That's 31, as in the number of U.S. states I have set foot in.
I picked up No. 31 on a trip last week. It seems strange to me that No. 31 was Alabama, seeing as how I only live two states away. Indeed, I had been in every state that borders Alabama, and had even been within a handful of miles of the state on several occasions. But I had never set foot there.
But that changed last week during a trip I took with my dad, a trip we dubbed the "Magical History Tour 5."
The Magical History Tours started several years ago when my dad was still a full-time high school history teacher. He took a van load of Iowa teenagers on a trip to historical sites on the East Coast, places like Washington, D.C., Monticello and Gettysburg. On the third trip, he took two van loads, and drafted me, another fan of American history, as the second driver. It was a good time, but my dad and I found that we were often disappointed that our stops at certain sites were cut short in the name of maintaining the interest of a collection of 17-year-olds.
So that spawned MHT 4, which was basically the same trip, minus the kids. It was just my dad and me, and we had a great time. So, a year or so ago, we decided to do it again, only instead of heading east, we would head south. And MHT 5 was born.
It was a good trip. We saw Vicksburg, and traveled part of the Natchez Trace. We saw the antebellum homes of Natchez, then headed south toward New Orleans. We stopped to take a picture of the more-famous Oak Alley Plantation, then toured the more-interesting Laura Plantation. We headed into the Crescent City, found our French Quarter hotel, and soaked in the ambiance of that historic city. We toured the National World War II museum, and took a tour of the city, including a visit to the Katrina-ravaged Lower Ninth Ward.
Out of New Orleans, we headed east, and saw more hurricane destruction along Highway 90 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We made it to Mobile just in time to climb all over the USS Alabama. Then we headed up into Georgia, stopping in Plains to see where Jimmy Carter came from, then heading over to Andersonville, to see the site of the infamous Civil War prison camp. We headed north, visiting FDR's Little White House in Warm Springs, and then finished our tour with a stop at the Chickamauga Battlefield and Lookout Mountain at Chattanooga.
The journey was enjoyable for two reasons. First, I liked seeing the historical sites. Most were places I had never been before, just things I had read about in books. It's always fun to see the real thing. But second, and more importantly, the trip was enjoyable because I got to spend time with my father. Like previous Magical History Tours, my favorite part was not the different spots we visited; it was the time in between stops — riding in the car, sitting in restaurants and just spending quality time with my dad. When you live two states away from your father, and only see him a few times a year, you learn to treasure moments like these.
So perhaps it's time to start thinking about MHT 6. Maybe we could go to New England. After all, states like Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Vermont are all still among my "haven't visited" list. Or perhaps we should head West, to places like California, Nevada, Montana or Wyoming, also states in which I've never set foot.
Whatever the destination, I'm sure it would be a good time. And I can't wait to build on my 31.
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