Below is my updated Visited States map! As all my dedicated readers know, I am on a quest to hit all fifty states in my lifetime. The most recent changes include:

1. Florida. My wife and I were taken on a Caribbean cruise with Jessica's parents, her two sistesr, and their spouses. It was awesome! We took off from Miami, and visited the Cayman Islands, Isla Roatan (Honduras), Belize, and Cozumel (Mexico). I have no complaints about the experience, and would gladly relish the opportunity to visit Florida again for any vacation.

2. Minnesota. We kind of live in Minnesota now. I found a new job with Certifit Auto Body Parts, and are now living in the suburbs of St. Paul for six to nine months while I train. Who knows where our permanent destination will be!

3. Wisconsin. Last Sunday, we drove about a half hour out of St. Paul and crossed the St. Croix River into Wisconsin. We stopped at a cheese factory, sampled their overrated cheese, and returned home. The farmlands there are stunningly beautiful, and we even saw a few deer alongside the road.

I also added a couple of temples. As Jessica and I were driving the moving truck, we stopped in Winter Quarters, Nebraska. We were taken on a tour of the visitors center there, and walked around the pioneer cemetery and saw the new temple there. What sacred ground! We really felt the Spirit there, and I came away with an increased appreciation for what the pioneers went through. It was neat to see the exact area where the Saints were walking and trekking.

The other temple I went to was the St. Paul Temple. Like the Columbus Temple, it is very small and tucked away next to a stake center. Jessica and I will hopefully have the opportunity to attend this temple once a month or so.

I am excited about living here! I definitely want to visit Duluth, which lies on the shores of Lake Superior. Someone in my ward was telling us that Lake Superior has more water in it than the other four great lakes combined. It sounds like a cool place to visit. We also aren't incredibly far from Nauvoo; I would like to visit there again. If we ever drive back to Utah, I think we will go through the Black Hills and South Dakota, and I could knock that state off my checklist. At some point, I should drive up to Fargo, North Dakota; when else am I going to visit that state?

Updated states and temples list

I realized today that it has been almost a full year since I have updated my blog!! Since then, I have visited two new states!! So this is an emergency critical update:

Last summer, we visited Jessica's sister and her family in Columbus, Ohio for our nephew Christopher's baptism. The drive took us through Indiana and Ohio for the first time ever, thus completing my "visited states" path from sea to shining sea.

Notable highlights of the vacation:

1. Eating ice cream at the Little America Hotel in Wyoming...an Anderson family tradition.

2. Watching the sun finally rise in Nebraska after driving through the state all night long. It was quite the welcome sight! Last time I drive through an entire night.

3. Watching the sun set in Nebraska on our way home as we drove to our hotel in Omaha. It was actually very pretty, and made me think for a second that I would want to live in Nebraska some day.

4. Seeing NFL stadiums in person for the first time. Call me a dumb sports geek, but for some reason I thought it was cool. We drove past Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts; and then on our Guys Day Out (more details below), I saw Cleveland Browns Stadium. Does this stadium lack corporate sponsorship because the owners are refreshingly traditional, or because nobody wants to sponsor such a dreadful franchise?

5. Seeing the St. Louis arch. Driving through St. Louis and over the Mississippi River was my favorite part of the drive.

6. On our Guys Day Out, I had a fun time with my brothers-in-law Lance and Matt. We visited the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, where Lance was like a five-year-old on Christmas Eve. Don't tell him this, but I think this particular Hall of Fame reminded me of this chant.

7. The highlight of the day was definitely the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. Of course, I couldn't resist getting a picture with this guy...my fake uncle.

8. I saw Lake Erie. I have now seen two of the five Great Lakes in person (the other being Lake Michigan a few years ago when we visited Jessica's sister in Chicago). After I see all five great lakes in person...THEN I can die in peace.

9. My wife and children and I went to the Columbus Ohio Temple. It is right off the freeway there and we thought it would be easy to find, but I failed to remember that not all temples are monstrosities. It's a small temple, but every bit as perfect as the others. I have now visited 22 of the temples worldwide. If we weren't in such a hurry to get home and out of the car, we would have probably also visited other temples in St. Louis and Winter Quarters.

10. Oh yeah, and our nephew Christopher got baptized and confirmed as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We spent the 4th of July with everyone. I spent a lot of time with my wife and children, swimming, playing games, going to a baseball game, running in preparation for the marathon I ran later in the year, driving around looking for a Walgreens, eating a lot, etc etc. It was a great and memorable vacation!

The next "new state" I will visit will surely be Florida, as my wife and I embark on a 7-day Western Carribbean cruise in May. I cannot wait!! Our stops will also include the Cayman Islands, Isla Roatan, Belize City, and Cozumel.

I know I won't be able to afford it, but I also think it would be very fun to go to SEC country and watch BYU's first game as an independent at the University of Mississippi. If I were able to go, that would knock off Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas from my States List. Or I can go to their game in Dallas against TCU (assuming this game is finalized), and I would be able to cross off Oklahoma and Texas.