I was born in the summer of 1969, only a month before we landed on the moon.  This is symbolic of how I have always lived my life, always looking for the next big destination.  Near or far, it did not matter.  Money was never a barrier to my adventures, as so much can be done for free.  Rather I was more constrained by time.  There was never enough to see it all, do it all and explore everywhere I wanted to go.  As money and time were limiting factors, I spend the majority of my travels in the United States.  I was fortunate that as the daughter of an Air Force officer, I had traveled quite a bit as a child, was used to long car rides and did not have a fear of new places or people. 

Once I hit my 20s, I was determined to see all 50 states and see as many famous and not-so-famous locations as possible during my annual two weeks of vacation.   Fourteen days a year and a low salary working in the nonprofit left me with few choices.  It was going to be tough yet I learned so much about making the most of travel during these early and very lean years.  

My husband Shel had did very little traveling as a child so he relished the idea of going on adventures once we got married in 1996.   I had my son Drew in 1997, and daughter, Meg in 2002, so as young parents, we also faced limitations.  Suddenly, I was constrained by money, time and kids!  And again, these limitations forced to me to be creative to live my dream of travel and adventure.   Before they were even born, both of my kids knew that long car rides and excitement were in their futures!

I arrived in my 50th state in 2009, the week of my 40th birthday.  My son hit this goal by age 18...an incredible feat that was achieved with two cross country road trips.  My daughter hopes to make this same milestone, she is at 46 states by age 14.

Luckily, now in my 40s, I have a lot more vacation time and money so I am able to expand what is possible.   My own kids have benefited so much from our trips around the USA.  Most people can't take a month, much less a year, off of their jobs to travel in an RV around the country.  Here you will learn how to do it in smaller increments and enjoy every minute of it.   Money can be stretched and many sites and programs are free.  So much is possible and for so little. 

Don't let your time in the USA pass you by, there is so much to see and do!  All the photos in this blog were personally taken by me and usually with an iPhone.  Let this blog get you excited and get going.  So much of the USA is within your reach!