Why Start a Blog?

I’m starting this blog to share my love of travel.  So many people say there’s nothing to do when their options are endless.  Others don’t know where to start, therefore I’m writing this blog.  Over the last 30 years, I’ve visited all 50 states and as of February 2012, I’ll have been to 5 of the 7 continents.  After doing all that, I know there is always something to do wherever you are.  There are many hidden treasures out there, both God made and man-made.  You’ll find them just round the corner.

You might be thinking, wow, how did you get to all 50 states!?  The short answer is that I set a goal of seeing all 50 before I turned 30 and family/friends that kept me to task.  The long answer is that when I was 12 or 13, someone I knew had a goal of seeing all 50 states before she was 30.  She was a little older than me and like any young girl, I thought her and her friends were just so cool and I wanted to be like them.  She accomplished her goal of seeing all 50 states and would talk about how much fun it was and how pretty the USA is.  So I set out to do the same, visit all 50 states by my 30^th birthday.  Three days before my 30^th birthday, our Alaskan Cruise ship landed in Ketchikan, Alaska marking state number 50!  I was in Juneau on the day of my 30^th birthday (“Juneau it is my birthday?” Pronounce that slowly - Hehehe cheesy joke – sorry).

I’ve traveled with family, with work, and with friends.  Most of my travels have involved one of my best friends, Lori, who had the same goal of visiting all 50 states and encouraged me to take on all seven continents (we’re still discussing the 7^th continent).  She has recently moved to Guam, a small US territory island in the Pacific Ocean far far away.  Since then, she’s been traveling the Pacific Ocean and Asia when she can get away from work.  She’ll be with me when I hit my fifth continent, Australia, next month!

My plan is that over the next 50 weeks, I’ll cover all 50 states alphabetically – sharing where I’ve been, where I’d still like to visit within those states, and maybe even a few pictures from my trips.  Plus, because I live and work in the DC area I’ll spend a week on Katie’s top 10 things to see and do in DC.  As we cover the USA in 2012, if you know of any places/activities you loved that I didn’t mention, please comment on that state’s post so that we can all learn more about each state (myself included).

I hope through this blog that you’ll be reminded of what a great country you live in and maybe remind you of some great places just round the corner.

Up next: where do I conduct my research?