Years ago, I mentioned
the goal that Rick and I have to
visit all 50 states. We were able to cross 4 more states off our list on our most recent trip to Chicago, IL and South Bend, IN to watch BYU play Notre Dame. We added OH, MI, WI & MN.
After arriving in Chicago, Rick and I took off in our rental car on October 18 to get into Ohio and Michigan. We had already visited Illinois and Indiana and we wanted to add a few more new states on our most recent trip. We knew it would take us six hours to go into Ohio and then to drive into Michigan before returning to Chicago, but since we were so close, we decided it was worth it to take the time to cross the boarders into some new states and to cross them off our list. We loved driving across Indiana on a beautiful fall day through all the wooded areas and seeing beautiful fall leaves. I crocheted Charlie's little rug and Rick got to listen to talk radio in those areas to his complete satisfaction.
We set the goal to set foot on the soil of the state we are adding to our list of visited states and to eat there (NOT at a national chain) or make a purchase and talk to a local person. Mission accomplished! We ate lunch in Ohio at the Four Seasons family restaurant and we went into a convenience store in Coldwater, Michigan for drinks and snacks.
After leaving Chicago on October 21, we drove up the shore of Lake Michigan to Milwaukee, WI to look around and have dinner at Ma Fischer's before we forged on to Madison, WI for the night. The next morning we went to the state capitol building of Wisconsin and drove through the U of W. Then we jumped on the freeway and headed on to the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. We made a stop at the Minnesota state capitol and then enjoy an hour shopping spree at the
Mall of American in Minnesota before flying out and heading for home. Apparently, The Mall of America is the largest mall in the states. Andy and Chelsea were with us for this part of the journey and they were good sports to go along with us on this adventure.
Since coming back from our trip, our brother-in-law Grant told us about
this organization that recognizes the accomplishment of
visiting all 50 states. We are going to join the organization and get our certificate when we are finished with all 50. 9 to go for me and 3 to go for Rick! We figure that we need to go on two more trips to get it done and hope to do it before we're 60 years old.
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