John and Molly Titus
By Molly Titus
PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. | The recent GwinnettForum article by Taylor Walker (August 26) about seeing a game in every major league baseball ballpark recalled John and my goal of visiting every state.
Growing up in suburban Philadelphia, we had traveled in the mid-Atlantic states. Family visits to Maine gave us the opportunity to visit states in New England. During my marriage, we have lived in Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia, which made it convenient to visit other states in the South.
We had covered the two most distant states, Alaska and Hawaii, on previous vacations, and, as in Mr. Walker’s case, we often expanded our travel plans because we had other reasons to visit a certain location. Bus trips had taken us to several more states, e.g., North and South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming and California.
At some point we realized our goal of seeking all the states was within reach. The final big push was to visit the last six states: Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and Arkansas. We decided to set off this year after a college reunion in New Jersey. This final trip involved driving through 11 other states to visit those last six!
When we began to take long road trips on our own, often lasting 2-3 weeks, we would talk about what we might like to see. I would do extensive research about other places of interest. From my research, we would plan our itineraries which might include historical sites, Presidential libraries, museums, gardens or beautiful natural settings.
Some of our favorite places have included Crater Lake, Ore.; Dinosaur National Monument, Colo.; the Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park, Colo.; Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, Wash.; the Grand Canyon; Oak Creek Canyon near Sedona, Ariz.; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Ark.; Yellowstone National Park, Wy.; Mackinac Island, Mich.; Yosemite National Park, Calif.; Williamsburg, Va.; Bellingrath Gardens, Ala.; Islamorada, Fla.; Gibbs Gardens, Ball Ground, Ga.; and two unique cities, New Orleans, La. and Charleston, S.C. (where we lived for six years).
One might ask about least favorite and most favorite states. Our least favorite was North Dakota. We were on a bus trip, and it seemed like all we saw were miles and miles of canola fields. Our favorite was Utah with its five spectacular national parks – Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. Each was quite different.
Among our travels were many memorable moments, large and small, but one stands out as particularly serendipitous. We were heading home after the trip to finish the last six states and were spending the night in Memphis. Our hotel was near Beale Street. As we strolled down that famous street, we came upon B. B. King’s Blues Club and decided to go in for dinner. We were in the middle of our meal when the music began and there about 10 yards away was B. B. King performing. What an unexpected treat!
We have been very fortunate to travel throughout our beloved country. It is, indeed, America the beautiful.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Follow Us