All 50 States: Attend a Church Service

Standing in front of the pulpit at West Parish of Barnstable UCC, West Barnstable, Massachusetts, May 12, 2024

As I began my quest to visit all 50 states, I found myself doing the same activities in each state. One of those activities was attending a church service on many a Sunday morning. Having grown up in a Protestant church, I patronized Christian churches, mostly Protestant, but with a few Catholic churches included. I picked only three of the churches deliberately (Georgia and Virginia being the others), with most visits being determined by where I was staying or traveling.

On Mother’s Day 2024, I reached the goal of having attended a church service in all 50 states. Number 50? The West Parish of Barnstable United Church of Christ, located just off US 6 in West Barnstable. It is the oldest* church on Cape Cod, having been chartered in 1616 in England and emigrating to Massachusetts after they were released from prison. (*The dispute is with another UCC congregation in nearby Sandwich. That congregation came over before the West Parish congregation but did not charter themselves until they arrived. West Parish’s church building dates from 1717, the Sandwich building is newer and made the cover of an Elvis gospel album.) West Parish began as a Congregationalist church – its 1717 sanctuary has box seats (literally a pew in the middle of a boxed off area) and a pulpit that towers above the pews. Otherwise the sanctuary seems rather plain. (If interested in this architecture, look up pictures of the Old North Church and the South Meetinghouse in Boston, probably the two most famous.)

Having wandered into churches most of my adult life, I decided to fully embrace this opportunity. I signed the guestbook and noted that this visit was #50. I accepted a name tag from the women greeters, and I spoke to many of those circulating before the service. Everyone was welcoming and gave me a “Visitors” gift bag. The preacher, Rev. Reed Baer, preached a sermon on social activism – of the Blessed are the Peacemakers variety. After the sermon I walked upstairs to the balcony and waited for the crowd to disperse. Rev. Baer gave me more information about the church’s history and took the picture you see at the top of this entry. He was tickled by my achievement, but I didn’t want to delay him too long from the rest of his ministerial duties. I took a few pictures of the exterior and went on my way.

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Other interesting experiences from my church visits:

1. Georgia (2003) – I attended Sunday School lessons with President Jimmy Carter at Marantha Baptist Church in Plains. I stayed for the church service afterwards, as well.
2. Virginia (2006) – I attended one of the last services at the old location of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg. Rev. Jerry Falwell did his best to scuff the line between church and state, exactly the way I expected he would. I stayed out of the view of the cameras.
3. Colorado (2017) – The Stillwater Cowboy Church, Fruita – my first cowboy church experience. The entire service lasted 45 minutes. As it was Memorial Day weekend, we were asked to greet one of the veterans in the audience.
4. Delaware (2013) – First and Central Presbyterian, Wilmington – I attended an Easter breakfast before the service, allowing me to cross off another goal of mine – “Eat a meal with complete strangers.”
5. Iowa (2011) – First Federated, Lisbon – I came into town while the power was still out after a storm. As a result, everyone in the small church had to sit in the first few pews until the lights came back on. Liturgically this church followed the pattern of taking an Old Testament and a New Testament scripture and try to weave them together. Refreshingly, this is the only time I have heard the preacher say that he had no clear idea how they were connected. (I think other pastors have given it their best try.)
6. Nebraska (2015) – Dundee Presbyterian, Omaha – this is the church Warren Buffett grew up in. But I could tell that he has since left the faith, or at least given his money elsewhere. The church was on my route to the College World Series that afternoon.
7. Idaho (2013) – Community Presbyterian, American Fork – I was asked by a member how I found the church. I responded that I had used Google and then filtered out all LDS and Catholic churches. Her response: “You had only one other option, didn’t you? That community church over in Lindon?”
8. I have attended church services with various friends and family members, most of whom had no idea they were helping reach this goal.

All 50 States: Church Services (the List)

I have kept a list of the church services I have attended on my various travels. I picked the churches based on their proximity to where I was staying. Or where I was planning to travel that day.

Here is the list:

Order	State	Year	Church	Name
9	ALABAMA	2005	Montgomery	Aldersgate United Methodist
44	ALASKA	2018	Wasilla	Mat-Su Evangelical Covenant Church
36	ARIZONA	2014	Goodyear	Estrella Mountain Church
17	ARKANSAS	2008	Hot Springs	Central Baptist Church
47	CALIFORNIA	2022	Esparto	Countryside Community Church
42	COLORADO	2017	Fruita	Stillwater Cowboy Church
46	CONNECTICUT	2019	Storrs	Storrs Congregational Church UCC
31	DELAWARE	2013	Wilmington	First and Central Presbyterian
5	FLORIDA*	2002	Sopchoppy	Sopchoppy Congregational Holiness
6	GEORGIA	2003	Plains	Maranatha Baptist Church
45	HAWAII	2019	Makakilo	St Jude Catholic Church
33	IDAHO	2013	Boise	Cathedral of St John the Evangelist
12	ILLINOIS	2006	Chicago	Armitage Baptist Church
2	INDIANA	1995	Anderson	North Anderson Church of God
25	IOWA	2011	Lisbon	First Federated Church
41	KANSAS	2016	Abilene	Abilene Brethren in Christ Church
19	KENTUCKY	2009	Lexington	Hope Springs Community Church
40	LOUISIANA	2016	Destrehan	St. Charles United Methodist
39	MAINE	2015	Phippsburg	Phippsburg Congregational Church
35	MARYLAND	2013	Thurmont	Thurmont Church of the Brethren
50	MASSACHUSETTS	2024	W. Barnstable	West Parish of Barnstable UCC
27	MICHIGAN	2011	Livonia	St. Michael Catholic
3	MINNESOTA*	2000	Beaver Bay	Beaver Bay Assembly of God
14	MISSISSIPPI	2006	Brandon	Crossgates United Methodist
15	MISSOURI	2007	Jefferson City	St Peter Catholic Church
22	MONTANA	2009	Helena	Cathedral of St. Helena
38	NEBRASKA	2015	Omaha	Dundee Presbyterian Church
16	NEVADA	2007	Reno	St Therese Church of the Little Flower
30	NEW HAMPSHIRE	2012	Epping	St Joseph Catholic Church
13	NEW JERSEY	2006	Carney’s Point	Union Presbyterian
28	NEW MEXICO	2012	Tijeras	Holy Child Parish
20	NEW YORK	2009	Cheektowaga	Queen of Martyrs Roman Catholic Church
7	NORTH CAROLINA*	2004	Glen Alpine	Faith Missionary Baptist
37	NORTH DAKOTA	2014	Jamestown	Trinity Lutheran Church
1	OHIO*	1977	West Liberty	Oak Grove Mennonite
32	OKLAHOMA	2013	Hennessey	St Joseph Catholic Church
48	OREGON	2023	Helvetia	Helvetia Community Church
4	PENNSYLVANIA	2002	New Hope	Solebury United Methodist
18	RHODE ISLAND	2008	Narrangansett	St. Peter’s-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church
8	SOUTH CAROLINA	2004	McColl	Main Street Methodist
49	SOUTH DAKOTA	2023	Custer	Custer Community Church UCC
10	TENNESSEE	2005	Limestone	Mount Bethel Christian Church
24	TEXAS	2010	Austin	St Peter the Apostle Catholic Church
34	UTAH	2013	American Fork	Community Presbyterian Church
43	VERMONT	2017	Barre	Barre Congregational Church
11	VIRGINIA	2006	Lynchburg	Thomas Road Baptist Church
23	WASHINGTON	2010	Seattle	Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ
21	WEST VIRGINIA	2009	Princeton	Burke Memorial Baptist Church
29	WISCONSIN	2012	Madison	Madison Mennonite Church
26	WYOMING	2011	Wheatland	Wheatland United Methodist Church

All 50 States: Haircuts (the List)

I have kept a list of all the barber shops where I have had a haircut. In the years since I patronized them, a number have closed, or changed names or owners.

Here is the list of the Official State Haircuts:

Order		Year	Haircut	Place
5	ALABAMA	2002	Enterprise	Jimmy’s Barbershop
46	ALASKA	2018	Fairbanks	June’s Barber Shop
38	ARIZONA	2014	Sun City	The Arizona Gentleman Barber Shop
26	ARKANSAS	2008	North Little Rock	Back Porch Barber Shop
48	CALIFORNIA	2022	McKinleyville	McKinleyville Barber Shop
14	COLORADO	2005	Denver	Floyd’s Barber Shop
16	CONNECTICUT	2005	Torrington	Five Star Barber Shop
22	DELAWARE	2007	Laurel	Walt’s Barber Shop
3	FLORIDA*	2002	Blountstown	Chambers Barbershop
4	GEORGIA	2002	Thomasville	Watkin’s Barbershop
47	HAWAII	2019	Pearl City	Lei’s Barber Shop
37	IDAHO	2013	Wendell	Wendell Barber Shop
18	ILLINOIS	2006	Chicago	Wlodek’s Barber Shop
8	INDIANA	2003	New Castle	Steve’s Barbershop
32	IOWA	2011	Solon	Solon Barber Shop
42	KANSAS	2016	El Dorado	West Central Barber Shop
28	KENTUCKY	2009	Lawrenceburg	Danny’s Barber Shop
6	LOUISIANA	2003	Slidell	Charlie’s Barber Shop
41	MAINE	2015	Orono	Dick’s Barber Shop
23	MARYLAND	2007	Boonsboro	Pete’s Barber Shop
45	MASSACHUSETTS	2017	Boston	LoGrasso’s Barber Shop
13	MICHIGAN	2005	Ann Arbor	Joe’s Barbers
2	MINNESOTA*	2000	Roseville	Art’s Barbershop
20	MISSISSIPPI	2006	Clarksdale	Marty’s Barber Shop
24	MISSOURI	2007	Independence	Doug’s Barber Shop
29	MONTANA	2009	Butte	Headframe Barber Shop
40	NEBRASKA	2015	York	Gene’s Barber Shop
25	NEVADA	2007	Minden	Wild Hair Barbers
35	NEW HAMPSHIRE	2012	Pembroke	A Main Street Barber Shop
19	NEW JERSEY	2006	Hammonton	Paul’s Barber Shop
34	NEW MEXICO	2012	Bernalillo	Lilo’s Barber Shop
10	NEW YORK	2004	Hyde Park	Tony’s Barbershop
9	NORTH CAROLINA*	2004	Weaverville	Central Barbershop
39	NORTH DAKOTA	2014	Mandan	Mike’s Barber Shop
1	OHIO*	2000	West Liberty	Keith’s Kuts and Kurls
36	OKLAHOMA	2013	Okemah	Dave’s Barber Shop
49	OREGON	2023	Dallas	Downtown Barber Shop
17	PENNSYLVANIA	2006	Donora	Stefan’s Barber Shop
27	RHODE ISLAND	2008	Cranston	Vinnie’s Barber Shop
11	SOUTH CAROLINA	2004	Lugoff	John’s Barbershop
50	SOUTH DAKOTA	2023	Rapid City	Lin’s Barber Shop
15	TENNESSEE	2005	Elizabethton	Dennis’s Barber Shop
31	TEXAS	2010	Lockhart	Raymond’s Barber Shop
43	UTAH	2017	Payson	Lou’s Barber Shop
44	VERMONT	2017	Essex Junction	Garry’s Barber Shop
12	VIRGINIA	2004	South Hill	South Hill Barbershop
30	WASHINGTON	2010	Seattle	Sergio’s Barber Shop
21	WEST VIRGINIA	2006	Beckley	Everett’s Barber Shop
7	WISCONSIN	2003	Hudson	City Barbershop
33	WYOMING	2011	Glenrock	Glenrock Barber Shop

All 50 States: Get a Haircut

In the chair at Lin’s Barber Shop, Rapid City, South Dakota. After my haircut on August 26, 2023.

Shortly after setting the goal to Visit All 50 States, I set the goal to get my hair cut in a barber shop in each state. I enjoy the camaraderie that occurs in a barber shop, the conversations that occur between the barber and the customers. The conversations do not appear to end once the haircut is done, but are simply paused until the next visit. When I began pursuing this goal in earnest in 2003, I noticed that many of the barber shops were run by older men. Fearing the imminent disappearance of old-time barber shops, I set out to experience as many as I could. My family has been supportive from the start, giving me ways to mark my progress and even sitting in the barber’s chair after me.

When determining which barber shop to pick, my criteria included several preferences:
1) The barber shop should be in a town near other travel stops and tourist attractions;
2) The barber shop should be in a smaller town, although some city visits were included;
3) The barber shop should bear the name of the barber. Or the town.
4) The barber shop should have a barber pole, preferably spinning, preferably outside.

I followed a few rules, hoping for an old-fashioned experience. I didn’t mention the project to the barbers, as I didn’t want to stifle the interactions. The only barbers who knew of it were Keith LeVan of Keith’s Kuts and Kurls (West Liberty, Ohio – state #1) and Lin Thompson of Lin’s Barber Shop (Rapid City, South Dakota – state #50). If the barber asked what brought me into the shop, I mentioned that I was visiting the area. This seemed to work, as many discussed area attractions. I observed the barber shop’s interior and the conversations. I tried not to lead any conversations and took only free-for-the-taking business cards and souvenirs. You can find my observations for all my haircuts (since 2000) on my Flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjcnrd/

My first haircut was from my hometown barber, Keith LeVan, at Keith’s Kuts and Kurls, in March 2000. Over the years I would get my haircut in one or two new states, based on my travels. I reached all 50 states in August 2023, when I received a haircut from Lin Thompson, at Lin’s Barber Shop. When I told Lin that he was #50, he was tickled, giving me a verbal tour of South Dakota while I was in the chair.

Some of the haircut experiences of note:

• Georgia: Watkin’s Barber Shop, Thomasville (2002). I unknowingly crossed an understood racial line in a south Georgia town. No one said a word while I was there. A coworker at the time mentioned that there were drug problems in the area, and the others might have thought I was law enforcement.
• Illinois: Wlodek’s Barber Shop, Chicago (2006). And Hawaii: Lei’s Barber Shop, Pearl City (2019). I encountered language barriers at both shops. Even though English was not their first language, both managed to cut my hair as requested.
• Mississippi: Marty’s Barber Shop, Clarksdale (2006). Marty Eubanks gave me guidance on town, about where it was safest to go. I appreciated the advice. As of 2023, Marty is still cutting hair, as he is into his 80s.
• Texas: Raymond’s Barber Shop, Lockhart (2010). The first time I made an appointment. Post-Covid I have had to make appointments more frequently. I find this limits the barber shop experience somewhat, as a minimum number of customers and staff are present.
• Massachusetts: LoGrasso’s Barber Shop, Boston (2017). Easily the fastest and most disappointing experience. My hair was cut like I was an Italian from Boston’s North End (combed back and cut short).

I have not limited myself to just one haircut in each state, although I counted the first one as the official one. I have had multiple haircuts in 19 states, trying to patronize a different shop each time. As I continue to travel and pursue my All 50 States project in other categories, I will add new shops to my list.

I have also done some novelty shops: (at a truck stop in Wytheville, VA; the Duke University student union; a Meijer store in Kalamazoo, MI; Union Station in Utica, NY; and a golf course near Greensboro, NC. I am open to any unique combinations, if anyone wishes to share.

All 50 States: Community Colleges (the list)

Other highlights from my travels while Visiting a Community College in All 50 States:

1) The first one – Clark State Community College, Springfield, OH. Clark State – Quality Education Close to Home. Or so went the jingle I heard growing up nearby. My first visit came as part of a high school English writing competition. (Ten years later, I went back to take pictures.)

2) Most scenic – Leeward Community College (HI) overlooks Pearl Harbor. Carteret Community College (in Morehead City, NC) overlooks a boat slip on the Sound. If I worked either place, I would be constantly distracted by watching boats entering and leaving.

3) Least friendly – Florence Darlington Technical College (SC) is just off US 52 and has a gated entrance. I convinced the guard to let me enter, turnaround and leave. The second guard on the other side of the 10-foot booth stopped and asked me the exact same questions. I respect the job security officers have to do on campus, but I think the second guy could have heard the conversation I had with the first guard.

(Nerdy note on nomenclature – Community colleges offering a bachelor’s degree have sometimes changed their name to remove “community.” This is done to market themselves better and encourage enrollment in those 4-year programs, since prospective students might assume that only two-year degrees are an option.)

All 50 States: Visit a Community College

On the campus of Woodland Community College in Woodland, California. May 16, 2022.

Early on in my quest to visit all 50 states, I found I was doing the same activities in each state. I then decided to see if I could do all of the activities in all of the states. This required me to make repeat visits to several states to fill in the blanks from previous adventures.

After I set foot in all 50 states the first additional activity I completed was visiting a community college campus. Courtesy of online maps (such as the American Association of Community Colleges directory), I would find a community college campus near where my travels were taking me. Given the open access of most campuses, I tried to visit the library and the bookstore (if they were open), and take a picture with the entrance sign. I didn’t set up any appointments unless I needed to meet with someone. I was content to imitate an adult learner (a non-traditional student).

I have worked with community colleges because I am a fan of their mission – workforce development, community outreach, and helping every student that walks through their doors. As part of my job responsibilities, I visited all 58 community colleges in North Carolina. I can claim also that I have visited every community college in four other states – Delaware, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Indiana – since these states have a unitary system (all community colleges in the state as part of one institution).

In May 2022, I reached all 50 states by visiting the main campus of Woodland Community College in Woodland, California. I had picked the community college due to its size (I prefer to visit smaller schools) and its proximity to other activities I was planning on my vacation. I reached out to the college president beforehand, to let him know that I was coming and that I was planning to observe all healthy and safety regulations.

I arrived on a Monday morning, just as the campus was opening. I stopped in to see the President, but the office was empty. I found another helpful staff member who allowed me to leave a note. And she took my picture with the college’s name to mark all 50 states. I started my campus tour by walking back to the library in the back of campus. As I walked back towards the front, I encountered an employee appreciation event. I met the President and several other staff members. I did get a warm reception, as did my explanation of my adventures.  

Before leaving, I visited the college bookstore, buying an official Woodland Community College water bottle.

I’m not sure if anyone else has successfully visited a community college in all 50 states. If so, I hope they saw the great work community colleges are doing.

Looking towards the back of the Woodland Community College campus. The building on the right houses the Library. To the left is the future Performing Arts and Culinary Services facility.

I Have Eaten a Meal in all 50 States

While traveling to all 50 states, I have kept a record of where I did each of my Official State Activities. When it came to eating a meal, I realized I kept track of the towns where I ate, but not necessarily the name of the restaurant. I often picked towns where I visited that I wanted to remember. Inclusion on my list does not necessarily mean that I recommend eating there. My stops were often dictated by other concerns, including my hunger and my overnight stops.

Here is my list:

AL	Demopolis	Sonic	2002
	While traveling on US80, my brother and I stopped at the first town east of the Mississippi state line, Demopolis. We stopped at our first Sonic of the trip. A waitress came to us for our order. She spoke with such a thick Southern country African-American accent that neither of us could understand a word. We resorted to playing tourist by pointing to the pictures on the menu. I have never felt more like a foreigner in my own country.
AK	North Pole	Little Richard’s Diner	2018
	I stopped at Little Richard’s Diner on the edge of North Pole. I had typical diner food.  I celebrate this as the Official State Meal to remember North Pole on my list. A more memorable experience might have been the Denali Salmon Bake at the entrance to the park. The Salmon Bake is sliding down the mountain, a few inches a year (12 inches from 2017 to 2018). The owners have vowed to keep operating until it slides all the way down.
AZ	Wickenburg	Horseshoe Café	2014
	Wickenburg is a “tourist Western” town northwest of Phoenix. The Horseshoe Café has big picture windows and red-checkered table clothes. Plus good country cooking. Later I stopped at a nearby store and tried the saguaro ice cream. I thought cactus ice cream might prove an interesting flavor. It is rather bland, and chewy like gum.
AR	Little Rock	Cotham’s	2008
	Cotham’s is located near the State Capitol. It is known for its “Hubcap Burger,” touted as being as that big. I didn’t find mine to be. Cotham’s is decorated with campaign signs from all manner of Arkansas politicians, including a number of current statewide officeholders.
CA	South Lake Tahoe	Subway	2007
	When I visited Lake Tahoe, I drove across the state line. To take credit for California, I stopped to eat lunch. I remember eating at a Subway and visiting a bookstore nearby.
CO	Denver	Ted’s Montana Grill	2005
	On a work trip to Denver, I visited Colorado for the first time. I also ate bison for the first time, enjoying a bison burger at Ted’s Montana Grill.
CT	Torrington	[Name Forgotten]	2005
	My sister and I ate lunch at an Italian place that had a statue of an Italian guy holding a pizza. I remember taking my picture with it. I don’t remember the name of the place on Main Street, but it does not appear to be open any longer.
DE	Claymont	Stage Coach House	2001
	While visiting a college friend in New Jersey, I mentioned wanting to visit Delaware. On our way back we stopped in Claymont, confirming we were just a few miles south of the PA state line. We ate seafood that night, with a plateful of clam shells that the waitress spilled as she was clearing the table.
FL	Eastpoint	That Place on 98	2002
	That Place on 98 was a seafood place next to a seafood company, with a back porch built several feet into the Gulf of Mexico. I enjoyed the funky, Old Florida vibe the place had. Hurricane Dennis destroyed in 2004, but the owners rebuilt. The restaurant has since been renamed.
GA	Cairo	Worley’s BBQ	2002
	Worley’s was a barbecue place located on GA 93 somewhere between Cairo and the FL state line. It was one of those places you would overlook unless you were hungry. I stopped several times for the barbecue chicken and the cheese grits, the first way I learned to eat the Southern delicacy.
HI	Kapolei	Paradise Cove Luau	2019
	On my visit to Hawaii, I chose Paradise Cove from among the luau options. The food and entertainment met every expectation I had for “Hawaii’s Best Luau.”
ID	American Falls	R&B Drive In	2013
	The R&B Drive In is a restaurant similar to the Tastee Freez in my hometown. I enjoyed a cheeseburger and fries.
IL	Effingham	[Name Forgotten]	1997
	On a trip with a college group we stopped for breakfast one morning at a fast food place off Interstate 70 near Effingham. A few miles east, I-57 splits off north to Chicago, where several of the group lived.
IN	Richmond	Subway	2003
	On a trip back from New Castle and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, my brothers and I stopped for lunch at a Subway in Richmond.
IA	West Liberty	Cookies	2002
	On my move to Florida, my brother and I stopped for ice cream at Cookies.
KS	Hutchinson	Spangles	2016
	Spangles is a Kansas chain of burger and shake places decorated to look like the 1950s, complete with chrome. I stopped in town after visiting an underground salt mine nearby.
KY	Hazard	[Name Forgotten]	1994
	I went on a youth mission trip to Hazard while in high school. I don’t remember any specific place we ate, but we were there for a week.
LA	Breaux Bridge	Crazy Bout Crawfish	2016
	Breaux Bridge is the “crawfish capital of the world.” I stopped to experience the local delicacy at the first interesting restaurant I saw. First I ate the crawfish fried.
ME	Round Pond	Muscongus Bay Lobster Company	2015
	The first time I ever ate lobster in Maine was at the Muscongus Bay Lobster Company, along the coast. I ate a one-pound lobster, plus corn on the cob.
MD	Waldorf	[Name Forgotten]	2007
	On a trip to Maryland’s Eastern Shore I stopped for lunch. I don’t remember the name of the fast-food place I patronized.
MA	Boston	Union Oyster House	2017
	On a trip to Boston I stopped at this restaurant along Boston’s Freedom Trail. I sat at the bar and watched them shuck oysters, learning about how the taste of the oysters differed based on where they were harvested.
MI	Hell	Hell’s Kitchen	2011
	Hell is an unincorporated town that celebrates Halloween. There is a small deli known as Hell’s Kitchen. It’s next to Hell’s Post Office in Hell’s general store.
MN	Roseville	Snuffy’s Malt Shop	2001
	While living in Minnesota, I stopped several times at Snuffy’s, a retro soda shop where I enjoyed a fudge brownie sundae.
MS	Holly Springs	B&K Barbecue	2002
	This was my first barbecue stop in the South. I remember red-checkered tablecloths and rolls of paper towels instead of napkins.
MO	Kansas City	[Name Forgotten]	1995
	On a trip during high school. We stopped at a steakhouse. The service was so slow, I joked that they had to go slaughter the animal first.
MT	Conrad	Olson Drug	2009
	I enjoyed an ice cream sundae at the old-fashioned counter in Olson Drug.
NE	Emerald	Merle’s Food and Drink/Dairy Joe’s	2015
	For my authentic Nebraska-fed steak, I stopped at a  small town outside Lincoln. Merle’s Food and Drink had the old-time Western steakhouse feel to it. Afterwards I crossed the highway to Dairy Joe’s, an ice cream place that appeared to be the only other restaurant in town.
NV	Carson City	The Nugget Diner	2007
	The Nugget Diner serves the Awful Awful Burger, voted the best burger in Reno a number of years. I ordered the Awful Awful at The Nugget in Carson City. It was awfully good.
NH	Derry	Clam Haven	2012
	I enjoyed fried clam strips in Derry. It was towards the end of the season, but I managed to find an authentic roadside restaurant.
NJ	Princeton	Princetonian Diner	2001
	While visiting a college friend at Princeton, we ate at the Princetonian Diner, which is reputed to be the best diner in New Jersey. It does have a lot of competition.
NM	Los Alamos	Subway	2012
	I chose to commemorate Los Alamos on my list. But another great dining experience came at Tijuana Flats, a genuine New Mexican restaurant in Santa Fe. I thought I could handle green chiles, having eaten them twice earlier. But Tijuana Flats did not hold back, serving me the hottest green chiles I have eaten.
NY	New York	Delmonico’s Deli	1999
	On a college trip for Model United Nations, I found Delmonico’s Deli behind Grand Central Station. I ordered the Roasted Chicken sub. The sandwich was so good that I have been ordering that same sandwich from Subway for years.
NC	Morehead City	Sanitary Fish Market	2005
	Of all the places I have eaten in North Carolina, I have recommended only one to family. The Sanitary Fish Market is a local legend, beloved by tourists and locals alike. I have eaten there twice myself.
ND	Jamestown	Buffalo City Grill	2014
	Jamestown is home of the World’s Largest Buffalo. To celebrate the theme, I ate a bison fillet at a fancier restaturant downtown.
OH	Yellow Springs	Young’s Jersey Dairy	1990
	Young’s Jersey Dairy makes and sells their own ice cream onsite. As a kid I enjoyed the occasional trip there. On my drives back, I stop by. I enjoy mint chocolate chip the most.
OK	Oklahoma City	Crabtown	2013
	I first visited Oklahoma back in 1997, but I don’t remember where we ate. On my 2013 trip back I ate at Crabtown in downtown Oklahoma City. First time I ate seafood andouille.
OR	Ontario	Carl Jr’s	2013
	My first visit to Oregon was a border crossing from Idaho. After visiting a museum in town, I made my first-ever stop at a Carl Jr’s.
PA	Gettysburg	General Pickett’s Buffet	1994
	I visited Gettysburg as part of a school trip in 1994. One of the places we ate was General Pickett’s Buffet, which had a group offer. On the counter I remember seeing the bumper sticker “General Pickett Charged Here. You Can Too.” They didn’t have those stickers for sale then, nor did they years later on my next trip there.
RI	Galilee	George’s	2008
	My first time eat clam cakes came at George’s, located on Block Island Sound. I remember them being wonderful, but filling. Took several them back with me as takeout.
SC	Elgin	Elgin Diner	2004
	The Elgin Diner was located in the town east of Columbia. The diner was half-painted in the University of South Carolina’s colors, and the other half in Clemson’s colors.
SD	Oacoma	Al’s Oasis	2014
	Al’s Oasis is located along I-90 near the center of South Dakota. The stop has just about everything you’d need: gas station, restaurant, convience store, auto repair, even a hotel. I enjoyed a piece of strawberry pie. Recommended by my sister. Honorable mention is the Cloverleaf Hotel and Grill in Selby, which appears to be unchanged from a 1950s Kerouac novel.
TN	Jackson		1999
	On a family trip to Texas, we stayed overnight in Jackson. I don’t remember exactly where we ate that night.
TX	Canyon	steakhouse	1999
	On a family trip to Texas, we stayed in Amarillo. We stopped to eat at a number of buffet and steak places there. Canyon is one of the towns we stopped in.
UT	Orem	Black Bear Diner	2013
	On a Labor Day trip to see baseball in Utah, I stayed in Orem. I ate at the Black Bear Diner. The experience was memorable enough that I ate there a few years later when I returned to the area.
VT	Windsor	The Windsor Diner	2012
	My first trip to Vermont was a border crossing at White River Junction. I drove down to Windsor to visit a museum, and ate at the Windsor Diner.
VA	Williamsburg	College of William and Mary	1994
	On a school trip, we stopped at Colonial Williamsburg. We ate at the cafeteria at the College of William and Mary. The second (of many) college dining halls I have visited over the yers.
WA	Seattle	Lowell’s Restaurant, Pike Place	2010
	When visiting Pike Place Market in 2010, I stopped for a salmon omelet at Lowell’s Restaurant.
WV	Beckley	Omelette Shoppe	1994
	On trips to see my parents, I have occasionally stopped at the Omelette Shoppe off I-77. It’s a fairly standard diner with locations across WV, albeit with a different spelling.
WI	Monroe	Baumgartner’s	2009
	My sister and brother-in-law took me for lunch to Baumgartner’s in Monroe. I had the cheese sandwich. Authentic Wisconsin cheese with wheat bread, no condiments.
WY	Douglas	The Koop Café	2011
	Before visiting the Wyoming State Fair, my brother and I ate lunch at the nearby Koop Café.

I Have Visited all 50 States

Celebrating all 50 states at the Paradise Cove Luau near Kapolei, Hawaii.

Last week I visited Hawaii, specifically the island of Oahu. When I left the airport in Honolulu, I reached my goal of visiting all 50 states. Last Monday I attended the Paradise Cove Luau on the western shore of Oahu. While there I had a photographer take a picture to prove that I had made it to all 50.

How I Visited all 50 States

In my quest to visit all 50, I have solo-traveled to all 50 states at least once since June 2004. For each state, I tried to celebrate something unique related to its history or culture. In addition, I found myself doing the same activities on each vacation I took. In 2006, I set the goal of doing each in all 50 states:

• Getting a haircut. I enjoy old-fashioned, small-town barber shops. I had the idea beforehand, but Brother #3’s haircut in Blackduck was all the encouragement I needed.
• Visiting the State Capitol. I try to have a Jefferson Smith-type moment whenever I visit a Capitol. They are designed to inspire awe in the citizen coming to meet his elected officials. So I walk up every grand staircase I can find.
• Attend church services. Growing up, I went to Protestant church services nearly every week. I have mixed in a few Catholic services over the years as well.
• Watch a movie. A college friend of mine gave me this idea. So I have done it in his honour.
• Eat barbecue. Because I like barbecue, particularly brisket and pulled pork.
• Attend a baseball game. Because I am a baseball fan.
• Visit a community college campus. I have spent my career working in and around community college systems.

My Progress

I reached 40 states with a Memorial Day weekend trip to New Mexico in 2012. In the fall of that year I crossed off the remaining New England states, flying into New Hampshire, and driving across the border to Kittery, Maine and Windsor, Vermont. Over Labor Day 2013, I flew into Salt Lake City, driving through Idaho and to Ontario, Oregon. Arizona was state #47, which I visited for Spring Training 2014. The College World Series in Omaha gave me Nebraska in 2015. Last summer I visited Alaska, leaving Hawaii for this spring.

What’s Next

I have eaten a meal in all 50 states and stayed overnight in 47 of them. (In August 2019 I drove in Washington State. I have driven at least a mile in all 50.) I now have done all seven activities in 36 states. I will be traveling back to the other 14 to reach all 50 for each of them. After achieving this, I will probably find myself going back to Maine and Montana first.

I enjoyed travelling to each state, learning about my fellow Americans and experiencing what makes us all the same and all different, at the same time.

Some unique/interesting experiences I have had:

• The Boll Weevil Monument in downtown Enterprise, AL. Celebrating its “contributions” to diversifying the area’s agriculture.
• Action Wildlife in Goshen, CT. A nature farm with exotic animals. And 5-foot-tall Teletubbies of various colors. Not sure why.
• Experimental Breeder Reactor I, near Arco, ID. A decommissioned nuclear facility from the 1960s. Complete with low-level radiation and contamination.
• Milan ’54 Museum in Milan, IN. Small-town museum celebrating the real-life high school team on which the movie Hoosiers is based.
• Field of Dreams near Dyersville, IA. I came for reasons I can’t even fathom. Visited it twice, nine years apart. I loved the movie.
• Seeing bourbon made at the Woodford Reserve, Lawrenceburg, KY. And baseball bats made at the Louisville Slugger Factory.
• Climbing to the top of Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, ME. Overcoming my mild claustrophobia to do so.
• The Headwaters of the Mississippi in Lake Itasca, MN. Standing in the middle of the stream with my two brothers.
• The Headwaters of the Missouri in Three Forks, MT. I stuck my whole foot in.
• The Great River Road Archway in Kearney, NE. It’s a museum spanning Interstate 80, talking about westward expansion.
• The World’s Largest Buffalo in Jamestown, ND.
• Dodging tornados in Oklahoma. Every place I stayed was visited by a tornado, but fortunately not the night I was there.
• The Johnstown Flood Memorial. And the Deadly Smog in Donora. Pennsylvania does remember some of their greatest manmade disasters.
• The World’s Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD.
• Walking down Beale Street in Memphis, TN.
• The Llano Estacado region of Texas. Probably the most wide-open horizon I’ve seen. Although the Colorado River overlook in Canyonlands National Park is very impressive.
• The Great Salt Lake, UT. I stuck my hand in.
• Maple sugarhouses near Montpelier, VT. Lake Champlain.
• Taking the Empire Builder train as it traveled from Seattle to Chicago.
• The Exhibition Coal Mine in Beckley, WV.

Between Blackduck and the Blue Ox – My Quest to Visit all 50 States

My quest to visit all 50 of the United States started, like all good things, with a challenge put forth by siblings. It was August 2001, amidst the hottest temperatures on record in northern Minnesota, when my two younger brothers and I agreed on a mutual challenge: Who could visit all 50 states first? We had talked about it before, but we set up the challenge during our drive from Blackduck (where we saw the eponymous blackduck statue) towards Bemidji, home of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe.

We brothers three quickly established several rules for counting a state as visited:

1) We had to physically set foot on the state’s soil. If we drove/rode/flew across a state and did not stop, it did not count.
2) We had to step foot outside of transit stations – no airport layovers, train stations, or bus stops. Highway rest stops were reluctantly acceptable. Encouraged was stopping somewhere unique, like the Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota, which we found in Darwin later that week.
3) We had to leave something of ourselves there. Being young (18-23) our rule was a restroom break.
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At the time we set the challenge, we each had visited roughly 20 states. Being the oldest, I had a slight lead, but my brothers (referred to as Brothers #2 and #3, from this point on) were in college. Theoretically, they had plenty of time to take road trips. I was going to start work in the “real world” the next summer.

As the years unfolded, we each took different tacks to reach the goal. Brother #3 took service trips throughout his college years, and Brothers #2 and #3 went on several summer road trips. They quickly erased my lead, despite me moving to Florida in June 2002.

Brother #3 held a significant lead, and I chipped away, traveling to a couple of states each year. Brother #2 was slightly behind me. We kept track of each other, encouraging us along the way.

The first one to all 50 states? Brother #2 reached all 50 in 2017. He sent us each a postcard from Kauai. Brother #3 stalled at 47, his hands full with young children.

I have made arrangements to reach all 50 states in the next few weeks. I will visit my #50 when I set foot in Honolulu on the island of Oahu.

My brothers and I had never settled on a prize for reaching all 50 states first. Our reward was seeing new places and learning as we went along. And Brother #2 gets to hear us admit he made it to all 50 first.

MY 50 State Project

In the fall of 2002 I started a project to experience all 50 states. In addition to physically visiting each state, I hope to learn more about each state. To achieve this I have sought to do a number of things in each state, including:

– Getting a haircut. I enjoy visiting barber shops: the look, the feel, talking with the barber and other customers, and learning about the local community.
– Visiting the State Capitol. The Capitol is at the center of a state’s political life, as well as a public gathering place and monument.
– Attending a church service. There is no activity more likely to force one to interact with locals than attending a church service.
– Watching a movie. I started keeping track of this as a result of a conversation with one of my college friends.
– Eating barbecue. I like barbecue, preferring pulled pork. Authentic barbecue joints reflect the character of the owners and the taste of the customers.
– Watching a baseball game. A baseball game can be largely the same no matter where it is played. Baseball parks are great public gathering spots as well. College, minor or major league games.
– Visiting the campus of a community college. I started keeping track of this after starting my current job in North Carolina. It takes research to find where many of these campuses are located.
– Visit a local museum. A museum that celebrates a local community or a unique interest.

When I travel, I attempt to do as many of these activities as I can. For the past three or four years I have written a narrative of my travels. I hope to post them to this blog over the next couple days.