Ah, the places I've been...

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Yep, I've been a travelin' gal most of my life. The red reflects states that I've visited. I know that I've been through a couple of the remaining continental states but didn't include them if I only passed through the state en route to somewhere else.

It isn't that I purposely set out to see a vast majority of the United States. Nope, I need to give proper credit to the fact that my dad was a wanderlust. Growing up, we lived in the Land of Cheese (Wisconsin for those of you not familiar with various state knicknames) for most of my childhood with detours to Arizona, Georgia and Wyoming. Trust me, don't even try to figure out how or why we ended up in these very geographical and culturally different locales. If you knew my dad, you'd totally understand.

And when we weren't moving, we were visiting. Some of my fondest childhood memories include the road trips that we'd take. Dad worked for the school system which meant a long summer break. We'd hook up the trailer and off we'd go...Often being gone for two weeks at a time. As an adult looking back, I have a lot more respect for the planning my parents put forth to make these family vacations possible.

The rest of the visited red is courtesy of Uncle Sam. When I joined the Army, I thought I'd get to see the world. Instead, I got sent to the sandy (not!) shores of Monterey peninsula (while my former co-workers were pounding Saudi sand back in 1990). I tasted yummy TEX-Mex food in San Antonio. While in NC, I found that working night shift is a bit more bearable when you and your girlfriends decide that the next day we should all road trip to Myrtle Beach for the day. And, when I got sent to KY for what would be my final duty assignment, I realized Nashville was only a quick trip down the road and I managed to re-ignite my love of Country Music (although I didn't manage to spot any country stars!) And while serving my country, I met people from all over the country. This of course gave me another reason to travel: to go see where my friends came from.

Now that the Things are getting a little older, I hope to be able to create some similar road trips. We've already taken them to a fair amount of states but there is so much more to be seen in this great land of ours. It is always such a shame when I meet people that think or act as if the world ends at their state border. If you don't get out and see other parts of our country, you can't begin to appreciate the complexity of running it as one nation under God...

Ok, so I'll step off my soap box and go back to my quiet little world. But before I do, try to get out this summer and see something different than what you've always done on summer vacation. You'll be happy that you did...