Seventeen - that's how many states we will visit by the time we get home from our Middle States trip. That's 1/3 of the states we have in the U.S. To give an idea of what we have in store, we've included a point of interest for each state that has made it onto our expected itinerary.
Florida - we live in Florida, so Florida is mostly about getting out of the state. As noted in our first post, we're really kicking off this trip at Hot Springs National Park, but we don't want to miss out on anything on the way to the starting line. Kinda like when you take a cruise and don't see or do anything at the embarkation port city. [That's a lesson we learned from our first Mediterranean cruise where we sailed from Barcelona but were so exhausted after an overnight flight that we barely saw anything but the inside of our eyelids as we slept on the Bus Turistic tour through the city.]
Alabama - like Florida, Alabama is a pass-through state on the way to Arkansas, but we plan to spend a night in Tuscaloosa and drive by the University of Alabama.
Mississippi - the road will take us right through Tupelo, so we might as well stop at the Birthplace of Elvis Presley.
Arkansas - and here we go! We'll be in Hot Springs for several days while visiting the National Park among other things.
Oklahoma - we're trekking across the lower part of the state to spend a night at the Quartz Mountain State Park Lodge.
Kansas - DH's parents made a trip to Dodge City; our visit here will be one that is in their footsteps.
Missouri - I'm a big fan of Walt Disney, so of course we're going to Marceline to visit the Walt Disney Hometown Museum. We'll also visit Hannibal and St. Louis on the way back.
Nebraska - we plan to be in two states at one time while here when we take the pedestrian bridge between Nebraska and Iowa.
Iowa - our first post explains why we're stopping in Le Mars, but on our way back, we plan to spend some time in Le Claire, including a visit to the American Pickers store.
Minnesota - I know people today have a lot to say about the Little House on the Prairie books and television show, but as a young girl, they only spelled adventure to me. We'll be cutting across southern Minnesota traveling from Walnut Grove through Sleepy Eye and on to Mankato.
Wisconsin - we'll explore the upper part of the Mississippi River aboard the Winona Tour Boat before heading to Upper Michigan.
Michigan - my only visit to Michigan was when my family lived in Kalamazoo for a summer when I was two years old. So while I have technically lived in Michigan, I only have some photos to prove it, but no memories of my own. We're spending six nights in Michigan so we can explore quite a bit including Mackinac Island before heading back to Wisconsin via the S.S. Badger.
Illinois - before we get to Illinois, we'll have been back through Wisconsin and Iowa and part of Missouri for the Mark Twain leg of our trip. Illinois begins the Abraham Lincoln portion in Springfield.
Indiana - While there are a few Lincoln things to see in Indiana, I'm looking forward to visiting Santa Claus!
Kentucky - DH's home state means we have family and friends to visit here, as well as complete the Lincoln portion of our journey with a visit to the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace site. While we have been there before, we haven't been since a family member started volunteering there as a host.
Tennessee - Dollywood and the Great Smoky Mountains.
Georgia - it's all downhill home from here. But not without a visit with my brother along the way!
These are just a few of the things we have on our itinerary, and we're always open to other ideas. In fact, most of the things we have on the agenda are from word-of-mouth experiences of friends, family, and people we've met while traveling other places. So if there's somewhere you think we need to be sure to be, drop us a comment!
Thanks for reading!
~ Cindy D.
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