJ
- Central Library, Philadephia, PA
- Liberty Bell, Philadephia, PA
- One Liberty Observation Tower, Philadephia, PA
- Reading Terminal Market, Philadephia, PA
- Penn's Landing, Philadephia, PA
- Dover, DE
- Crab cakes at Boatyard Bar and Grill, Annapolis, MD
- Annapolis, MD
- Washington, DC
- White House, Washington, DC
- Capitol, Washington, DC
- Lincoln Monument and Washington Monument, Washington, DC
- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Harpers Ferry, WV
- Loop 4
- Denver, CO
- Coors Brewery Tour, Golden, CO
- Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO
- Penny Arcade, Manitou Springs, CO
- Loop 5
- Ski Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
- Loop 6
- Honolulu, HI
- Waikiki Beach, Waikiki, HI
- Diamond Head Crater Hike, Oahu, HI
- Polynesian Cultural Center, Laie, HI
- Dole Pineapple Plantation, Wahiawa, HI
- Loop 7
- Ketchikan, AK
- Juneau, AK
- Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, AK
- Eaglecrest Ski Area, Juneau, AK
That's not all, but it gives a taste of the more noteworthy stuff.