Well STATEd
Highlights of my trips around the country
USA
Updated on 4-3-2024
I try to go to a different state every year. In another year or so, I will have visited them all. Every state offers unique, interesting and beautiful sites. Here are some highlights:
1. Alabama- 1997- I spent the night in a college town with my niece. The school mascot is a lion which is confined in a cage in the middle of campus. After the bars close, college students stop by and throw cats in to the cage and watch the lion eat them.
2. Alaska-2007- Glacier National Park and the Artic Circle are two places like nowhere else in our country. In 2016, I took my nephew to Anchorage to see the Iditarod. The date and the location for the race were changed at the last minute and we didn’t get to see it.
3. Arizona- 1979- majestic deserts, warm winter days and intense sun are just a few of the things that call me to this state in the winter.
4. Arkansas- 2010- Central High School made history as the first mandated desegregated high school in the state. The museum to highlight this event sits cattycorner to the school and re-creates moments that made me feel as if I was in the middle of this awful time in our history. I drove here in 2022 to go to a brewery.
5. California- 1983-SF, SD, SJ, LA: Redwood Forest, Fishermen’s Wharf, Crooked Road, Venice Beach
6. Colorado- 2003- Left Handed Brewery, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, hot air balloon rides and the Rocky Mountains. I’ve been here about ten times.
7. Connecticut- I went to a Thanksgiving dinner and 37 people were there. The host put all of the living room furniture in the dining room. Then multiple tables were set up in the living room to accommodate everyone. Four turkeys were served.
8. Delaware- 1973-tax free shopping always draws me to this little state that started a nation.
9. Florida- 1976- Key West and all its bad influences held my interest for the first time while I was still in college. I’ve been here several times to see Jaye and Dom as they spent their winters in cape Coral.
10. Georgia- 2005-peaches and old mansions, old plantations, beautiful old trees. In 2017, I drove down to Plains to see President Carter preach at his church.
11. Hawaii- to be seen. I cant bring myself to book a trip here because it si so damn expensive.
12. Idaho- 2016-Craters of the Moon National Park, long road to nowhere. I came back here in 2022 to go to a brewery.
13. Illinois- 1996-Chicago, my kind of town. It’s hip. I once spent St. Patrick’s Day there with a bunch of priests and we drank all day for free because everyone wanted to buy beers for the priests. It was great. In 2022, I drove to Chicago to start my drive on Route 66.
14. Indiana- 1974-Notre Dame University- my sister was one of the first women accepted to this university. So I went there to visit her. Her bathroom had a urinal in the corner.
15. Iowa- I went there in 2018.
16. Kansas- 1992-I took a group of high school students here for a Science Olympia contest. We won the state (PA) title which allowed us to compete at this level. I didn’t understand most of what the kids discussed with each other. I went here again in 2021 when I drove across Route 66.
17. Kentucky- I went here in the fall of 2018. I had been visiting friends in TN and drove out of my way home to visit Lincoln’s birth place.
18. Louisiana- 1976- New Orleans, Preservation Jazz Band and the Mardi Gras. I was here two more times for work. And then I was here for a quick visit in 2019.
19. Maine- 2003- Lobster Rolls; Windjammer Cruise; beautiful coastline; quaint neighborhoods. In July 2023, I went up to the Canadian border and saw puffins.
20. Maryland- Blue Crabs, Chesapeake Bay, Annapolis, Fels Point, Baltimore, American Visional Arts Museum, blue herons, kayaking, and historical Chestertown are just a few of the highlights of this state.
21. Massachusetts- 1999-I once spent three days at the Sam Adams Brewery. It was time well spent.
22. Michigan- 1980- I went to a Women’s Music Festival in Champagne. I took the bus to get there and it took me two days/each way to travel there. In 2020, I drove up to the Upper Peninsula.
23. Minnesota- 2018- I came here for a long weekend and went to WI and IO as well. There was a blizzard which really interfered with seeing much of anything.
24. Mississippi- I flew here by way of NOLA and came to see a wildlife refuge for Sandhill Cranes.
25. Missouri- 1998- Branson, home of good, clean entertainment
26. Montana- I flew out here in the fall of 2016 with my friend, Darcy Chamberlain. She was in the late stage of cancer and she wanted to go here before she died.
27. Nebraska- 2010- All I saw were corn fields. I went looking for the spring migration of the snow cranes but I never saw them. I drove through NB on my way home from my Route 66 trip.
28. Nevada- 2014- The Cirque du Soleil show “O” is worth the trip to Los Vegas. In 2022, Lauren got married in the Valley of Fire State Park.
29. New Hampshire- 2009-I was traveling from PA to Nova Scotia and stopped in NH as a rest spot. Long Trail Brewery occupied much of my time.
30. New Jersey- 1962- Long Beach Island: my family owned a house on this island for 30 years. I have been to NJ hundreds of times.
31. New Mexico- 2001-Santa Fe and 10,000 Waves Spa are two lovely paces to visit. In 2022, I drove across the historic Route 66.
32. New York- 1963- I went to the World’s Fair and saw the Pieta. Other things that hold my interest about this state include The Big Apple, Broadway shows, Time Square, Chinatown, Central Park and on and on. I have been back to NY on numerous occasions.
33. North Carolina- The Outer Banks offers easy, enjoyable bay kayaking.
34. North Dakota- I flew out here in July 2020, just after the country opened up again from Covid. We went to Teddy Roosevelt National Park.
35. Ohio- 1976- I was there once for a Penn State vs Ohio State game. I didn’t enjoy myself.
36. Oklahoma- 2010- I went on a road trip with my 12-year-old nephew and he made me go to a military museum right outside of Oklahoma City. We saw personal belongings of Hitler’s which our soldiers stole from his estate at the end of the war. In a very, very small way, I felt some vindication for his despicable acts.
37. Oregon- the Pacific Drive is breathtaking. I recently attended the Northwest String Summit
38. Pennsylvania- my home town- Philadelphia, State College, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Route #6, the Rathskeller, Lancaster, the Mann Music center, the Keswick theatre, Bryn Mawr Film Institute, South Street, the City Mural Program and my family are reasons enough to visit PA.
39. Rhode Island- 1973- the mansions along the ocean cliffs are magnificent. I came back here in 2022.
40. South Carolina- 2003-Myrtle Beach on spring break is not the most pleasant time to visit but I did meet some locals who wanted to hang out and drink. I was back here in 2023.
41. South Dakota- 2013- Cluster’s State Park and Mount Rushmore, & bison.
42. Tennessee- 1995- The Grand Old Opry, Beale Street, Civil Rights Museum and Elvis Presley’s home are worth seeing. I was here again in 2010 and 2018 and 2023.
43. Texas- 1992-I once went to a high school competition at Rice University to watch scholastic scrimmage teams. The campus and the competitors were impressive. I also liked the Alamo which I saw in 2010. And I was back here in 2022 as I drove Route 66.
44. Utah- 2006- Moab National Park. I traveled with my niece. We took a jeep ride up and down those racks. The ride was thrilling, and I thought I was going to throw up. I came here again in 2022 with Brian and his family.
45. Vermont- maple syrup and beautiful fall foliage, hippies, breweries, and Birkenstocks.
46. Virginia- Blue Ridge Mountains. My brother lives in central VA and I’ve visited them over 50 times. I never tire of the beautiful scenery.
47. Washington- 2007- beautiful downtown Seattle offers lots of places to sit and eat and people watch. However, I spent my times in Olympia National Park and the San Juan Islands. I came back in the fall of 2017 when Elliot was born.
48. West Virginia- 1964- Black Water Falls- a family vacation on a ranch. I felt as if I was in a different world.
49. Wisconsin- I took a long weekend in 2018 and flew here and then took a road trip to MN and IO.
50. Wyoming- 2005-dog sledding in Jackson Hole. I was back here again in 2022 with KT.
