Many years ago I decided that my main bucket list item would be to spend a night in all 50 states. Living out west briefly and meandering around a bit in my early 20s, I pulled over and spent the night in 30-something states—campgrounds, motels, hotels, friends’ couches, etc. While others wanted to visit all the different baseball parks, going to places like the Trop or retro replica Corporate Name Here parks wasn’t how I wanted to spend my vacations. Not that I haven’t been to a bunch of different stadiums anyway. New stadiums go up all the time, but last I looked we’ve been stuck on 50 states for a while. (Just in case we make Washington D.C. a state—and it’s long past time we did—I have that one covered.)
My college buddy, Paul, who now lives near Salem, MA, was formerly in Astoria and a frequent companion at Mets games. He wanted in on this journey, so we pooled ideas and resources. We wanted to hit all the states by the time age 50 came along. Well, that sailed right past. So we extended it to our 50s. By February of 2020 we had a schedule, flights booked, reservations made, and a route all planned for summer. I think you know how that turned out.
One thing that helped pass the pandemic time was fine-tuning the new plan for 2021. There are enough logistics that a travel agent, Destinations Uncharted, helped book flights and rooms while saving us money, aggravation, and worry if something goes wrong (like last year!)—I can’t recommend Barbara Rossi-Skonberg enough. But before this turns into a commercial, here is a rundown of some of our battle plan:
Battlefields + Baseball Tour 2020 2021:
Davenport (IA) Quad Cities River Bandits
Field of Dreams (IA)
Omaha (NE) Storm Chasers
Kansas City Royals (sleeping on KS side)
Negro League Museum (MO)
WWI Museum (MO)
Putting down a pillow in AR
Oklahoma City (OK) Dodgers
Shiloh National Battlefield (TN)
Vicksburg National Battlefield (MS)
Following U.S. Grant over the river to LA
Memphis (TN) Redbirds
St. Louis Cardinals (MO)
And home we go.
Of course, since we finalized these plans, Covid-19 rates spiked, especially in the very areas where we are going. Paul and I are vaccinated, and—well, I know I am a writer, but words fail me here. I don’t really know what else I should say about this right now, but you can follow my personal account on Facebook for updates as they happen and maybe even a Facebook Live or two. I plan to document the trip and the state stats more fully later.
This has been a long time coming. Some states my parents took me to when I was almost too young to remember—but I never forgot. Others were knocked off by the carload when I helped my brother Mark move from CA to NY in 1985—he led my only journeys to see the wonders of Lake Powell, Four Corners, and not one but two nights with his college roommate in NM. There is not much that compares with the boundless freedom and fun of being young and on long trips with few plans with my late dog Gilbey and friends like Dave, Linc, and Parrish; those guys now live far enough away where I don’t see them much, but you always remember who is with you when you see something cool and unique that many will never get a chance to see.
I traveled with my wife and kids to several states—AK and HI were predictably unbelievable—but going on an RV trip with another family to pre-oil boom ND is still my favorite vacation ever. That never would have happened if I wasn’t so dead set on seeing all the states and trying, if only for a night, to understand a little more of what they’re about. When you are in the car the states don’t look so red or blue, and if something annoys you, it’s easy to just turn up the CD player (yes, we still use arcane media) and drown it all out with bad singing.
Wish us luck. You never know what the road will bring.