Goal: Visit all 50 states

A goal of mine is to visit all fifty (nifty) United States. I sang the song as a child in school and have always loved to travel. Here is the song for those who would like to sing along: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALhEGiA5k5I

Growing up we went to Vermont every year and crossed through the same states. I adored going to VT but as an adult, my husband and I prefer to travel south. We have been to Florida every summer for a few years and love the hot temperatures.

So far I have seen 33 states. These are the states closest to where we live and a few out west. The states get larger as you head west and these have been the hardest to "collect" in my quest. For every state I also purchase or am gifted by my hubby a charm for my charm bracelet.

Currently my husband and I are in Alabama on a three week vacation. We have almost two weeks left but the temperature is getting cooler. Today was 82 degrees and this is just too cold for us to swim in the Gulf of Mexico (we are weaklings when it comes to swimming in cold water).

So instead of staying here in Alabama, we had a great idea. Let's knock out a few more states! We are only 6 hours east of Texas and I have never been to TX. On the way home from TX, we can easily drive through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. This will add SIX states to my list and we will only have 11 left!

My husband is so good to drive the extra hours so we can see a few more states. This will also get us back to our home with over a week left on our vacation instead of going right back to work.

So tomorrow I will be in Texas! Texas is the only state to have a city named Melissa. It will be WAY out of the way to visit Melissa, TX but it is nice that there is a city named after me, isn't it (ha!).

Here are the 11 states we will have left: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, South and North Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. I am planning on using the home exchange website to secure a place on the border of Wyoming and Montana with hopes we drive to South & North Dakota while we are there. Perhaps next year?

So goodbye beach...we will miss you, your clear water and the many dolphins we see each time we visit!