The Explore All 50 States Project
Let's Go!
From the land of Lincoln, to the Gateway Arch, through Iowa farmland, the wilds of Minnesota to the home of Harley Davidson. Here's a music playlist to keep you humming along as you explore the great Midwest. Enjoy some St. Louis Blues, and a bit of Polka from Wisconsin along with some other hits as you hit the road. "Chicago" Frank Sinatra "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" Jim Croce "You're The … [Read more...]
Wisconsin was a perfect place to explore our theme, "The Immigrant Experience" where we learned how waves of immigrants from Scandinavia, Germany, Poland and other European countries left a lasting impact in various ways. From dairy farmers to lumberjacks, from fisherman to food purveyors their influence is everywhere. Norwegian lefsa, to beer brats to wienershnitzel and Friday night fish frys to be enjoyed listening … [Read more...]
While we were in Madison, we checked out the Wisconsin State Capitol Building. From the exterior, because of it's color and shape, this State Capitol Building reminded me a lot of the Capitol Building in Washington DC. The inside is quite decorative with a lot of use of marble but what really stood out are the beautiful mosaics throughout especially in the rotunda. Other than that it wasn't one of our personal … [Read more...]
Wow, were we lucky that we happened to wander into The Wisconsin Cheese Mart, as this amazing cheese store claims to have the world’s largest selection of Wisconsin cheese. By the looks of the cases I wouldn’t doubt it, this store was chock full of every type of cheese you could imagine. Our luck continued as the store was pretty empty, so they let us sample all kinds of cheese. We were thrilled when they … [Read more...]
As we drove in the Wisconsin Dells area we were completely thrown for a loop as we'd never seen anything like this. Hotels and indoor and outdoor water parks stacked all along the main strip Vegas style and it was jam packed with people and cars. I had no idea which one to choose but my kids kept yammering about the one they'd seen on TV billed as “the largest water park in the US”—Noah’s Ark. As soon I … [Read more...]
During the planning phase of this trip, the theme sort of came to me just by looking at the activities and historic sites. Many things had to do with waves of different groups who came to settle in these states to begin a new life far from the foreign lands they’d come from. It’s what makes cities across this area so interesting and unique—places like Chicago, a wonderfully diverse city where you can explore … [Read more...]
Wow...it's hard to believe that our family goal and quest to see and experience all 50 states has finally been accomplished. As we crossed the border from Virginia into West Virginia I was overwhelmed with emotion and I could feel my chin quivering as I tried to hold back tears. I could not believe it was all coming to an end. We were crossing the finish line and instantly a million memories of all the places we'd … [Read more...]
So much of this trip was a sobering reality check that left us understanding the bitter divide between North and South and the everyday souls who endured so much for their cause. Often times words could not describe our feelings looking at the battlefields and learning the personal stories of brave Americans, from decorated generals to those barely old enough to enlist. But not everything on this trip revolved around … [Read more...]
Sometimes the best things are discovered on a rainy day when other plans get canceled. We were so pumped to kayak in and around the Eastern Virginia National Wildlife Refuge but sadly a huge storm blew in and our guide just didn't think it would be good idea with the wind and the high tide. Sad but still hopeful for another cool experience we set forth with plan B, to head to Norfolk and check out the educational … [Read more...]
No road trip would be complete without something totally off the wall happening that becomes instantly memorable, making us either laugh, cringe, or just shake our heads in disbelief reminiscing about it later on. We are often asked about our wackiest experiences, so I enlisted my traveling partners, my three kids Lilia, Isaac and Joel to recount their top 10....Herewith is their list.... 1. Isaac- Eating BBQ … [Read more...]
