“This is your state thing, isn’t it?”

       As we drove to the airport on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend in 2000, my husband still did not know where we were going to celebrate his 56^th birthday.  I had told him to pack enough clothes for a long weekend in a warm climate and found out later he had told several people he thought I was taking him to Hawaii or Mexico.

       Upon arrival at the airport, we went to the kiosk to check our bags and collect boarding passes. The young woman behind the desk asked if we wanted to check our bags all the way through to Birmingham, flying by way of Houston. I looked at my husband to see his reaction and he said, with a slight smile, “This is your state thing, isn’t it?”

       I’m not sure exactly when or where or why I got this idea to visit all the states in alphabetical order, but I had brought it up with my husband several times and, to put it mildly, he was not enthusiastic. I admit it is a very inefficient and slightly crazy way to see all the states, but it appealed to my appreciation of order. (I went to Catholic school – maybe that has something to do with it?) Anyway, I realized it was never going to happen unless I tricked him into to taking the first step, to the first state that begins with the letter A. Alabama!

       As we headed to the gate, I told him that I had planned what I thought would be a fun and interesting trip, maybe even educational. I also assured him that if we didn’t have a good time, I would forget about “my state thing” and never mention it again. He said he thought that was fair and I could tell right away that he had an open mind, so off we went!

       We had already traveled to most of the states. My husband, Andy, is a media broker so during his career he had visited radio stations and attended media conferences all over the country. I, as a college counselor, had visited colleges all over the country. But that’s different. That’s a business trip and business trips don’t usually allow for sightseeing, exploring, taking in the special things about each state – history, food, climate, national and state parks, museums, art galleries, and so on. And I was determined that we would have a really good time in each state, too. As you will learn by reading this blog, I was right about that. What I didn’t know was how many people we would meet, how many impromptu experiences we would have, and how many stories we would bring home with us. I did all the planning, but Andy is the extrovert, and he can comfortably go up and talk to anyone. This quest would not have been as rich and colorful – in fact we probably would not have completed it – if he had not been my game-for-anything sidekick.   

        For several years, friends and family members have encouraged me to write a book about our experiences, sharing the many unexpected anecdotes we have enjoyed, both at the time and in the telling once back at home.  I tried to make it a book, but it seemed to work better as a blog.  You can click on the links below to read about each state, and I hope you will find as we have that there are fascinating places to see, great food to eat, and wonderful people to meet everywhere across our beloved country. There are indeed many cultural differences, but there are also many similarities that makes us all Americans. In this time of political polarization, I believe this is an important lesson to learn. Most of all, I hope that you will enjoy following us on our slightly wacky journey. After 23 years, we finally made it to  Wyoming in September  of 2023. It’s a good thing, because we certainly aren’t getting any younger.