The Fifty

Here are my stories for each of the 50 states. I decided to go alphabetical cuz chronological might hurt my brain. The notes might not be the first visit, but they're the memorable visit

Alabama - moving to DE trip with Karie (1997)

Alaska - June 2023

Arizona - numerous trips across country

Arkansas - numerous trips across country, most notably when moving to TX in 2005

California - live here!

Colorado - Yellowstone with fam 1986 (87?)

Connecticut - summer 1996 with Ma

Delaware - lived here! 

Florida - Spring Training 2005 for 30th bday

Georgia - moving to DE trip with Karie (1997)

Hawaii - Summer 2018

Idaho - Yellowstone with fam 1986 (87?), Craters of the Moon was memorable

Illinois - moving Bev! (Feb 2004)

Indiana - moving Bev! (Feb 2004)

Iowa - Road Trip 2024 (#50)

Kansas - Dan's wedding trip with Mere (2009)

Kentucky - okay so the memory is of the Cincinatti airport, which is IN Kentucky, I learned when I Was there for a layover, thinking it was my first time in OH; also ,when asked if we'd ever gone through KY on a trip across country, both parents said,  "yeah probably"

Louisiana - moving to DE trip with Karie (1997)

Maine - summer 1996 with Ma

Maryland - lived here!

Massachusetts - summer 1996 with Ma, baseball trip 2003

Michigan -  Road Trip 2024 

Minnesota - this was where my plane from Paris landed - I was so happy to see that gigantic American flag! Also,  Road Trip 2024

Mississippi - moving to DE trip with Karie (1997)

Missouri - UMW trip  2010

Montana - Yellowstone with fam 1986 (87?) we saw a sign that said Montana 15 miles so Dad drove 20 and we called it good; also Road Trip 2024 

Nebraska -  Road Trip 2024 

Nevada - several but let's go with Michelle's wedding! (2006)

New Hampshire - summer 1996 with Ma

New Jersey - summer 1996 with Ma (amongst other trips when living in DE)

New Mexico - numerous trips across country / to TX

New York - summer 1996 with Ma, baseball trip 2003

North Carolina - moving to DE trip with Karie (1997)

North Dakota -  Road Trip 2024 

Ohio - moving Bev! (Feb 2004)

Oklahoma - several but notably gambled at Winstar Casino as a 40-4-40 new thing

Oregon - Yellowstone with fam 1986 (87?) - I think it was this trip but I know we drove through Bend to be able to "get" Oregon. 

Pennsylvania - oh so many baseball games in Philly! plus summer 1996 with Ma

Rhode Island - summer 1996 with Ma

South Carolina - moving to DE trip with Karie (1997)

South Dakota - Road Trip 2024 

Tennessee - several drives across country

Texas - lived here! plus moving to DE trip with Karie

Utah - Yellowstone with fam 1986 (87?)

Vermont - summer 1996 with Ma

Virginia - born here! lived here! visit Ma here!

Washington - RHA conference in college (1998 or 99)

West Virginia - family reunion trips, various other trips

Wisconsin - moving Bev! (Feb 2004)

Wyoming - Yellowstone with fam 1986 (87?)

Road trips aren't cheap

Whowee road trips aren't cheap! I have planned out the basics of the trip - air, flight, car. More or less what I'll do each day, but not the specifics. That's what the next 3.5 months are for :) But man, all those hotels add up!! So now I get to see what I can adjust as the months go by to make at least that part cheaper. Already planning to buy lunch and snack food to eat on the road, as opposed to restaurants. And many of the hotels do include breakfast so that's a plus. There's not really any other way to cut costs. Though I'll also keep an eye on car rental prices just in case they go down. 

I also keep telling myself that it's the trip of a lifetime and I need to enjoy it.

Oh, I could also cut out the baseball part... 

Planning Days

To me, winter is about planning Summer Break (and more). Whether that's a trip or house projects, it always gets me through the doldrums of snow and being stuck inside and such.

This weekend I started (continued?) planning one of each :) 

Yesterday Slugger and I escaped off the mountain and stopped at Lowes for paint color cards. Someone mentioned that a nice grey might be pretty on the cabinets now that the countertops are their gorgeous "slate". So I got about 50 different shades of grey (hehe) cards. I narrowed it down to about a dozen and they are now hanging on the doors so I can see them in different lights, etc. I kinda want a darker grey because it seems like lighter might just seem like dirty white. The plan is to get a couple actual samples and during spring break (if I wait that long!) actually paint a couple doors. OR something like that. 

These are the ones that went the best with the slate countertops. 
Leaning toward the two overlapped on the left that are basically the same color. 

Then the rest of the weekend was dedicated to planning the BIG ROAD TRIP!! I've been dreaming of this trip for years and it has expanded to include some baseball. The baseball portion is BOOKED!! Well not the games. I'll probably not buy tickets until I get there. That's how I used to always do it. We'll see. I have 5 months to decide!! 

So, Tigers, then probably train to Chicago, Cubs, Brewers, and Twins! THEN I head to North Dakota to start the adventure part of the trip!! EEEEEEE!!!! I am SOOO Super excited!!!! I know I'm not going to want to hurry through ND and SD. But I will also be missing my puppy excruciating amounts. But I may never go back so I gotta see the stuff :) 

Still hope to get the stupid wall done this summer too. We'll see!!

January 2024

 Whew! What a month! Really what a couple of weeks! 

First, I flew to TX for a wedding. I hadn't been back to North TX since I pulled out in the UHaul. Thanks to Jeff getting married, I got to go back! Of course, January can be hit or miss with weather and it was definitely a miss this time! I almost didn't go. Weather peeps were saying it'd be cold, which I can live with, but Sunday night was to be wet and cold and in TX that can be very very bad. My plane was scheduled to leave Monday morning. But I went anyway. 

Friday's afternoon flight was 2.5 hours late but it was okay cuz I just kept shopping and I finally found the perfect dress (though in the end, the maxi skirt and sweater would've been better due to frigid temps). 

Saturday dawned bright and decent (65 high). I went off to see the Taylors. The kids were off at college of course, but C and P had recently retired and they are loving life! P drove us to Dallas and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. We wandered around exploring exhibits and catching up and sharing stories. Museums are a wonderful way to spend time visiting I've learned. The museum itself was fun - very hands on and engaging. Definitely a great place to take kids. We stopped at Whataburger on the way back and it was YUMMY of course!! Wish I"d had time to eat there more than once over the weekend. Oh well. I did have a dress to fit in to after all.

Left behind the Taylors and made my way north of FW to the home of the Elliotts where Jeff (not the groom) would join us for dinner and games. Missing L&Q who moved to Wisconsin. We watched some football (Jeff's Chiefs), had scrumptious bbq and sides, and played a fun game (I don't remember the name of course). 

Sunday was wedding day, but first I slept in and relaxed a bit before going to PeiWei for lunch with the GGs. I was very sad to learn that PeiWei had changed ownership and the tofu was NOT the same at all, but overall the pad thai was still yummy. And now I can stop wishing we PeiWei closer! 

Left the GGs and went back to the hotel to change for the wedding. The venue was beautiful but it's hard to enjoy beauty when it's 12 degrees outside. Nonetheless it was FABULOUS to witness the union of Jeff and Stephanie and see several old friends. 

I don't miss TX at all, but golly do I miss certain people. Luckily I was able to hug them and catch up and overall it was a good weekend. Until it came to leaving... to make a VERY long story short, I drove to the airport Sunday night to avoid having to drive in the mess on Monday morning. Good choice. Except I was there longer than I should've been. I ended up on a plane at almost 5pm that took me to SNA instead of ONT but Dad rescued me and drove me to my truck. Good Dad he is! I took Tuesday off and slept and recovered. SO glad I did. 

So I worked 3 days and then left for a WASC visit. That had it's own craziness. In a nutshell: the other committee members drove me insane AND I didn't sleep well the entire time. I was a WRECK in class on Thursday but I was actually glad to be there cuz it was better than another day cooped up with the crazy people. The school I visited was lovely so that was a plus :) Oh, and I missed a storm that left not much snow but apparently some gross roads so yay for being elsewhere. 

And February is supposed to start with snow. Yay. 

Temecula Nov 2023

 (sidenote: my titles need help)

Although Karie and I enjoyed a fabulous girls weekend in September, I hadn't seen the boys since July 4th so I decided it was time to go to Temecula. I still missed Salim but 2 of 3 ain't bad! We had no real plans except to hang out and for me to go to school with K on Tuesday. 

When I got there, B was still working but I was able to catch up with T and K a bit. I love a good low-key visit. I was also fending off a headache. They helped with some ibuprofen. I was also finishing off a Dr P from a late lunch on the way. Speaking of on the way, I was supposed to run some errands like getting my brows waxed but decided to just get to their house. My brows are unruly but who cares!

Anyway, once B finished his work day, we headed out to wine country to the winery where thy have a membership. I drank water while B&K had their monthly free wine. T had come too and he had an orange drink thing. Beautiful setting and great conversation. 

We then went to a local Mexican restaurant. Yummy nachos for me. And a blue agave margarita. YUM! Went home and watched some TV. And then I slept really well. Last time I was there, I didn't sleep at all so this was a big deal!

Tuesday dawned and K and I went off to her class. She just started this semester teaching GED classes. She will also eventually teach ESL and Citizenship. Her class was small (holiday week always is!) but mighty. They actually cared about learning and even knowing why things are true and such. It was amazing. And Karie is a natural teacher!

We then had lunch at Chilis. We learned that they do a monthly margarita flavor for $6. Wildberry was the current flavor and it was SO good!! (and not tiny just cuz it was $6)

Shopping was next. There is a delightful thrift store in town that is kind of higher end. I found two sweaters and Christmas pajama pants. I even had a "reward" so basically one sweater was free! Off to Trader Joes from there. It was packed of course but lots and lots of workers too and I got way too many seasonal cookies! 

Speaking of cookies, we stopped at the Cookie Co on the way home and got each of us a cookie. So big and so yummy! Mine was pumpkin crumble or something. We enjoyed our cookies over some more conversation and then I went home.

Ha. Traffic was terrible on the way out of Temecula and almost 4 hours later, after a stop at Staters in Yucaipa, plus going out of the way to get dinner cuz I forgot (cookie was huge and held me over!), I was finally home with Slugger!

School's Out Road Trip 2021

 Because the world is only sort of opening up, and because I wanted Slugger to come too, I decided to take a little road trip as soon as school was out. The plan was to camp the first 3 nights and then motel the last night. As with any good road trip, plans changed. 

Slugs and I set out about noon on the Monday after school was out. 

I had run the HVTR 15 miler on Saturday and my toes HURT. I also had a weird foot pain that could've been a stress fracture (feels better but still not 100% so who knows). About 2 hours into the drive I started to realize that driving wasn't helping and I had no desire to set up camp. SO I got online and reserved a room in Bishop. This was a little further than we had been planning for the day. But without all the stops to hike/walk we got there about dinner time anyway. Once we were in Bishop, I changed up the rest of the trip too and it all worked out marvelously. 

Anyway, the trip: We stopped in Lone Pine at Gardners hardware which hasn't changed. I didn't shop long though because Slugs was in the hot car and my feet hurt. And it was crowded. 

After a decent night's sleep in Bishop, we went to a local bakery recommended by a friend who used to live there. We went to the local park to eat. We sat on a bench in the shade in front of a small pond, watching the ducks and enjoying the green grass. It was splendidly relaxing. 

From Bishop we drove North. We saw a lot of amazing scenery and sang a lot of good songs with the radio blaring. 

We stopped in Mammoth Lakes and had a little hike. Pretty sure Slugger thought we were back home - it smelled the same, looked a lot like it, and was finally almost not hot.

Next we stopped to look over Mono Lake.

The next stop was one of Slugger's favorites! A river!! I *think* it was the West Fork of the American River. I'm took lazy to look it up. 

THEN Slugger went to Nevada for the first time!!!

I decided that we should go over to Lake Tahoe and drive up the CA side. I forgot about all the casinos on the NV side. Weird. And two totally different places on each side of the state line. Once we were back in CA though, we got out so Slugger could swim again :)

Driving up to Truckee from Tahoe was a lot like driving at home. Slugger even thought so and kept getting excited. I was really tired of driving on foreign mountain roads though. Strange that I do it all the time here at home but there it made me nervous - I guess because I wasn't familiar with the terrain.

We spent Tuesday night in Auburn. I am familiar with Auburn due to Western States. I wanted to take Slugger to see some of the trails and sights. When Dad and I are there for the race, we don't usually see much more than our aid station. After driving into Forest Hill and talking to Dad, we drove back into Auburn and went to Robie Point. This is the VERY end of WSER. Where they come off the trail and hit the last mile of uphill on road. It was a very steep road, as advertised. 

We followed these footprints up the road to the high school track that they run around to the finish.

I don't remember the track being quite so fancy! That's TURF!!

After we left Auburn, we drove down I5 to Stockton to take a walk around University of the Pacific, my alma mater. I kinda felt like I was doing one of those trips where the parent drags their kids to all the places they lived growing up. Pacific was nice and quiet and beautiful as ever. Lots and lots of grass for puppy to roll in and even a well-watered tree! 

Then we had an excellent visit with Christy (freshman year roomie and forever bestie) at her house. Slugs got to meet Tobie (totally chill older lab/pug mix). 

Thursday we drove home. We were both done driving. And tired of the heat (hot at home but not THAT hot!)

Not the trip we set out on, but definitely an excellent trip!! 

2018

Ah. 2018. The year that many, many dreams came true.

1. I moved to Big Bear! It was a whirlwind few weeks that ended with Slugger and I living in a cute and cozy log cabin in Big Bear, a block from the trails. The absolute BEST part of living in BB is that Dad and Tuck come over for dinner at least once a week, Slugs and I hang out at their house, and we get to do fun stuff together. Whenever we want!! For example, just last week, Dad and I went snowshoeing in the forest behind my house, then I made chicken pot pie, and we watched TV. DREAMS COME TRUE!!

2. I went to Hawaii!! I had an excellent 6 days on Oahu. First I did a bunch of sightseeing and touristy things like hiking Diamond Head and visiting Pearl Harbor. Then I spent several days exploring even more of the island with my good friend Torrey and his girlfriend. You can read all the details in my July 2018 posts (all 4 are from this trip!). DREAMS COME TRUE!!!!

3. In November, I left the online world to take a position teaching math at Big Bear High School. Twenty-five years ago, I graduated and never thought I'd be back! The school has changed and almost every teacher has left. But there are a couple still holding on. And a couple who I went to school with! It was a crazy 6 weeks leading up to semester finals and Winter Break but I think it went pretty well, considering. I'm excited to finish out the year and start fresh in August! DREAMS COME TRUE!!!

4. For Christmas, I bought myself a new truck! I had shopped for many months, made many decisions and then changed my mind again, and practically given up. But I needed a 4WD vehicle for snow and dirt. I LOVE the truck I ended up with and actually look forward to driving to school in bad weather (okay, not really). DREAMS COME TRUE!!!

Yup, 2018 was a GOOD year!!

Some goals for 2019 include running a whole lot more, travel (alaska?), time with family, and getting more involved with the Trails Foundation.

Hope your 2018 was all you wanted it to be and 2019 brings many more blessings. Dream big - you never know!!

HAWAII!!! Day Four-Six

I spent my last three days hanging out with my good friend Torrey and his girlfriend Siri. Torrey and I go back to Kindergarten and I was super excited to see him and meet Siri who he'd met while living in HI. When I told him I wanted to come visit, he was very inviting. When I told him I wanted to hike and snorkel and see "real" Hawaii, he said OKAY! And boy did he deliver!!! I have fewer pictures of these days because I was having too much fun visiting :) I decided it made more sense to turn them into one (long) post.

T&S picked me up at the airport, we enjoyed Acai bowls and we drove to the West Side. I had been up the North shore on Saturday's tour. By the time we were done, I'd seen basically every part of the island that one can get to! Snorkeling was first on our agenda. I had borrowed a pouch to put my phone in to keep it dry but still be able to take pictures. These are the best I got...

the beach

where we put in

my suit, I think

water

I couldn't figure out my phone's issues so got several screenshot looking things 

actual picture of the ocean floor

there were lots of snorkelers out but we'll say this is T&S

we saw lots of fish and a couple turtles - they could be in this shot - who knows!

We were out maybe 45 minutes. It was an adventure and now I can say I did it. I was terrible at getting in and out with the flippers and waves and all. Siri was very nice about it and said it was a pretty tough place for a novice. Apparently Torrey forgot to tell her I was a newbie!

From there, we kept driving up the coast until the road ended. Then we got out and hiked! We ended up at a Nature Preserve at the very western most tip of the island. The only way to get there is on foot.

That's all coral!

It was REALLY hard not to put sone in my pocket!!

We stopped and got shaved ice on the way back to their house. It's a Hawaiian staple!

Tired and happy!!

We ended the evening enjoying beverages and snacks on the lawn with their neighbors. They live in a former staff house of a larger "estate". They're basically all one big happy family! It was great!!

The next day, Siri went off to work and dropped us at a bus stop closer to where Torrey and were going to hike. Saved quite a bit of time sitting on a bus!!

Here we go!!

Started out easy

I thought this was bad!

couple nice views before we headed down

there's a ROPE to help you get up and down!

this is actually fairly flat, though wet and knotty 

bottom of heart attack hill

this is actually headed down

So our hike didn't end up like we'd planned. The trailhead was VERY steep, wet and slippery, and took incredible balance to stay on our feet. I made one wrong step and my knee SCREAMED at me. And not it's normal screaming. I sat for a few minutes but decided to be a smart adult and turn around. We only had about .25 miles to the waterfall but I really didn't want to get stuck down there or hurt myself even worse! So we turned around. Up was actually a whole lot easier than down!! By the time we got up, the screaming knee had shut up but the opposite ankle was a mess, probably from favoring the other side.

This is a pic T took of the waterfall when he was there in March.
It was probably 20 times fuller today! Oh well!!
At least I am still walking :)

On our way back to the house, the bus put us right outside whichever building has the famous statue in front of it. Seriously should've written this 2 months ago!!

hot, sweaty, muddy, but still a tourist!

That night T&S took me to a local restaurant that was quite yummy! Then they took me to a Don Quixote store. Wow!! So much stuff!! It had everything!! From aisles of souvenirs (of course I bought more!!) to fresh meats to housewares. Seriously everything!


Tuesday was my final day in Hawaii. I had woken up Monday with a cold though I didn't let it slow me down. Tuesday morning Torrey had a thing and I volunteered to just stay home, sleep in, and pack. I had a LOT to fit in to my little suitcase and one carry-on!!

Tuesday afternoon Torrey and I ventured not too far to the Palace for a video and an art museum and general wondering around cool historical Hawaiian stuff.

A church

where apparently people were getting married

outside of the art museum

statue of one of the queens 

the Palace

church down the street

walking back to T's house, he says, "oh yeah, Obama went to school there"
really?! that's an afterthought!!?!?

We got cleaned up, picked up my luggage and met Siri for dinner at a local pub. Yummy. They took me to the airport and I flew home! Okay, it was a nightmare flight with lost luggage, canceled connections, etc but whatever. I'm home. I went to Hawaii and had an AMAZING time!! I can't wait to go back!! Oh and to go visit T&S in Japan maybe!!