Ooh, I want to agree wholeheartedly with the “skip the chains” rule, but there is something quintessentially Southern about Waffle House. I’ve never been to Alabama, but I’d think that a Waffle House in Alabama would count! I guess the answer is, talk with a neighbor at the Waffle House to definitely make it count. And then go to the nearest barbecue joint for some white sauce chicken
I like only two chain eateries, and Waffle House is one of them. (The other is White Castle.) Still WH is *regional,* not state-specific, so I'd still say it doesn't count for any particular state. YMMV!
We have a "no chains" rule when traveling but it was amended with what we affectionately call "the Bojangles Clause". Living in the midwest, we do not have Bojangles around us. But I love their cajun chicken biscuits. So chains that are not generally accessible at home don't fall under the "no chains" rule. This would allow someone from outside the midwest to enjoy the greatness that is Culvers.
Try going to a Waffle House in the South and *not* have a conversation with a local! If you walk into a Waffle House, particularly in the South, it'll definitely end up counting before you leave.
Great stuff as always! One of my goals when traveling is to visit oddball “attractions”. Atlas Obscura is a great website/app for finding these. A personal favorite was visiting the World’s Fastest Pop Machine in Illinois. It was out in the middle of nowhere, near a garage, but nothing that looked like a thriving business, surrounded by old riding mowers, like something in a Stephen King novel. It was old and weathered, but you put your money in, pressed your selection, and BAM! There was your can of soda. So, I guess it lived up to the hype?
These are pretty much the same rules I have for whether I have visited a state, though you have more of them. I also expand it to visiting a town, city, etc.
So, I don't count Rhode Island, Indiana and Kentucky. I think I count Georgia because we bought boiled peanuts on a road trip to Florida in the 1990s.
I also keep track of Metro stations - I have to have entered, exited or transferred for it to count. I got to 42 in D.C. last year. I also had 4 on SETPA subway and two commuter rail stops. In 2023, I had 12 on Chicago's L in 2023.
A couple years ago, my mom, sister, and I drove from Maine to Florida to move my sister down there after she got a job. We drove through every state on the eastern seaboard, but only stopped in Connecticut (for gas), Maryland (spent the night in a Baltimore hotel), Virginia (for gas), North Carolina (for gas), South Carolina (rest stop) and Georgia (spent the night in a Savannah motel, the scummiest place I've ever stayed and the last time my sister ever decides where I sleep). I wouldn't really consider myself having "been" to any of those states (except Connecticut, which I *had* been to previously).
My mother and I flew back, but due to a screw up by Delta, we ended up spending the night at the Atlanta airport, then catching a flight to LaGuardia at 5 AM and then back to Portland from LGA. Oddly, because I spent the night at Hartfield-Jackson, I feel like I have "been" to Georgia, but I hadn't considered myself having "been" to New York City until I came down for your Uni Watch retirement party.
HI, Paul! I'm happy to have you back doing what you do so well!
My rules are almost exactly yours as to whether a state "counts." Here are several judgment calls in my own interstate travels:
1. emergency stopover in Denver's airport: clearly does not count (I still consider myself as never having been to Colorado)
2. merely crossing the Hoover Dam land border marker by foot into Arizona and immediately crossing back into Nevada (I say no to "stunt" visits; I have been to Arizona properly since then)
3. driving through a state but never touching my feet to the ground (depends on the duration of time, but this is a gray area)
3a. as above, but getting out to pump gas (I call this a technical yes, but I later made a proper trip to West Virginia to clear up the ambiguity
4. looking across a small body of water and seeing a state you never visited (I could have taken my friend's boat from Minnesota and made my way to Wisconsin, but I count this as an clear no)
5. Stopping in for a meal and then driving out of the state (I did this in New Hampshire and consider this a clear yes, as I interacted with people in the restaurant and on the way, and even mailed a postcard from NH
Hard to argue these guidelines, Paul. Which is why I don't count Iowa among my visited states. On one of our trips to visit my son when he was in school in Nebraska, we headed to Omaha to meet friends and watch football at a sports bar. A 'Jingle Bell Fun Run' had the last downtown exit closed and we found ourselves crossing the Missouri River on I-480 into Council Bluffs. Took the first exit and headed back across the river. I remember a semi-serious debate on whether or not we should count that as having 'visited' Iowa. We settled on a 'rule' that declared you had to interact with someone in a state to count that state as visited.
Paul, really enjoying IC, glad to see the spirit of Beer Frame alive and well in 2024. I traveled for work extensively for ~ 20 years; current state count is 41 + DC. Regarding hotels/restaurants, I'm generally pro-indie businesses, but I'll make the argument that if you're on a three-cities-in-two-nights run, you land at 11 pm, arrive at the hotel at midnight, and have a 7 am lobby call to prep for an 8 am customer visit, a 'reliably consistent brand experience' from the hotel is a feature, not a bug. Also, let's not encourage qualifying activity #4 (sex) to mitigate disqualifying factor #2 (driving straight through w/o stopping); dodging other drivers talking on cell phones is bad enough as it is.
These rules are mostly good, but they lead to one exclusion that’s fairly interesting for me. In 1992, my family road tripped to Colorado and back from Ohio. I-70 out, I-80 back, hitting a total of nine states. I’ve been back to seven of them since, so they’re well-established, and we spent the night in one of the others (Wyoming). But because we packed sandwiches and juice boxes for the car, we never stopped to eat in Nebraska. We did stop once to use the bathroom, so I’ve set foot in the state, but we didn’t buy anything or talk to anyone. I loved the state so much that after we got back I bought a University of Nebraska baseball cap (that I still have!), but nothing in the state itself. So I’ve driven for 450+ miles, the better part of a day, in a state, but can’t count it. (I count it anyway; my rules are more liberal.) I’ve eaten a meal in every other state I’ve been to.
My family did a trip in the 90s from Western NY through the badlands of South Dakota to Yellowstone. While in Yellowstone, my parents drove into Montana and Idaho and basically turned around in a gas station so that we could say we visited those states. Your article definitely makes me think of that trip and literally crossing the border and turning around.
i recently visited a friend in Denver and had a day with nothing planned and my friend had to work, so i decided to drive to Wyoming to play disc golf. (this was, in part, to set myself up for playing disc golf in 10 different states in 1 week.) anyway, it seems to me that such an activity, even though Laramie, WY is not known for disc golf, should count as visiting the state. i did have a meal at a local diner, so that counts under Paul's rule #2 anyway.
but another comment, and Paul's "obsession" with uniforms, prompted me to wonder whether going to a state for the purpose of participating in, or watching, a sporting event should count. like if i just drove to Camden Yards from my folks house in Virginia to watch the Orioles, but didn't do any of the other things on Paul's list, shouldn't that count as visiting Maryland?
The accommodations guideline seems harsh. Working in real estate/hospitality, I know that there are tons of cookie-cutter AirBnbs all over the US (and the world) that are incredibly soulless.
Maybe I'm overthinking it - if you're staying in one of those AirBnbs (or a megachain hotel) and intend to experience your surroundings properly, you're likely to do at least one of the other listed items, so my argument is moot.
I've been to all 50. My rules aren't as strict as yours, but that's why they're my rules and your rules.
I'll add one to this list, though:
Visit something significant in the state. Our only interaction with Wyoming was going to Devils Tower and grabbing something in a local gift shop. We did get stopped on a highway for a very long cattle crossing, which I'd likely count if I needed to. In Montana we did a whole lot of driving, but stopped at Medicine Rocks State Park for a couple of hours and took a bunch of pictures. Both of these visits were on a vacation that started at a lodge a few miles from Mount Rushmore.
That's an area of the country I'd like to dig deeper into, though. I'd say that's where I've spent the least amount of time.
I have a spreadsheet with states (last visit date), ballparks visited (42 and 29 of the current 30 MLB), hockey arenas visited (not enough), and every airport I've flow in or out of.
Love the IC experience so far! Generally, I agree with your rules, but I will add a caveat to your airport rules. I believe if there’s some sort of local tradition/experience at an airport, it can count as visiting a state. For example, in Charlotte, (at least pre-covid anyway) they had bathroom attendants. These were local folks that with which you could strike up a conversation that would be similar to a bar conversation or one with a mom and pop shop owner. Anyone else agree?
Last week I was in Cincinnati (and Ohio) for the first time. I didn't count the airport as having been to Kentucky but when I walked across the Roebling bridge and got a cup of tea in a bookstore in Covington I considered myself as having been to Kentucky.
I think that counts, though this prompts a question for Paul.
I have only been to Paul's home borough of Brooklyn long enough to exit the subway, then walk back to Manhattan on the Brooklyn Bridge. Does this count as visiting Brooklyn?
I think having a meaningful/memorable experience in a particular state—even if you don't stay the night, have a meaningful conversation with a local or find/buy something—should count. For example, I would count attending a sporting event, visiting a National Park or other local site/attraction, or attending a religious service.
It's probably me as a rule-follower just reading too literally. But now I understand you were trying to address cases that could go either way, rather than a comprehensive list of what counts or not.
Ooh, I want to agree wholeheartedly with the “skip the chains” rule, but there is something quintessentially Southern about Waffle House. I’ve never been to Alabama, but I’d think that a Waffle House in Alabama would count! I guess the answer is, talk with a neighbor at the Waffle House to definitely make it count. And then go to the nearest barbecue joint for some white sauce chicken
I like only two chain eateries, and Waffle House is one of them. (The other is White Castle.) Still WH is *regional,* not state-specific, so I'd still say it doesn't count for any particular state. YMMV!
We have a "no chains" rule when traveling but it was amended with what we affectionately call "the Bojangles Clause". Living in the midwest, we do not have Bojangles around us. But I love their cajun chicken biscuits. So chains that are not generally accessible at home don't fall under the "no chains" rule. This would allow someone from outside the midwest to enjoy the greatness that is Culvers.
Try going to a Waffle House in the South and *not* have a conversation with a local! If you walk into a Waffle House, particularly in the South, it'll definitely end up counting before you leave.
I travel from NY to AL a couple times a year for work. Buc-ee's is the chain that is quintessential in my experience.
Great stuff as always! One of my goals when traveling is to visit oddball “attractions”. Atlas Obscura is a great website/app for finding these. A personal favorite was visiting the World’s Fastest Pop Machine in Illinois. It was out in the middle of nowhere, near a garage, but nothing that looked like a thriving business, surrounded by old riding mowers, like something in a Stephen King novel. It was old and weathered, but you put your money in, pressed your selection, and BAM! There was your can of soda. So, I guess it lived up to the hype?
These are pretty much the same rules I have for whether I have visited a state, though you have more of them. I also expand it to visiting a town, city, etc.
So, I don't count Rhode Island, Indiana and Kentucky. I think I count Georgia because we bought boiled peanuts on a road trip to Florida in the 1990s.
I also keep track of Metro stations - I have to have entered, exited or transferred for it to count. I got to 42 in D.C. last year. I also had 4 on SETPA subway and two commuter rail stops. In 2023, I had 12 on Chicago's L in 2023.
A couple years ago, my mom, sister, and I drove from Maine to Florida to move my sister down there after she got a job. We drove through every state on the eastern seaboard, but only stopped in Connecticut (for gas), Maryland (spent the night in a Baltimore hotel), Virginia (for gas), North Carolina (for gas), South Carolina (rest stop) and Georgia (spent the night in a Savannah motel, the scummiest place I've ever stayed and the last time my sister ever decides where I sleep). I wouldn't really consider myself having "been" to any of those states (except Connecticut, which I *had* been to previously).
My mother and I flew back, but due to a screw up by Delta, we ended up spending the night at the Atlanta airport, then catching a flight to LaGuardia at 5 AM and then back to Portland from LGA. Oddly, because I spent the night at Hartfield-Jackson, I feel like I have "been" to Georgia, but I hadn't considered myself having "been" to New York City until I came down for your Uni Watch retirement party.
HI, Paul! I'm happy to have you back doing what you do so well!
My rules are almost exactly yours as to whether a state "counts." Here are several judgment calls in my own interstate travels:
1. emergency stopover in Denver's airport: clearly does not count (I still consider myself as never having been to Colorado)
2. merely crossing the Hoover Dam land border marker by foot into Arizona and immediately crossing back into Nevada (I say no to "stunt" visits; I have been to Arizona properly since then)
3. driving through a state but never touching my feet to the ground (depends on the duration of time, but this is a gray area)
3a. as above, but getting out to pump gas (I call this a technical yes, but I later made a proper trip to West Virginia to clear up the ambiguity
4. looking across a small body of water and seeing a state you never visited (I could have taken my friend's boat from Minnesota and made my way to Wisconsin, but I count this as an clear no)
5. Stopping in for a meal and then driving out of the state (I did this in New Hampshire and consider this a clear yes, as I interacted with people in the restaurant and on the way, and even mailed a postcard from NH
Hard to argue these guidelines, Paul. Which is why I don't count Iowa among my visited states. On one of our trips to visit my son when he was in school in Nebraska, we headed to Omaha to meet friends and watch football at a sports bar. A 'Jingle Bell Fun Run' had the last downtown exit closed and we found ourselves crossing the Missouri River on I-480 into Council Bluffs. Took the first exit and headed back across the river. I remember a semi-serious debate on whether or not we should count that as having 'visited' Iowa. We settled on a 'rule' that declared you had to interact with someone in a state to count that state as visited.
Paul, really enjoying IC, glad to see the spirit of Beer Frame alive and well in 2024. I traveled for work extensively for ~ 20 years; current state count is 41 + DC. Regarding hotels/restaurants, I'm generally pro-indie businesses, but I'll make the argument that if you're on a three-cities-in-two-nights run, you land at 11 pm, arrive at the hotel at midnight, and have a 7 am lobby call to prep for an 8 am customer visit, a 'reliably consistent brand experience' from the hotel is a feature, not a bug. Also, let's not encourage qualifying activity #4 (sex) to mitigate disqualifying factor #2 (driving straight through w/o stopping); dodging other drivers talking on cell phones is bad enough as it is.
These rules are mostly good, but they lead to one exclusion that’s fairly interesting for me. In 1992, my family road tripped to Colorado and back from Ohio. I-70 out, I-80 back, hitting a total of nine states. I’ve been back to seven of them since, so they’re well-established, and we spent the night in one of the others (Wyoming). But because we packed sandwiches and juice boxes for the car, we never stopped to eat in Nebraska. We did stop once to use the bathroom, so I’ve set foot in the state, but we didn’t buy anything or talk to anyone. I loved the state so much that after we got back I bought a University of Nebraska baseball cap (that I still have!), but nothing in the state itself. So I’ve driven for 450+ miles, the better part of a day, in a state, but can’t count it. (I count it anyway; my rules are more liberal.) I’ve eaten a meal in every other state I’ve been to.
If you have ever been pulled over by the police in the Texas pan handle rushing to get out of there.
You have still been there.
My family did a trip in the 90s from Western NY through the badlands of South Dakota to Yellowstone. While in Yellowstone, my parents drove into Montana and Idaho and basically turned around in a gas station so that we could say we visited those states. Your article definitely makes me think of that trip and literally crossing the border and turning around.
i recently visited a friend in Denver and had a day with nothing planned and my friend had to work, so i decided to drive to Wyoming to play disc golf. (this was, in part, to set myself up for playing disc golf in 10 different states in 1 week.) anyway, it seems to me that such an activity, even though Laramie, WY is not known for disc golf, should count as visiting the state. i did have a meal at a local diner, so that counts under Paul's rule #2 anyway.
but another comment, and Paul's "obsession" with uniforms, prompted me to wonder whether going to a state for the purpose of participating in, or watching, a sporting event should count. like if i just drove to Camden Yards from my folks house in Virginia to watch the Orioles, but didn't do any of the other things on Paul's list, shouldn't that count as visiting Maryland?
Both count. You actually “did” something in both instances
The accommodations guideline seems harsh. Working in real estate/hospitality, I know that there are tons of cookie-cutter AirBnbs all over the US (and the world) that are incredibly soulless.
Maybe I'm overthinking it - if you're staying in one of those AirBnbs (or a megachain hotel) and intend to experience your surroundings properly, you're likely to do at least one of the other listed items, so my argument is moot.
I've been to all 50. My rules aren't as strict as yours, but that's why they're my rules and your rules.
I'll add one to this list, though:
Visit something significant in the state. Our only interaction with Wyoming was going to Devils Tower and grabbing something in a local gift shop. We did get stopped on a highway for a very long cattle crossing, which I'd likely count if I needed to. In Montana we did a whole lot of driving, but stopped at Medicine Rocks State Park for a couple of hours and took a bunch of pictures. Both of these visits were on a vacation that started at a lodge a few miles from Mount Rushmore.
That's an area of the country I'd like to dig deeper into, though. I'd say that's where I've spent the least amount of time.
I have a spreadsheet with states (last visit date), ballparks visited (42 and 29 of the current 30 MLB), hockey arenas visited (not enough), and every airport I've flow in or out of.
Love the IC experience so far! Generally, I agree with your rules, but I will add a caveat to your airport rules. I believe if there’s some sort of local tradition/experience at an airport, it can count as visiting a state. For example, in Charlotte, (at least pre-covid anyway) they had bathroom attendants. These were local folks that with which you could strike up a conversation that would be similar to a bar conversation or one with a mom and pop shop owner. Anyone else agree?
Last week I was in Cincinnati (and Ohio) for the first time. I didn't count the airport as having been to Kentucky but when I walked across the Roebling bridge and got a cup of tea in a bookstore in Covington I considered myself as having been to Kentucky.
I think that counts, though this prompts a question for Paul.
I have only been to Paul's home borough of Brooklyn long enough to exit the subway, then walk back to Manhattan on the Brooklyn Bridge. Does this count as visiting Brooklyn?
I would say that walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is itself a quintessentially Brooklyn experience. So yes, I think that counts.
I remember being stuck on the BQE on the way to a Yankees game once, so maybe I count that as a quintessential Queens experience too...
I think having a meaningful/memorable experience in a particular state—even if you don't stay the night, have a meaningful conversation with a local or find/buy something—should count. For example, I would count attending a sporting event, visiting a National Park or other local site/attraction, or attending a religious service.
Oh, for sure. I kind of thought those types of things were so obvious that there was no need to mention them. But I guess I should have!
It's probably me as a rule-follower just reading too literally. But now I understand you were trying to address cases that could go either way, rather than a comprehensive list of what counts or not.