Originally Posted by another bloody yank (Post 8961769)

Washington
South Dakota
Illinois
Kansas
Indiana
Kentucky
Virginia
Florida
California
Arizona
Colorado
Alabama
Iowa
Tennesee

Originally Posted by clemato (Post 8961970)

Virginia, yes. It's a great state and I love it here! Beautiful :)

Here is a list of the State abbreviations we use (every State is 2 letters): U.S. Postal Service Link

Originally Posted by Sally Redux (Post 8962176)

Ooh, and Nashville - is that Tennessee?

Originally Posted by Macca67 (Post 8961453)

However, where do you stand if travel was on a regional jet and a few steps of tarmac were crossed to access the airport gate?

People have gone to war over less.

Originally Posted by Manc (Post 8962463)

all 48 lower states.

Originally Posted by elfman (Post 8962461)

what about when you drive 20 yards over the state line, have your picture taken by the "Welcome to South Carolina" sign and then leave, as my sister in law's now ex-fiancee did last summer just to tick another state off the list?

Originally Posted by SultanOfSwing (Post 8961514)

:eek:

Where in Illinois did you have the misfortune to visit?

Originally Posted by bevinva (Post 8961863)

Virginia?:blink:

Originally Posted by ChocolateBabz (Post 8961881)

It was like that here yesterday and back home (Aberdeen) it's like that everyday :eek:

Originally Posted by elfman (Post 8961263)

next up was going to be Hawaii - my sister in law was all set to get married there next March but since she split up with her fiancee last month that's not going to happen and I don't know where my next new state trip is going to come from.

Originally Posted by Giantaxe (Post 8962480)

I would count it

Originally Posted by tonrob (Post 8961082)

For the travelers amongst us...

I'll begin by saying that I never intended to try to travel to all of them. My first half a dozen trips to the US (in the 80s and 90s) were all to Florida. Then I visited California and Nevada on my (first) honeymoon, then New York City shortly after we split up. It was after meeting the new Mrs tonrob-to-be that we decided to quit our jobs and go traveling for a year, 85 days of which was spend driving around the US.

Shortly after returning to the UK I joined a company with offices in New England, which led to trips across the pond that helped me scoop in all the surrounding states before finally moving here to live in 2005.

I have to say that I have never purposely gone out of my way to try to visit new states just to say I've been - in fact the last 'new' state I visited was Oregon in 2008. But yesterday, thanks to a couple of people dropping out at the last minute, a work colleague and fellow beer monster asked me to accompany him on a lightning trip to Winnipeg and Dubuque leaving Sunday.

Now Winnipeg I've been to before and it's a dump (although I have found a British pub near the hotel that also looks to be the only Beeradvocate listed pub in downtown Winnipeg - it serves beer from the local Half Pints Brewing Company and also has vindaloo on the menu). But Dubuque is where things get interesting. My ears picked up when I heard him mention it's in Iowa. That's a new state for me. But can you even begin to imagine my excitement when a glance at Mapquest shows that it's half a bloody mile from Wisconsin!!!:eek:

So by this time next week I'll be another 2 states down and just 8 to go:

North Dakota
South Dakota
Minnesota
Nebraska
Kansas
Missouri
Oklahoma
Alaska

Yay me. :)

Originally Posted by Kaffy Mintcake (Post 8962553)

I'm sorry to hear that your sister's engagement fell through. Your next trip is to Ohio, right? You haven't been and I'm sure I could find at least a day's worth of neat stuff to show you. :)

Originally Posted by MandyNi (Post 8962580)

So far 23. Not bad for someone who just arrived in July LOL!

Originally Posted by elfman (Post 8962624)

My wife's sister, actually.
TBH we're all a bit relieved for various reasons. On top of the whole is-she-marrying-someone not-right-for-her issue I have to say Hawaii has never been near the top of my places I want to visit list.

Originally Posted by Kaffy Mintcake (Post 8962632)

Don't think I didn't notice that you ignored my Ohio offer. :sneaky:

Originally Posted by elfman (Post 8962641)

well sell it to me then - come on, what have you got?

Originally Posted by Seneca21 (Post 8962647)

Toledo.

Originally Posted by elfman (Post 8962641)

well sell it to me then - come on, what have you got?

Originally Posted by Kaffy Mintcake (Post 8962658)

Oh wow, the pressure! I need to think a bit about what would most appeal to Elfman ...

Wait - hey - I live here! That counts for a little something, right? ;)

Were you someone who had been to an Ohio airport? Not Cincinnati I assume?

Originally Posted by elfman (Post 8962669)

No, I've never been through an Ohio airport.
OK, so if I ever come to southern Ohio I've got a place to stay sorted (I assume you have a spare room or a habitable basement), but what about sights, stuff to do? Got any castles?

Originally Posted by elfman (Post 8962669)

No, I've never been through an Ohio airport.
OK, so if I ever come to southern Ohio I've got a place to stay sorted (I assume you have a spare room or a habitable basement), but what about sights, stuff to do? Got any castles?

Originally Posted by Seneca21 (Post 8962676)

Of course they have. Toledo has a great castle on the corner of Jefferson and Ontario, Fort Meigs, active in the War of 1812, and The Islamic Center of Greater Toledo.

Originally Posted by Kaffy Mintcake (Post 8962680)

IRegarding castles - funny you should ask! Here's our local castle:

http://www.lovelandcastle.com/

I bet you didn't think I'd have one to post, did you?.

Originally Posted by MrEmjoy (Post 8962063)

You missed Misery. :huh:

Originally Posted by Macca67 (Post 8961298)

Depends on what characterises a 'visit'. The missus and I have a quasi competition on this where she argues she can claim a state if she has made a flight connection through the state. I say no way - shouldn't count.

Originally Posted by elfman (Post 8962461)

what about when you drive 20 yards over the state line, have your picture taken by the "Welcome to South Carolina" sign and then leave, as my sister in law's now ex-fiancee did last summer just to tick another state off the list?

Originally Posted by tonrob (Post 8963155)

It's a great question, and one I've debated with friends on and off for a while. On one of my early trips to Florida the plane stopped at Bangor on the way, so for years I was saying I'd "visited Maine". Later on when I'd been to a few more states it felt silly to claim that one as I hadn't even got off the plane. (Now living in New England I have of course made several 'legitimate' Maine trips).

Mrs tonrob reckons you have to at least stay overnight to count a state. That rules a few out that I've driven though. My visit to Arkansas was simply a 30 minute jaunt in the car from Memphis, but I did stop to have a pee while there so I think you may need to pee in a state to count it. (In which case would a poo count double?)

I will be sleeping in Iowa next week, but my Wisconsin visit will be as shameless as my Arkansas one (note to self - drink three cups of tea before setting out just to make sure).

Originally Posted by Kaffy Mintcake (Post 8962680)

Regarding castles - funny you should ask! Here's our local castle:

http://www.lovelandcastle.com/

I bet you didn't think I'd have one to post, did you?. ;)

Originally Posted by Macca67 (Post 8963585)

When you need to be spooked, location is everything! We have the only Haunted 10th Century Norman Castle built by hand by Sir Harry Andrews in the Tri-state area!

I"m guessing it's like something out of a Scooby Doo cartoon?

PMSL:lol:

Originally Posted by Poppy girl (Post 8962539)

I lived in Bloomington and then Napervile, worked had his family the ex's in Peoria and Champagne....have a buddy in Pontiac, oh and used to go to Decatur quite a bit...........makes Modesto look like Paradise :lol:

Originally Posted by S Folinsky (Post 8964763)

Trivia question of the day: in what state is the Cincinnati airport located?

Originally Posted by Giantaxe (Post 8964894)

Kentucky... but as I didn't leave the airport, I don't count this as having visited that state :)