If you’ve read the most recent post, then you know why we’re determined to visit all 50 States with the kids before our oldest graduates from college. Originally, we wanted to reach our goal before he finished high school, but that just wasn’t realistic with the amount of vacation time available and the desire to have meaningful time in each state. We do not cross a state off the list unless we feel we’ve seen a good representation of the state -so, you Floridians will be happy to know, Disney World did not count for Florida:)
Everyone we discuss our plan with seems to be amazed we have it all planned out to the 50th State in 2029. I’m consistently amazed they think we could accomplish such an ambitious goal without thinking it through. Before developing our 50 State plan, Ryan ordered a state tourism guide from all 50 states. We browsed through each state’s tourism information and maps to obtain an idea of what made each state unique and important to the United States as a whole. We enjoy history, art, nature and wildlife, so we usually gravitate toward places within each state that showcase one or more of those aspects. Age of the kids at the times of travel and what season we were available to travel also factored into where each state falls on the tentative timeline. Vacation time and the yearly vacation budget also had to be taken into consideration. Lastly, although we love providing this opportunity for the kids, Ryan and I place a high value on getting away without the kids as well. We’ll call those our marriage-building side trips and include some helpful blog posts about those trips, too.
So, without further ado, here is the Gates 50 States (and more) Plan:
2013 Summer NC
- Side Trip
- 2014 Cruise: St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Aruba, Curacao (RG/JG)
- 2014 Disney (the 51st state)
2015 Summer SC
- Side Trip
- 2015 Zion National Park, UT (RG/JG)
- 2015 New River Gorge, Fayetteville, WV (RG/JG)
- 2015 Pittsburgh, PA
- 2015 Hocking Hills, OH
- 2015 Finger Lakes, NY (RG/JG)
2016 Summer WY (a & b) / MT / ID
- Side Trip
- 2016 Cruise: Belize, Honduras, Mexico (RG/JG)
- 2016 Thailand/ Cambodia (JG)
2017 March KY
- Side Trip
- February Galapagos, Ecuador (RG/JG)
- Fall – HI (RG/JG)
2018 Summer Northern CA / OR / WA
- Side Trip
- Venice, Italy & Slovenia
2019 Autumn Southern CA
2020 Spring Break Death Valley / NV / AZ COVID-19 Casualty
2020 Spring Break South Carolina (again!)
- Side Trip
- Summer – GA (RG/JG) COVID-19 relief!
2020 Summer Central CA COVID-19 Casualty
2020 Summer ND / East WY / SD / NE / CO (Nat’l Parks)
2020 Autumn Death Valley / NV / AZ
2021 Spring Break FL
2021 Summer IN
2023 Spring Break KS / OK / AR
2023 Spring SC (again)
2023 Autumn Portugal, Canary Islands, Spain (date trip)
2025 Spring Break VA / MD / DE
2026 Spring Break SC (again)
Very much in the planning phases beneath this line
2026 Summer AK, MN
2026 Fall Break WV
2027 Summer MA / NH / VT / ME
2028 Summer NY / CT / RI / NJ
*With family in Tennessee, we’ve hit and will continue to hit Tennessee in small chunks.
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