50 by 50

This started out as 50 by 30.  That was a lifetime ago, or so it feels.  Now, my goal is to visit all 50 U.S. states by age 50.  I'm very close - only four states to go - and I have three years and a few months to achieve that.  A very attainable goal. 

I had covered a lot of ground (and air miles) in my quest for 50 by 30.  I believe I got more than half the states "in" by then.  As happens to many of us when we age, I became less "foot-loose and fancy-free" (that saying surely just aged me) and generally took on more responsibilities.

I guess I'm thinking about this quest again because my wandering has slowed so considerably, particularly in the last few years.  I think I need to think about roaming to keep me inspired in some way.  So, here I am on Thanksgiving Eve thinking about where I've been.  (And I am thankful for those travels.)  In order for me to "count" a state in this quest, I had to have set foot in it outside an airport.  In other words, I've been in the Fargo, ND airport but I don't count ND in my list of states because I never left the airport. 

Here are some highlights of where I've been or, in four cases, where I hope to go.  The number at the end of each entry represents an approximate number of times I've been to the state.  It's approximate only as well as my memory serves me.

1. Alabama - Birmingham (Civil Rights Institute, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church), a party in some rural town outside Birmingham, and the Kentuck (Outsider Art) Festival in Northport. (3)
2. Alaska - Anchorage, Seward, Fairbanks, Denali National Park (1)
3. Arizona - Phoenix, Scottsdale, Grand Canyon National Park a few times, Tuscon, Sedona a few times (5 or 6)
4. Arkansas - This state "squeaks in."  I drove across the Mississippi River from Memphis, passed the "Welcome to Arkansas" sign, got out of the car, stood there for second, and turned around and went back to Tennessee.  I will eventually head to Little Rock and the Clinton Library.  Would also like to see some of the Civil Rights historic sights and Hot Springs National Park. (1)
5. California - Sacramento, San Simeon (Hearst Castle), Oakland, San Fran (several times), San Diego (several times), San Jose, Palo Alto, Pleasanton, some place in Western Orange County, LA and surrounding towns (several times) (10 or so)
6. Colorado - Southern part of the state on a train ride (we got off the train!) from New Mexico.  Still want to visit Boulder, Vail, and Rocky Mountain National Park.  (1)
7. Connecticut - Mystic Seaport, river cruise past the Gillette Castle, and many drives/related stops on the way to New England points North.  (12-ish)
8. Delaware - Many times as I live about 15-20  minutes from this state.
9. Florida - Other than the states I've lived in, this (or NY?) is my most visited.  I've been from North-South and East-West in this state.  I have not gotten too far West on the panhandle.  (30+)
10. Georgia - Savannah; also stayed in many small towns on my 20+ years of driving my grandmother North from Florida every Spring. (20+)
11. Hawaii - a non-acquired state
12. Idaho - Spent time in this state when I crossed over from Montana.  It's been almost 3 decades so don't remember a lot of specifics.  In theory, would like to get back here for a more memorable experience. (1)
13. Illinois - Moline, Chicago, Rock Island (5) 
14. Indiana - some town near Indianapolis for work; South Bend (3)
15. Iowa - Des Moines and Davenport (2)
16. Kansas - Coffeyville, where some of the Dalton Gang met their maker (1)
17. Kentucky - Richmond, home of Eastern Kentucky University; Louisville horse country; Berea, home of Berea College (4)
18. Louisiana - New Orleans several times and surrounding areas; drive through to Mississippi (5)
19. Maine - Acadia National Park (1) 
20. Maryland - Annapolis, Baltimore, Ocean City, Deep Creek Lake in the Western part of the state (15 or more) 
21. Massachusetts - Boston, lived on the island of Martha's Vineyard for three months, Cambridge (5)
22. Michigan - Grand Rapids, Saugatuck, Ann Arbor (3)
23. Minnesota - Mankato, Blue Earth (home of the Jolly Green Giant Statue), Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Mall of America in Bloomington, Rochester (4)
24. Mississippi - Drove through and spent the night on the way from New Orleans to Memphis 
25. Missouri - a non-acquired state
26. Montana - Dillon, Billings, Bozeman (2)
27. Nebraska - a non-acquired state  (I am planning on looking for a cheap flight here to paddle the Niobrara National Scenic River near Valentine, NE.  While in the state, I may see Carhenge - Stonehenge meets old cars - in Alliance, NE.)
28. Nevada - Reno, Las Vegas several times, Hoover Dam (twice) on shared border with AZ (5)
29. New Hampshire - Can't remember town where I stayed with a friend-of-a-friend for a few nights (1) 
30. New Jersey - Lived here for about 22 years 
31. New Mexico - Santa Fe, Taos, south of Albuquerque (4)
32. New York - Woodstock, New Paltz, Rochester, Binghamton, Buffalo, Manhattan resident for one year (30) 
33. North Carolina - Rural back road wandering, Smoky Mountains, Research Triangle area, coast near Eastern Carolina University, Charlotte, and many overnights (20+)
34. North Dakota - A non-acquired state since I've only been in the airport 
35. Ohio - Cleveland and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Sandusky (4) 
36. Oklahoma - Oklahoma City, Mangum and a few other towns (1)
37. Oregon - Portland, Crater Lake National Park (3)
38. Pennsylvania - Lived here for about 24 years 
39. Rhode Island -Just spent the night.  (Providence and the Newport mansions are on my list of things to do.)
40. South Carolina - Charleston, Dillon and Latta (20+)
41. South Dakota - Crazy Horse Monument and Mt. Rushmore (twice), various Black Hills towns, Badlands, Sioux Falls, Mitchell (home of the Corn Palace), Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (4)
42. Tennessee - Nashville and the Grand Old Opry, Memphis (Peabody Hotel and its famous ducks, Lorraine Hotel where Dr. MLK, Jr. lost his life) (3)
43. Texas - Corpus Christi, El Paso, San Antonio (Alamo), Dallas, Lufkin (6) 
44. Utah - Park City, Salt Lake City, Zion National Park (3) 
45. Vermont - Have been here a few times 20+ years ago.  Can't remember names of towns. (2) 
46. Virginia - Richmond, Petersburg, Luray, Skyline Drive (10)
47. Washington - Seattle (twice), Mt. St. Helen's, Mt. Ranier National Park, Tacoma (3)
48. West Virginia - Wheeling.  (I've been to this state a few times but can't think of when or why.  Probably just passing through and spending the night.) (2)
49. Wisconsin - Madison, La Crosse, Spring Green (home of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesen East), Wisconsin Dells (12 - 14)
50. Wyoming - Cheyenne, Jackson Hole (Grand Teton National Park), Yellowstone National Park (2)
51. Non-state Washington, D.C. - Several visits but still want more of this great city! (5)

This has proven to be exhausting.  I lost my momentum and didn't always point out key highlights.  I'm sure I will come back to update this over the next few weeks just so, years from now, I will be able to jog my memory and remember these journeys with fondness.   

For now, I have to use this list to motivate myself to finish my 50 in 50.  I also want to re-visit those handful of states where I can't remember where I visited within the state or why.  I'm ready to leave tonight but, on Thanksgiving Eve, I have to prepare to meet my responsibilities.  This night of the year, I'm OK with that.

Burgers

The place looked fun inside so we walked up to the counter, ordered, and then sat down.  The food came in record time.  But wait...the roll had blood on it...really fresh, red blood.  "Oh well," I thought, "I'll just rip it off and not eat that."  I took a few bites of the burger and showed my dining companion.  A waiter saw me doing this and came over.  I timidly mentioned that I had asked for "medium well."  He quickly took it away and promised to take care of  it.  It was a perfectly pleasant exchange.

That was my start at Bobby's Burger Palace.  Not an upsetting start, just not a smooth one.  But then the second burger came.  Yum. Wow. OMG.

I don't eat a lot of burgers but this burger was amazing.  I ordered the Napa Valley burger with goat cheese and watercress.  It was a wonderful  combination.  My burger had a nice, slightly charred and crisp outside and a juicy inside.

Bobby's Burger Palace is the child of chef and TV food personality Bobby Flay.  This West Philly location, which opened in April of this year, is one of five.  There are two locations in NJ and one each in NY and CT.  I highly recommend a visit, even if you don't eat burgers. The casual restaurant also has other sandwiches, soups and sides as well as beer, wine, and a margarita.  (While the website lists separate menus for each location, Philly's menu shows just one margarita.)  The menu items are under $10. 

If you visit the Philly location at 39th and Walnut, remember that the burgers are always prepared "medium" unless you ask otherwise.  If the burger I got was Bobby's idea of "medium," be prepared to see red...on your roll.  But know that you're getting one mighty good burger.

Shameless Thievery

I stole this from Bookpuddle, a blog I visit often and comment on occasionally.  Thanks to Cipriano at Bookpuddle for this, which really resonates with me...then and now.

 So much of a child's life is lived for others… All the reading I did as a child, behind closed doors, sitting on the bed while the darkness fell around me, was an act of reclamation. This and only this I did for myself. This was the way to make my life my own.

Author Lynne Sharon Schwartz

The Streets of Philadelphia

Unlike the lyrics to the sad Springsteen song, today's "streets of Philadelphia" were an energy booster.  The warm weather and leaves crunching underfoot in the Old City section made the day feel light and uplifting. I've been in Old City many times but I stumbled upon things I had never seen and was amazed that I hadn't. I also revisited old favorites.

Today started with brunch at Stephen Starr's Jones.  This restaurant has been around for several years now but it was my first visit to this "Brady Brunch-esque" restaurant.  The shag carpet, 70's avocado green, and sunken living room feel evoke Mike Brady himself coming through the front door and saying "hi" to Carol after a day at the office.  We ate at the counter even though the wait was only about 10 minutes. We each had eggs.  The coffee and food were good.  I wouldn't mind coming back to try the classic meatloaf.  This, along with the mac and cheese, fits Jones' desire to provide comfort foods in a retro setting.  (Which also explains why my omelet came with tater tots instead of hash browns or home fries!)

With no particular destination in mind, my friend and I wandered down to Old City from our 7th and Chestnut brunch.  Vice President Joe Biden, PA's Governor Ed Rendell and some local politicians were speaking outside near Independence Hall.  They were gathered to make comments about the soon-to-be opened National Museum of Jewish History.  I'm not sure who drew more attention - the speakers or the hoards of Secret Service men and women, Philadelphia police, and SWAT teams on the roofs.

We walked deeper into Old City and ducked into vintage clothing stores and a store that sold wonderful African fabrics and statues.  The owner of the latter store was personable and funny.  She explained she couldn't make the purchases of the items in the store when she travelled to Africa because the men wouldn't do business with her.  Wisely, they said it was too distracting to do business with women and they would likely give in and therefore make less money.  They're certainly honest!

We spotted several interesting expressions of...well, I'm not exactly sure what.  We'll call these expressions of self.  For example, we saw that someone embedded something into the intersection.  (I'm a sucker for street art, even if I don't understand it.)  We passed a shop on 3rd Street where the owner of the store knit a sweater for the tree outside the shop.  Right next to the tree, there was a whimsical Asian face posted above the street signs. (Look closely at the picture.)  We also saw what appeared to be a frog on another traffic sign.

The frog on the sign was spotted near the Painted Bride Art Center, a space that has long supported innovative and non-mainstream art.  (It will be the subject of a future blog as I was there yesterday and attended a moving exhibit.) The building itself is a eye-catching mosaic done by Philadelphia eccentric and documentary subject Isaiah Zagar.

We finished the day by walking back to the subway and passing through Elfreth's Alley.  This alley, known as "our nation's oldest residential street," has houses on it built from 1728 -1836.  It was so charming with cornstalks, gourds, and pumpkins adding color to the already colorful doors and flags.



It was great to spend some time in my fair city today. It made me want to move into Philadelphia from the 'burbs.  Similar to my experience when I lived in Manhattan, it made me feel alive.  There's always something to discover or rediscover.  For example, how did I not know about the Underground Museum at Franklin Court?!?  I didn't go into the museum but, at street level, I could peer down into the foundation of Ben Franklin's house.  I had been by the buildings at 3rd and Market dozens of time but I had know idea what was behind them.  There's even a "ghost framed" house (metal outlining the shape of Ben's two-story house) back there!  I promised myself to visit the museum some day when, once again, I wander the streets of Philadelphia.

Elfreth's Alley

Beauty Comes Inside

I received a pleasant reminder this morning that sometimes you don't have to wander to find something that touches your heart, stirs your soul, or challenges your mind. Sometimes - if you're open to it - an experience that does any of those things will find you. It found me this morning lying in bed. My Dutch Maple and my neighbor's Red Maple painted a beautiful canvas not easily captured on film.