Attempting to kick start the recently-sluggish blog meme-etically...

The meme is this: "Recount a one-line anecdote for each state you have visited [and then demand that others do the same]."

This may take a while, as you can see here:



create your own visited states map

AL: Mailed a postcard in a town that had recently had a large mining disaster
AK: Helicoptered onto a glacier
AZ: Attended the second-worst attended NFL game of the 2003 season
AR: Completed my first 1000-mile driving day in Memphis in order to avoid sleeping here
CA: Won both academic and pop-culture trivia tournaments the same weekend playing with this meme's author
CO: Drove through Denver on I-70 at rush hour and expected death at any moment for about 2 hours on the steep grades
CT: Bowed with reverance at Stamford's Titan Tower, world HQ of the then-WWF
DE: Learned that the University of Delaware was founded in Pennsylvania
DC: Wandered into quiet residential neighborhood in failed quest to find Mauratanian embassy
FL: Went to Indian casino miles from civilization with no working ATMs on a Friday night
GA: First saw humans actually utilizing a Segway, in Hartsfield Airport
ID: Passed an entirely unmemorable night in a Pocatello motel
IL: Saw a concert at Chicago Blues at the not-quite-legal age of 20
IN: Got freaked at by the sight of a busload of Mennonite teenagers eating at Steak and Shake
IA: Ran 360 feet for possibly the only time in the last 10 years at Field of Dreams
KS: Visited Museum of American Fan Collectors, the finest museum I have ever attended of those located in the lobby of a corporate headquarters
KY: Stopped at Mammoth Cave purely to use the facilities, not the cave-related ones either
ME: Drove a convertible for the first and only time on the way back to NH from a Portland Sea Dogs game
MD: Attended the first home game in the (brief) history of the Washington Warthogs of the Continental Indoor Soccer League (the once and future MISL)
MA: Was very disappointed by what can more accurately be described as Plymouth Pebble
MI: Saw Damion Easley hit for the cycle
MN: Drove I-94 across the entire state without seeing any twine at all
MO: Bowled a game at the International Bowling Museum
MT: Converted "$"10 Canadian into $6 at a Kalispell bank
NE: Nothing interesting has ever happened to anyone in Nebraska
NV: Drank 75-cent margaritas at 12:45 p.m. on a weekday in Laughlin
NH: Purchased liquor at a highway rest stop
NJ: Went to Barnegat Lighthouse and the surrounding beaches
NM: Drove an hour out of the way to ride on U.S. 666, with our extra reward being discovering a Sonic
NY: Dropped a penny off the Empire State Building; fatalities inconclusive
NC: Drove to a gas station from Myrtle Beach and bought a soda, just so I could add NC to the list
ND: Saw both the Roger Maris and Maury Wills shrines in Fargo
OH: Saw an actual Cinerama movie in Dayton
OK: Attended two minor league baseball games at Bricktown Ballpark two years apart
PA: Almost swooned upon seeing and walking into Zipperhead, for perhaps non-obvious reasons relating to my favorite song ever
RI: Drove across the state without stopping, listening to the CD "Ska Third-Wave Vol. 1" the entire time (~45 minutes)
SC: On consecutive days, went miniature golfing and Minotaur Goffing
SD: Was served ice cream and ice water by friendly Belorussian teens at Wall Drug
TN: Won trash tournament in Nashville after (arguably because of) a crazed 13-hour overnight trip (nay, pilgrimage) to Graceland
TX: Ate a 5 ounce steak at The Big Texan in Amarillo, a mere 67 ounces smaller than the house specialty
UT: Was told by a contemptuous Denny's waitress, "There is no smoking in Utah."
VT: Spent a New Year's Eve playing Apples to Apples with 60somethings I did not know in White River Junction
VA: Went outlet browsing at a huge mall that turned out to be entirely devoid of big and tall clothing
WA: Rode a bus from Seattle airport to Canadian border, and that's it
WV: Saw Demolition regain the WWF tag team titles from the Brain Busters in Wheeling, and 15 years later saw minor league arena football in the same building
WI: Drove 50 miles out of our way to return to a particular Starbucks in downtown Milwaukee, my favorite Starbucks in the world
WY: Listened to the most in-depth analysis of the California gubernatorial election that I ever heard on Wyoming Public Radio in Rawlins

And while I'm at it:

British Columbia: Fell in love with Vancouver in the exactly two hours I spent driving through and waiting to board a cruise ship
Alberta: Spent a night in Medicine Hat and yet completely failed to acquire any merchandise bearing the name "Medicine Hat"
Saskatchewan: Got my only speeding ticket ever, ironically just outside of Swift Current
Manitoba: Ate McDonald's fries with white vinegar packet for the first time
Ontario: Attended the finals of the inter-provincial under-19 Canadian football championships
Quebec: Watched DEK eat 13 meats at one meal, the same meal where I finally completed a longtime quest to drink rye whiskey

Poland: Shared a train with hundreds of heavy metal fan teens traveling to "Polish Woodstock"
Germany: Got a very embarrassing giggling fit at Checkpoint Charlie museum
Denmark: Went to Elsinore Castle in Helsingor
Norway: Ate Mongolian barbecue for the first time, in Oslo of course
Sweden: Was very confused by the presence of several August Strindberg paintings at the National Museum
Finland: Saw Jackie Brown in Finnish with English and Swedish subtitles