Collect Them All!

As of Wednesday of last week, I have now visited all fifty U.S. states. Here’s the complete list with the occasion for visiting that I best remember. It may not be the first visit, or the most recent; it’s just the one that comes to mind when I think of that state:

Alabama: Guest at SF convention in Huntsville.
Alaska: Cruise vacation in 2010.
Arizona: Vacationed in Scottsdale to attend several Spring Training baseball games.
Arkansas: Vacationed in Horseshoe Bend when Julie’s job was being really stressful and we needed somewhere quiet.
California: Attended the San Diego ComiCon a couple of times, among many other visits.
Colorado: World Science Fiction Convention in Denver.
Connecticut: Lived in New Haven one summer as a kid, when my father was on sabbatical and doing research at Yale.
Delaware: Day trips to Rehoboth Beach.
Florida: Disney World, Key West, other vacation destinations.
Georgia: Multiple conventions in Atlanta.
Hawaii: Two-week vacation celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary in 2017.
Idaho: Drove through it last week on the way to Seattle. Stopped in Coeur d’Alene for fuel and snacks.
Illinois: Chicago World Science Fiction Conventions, 1982, 1991, and 2000.
Indiana: Drove through it repeatedly on the way to Iowa or Illinois or Wisconsin; ate meals, bought gas, and I think I spent a night in a motel there once.
Iowa: Our daughter went to Drake University, so we visited Des Moines for orientation, graduation, etc.
Kansas: Was hired to speak to the librarians of Johnson County as part of their annual training session.
Kentucky: Lived there for nine years, in Fayette and Clark counties.
Louisiana: World Science Fiction Convention in New Orleans, 1988.
Maine: Honeymooned there in 1977.
Maryland: Lived there, 1986-2018.
Massachusetts: Born and raised there.
Michigan: Writer guest at a gaming convention.
Minnesota: Drove through it last week. Made a stop or two.
Mississippi: Guest at an SF convention in Biloxi.
Missouri: Vacationed in Branson.
Montana: Drove through it last week; stayed the night in Billings.
Nebraska: Drove almost the full length of the state delivering Julian to grad school in Boulder, CO. Ate lunch in Lincoln.
Nevada: Las Vegas, 2018.
New Hampshire: Many drives and vacations with family.
New Jersey: Attended Princeton University.
New Mexico: Day trip to Santa Fe when we were vacationing in Pagosa Springs, CO.
New York: The World’s Fair, 1965.
North Carolina: Owned a timeshare on the beach in Duck.
North Dakota: Rode the Empire Builder through, made a couple of brief stops.
Ohio: Watched the Cincinnati Reds play at Riverfront Stadium.
Oklahoma: Guest at an SF convention in Tulsa.
Oregon: Visited Portland to see friends and consider it as a retirement possibility.
Pennsylvania: Lived in Pittsburgh, 1974-1977.
Rhode Island: Toured Newport’s “cottages” on a brief vacation.
South Carolina: Port call in Charleston on a cruise in 1998.
South Dakota: Drove through it last week with stops at Wall Drug and Mount Rushmore.
Tennessee: Knoxville World’s Fair, 1982; Nashville vacation, 2017.
Texas: Visited Julie’s retired parents in Weslaco.
Utah: Visited Zion National Park on vacation.
Vermont: Summer camp, 1965.
Virginia: Vacationed at Colonial Williamsburg.
Washington: Visited Seattle in 2010 and 2016.
West Virginia: Went camping there. Also guest of honor at Munchcon, a convention at Marshall University.
Wisconsin: Visited Milwaukee a couple of times, once for a vacation and once as a convention guest.
Wyoming: Drove through it last week, admiring the scenery.

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