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 December 30, 2018).
The stats of life:
Days on the road: 435
US States: 47/50 (AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NE, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, WY, WI)
Presidential Museums: 32/43 (Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson x2, Madison, Monroe, JQ Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, W. Harrison, Polk, Lincoln, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, B. Harrison, McKinley, T. Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, F. Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan)
Major League Baseball Stadiums: 8/30 (Brewers, Cubs, Indians, Nationals, Royals, Phillies, Tigers, Yankees)
National Parks: 18/60 (Acadia, Arches, Badlands, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Canyonlands, Cuyahoga Valley x2, Denali, Gateway Arch, Grand Canyon, Grand Tetons, Great Sand Dunes, Kenai Fjords x2, Mammoth Cave, Petrified Forest, Redwood Forest, Rocky Mountain, Shenandoah, Yellowstone)
National Battlefields: 4/11 (Antietam, Ft. Necessity, Manassas, Monocacy)
National Historical Parks: 11/51 (Adams, Boston, Dayton Aviation, George Rogers Clark x2, Manhattan Project, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller, Paterson Great Falls, Pecos, Saratoga, Thomas Edison, Women’s Rights)
National Historic Sites: 13/78 (Allegheny Portage Railroad, Bent’s Old Fort, Brown v. Board of Education, Eisenhower Home, Garfield, Grant, Hoover, Saint Gaudens, Steamtown, E. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, T. Roosevelt Birthplace, Van Buren, Weir Farm)
National Memorials: 8/30 (Florissant Fossil Beds, Johnstown Flood, Lincoln, Lincoln Boyhood, Mt. Rushmore, Russell Cave, Vietnam Veterans, Washington, World War II)
National Military Park: 1/9 (Gettysburg)
National Monuments: 8/87 (Aztec Ruins, Bandelier, Capulin Volcano, Castle Clinton, Colorado, Ft Union, Jewel Cave, Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island)
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: 30/??? (Adler Planetarium, Air Force Academy, Air Force Museum, American Museum of Natural History, Alaska Sealife Center x2, Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour, Art Institute of Chicago, Canadian Aviation and Space Museum, Canadian Tulip Festival, 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, Willis Tower, Winterlude)
