We started our first road trip the night of our wedding. Five moves and four kids later, we still hit the road every month or two. To touch history, smell nature, teach, and learn.
I have a thing for stats and ours are below. The data is data. But it’s the times at the rest stops when you’re pulling out toilet paper for a makeshift seat cover while wondering if the stain is permanent or new and your kid sits down and you wince and whisper, “don’t tell your mom I didn’t get the toilet paper down” that make all the hassle of travel worth it.
All stats below are as a complete family and through the date of the last road trip blog (currently August 8, 2021).
The stats of life:
Days on the road: 435
US States: 48/50 (AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, WY, WI)
Presidential Museums: 34/44 (Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson x2, Madison, Monroe, JQ Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, W. Harrison, Polk, Lincoln, Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, B. Harrison, McKinley, T. Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, F. Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton x2)
Major League Baseball Stadiums: 8/30 (Brewers, Cubs, Indians, Nationals, Royals, Phillies, Tigers, Yankees)
National Parks: 26/63 (Acadia, Arches x2, Badlands, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Bryce Cayon, Canyonlands, Carlsbad Caverns, Cuyahoga Valley x2, Denali, Gateway Arch, Grand Canyon x2, Grand Tetons, Great Sand Dunes x2, Guadalupe Mountains, Hot Springs, Joshua Tree, Kenai Fjords x2, Mammoth Cave, Mesa Verde, Petrified Forest x2, Redwood Forest, Rocky Mountain, Saguaro, Shenandoah x2, White Sands, Yellowstone)
National Battlefields: 6/11 (Antietam, Ft. Necessity, Manassas, Monocacy, Stones River, Tupelo)
National Battlefield Site: 1/1 (Brices Cross Roads)
National Historical Parks: 13/51 (Adams, Boston, Cedar Creek & Belle Grove, Dayton Aviation, George Rogers Clark x2, Manhattan Project (Los Alamos, Oak Ridge), Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller, Paterson Great Falls, Pecos, Saratoga, Thomas Edison, Washita Battlefield, Women’s Rights)
National Historic Sites: 20/78 (Allegheny Portage Railroad, Andersonville, Andrew Johnson, Bent’s Old Fort, Brown v. Board of Education, Clinton Birthplace Home, Eisenhower Home, Garfield, Grant, Hoover, Little Rock Central High School x2, Minuteman Missile, Saint Gaudens, Steamtown, E. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, T. Roosevelt Birthplace, Tuskegee Airmen, Van Buren, Washita Battlefield, Weir Farm)
National Memorials: 11/30 (Arkansas Post, Florissant Fossil Beds, Johnstown Flood, Lincoln, Lincoln Boyhood, Mt. Rushmore, Oklahoma City, Russell Cave, Thomas Jefferson, Vietnam Veterans, Washington, World War II)
National Military Park: 2/9 (Gettysburg, Pea Ridge)
National Monuments: 18/87 (Agate Fossil Beds, Aztec Ruins, Bandelier, Booker T. Washington, Capulin Volcano, Casa Grande, Castillo de San Marcos, Castle Clinton, Colorado, El Malpais, El Morro, Ft Union, Jewel Cave, Homestead, Hovenweep, Scott’s Bluff, Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Walnut Canyon)
International Historic Site: 1/1 (St. Croix Island)
Canadian Provinces & Territories: 6/13 (NB, NS, ON, PE, QC, YT)
Canadian National Parks: 2/41 (Cape Breton Highlands, Prince Edward Island)
Canadian National Historic Sites: (Alexander Graham Bell, Fortifications of Quebec, Green Gables)
Other Awesome Museums/Sites: 34/??? (Adler Planetarium, Air Force Academy, Air Force Museum, American Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, American Museum of Science & Energy, Alaska Sealife Center x2, Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour, Art Institute of Chicago, Canadian Aviation and Space Museum, Canadian Tulip Festival, Casey Jones Museum, Churchill Downs, Dinosaur Journey Museum, Field Museum, Garden of the Gods, Hershey’s Factory Tour, Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Lincoln Park Zoo, Lost World Caverns, Louisville Slugger Museum x2, Meteor Crater, Minnesota Forest History Center, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Aviation, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Air and Space Museum, Niagara Falls, Nickelodeon Universe, Sternberg Museum, Rideau Canal, Roosevelt Campobello International Park, Shedd Aquarium, Virginia Museum of Transportation, Willis Tower, Winterlude)
She gave him a smile with a future in it. 