Thursday Thirteen: See the USA

After last week's Thursday Thirteen about places I have visited…I started out thinking about all the places I have never been. And then…going to other blogs with their lists…I got bitten by the travel bug. Not that it takes much with me. I would love to see more of my own country. Here is my list of 13 places that I would like to visit:

1. New York – Shocking that I have never been there. I see it on TV and think I could live there. Until I watch “Househunters” on HGTV and realize the prices. The average is about $1100/square foot. Do the math on your own house! But I really want to visit. See a play on Broadway…Statue of Liberty…the twin towers footprint…Central Park…Empire State Building…MOMA…the Guggenheim...Grand Central Station…David Letterman…I think I am going to need a lot of time! Oh…and lest I forget…money! 2. Oregon – Let’s head to the opposite coast…and what seems to be the complete opposite of the New York mindset. Here, I just want the see the beauty that I have seen in photos…I want to see it for real. And take my own photos. The coast line is just gorgeous. We don’t have those rocky beaches here on the East Coast. And I want to see Crater Lake…Columbia River Gorge…Mt. Hood…Sea Lion Caves. And on another note…I have to go to Powell’s books. I think I could spend an entire day there.3. Arizona – My list started out with just the Grand Canyon. And as I did more research…there is sooo much to see in Arizona. I wonder how many miles I might log seeing all that I want to see in this one state: Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, the meteor crater, Tombstone and the OK corral, London Bridge (yes, London Bridge!), Montezuma Castle National Monument (12th century Native American cliff dwellings), Monument valley, and how about driving along Route 66?

4. Hawaii – Not only is this state incredibly beautiful, but ya know they film LOST there. Must make a pilgrimage at some point. A cruise might be a great way to take it all in. Except that a friend of mine did one for her 25th wedding anniversary and said that she and her husband were the youngest on the ship. The rest were between 70 and dead (they had three fatalities during their cruise! I wonder if that is normal…)Anyway…I want to see: Kilauea Volcano, take a helicopter tour, beaches and go snorkeling, Waimea Canyon, USS Arizona Memorial and Pearl Harbor, Haleakala national park. Beaches, waterfalls, and Volcanoes, oh my!

5. Key West – How could you not want to visit a place that does not take itself too seriously. Did you know that Key West had a tongue-in-cheek secession from the United States? On April 23, 1982 (in protest of inconvenient border patrols), Key West declared its independence from the US, declared themselves the Conch Republic, quickly surrendered 1 minute later, and then applied for one billion dollars in federal aid. Then there was the great invasion of 1995 – where the US army was doing training practice in Key West – simulating the invasion of a foreign country. Except the US forgot to inform Key West of their exercise. The army apologized…and even submitted to a “surrender” ceremony a few days later. I’d like to see: Dry Tortugas national Park, lots of snorkeling, Duval Street, Hemingway House, take an Old Town Trolley, Mel Fisher museum…

6. Seattle – Back to the Pacific Northwest. Again…the beauty of this area…the landscape is just so different from my neck of the woods. With my beer snob of a husband, one of the things on our to-do list would be to visit some breweries and beer pubs. And then on my list to see and do: Mount St. Helen’s, Pike Place market, the Space needle, Olympic National Park, Puget Sound Ferry, Seattle aquarium…7. San Francisco – I’ve never been to California at all. And there is so much I’d like to see and do. But for some reason, for this list…I just decided to name the top spot on my list. You are welcome to convince me otherwise. But I want to see San Francisco. I want to ride in a cable car. I want to see Lombard Street. I want walk through Chinatown. I want to do some time on the “rock” and see Alcatraz. I want to be a complete tourist and see Fisherman’s wharf, Pier 39, and Ghirardelli square. And I want to see, drive, or maybe even walk across the marvel that is the Golden Gate Bridge. 8. Memphis – This pick might seem strange. But I have this bizarre desire to go to Graceland. I don’t know why. I’m not a huge Elvis fan. But I want to see it. It’s kitsch at its finest. And if I was in Memphis, I would also need to go to the Peabody hotel to see the ducks.9. Las Vegas –I have this bizarre desire to renew my vows in Vegas. With Elvis officiating. I am not making my case that I am not an Elvis fan. I’m not. Really. Imagine the blog entries I could write about that. It would be hilarious. To me. Which is what matters, right? I’m not sure that I could do much of the casinos –with the smoke – and after all these trips, my obvious lack of cash. But I do want to see the casinos on the strip. I want to ride in a Gondola at the Venetian. See the fountains at the Bellagio. Visit the flaming volcano at the Mirage (and see the White Tigers while I’m there). Go to the Stratosphere. Maybe even go to the Liberace museum. I love the kitsch! And then one day, I’d have to go out to Hoover Dam.

10. Williamsburg, Virginia. When I was in high school, I liked history…but American history seemed incredibly dull. I even minored in history in college…but I never took an American history class. Because it’s boring. But then, this year with Katie’s homeschooling, a lot of our history focused on the United States. And you know what? It’s interesting. Really interesting. It’s so much more than places and dates. And who said what. I think that on our second cycle through history we need to take an extended field trip to colonial Williamsburg. We can see re-enactments, watch blacksmiths, saddlemakers, wigmakers, silversmiths; ride in a horse-drawn carriage, talk to the inn keeper and hear the patriots whisper about the coming revolution. I want to see history come alive for my children.

11. Yellowstone National Park – When I think of the natural beauty that is our country…this is the first place that I think of. To be able to see bears, wolves, elk, herds of buffalo – in their natural habitat – it would be a dream come true. And then there is Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Grand Prismatic Spring, and Devil’s Tower. And did you know that you can do a safari in Yellowstone? Sign me up!12. Cruise to Alaska – With a cruise to Alaska, I think it would be hard to decide which was better – the destination or the journey. I want to see Glacier Bay, Prince William Sound, whales, Kenai Fjords, Denali national park…

13. Utah—After seeing some the simple pictures on Cellista’s blog…with those mountains in the background…it’s a place I’d love to see. There’s Arches national park, Bryce canyon, Zion national park, Rainbow bridge, monument valley, Great Salt Lake… So, am I the only one that has never been? Where do YOU want to go? What places have you been that I need to add to my list?