Our Goal:

OUR GOAL: Visit fifty states within the next two years. (edited: We missed our two year deadline but still hope to visit all 50 states)

The Rules: States we visit or where we have already visited as a family (three or more members) count. States visited by only one or two family members (such as a business trip) don't count.

Layovers and stopovers don't count. We have to actually either drive though a state or do some activity, outside of the airport, in that state.



Monday, July 15, 2013

How to get to Alaska

Step 1.  Get your husband to go on his employee website and show you how to book a Zed Fare ticket.  Since our airline does not fly to Alaska, we have to book on affiliated airlines.  We pay for our flights based on a zone system which is based on miles and this is called a Zed Fare.

Step 2.  play with the system and book a random set of travel dates "just to see how we do it"

Step 3. reassure said husband that we probably can't accidently book the tickets without putting in a credit card number

Step 4.  notice that the website mentions that the tickets will be paid for by payroll deduction....  oops

Step 5. wait for the paid for tickets to arrive in the mail.

Guess what...., we are going to Alaska.   The dates we put in the computer were for four or five days starting July 29th (I think) but I have been reassured by the helpful operator at the Pass Bureau that we can change the dates.  This is good because apparently we are still in the high tourist season with very expensive hotel rates and difficult to find rental cars. 

Although I am loathe to take the kids out of school right at the beginning of the school year, I can't afford to go during the tourist season and don't want to go after it starts to get cold.  So, if we can indeed change the dates, I will probably try to find a way to go in early September.

While I am very excited about seeing Alaska, I regret that we will only be able to go for a few days.  I have a felling that I could spend a month there exploring (in the summer, of course) and still not get my fill.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

New Orleans - final thoughts and budget report

As I bring this trip report to a close here are my final thoughts.

We love New Orleans.  Absolutely loved it.  We do wish it has been a tad warmer and would like our next trip to be a little later in the Spring or early in the Fall.

We did need a car to get from our hotel near the airport to the French Quarter but once there, we parked the car and didn't look at it again until it was time to head back to the hotel.  New Orleans is very pedestrian friendly if you want to stay in the touristy areas.  It was very easy to navigate to and from the hotel though.

I budgeted waaay too little for food.  We decided not to pack food this trip because it would be criminal to bring baloney sandwiches to the food capitol of the south.  But, we never managed to find a local or cheap spot to eat.  We spent a lot more on food than I anticipated.  I will know better next time.

We spent a lot of time in Jackson Square and the French Market.  I think that when we go back, I will have at least one "Mommy's Choice" activity and visit the Garden District.  I will also budget more money for food.

I will say that we used priceline to find a very nice and affordable hotel but then, as I am sure I have mentioned, spent way too much on food.

DateTime Amount CategoryDetails
16-Feb1:18pm $         31.01 foodmother's restaurant
16-Feb8:34 AM $         12.47 foodmcdonads at airport
16-Feb6:26 AM $         19.54 foodsonic burger
17-Feb11:51am $           4.99 foodsodas and praline
17-Feb9:22PM $           8.87 fooddunkin donuts for departure morning
17-Feb12:48 PM $         34.15 foodbubba gump lunch
17-Feb3:14 AM $           9.09 foodpizza
17-Feb7:52pm $         57.52 foodolive garden
18-Feb5:52am $           2.65 foodsoda
18-Feb10:59AM $         12.26 foodroyal farms after landing
17-Feb $      181.00 hotelhotel
18-Feb $           5.99 othermagazine for kid
18-Feb $           2.31 othergum
18-Feb5:52 AM $           5.40 souvenirshot glass
16-Feb12:44pm $           1.15 transportationparking
17-Feb9:46pm $         50.65 transportationcar rental - Alamo
17-Feb11:12am $         10.00 transportationparking at french quarter
17-Feb9:29 AM $         15.07 transportationgas
18-Feb10:49am $         19.00 transportationparking at airport
16-Feb $           5.44
16-Feb $           4.31
total $      492.87

Friday, July 12, 2013

Back to our regularly scheduled programming

To finish out our New Orleans trip report...

We walked from Jackson Square to the French Market and stopped to get a balloon from a street performer along the way.


The French Market is market consisting of several buildings full of vendors.  Although there is a roof, the sides are open.  Part of the area is dedicated to food vendors and part is set up flea market style with booths for vendors to sell their wares.


We sampled several foods along the way and can now cross "eat alligator" off our bucket list.  The alligator was in the form of a sausage on a stick.  it was very greasy and pretty spicy.  It wasn't bad but I have no need to eat it again.  been there, done that.
 
 
Back onto Bourbon Street
 







We had lunch at Bubba Gumps.  The food was good but expensive and I regret eating at a chain instead of a local place but we were hungry and it was there.


And, back to Jackson Square for more street performers



You just cannot visit New Orleans without trying a beinget, a fired pillow of dough sprinkled with powdered sugar.  And the famous tourist spot to indulge is the Café Du Monde in Jackson Square


 

Monday, July 1, 2013

Progress Report - halfway there!

I have not been updating the blog lately due to several distractions. One of the biggest ones being the online college class I am taking.  It has been a lot more work than I am used to.  Also, the kids are out of school for the summer so I have been spending a lot more time with my family and away from the computer.

But, now that June is just barely behind us, I wanted to provide a progress report.  We began out 50 state challenge in June 2012.  As of June 8 2013, we have visited 26 states!  Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I am counting a few states which we actually visited prior to the start of our challenge.  And, if time allows, we plan on revisiting those states with out two years. But, since we have visited Florida multiple times, I think we should cut ourselves a little break.

State City Date
Virginia Drove through and probably stopped at one point prior to 2012
North Carolina Drove through and probably stopped at one point prior to 2012
South Carolina Drove through and probably stopped at one point prior to 2012
Georgia Drove through and probably stopped at one point prior to 2012
Texas Dallas prior to 2012
New Jersey Jersey Shore prior to 2012
Florida Orlando 6/17-23/2012
Missouri St. Louis 7/14/2012
Maryland Baltimore 6/26/2012
Illinois Chicago 8/11/2012
Pennsylvania Hershey Park 8/13/2012
Tennessee Nashville 8/25-26/2012
Alabama Birmingham 9/8/2012
New York Buffalo 10/18-19/2012
Ohio Columbus 10/20/2012
Delaware Vanderwende Ice Cream 10/24/2012
Colorado Denver 11/4-6/2012
Indiana Clarksville 1/19/2013
Kentucky Louisville 1/19-20/2013
Louisiana New Orleans 2/18-19/2013
Nevada Las Vegas 2/26-3/1/2013
Arizona Hoover Dam 2/27/2013
West Virginia Harpers Ferry 3/30/2013
Wisconsin Milwaukie 5/4-5/2013
Rhode Island Providence 6/8-9/2013
Massachusetts Boston 6/8/2013


And here are some interesting statistics about our travels  We have taken 33 flights (including several back and forth to Disneyworld) and visited 11 states by car.

Flight Distances
In Miles   25,735
In Kilometer   41,417
Earth Circumnavigation 1.03 x
Distance to the Moon  0.108 x
Distance to the Sun 0.0003 x

Flight Time
Hours   62:33
Days 2.6
Weeks 0.4
Months  0.09
Years 0.007

Longest Flight (distance): 2,103 mi, 4:16 h, Baltimore (Washington) - Las Vegas (McCarran International), 02-26-2013
Longest Flight (duration): 4:16 h, 2,103 mi, Baltimore (Washington) - Las Vegas (McCarran International), 02-26-2013
Shortest Flight (distance):  281 mi, 1:00 h, Baltimore (Washington) - Buffalo (Niagara), 10-18-2012
Shortest Flight (duration):  1:00 h, 281 mi, Baltimore (Washington) - Buffalo (Niagara), 10-18-2012
Fastest Flight:  493 mi/h, 2,103 mi, 4:16 h, Baltimore (Washington) - Las Vegas (McCarran International), 02-26-2013
Slowest Flight:  281 mi/h, 281 mi, 1:00 h, Baltimore (Washington) - Buffalo (Niagara), 10-18-2012
Average Flight: 780 mi, 1:54 h