One of the things I love about traveling is the planning. I love researching places before I go --- figuring out how to get the most out of the experience of being there. Sites to see, experiences to try, history to learn, restaurants to find, people to meet up with.
Since COVID-19 arrived in March 2020, I killed several sets of plans. Really good ones! Antarctica, Patagonia and Paris. I am not going to reschedule until it's clear that traveling abroad is safe and has a low likelihood that it will need to be cancelled.
That doesn't mean that the travel bug is dormant. It's not.
Instead of polishing my passport, I've been eyeing the map of the United States. I've been carrying 8 states on my bucket list. I've visited the other 42. Wouldn't it be nice to have been to all 50 states? (Answer is YES). Being a list maker and an accomplishment checker-offer, I'm thinking that this is a good time to travel on the US highways. With vaccine in my arm, a mask on my face and my husband beside me, I could get excited about organizing a road trip to top off my state collection.
Lucky for me, all eight states are pretty much stacked on top of each other in the center of the country. They form a swath from North Dakota up top, down to Alabama at the bottom. Through Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, the Civil Rights museum and lots in between that I haven't unearthed yet, this idea has the potential to shape up into a super road trip. In the middle of the country in the middle of a pandemic.
Has a nice ring to it.
