My goal for 2021 was to see how many states I could visit. Let’s see what I’ve been able to accomplish this year!
I didn’t quite reach my goal, but I was able to visit twenty U.S. States in 2021!
Here are some of the highlights!
Arizona
We decided to travel some of Route 66 and enjoyed some of the many stops throughout Arizona. Some of our favorite stops on Route 66 through Arizona were Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest National Park, and Winslow!
Colorado
We just took a little drive through Colorado when we were leaving Utah, but we stopped off at the Visitor’s Center and enjoyed learning a little about Dinosaurs!
Florida
Florida. Florida we visited bunches this year! I’m a fan of sun and plan trees!
We had the opportunity to stay at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge this year! That is my absolute favorite Disney Resort and we were able to share this amazing view with two of our grandchildren.
Georgia
We enjoyed Atlanta greatly and save a lot of money using CityPass! We got to see and do all we wanted to for one low price!
There are so many things to love about Atlanta, but I think the zoo (Zoo Atlanta) and the Georgia Aquarium are two of my favorites!
Indiana
We live in Indiana, so we see Indiana most days. One of our favorite places to visit and relax when we are in town is Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana! It’s a great place to enjoy some free drinks and float around the lazy river on a summer day. It’s one of my self-care local destinations.
Iowa
As we were heading out west for our out west road trip, we stayed in Nebraska and walked over to Iowa! Yes! Walked over! We visited Bob the Bridge!
Kansas
We stopped by Kansas on our trip out west this summer. We didn’t stay long, but long enough to count it as one of our states this year!
Kentucky
We live close to Kentucky and visit the Louisville area periodically. We visited Louisville Mega Cavern for the first time to go ziplining and it was super fun!
Missouri
We lived about two hours from St. Louis and head over there on day trips a couple of times a year. When we are a bit more adventurous, we drive about three to three-and-a-half hours away to eat a Lambert’s Cafe! It’s a fun and delicious restaurant and one everyone needs to visit at least once!
Montana
We didn’t get to spend a lot of time in Montana, but we stayed the night while visiting Yellowstone National Park!
Nebraska
We stayed in Nebraska on our way out west and walked over to Iowa! Here we are having a picture with the troll that lives under the bridge between Iowa and Nebraska!
Nevada
Las Vegas! Nothing more left to say here!
New Mexico
Unfortunately, all we had a chance to do in New Mexico was drive-through along Route 66 and eat dinner one night. We would have liked to have done more, but my husband was reaching his limit on stopping and going!
Ohio
My youngest son and I visited Ohio for a college visit. I got my graduate degrees from Ohio University and now my youngest is talking about going there as well (if he ever fills out a college application that is)! It was great to see the campus again. However, it pulled out my heartstrings a bit to be doing a college visit there with the baby I had while I was in school there!
Oklahoma
As we were driving down Route 66, we took the time to visit this amazing location in Oklahoma! This is where east meets west along Route 66!
South Dakota
We really enjoyed South Dakota! There were so many roadside stops that we hit along the way across South Dakota to Yellowstone! I think my favorite stop in South Dakota was the Badlands!
Tennessee
We don’t live far from Tennessee either. We head to Nashville a couple of times a year for a day trip. My favorite stops are usually Opry Mills Mall and the Gaylord Opryland Resort. I enjoy eating at Rainforest Cafe in Opry Mills Mall and wandering around the indoor gardens at the Opryland Resort!
Texas
We drove through Texas during our Route 66 Road Trip! We stopped at the Cadillac Ranch and at the Big Texan! Cadillac Ranch was a fun stop. We brought our own spray paint and had a blast! We followed that up by lunch at the Big Texas. We saw signs and signs and more signs about it and just HAD to stop by and check it out!
Utah
I had no idea how many amazing things there were to do in Utah until I began searching for destinations to visit during our out west road trip! One of my favorite stops was Dinosaur National Monument. I had no idea how much I liked dinosaurs until I visited this National Park! It was amazing!
The picture below is at Dinosaur National Monument. You can see how excited my son was about another picture…
Wyoming
Yellowstone National Park was our main stop in Wyoming. There were so many things to see and do! We enjoyed being with nature and the beauty of the park! I was shocked to see and play in the snow in June and we enjoyed the waterfalls as we were leaving the park to head south at the end of our adventure!
2022 State Goals Include:
We may not have hit all 50 states in 2021, but I think 20 is great! We have a few state goals for 2022.
- Michigan: January 2022
- Florida: March & September 2022
- Idaho: Hopefully sometime to visit my best friend and her family before they meet up with his in Florida in September!
However, my biggest plans are two cruises. We have a Carnival Cruise in January of 2022 and a Disney Cruise in September of 2022. The Disney Cruise is my treat for me. M younger will be in college by then and I figure if I’m going to cry about it, I might as well cry on a Disney Cruise!
2023 State Goals Include:
My husband and I have been talking about taking a road trip from Maine down the east coast and ending in Key West for several years. Now that we will be empty nesters as of August 2022, we plan to take our trip sometime in 2023! As of now, we plan to visit:
- Maine
- Maybe try to squeeze in Vermont…but probably not since we are focusing on the coast
- New Hampshire
- Conneticut
- Rhode Island
- Massechusettes
- New Jersey
- New York
- Deleware
- Maryland
- Virginia
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Georgia
- Florida
Not Quite to 50 Yet Though!
However, even if we hit all of those, we would still have several more states to hit before we make it to all 50!
- California–I’d love to visit Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm
- Oregon
- Washington
- Vermont (if we don’t hit it on our east coast trip)
- North Dakota
- Alabama
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Mississippi
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Pennslyvania
- Wisconsin
- Minnesota (I would love to visit Mall of America again!)
- Alaska (I see a cruise in my future)
- Hawaii…I have a family friend who I plan on sleeping on her couch at some point before the military moves her husband out of Hawaii!
Make sure to check back for updates on our State Adventures!
