The Explore All 50 States Project
Let's Go!
There is a reason New Mexico is known as the Land of Enchantment. It's earthly beauty draws you in in what can only be described as a sort of spiritual experience. For those who have never been, New Mexico evokes visions of barren desert landscape with not much to see or do. I am here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. New Mexico is gorgeous and filled with interesting things to explore and is … [Read more...]
One of the all time coolest and most meaningful souvenirs we've gotten on any trip are the Native American fetishes we purchased on our trip to New Mexico. If you are like me, when you hear the word fetish you think of a weird obsession with sexual overtones like a foot fetish. Fetishes are also amulets or good luck charms and every culture has them. In Native American culture fetishes are small stones or other … [Read more...]
There are 50 glorious states in the United States of America and each has it's own culture, history, resources, and famous figures just waiting to be discovered. When we travel on our quest to see all 50, we make it a point to appreciate the diversity of the U.S. by dialing into each individual state, understanding it's distinguishing characteristics and "personality" if you will. This sense of curiosity makes … [Read more...]
The state slogan of New Mexico is "The Land of Enchantment," but it seems it seems the food and regional cuisine is equally enchanting enough to get me yearning to come back to sample more of it's spice and spirit. Heck, I wanted to jump in the car and drive there several times while writing this article. To get some authentic flavor, I consulted two people who really know food in New Mexico, my friend Jason and … [Read more...]
There were many things I was excited to learn more about on our road trip to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, but by far the one of the things I was most looking forward to was a visit to Ellis Island. So many of us from immigrant stock (myself included) can trace our ancestors first stop here on their way to their new life in America. Although no longer in use as an immigrant processing facility a total of 12 … [Read more...]
There is no better way to see the Statue of Liberty than just the way those incoming immigrants saw her on a boat in the harbor. Thankfully you can do that from two locations, one from New York City at Battery Park, and also at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. There are several tours to choose from but be forewarned, the crown tour sells out months in advance because there are a limited number of … [Read more...]
Forget about Jersey Shore the TV show, the kids and I were super excited to check out the beach, rides and restaurants on one of the infamous boardwalks on the Jersey shore. One of the better known locales is in Seaside Heights. As we started to make our way down the a huge summer storm unleashed it's fury and didn't let up until late into the evening. Sadly we had to miss this Jersey hot spot, but if you get … [Read more...]
My kids and I were so excited to check out Thomas Edison's lab but sadly we never made it. First off our GPS took us to Thomas Edison's home in Edison NJ also known as Menlo Park about one hour south. Upon realizing our mistake, we also realized I had lost my wallet at Ellis Island and made a beeline back the Statue of Liberty Cruise at Liberty State Park. What a nightmare. By the time we got what we could sorted … [Read more...]
Too often we only think of traveling to states that have lots of tourist appeal like Hawaii, or Alaska, New York or Florida. Sadly there are too many hidden gems that most folks miss all across the country that are definitely worth exploring. These places are not only interesting, but they illustrate the character of our country and often give meaning to what it means to be American. Here are a few places that … [Read more...]
One of my biggest motivations for starting The Explore All 50 Project with my kids was to create a family history, one rich with rituals that define who we are giving us a collective sense of identity and purpose. I instinctively knew this was really important for my kids, but I didn't realize just how much, and how important it would come to be in connecting us all together. Rituals can be defined as "a sequence … [Read more...]
