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.
