Photo: Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site, Kawaihae, Hawaii
In February of 2015 my family began a mission to visit all 50 states. Our arbitrary rules were that we had to spend the night and do something iconic in each state. It took us a little over two years to see our entire nation and we finished in May of 2017.
It has been a blast and we have learned so very much–about our country, about ourselves, and about how to get along with 6 people in a minivan for a really long period of time. Read about some of those adventures here:
FAQ For Our 50 States Adventures
What It’s Like to Travel with Four Kids
Our 50 States Adventure Plan
Trip #1: The Carolinas
Trip #2: Mid-Atlantic States
Here is a slide show overview of our travels followed by pictures of our adventures broken down by state. Clearly also a work in progress.
Alabama
Auburn, obviously
Toomer’s Drugs, obvs
Tuskegee Nat’l Hist. Site
Being a “Red Tail”
Alaska
Hiking in a glacier wash.
Moose Crossing Denali National Park
Outside Kenai Fjords National Park
Exit Glacier, Kenai Fjords National Park
Jay channeling Deadliest Catch
Denali National Park
Narnia/Denali National Park
Orcas in Seward, Alaska
Arizona
Grand Canyon Nat’l Park
Cave Creek Reg. Park
Montezuma’s Castle
Grand Canyon Nat’l Park
Arkansas
Fort Smith, Arkansas
End of the Trail of Tears
Central HS, Little Rock
California
Joshua Tree Nat’l Park
Santa Monica Pier
Zuma Beach, Malibu
Manhattan Beach, LA
Redwood Nat’l Forest
Colorado
Great Sand Dunes Park
Pike’s Peak
Garden of the Gods
Us! Four kids later…
Crazy kid
Connecticut
Nautilus-1st Nuclear Sub
Mystic, CT
USN Sub Force Museum
Delaware
Original DuPont Works
Hagley Museum
Early Gunpowder Works
DuPont Grounds
Florida
Gulf Coast
Disney World
Panama City Beach
More Gulf Coast
Magic Kingdom
Sand dune exploration
Georgia
Chattahoochee Nat. Cen.
Food Truck Alley
Our backyard
Strawberry Picking
Lake Lanier
Woods Near my House 🙂
Amicalola Falls
Hawaii
Green Sand Beach
Sunset in Kona
Place of Refuge
Rainbow Falls
Alone(ish) at the beach
Turtle Friends
Deciding if we should jump (the answer was no)
South Point
Idaho
Boise River
Condor Refuge Center
Boise State University
Illinois
Cloud Gate, Millennium Park
Metropolis, Illinois
View from Navy Pier, Chicago
River Walk in Chicago
Cloud Gate, Millennium Park
Indiana
Columbus, Indiana street are
Winona Lake, Indiana
Winona Lake Canal
Columbus, Indiana street art
Tractor Sharing the road
University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana
Iowa
Random Iowa. It is beautiful, but hard to find a bathroom while driving.
Replica of a Lewis and Clark boat.
We met then-Presidential candidate Senator Lindsey Graham. It’s pretty easy to find politicians in Iowa during a campaign.
Lewis, Clark, and their dog, Seaman. Apparently the dog was a big deal.
Kansas
Scarecrow hanging out.
We road a stage coach in Olathe, Kansas. It was part of the Sante Fe Trail.
We ate Kansas City BBQ. Because it is delicious.
Chickens!
Kids and corn
The little one getting ditched by the other ones.
Kentucky
Going underground!
Louisville Slugger Factory Tour
Home of Bourbon
Inside Mammoth Cave. It was dark and scary and there are pits of despair.
Age that whiskey.
We did not bet on the ponies.
Louisiana
Dodging the Trolley with Kids
Jackson Square, New Orleans
Yummy.
Our kids asked what that smell was. My husband said, “that’s the smell of sin and regret.”
History!
Beignets!
Mississippi River
Maine
Ogunquit, Maine
Nubble Light House
Love Locks in Portland, ME
Shipwreck marker at Portland Head Light
Resting with the Atlantic Ocean
First Congregational Church, Kittery Point, ME, est. 1714
Adventuring along the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, ME
Dinner in Portland, ME
Maryland
Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD
Playing with canons at Antietam National Battlefield
Cannons at the read at Fort McHenry (original home of the Star Spangled Banner)
Lighthouse at Inner Harbor, Baltimore
Antietam National Battlefield. The photo in the foreground contains the house standing beyond the canons.
