Throughout our travels, I've been loosely keeping track of states I've been to, with a goal of visiting all 50. Whenever possible I would sneak in a slight diversion to check another one off the list. When we went to Glacier we took a slight detour into Idaho visiting Wallace for a few days since neither one of us had been to Idaho. On one of our trips returning from Texas, we headed southeast of Dallas to view the Bluebonnets, and then spent a night in Arkansas to mark that state as 'done'. Hitting the Northeast for a fall foliage road trip, not only allowed us to see amazing sights and some of the most breathtaking hiking views, but I could also check off Vermont. And I could add a solid checkmark on New Hampshire since I had only been through the small coastal section on our way to Maine (does that really count?).
In fact, at the time I thought Vermont was my 50th state. It wasn't until I went back and documented state by state when I had been there and my confidence level, that there was a gap for Delaware. Most of our travel on the East Coast happened when I worked for an airline so we could fly into one city, road trip, and fly out of another fairly inexpensively. This was BEFORE social media, I just could not find any evidence that we had gone to Delaware. Looking through old photo albums with limited journaling proved no help.
So in the fall of 2024 with some American Airlines miles rotting away in our accounts, we decided to take an East Coast road trip to check off Delaware. We flew into Philadelphia and spent one night near the New Jersey border. The next day we visited historic Smithville, then continued on to Atlantic City, another first for us. Check. No need to go there again. Maybe it's nicer in the summer but we weren't all that impressed. Other than a great lunch and conversation at the Irish Pub and a stroll through the Atlantic City Hard Rock we really couldn't wait to get out of there.
The next day we drove south along the south Jersey coast seeing some very nice neighborhoods and homes. We got to see Lucy the Elephant, and after a quick stop at the MudHen brewery, we took the ferry across the Delaware Bay, landing in Lewes, Delaware. I had reached my goal and on my birthday! After a short drive into Rehoboth Beach, we came across the Sea Witch Festival with the whole town decked out in ocean-themed costumes, the streets filled with vendors and live music. It was like a huge birthday party just for me.
After one night in Delaware, we made our way to Maryland (it doesn't take long to cross Delaware) and stopped at a couple antique stores. We lunched at Ten Eyck Brewing and after, continued to Kent Island on the Chesapeake Bay where we enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the water. The next day we drove just over an hour to Washington DC for a stroll along the Mall. It was almost time for our return flight out of Reagan International.
The brief time we had in our nation's capital allowed us to reflect on how lucky we are to be in America. Visiting Washington, D.C., is a humbling experience, surrounded by iconic monuments and the heartbeat of American democracy. Walking through the Capitol or gazing at the White House, you feel the weight of history and the promise of freedom. We’re truly blessed to live in the United States, where these symbols remind us of the sacrifices made for our liberties and the ongoing pursuit of a more perfect union. (Yes, that was AI.)
**While I have been to all 50 states, Tim is pretty sure he's missing Connecticut. If only he had said something before I planned this trip we probably could have fit that in as well. We'll have to figure out when we can sneak that one in.
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