Sunday, August 21, 2022

Fifty States Plus!

In my recent road trip, I bagged my 50th state.  I decided to write random memories of the states (listed in order of visitation, more or less.) The memories are not necessarily from the trip mentioned but, instead, just random memories of the times I have been there... It adds up to 51 as I put in D.C. separately, and let's make it a state! (And make Puerto Rico a state, too, assuming they still want it.)

  1. California: well, too many. LIFE!

First Road Trip - to Mom's High School Reunion -around 1961?

  1. Nevada : gambling, empty vistas, not a lot of trees, Valley of Fire, Keith, California Hotel, Margie, Burning Man

  2. Utah : Salt flats, amazing National Parks, Lynn, Temple Square

  3. Colorado: mountains, Denny's in Denver, Jon Benet's house followed immediately by a tornado (only one I ever saw – in Boulder), Darien

  4. Kansas: Dodge City, Mom, pretty flat - It was clear to me on this trip that I was "a different kinda girl", Mildred's graveyard.

  5. Oklahoma: drawing a blank - sorry Oklahoma - a lot like a lot of Northern Texas is my only memory

  6. New Mexico: red rock, petrified rock (diarrhea), Terrero/Dad, balloon fiesta/ Tom and Roxanne, Patty and Dennis, yellow aspens, Meow Wolf, bats and Carlsbad, snow storm on 40 (had to go south to 10)

  7. Arizona: red rock, Grand Canyon, Watching Dodgers 88 game in an Indian bar, watching the final at Grand Canyon, Tomoe, saguaros, Tucson's front yards, Julie Rowe

Second Road Trip with Lisa Sweet to see our amours (Karen and Jeff) in 1973

  1. Missouri: St. Louis arches, the first time I saw the Mississippi

  2. Illinois: Chicago, Susan, Wilmette (Jane at a Grocery store), Mercantile Exchange, Right-field sucks, No lights at Wrigley! campaign, Joan, Ryan, architectural tour, clean downtown!

  3. Indiana: nice people

  4. Ohio: Don and Mary, Herman, restaurant, rolling hills and car sick, Amish families that Mary hires, Bill and Kelly, the Chagrin Falls parade

  5. West Virginia: Karen, Lisa Sweet, one of the strangest days of my life, snow

  6. New York: Ithaca, what winter looks like in the East when snow is not on the ground (like a forest fire has just passed through) and how lovely spring is for those folks, New York City, standing room opera, Jean, honeymoon, party on our roof, Palmyra - way too many memories to fit...

Road trip with my partner, Susan Cahn, around the country - stopping to see her parents in Chicago. 1980

  1. Wyoming: Yellowstone, which was awesome, during the fire in 88 (with Leslie) which was interesting

  2. Nebraska: Nice skies; a lot like Kansas

  3. Iowa: Nice skies; a lot like Nebraska, Jessica and Jim

  4. Pennsylvania: Brett, Philly and their very small streets

  5. New Jersey: Tami, Susan B, Kristin and staying in a funeral home, Kristin's wedding, Princeton and Patty Cuyler and family, the shore after Hurricane Sandy

  6. Connecticut: visiting Judy at Yale (kill Nilda); visiting Barbara

  7. Massachusetts: sitting on Einstein's lap, rude staff at the Subway, Pat

  8. Rhode Island: in this state the very shortest - it was a highway

  9. Delaware: pretty much the same as Rhode Island

  10. Maryland: Susan M, Susan's Condo, Alfred House, Johns Hopkins, the purple line, the Angel Moroni when you drive at night on 495

  11. DC: March on Washington for Gay Rights (Big Dyke clump), Steve Gunderson (gay Republican congressman), Andrew Sullivan convincing me that Leslie and I should get married, museums - free!, memorials, Lincoln Center, Ruth Ginsberg; Marianne and Harold and staying at the Watergate, Supreme Court, Jesse Ventura, Million Mom March for gun control/ Mom and Mary/ Karen - and much more

  12. Virginia: a lot of trees, one really bad night at a motel

  13. Tennessee: Nashville, Knoxville, Karen, Tobae's brother and sister-in-law, nice skies

  14. Arkansas: Sitting on the runway in Little Rock for five hours; I have driven through it too but got nothing.

  15. Texas: Austin and Paul Ruiz, Broken Spoke, Two-stepping, Cotton-Eye Joe, Galveston and Betsy Lee

'88 Three-month trip with Leslie around the country after she took her bar exam

  1. Oregon: Eugene and Joanne/Pa and DJ, Portland - Dan, Erin and Tim, Karen (oboe) 

  2. Washington: Jessica and Jim, Russ/ Tobae; Ken/Marni and too many others to name, but driving with Lisa and Stephen "Again", lots of bridges, Bainbridge, two bar mitzvahs, Wagner/Seattle Opera road trips, Spokane, Julie aka Alex, Sandy/Tom

  3. Idaho: Lisa and Tom and Lake Coeur d'Alene, my trip to visit Richard H. but covid hit, then he died. So I don't know Boise.

  4. Montana: It was just fine. Rural

  5. South Dakota: Rapid City! Fights with Florida for having the greatest riches of tacky tourist traps (and some not tacky). Dinosaur Park at the best real estate in the City! Flintstone Land. Wall Drugs. Mt Rushmore (not tacky - but many tacky imitations about). Black Hills Holy Land. Corn Palace and more! Crazy Horse memorial (which I am going to blog about soon)

  6. Minnesota: St. Paul; Randy Travis and the Judds

  7. Wisconsin: Judy and Margie, Snow, No coats

  8. Vermont: Horse farm, fence judge, they don't like Californians

  9. New Hampshire: drove through; too many trees (true of most of the East Coast!)

  10. Maine: Kennebunk River rafting (floating!!), the coast

  11. North Carolina: Sandy and her family, the Bull in Durham, Case is in Greensboro so I have another visit to do

  12. South Carolina: Charleston

  13. Georgia: Savannah - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil tourism including Mercer's grave

  14. Florida: In order: St. St. Augustine; driving on Daytona beach; Orlando; Miami Beach; Miami; Key Largo; Key West and the southern most this and that; daily night festival; Cypress Knee Museum and Tom Haskins,"the ditches made the problem"; Everglades - mosquitos and alligators; Weeki Wachee and coke drinking mermaids, baby; Dali museum - and, on another trip - the circus at Florida State and glass-bottom boat on some of those amazing Florida springs. Seriously fun state 

  15. Alabama: Seemed nice enough...

  16. Mississippi: Gulf Coast is gorgeous - or was; don't know how it is post-Katrina

  17. Louisiana: New Orleans. Stay off Bourbon St, and it is quite fun and not too rowdy. Too much alcohol spilled on Bourbon St. Valerie. Crawdads. Catherine Hancock.

1991 with Leslie

  1. Hawaii: It may have been my 47th state but, like California, too many memories! But - Lava. It really is paradise.

1999 with Leslie (two trips that year)

  1. Alaska - Aurora Borealis, Ice sculpture festival, looooong, beautiful sunsets, nice people, snow, flying over Denali, Iditarod and other dog sledding, Ziggy running in the snow, house/neighborhood in Fairbanks, Makai and Ziggy.

2019 road trip by myself

  1. Kentucky - bourbon and horses; Claiborne Farm and Secretariat's grave. Great rocks - gorgeous highway cutouts.

  2. Michigan - Detroit and outside 8 mile, too. Lynn, Belle Island, the museum and the library; Linda, Jessica and and Frazho road. Tiger Stadium and downtown. Fascinating place. Buy property there - inside the City. Best opportunity in America that I have seen.

2023 road trip by myself

  1. North Dakota Hankinson, baby!  And, part of the song Lisa D and I wrote when she had to move to Minot AFB in her soph year:  "Why not go to Minot!  It would be so grand..."  And, better yet:  "Cows are frozen stiff there. Snow is apt to drift there. Minot is the place to be! Why don't you go and see!"

******

Bonus: 1997 with Leslie

Puerto Rico - Worst drivers ever, love PR women, Vieques, Bioluminescent Bay

U.S. Virgin Islands - Great hotel in Saint Thomas but I much preferred Virgin Gorda (British Virginia Islands)

Five Favorite States (including D.C.) I have had the most fun in order:

1. California

2. Hawaii

3. New York

4. Washington, D.C.

5. Florida

Favorite Cities

1. New York

2. Chicago (shot from nowhere to 2 after my recent visit)

3. Washington, D.C.

4. L.A.

5. Austin

States I haven't really given a chance:

1. Rhode Island

2. Delaware

States I have plenty of time in and that's all I need, thanks. They were fine.

1. Oklahoma

2. Montana

3. New England states (but we might go to Mass. again to see Pat and Katie and NH to see Barbara)

4. Alabama

5. Mississippi

Favorite things I have seen

1.  Hot lava many, many times.


At a skylight, with a lava river underneath


2. The aurora borealis, many times.


In Fairbanks