Traveling the United States - The UNvisited States

So, in the last post I talked about my slight obsession with Cracker Barrel (well, mostly its general store)... and why I'm looking forward to not eating there on our next road trip.

This summer we'll be taking a few trips here and there, but the two main ones are the two weeks we'll spend in Seattle in August, and the other is a short road trip up to Maine in July.

I've wanted to go to Maine for as long as I can remember, and I am so excited about it. This time though, I'm opting for something a little bit different than Cracker Barrel for our in-transit meal. After all, when you're heading to Maine, why would you stop at a chain restaurant found all across the nation, when you can go to Red's Eats and eat a fabulous lobster roll that has meat from 1 AND 1/2 lobsters for over 1 lb of lobster?! With zucchini fries?!? There's seriously no competition there. Not that I've eaten there yet... but the reviews and pictures are amazing and I had a friend tell me this is a MUST DO for the trip. Um, I'm sold!


Now, I will post more about the trip once we've actually gone on the trip, but I should probably explain that one reason I'm excited to go (though this only accounts for a small percentage of my enthusiasm) is that it's one of my life goals to visit all 50 states. I'm doing pretty well. So far, I've gotten to 45... 90% of the way there! I know it's not necessarily the coolest thing to do, but I really do enjoy seeing what different states have to offer, how life is lived, and just the general culture and feel.

Below is a map of the US (duh)... but color coded to show places I've lived and visited... because I'm nerdy like that:

Orange are states that I've "lived" in, which for all intensive purposes, I'm considering being there for more than one consecutive month. The biggest two possible "exceptions" people might bring up are NY and SD... I spent a summer in each place. I consider it more than just a visit, but interpret it as you will. So, lived in states account for 9 states (18%).

The green/teal states are places I have "visited". This means I spent at least one night there (though usually more), and that it actually included seeing a friend or being there for a vacation, holiday, sightseeing, etc. This accounts for most of my travel in the US, with another 20 states (40%) included.

Purple signifies places where the visit may have been more brief - but still included some sort of stop. This could include staying at a hotel overnight during a long road trip (I've road tripped fully across the country/coast-to-coast twice, and done so many other 2/3-of-the-way-accross trips I can't even count... but well over 10), or it could be stopping to see a sight or two, but not necessarily spending the night. And, for most of these 16 states (another 32%), I've been to them more than one time.

Lastly, the yellow is my remaining 10%. The 5 states I haven't been to at all: Alaska and the tip of New England... Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island. Not too bad.

So, I really do just want to go to Maine because I've wanted to go to Maine since I was old enough to know it existed. (I'm serious.) But, I can't deny that it will also feel good to add another state to my list. We'll also be driving through New Hampshire, so we'll see if we have time to stop and see some stuff so I can officially add it to my list, too. (Yes, I KNOW I'm a nerd, don't worry.) Then, perhaps next summer we'll go up to Vermont or Rhode Island... the list isn't too long at this point! If only I could convince Josh and my family to go on a cruise to Alaska sometime, I might be set...

The Joy of Cracker Barrel

Some of my fondest childhood memories center around our family "vacations". I say "vacations" because there were probably fairly different than what a lot of people think of as vacations. I know when Josh was younger, his family went on "real" vacations. You know, the ones to tropical places, a couple cruises in the Caribbean... stuff like that. My family didn't do that so much. (Although we DID make it to Disney World once (in November), and we EVEN went to Fort Lauderdale, FL in late MAY one year! That was a big deal.)

Vacations in my family usually centered around a couple key things: visiting family and driving.

When you have four kids, flying can get pretty expensive (and this was before the days of $4/gallon summer gas prices). Also, when your parents have 9 siblings amongst them and you have 30 first cousins, most of the time the logical thing is to "visit family" whenever possible. So, farewell warm sun and tropical beaches.

That said, I LOVED our family vacations.

Josh and I have done a fair amount of traveling together in the US (our only non-US stop being our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico), and when we do, it seems like I'm always sharing stories of "I remember when..." or "Oh, we used to do this when I was younger..." or "It was a tradition in my family to...." This happens particularly often when we're traveling around our east coast area, such as to/from NYC, upstate New York, Boston, and -- you guessed it -- we're driving. The driving part is very important to recalling these memories, after all.

One thing I talk about just about, oh, EVERY TIME Josh and I take a road trip together (even if it's just a 2-hour drive), is going to Cracker Barrel, and how that was just about THE COOLEST THING EVER when I was a kid. I mean, come on... after you've been in the car for hours and you're about to get out, do you want to just go into any old by-the-side-of-the-road diners, or do you want to step back in time, and go in a restaurant that looks like a general store, has great rocking chairs out front, checker boards by the fireplace, and of course, AN ENORMOUS STORE?!? Yeah, it's not really a hard choice to make for a youngster.


I remember that general store being a serious highlight of the trip. All of us kids would run around, looking through the toys and books and games... but usually ending up in the candy section (seeing as how most of the toys, books, and games were too expensive, and candy's just more exciting anyway). We would all very carefully select our candy choices, using our budgeted amount wisely. The numerous candy sticks were always popular (think candy canes just with flavors like watermelon and root beer and tutti frutti), and you had to be sure you knew what each one looked like so you didn't get the cherry and fruit punch mixed up. (These days they write the flavor on the packaging.) It was truly one of my favorite things about taking road trips, and the thought of Cracker Barrel brings such sweet memories. Ah, nostalgia.

Now that I'm grown, I still always ask Josh if we can stop by Cracker Barrel, but sadly, our road trips our usually too short (2-3 hours) to warrant a stop at a restaurant, much less a sit-down restaurant. HOWEVER, back in May, we went up to Syracuse, NY for my sister-in-law's college graduation, and on our way back from Syracuse, we DID need to stop, and joy of all joys there was a Cracker Barrel!!!!

Josh got to experience the peg game, the legendary biscuits, and of course, the general store (where we took home some Zotz, candy sticks, lemon drops, and other assorted candies). And I, was a very happy girl. Very happy. Very, very happy. I feel that in all honesty, I must admit that truly, the restaurant part of it is no longer something to brag about. Our food was ok. It wasn't awful, it wasn't fantastic. If you stick with the breakfasty items, you'll probably enjoy it, but won't remember it. But in the end, it's not really about the food, is it? It's about the joy of the memories, the excitement of exploring, and of course, the candy. I was still almost as excited as I used to be when we'd stop with my family 15 years ago. It was good to share such an important part of my history with Josh... and he was a good sport about going with me even though I'm sure he would have preferred a number of other places (like the steakhouse across the street...).

We probably won't stop by Cracker Barrel again anytime soon... but I'm sure I'll continue to point them out every time I see them, get excited, share more road trip memories, and in about 2 years, be begging Josh to "Pleeeeaaaaseee can we go to Cracker Barrel?!" once again.

And with that said, the next post in this series will explain how I am eagerly anticipating not eating at a Cracker Barrel on our next road trip... hmm, curious indeed...

Owl City Obsession

Over Memorial Day weekend, Josh and I spent about 24 hours in NYC. During these 24 hours, we were able to have a delightful Memorial Day picnic in Prospect Park (Brooklyn -- great park) with my friends Greg and Chad from Wheaton. Armed with $5 Subway subs, a couple bags of chips, and very cold, sugary, refreshing drinks, we had the food part down. We also had a blanket (that turned out to be about big enough for us to fit our food on... oops), frisbee, and, of course, an iPod and speakers. What picnic would be complete without music, right?

Well, aside from learning how to throw a frisbee with my left hand (my right wrist is currently very gimpified due to my tendonitis and awkward brace -- but I actually did really well with my left "bad" hand throw), I also made a new music discovery, thanks to my fabulous friends. I am now addicted to Owl City... the music AND the website.


Before you read any further, visit Owl City's website (in a different window): owlcitymusic.com That way, you can listen to the music as you continue to read. My favorite currently on their website is Hot Air Balloon, though Saltwater Room is also fantastic... wait, what am I talking about? I told you -- I'm addicted! I like it all!

Anywho. I hadn't bought any new music since last summer, when I was buying random songs here and there for our wedding. However, this caused me to change my ways. I bought everything Owl City had available on iTunes. I have been playing it at work almost non-stop for the past 2 weeks. (I guess, for this reason, it's a good thing nobody has to share the office with me... perhaps their tolerance for the same 20 songs over and over isn't quite as high as mine...) At work, I need stuff I really enjoy. Music that brings me to a happy place, while still allowing me to get work done (i.e. not too crazy). Owl City does just that.

Also, HOW COOL IS THE WEBSITE. I KNOW. RIGHT? Seriously.

In case you can't tell, I'm a big fan.

So, I just thought I'd share that find with you all, too. I know everyone has vastly different opinions on what "good music" is, but I'm hooked on Owl City. Truly fabulous. After all, how can you argue with a band that has a song called "Hello Seattle"?! You just can't, my friends, you just can't.