I know it is rather a cliche, but one of my life goals is to visit each state in the USA. Then comes the issue, what does visit mean?
I had a 3 hour layover in Houston once. I don’t think I’d count that as a “visit” to Texas.
On the other hand, on my way to Memphis from Chicago, I drove a 1 hour stretch on I-55 through Arkansas. Never stopped. Can I mark Arkansas off my list?
I’ve been to Vegas for a weekend. Does that count for all of Nevada?
What is the consensual humble opinion on what visiting a state entails?
My extreme is my visit to Hawaii. My plane from California to Sydney had problems with all the toilets shortly after we left, so (rather than ask us all to cross our legs for 13 hours) the captain decided to land in Honolulu to get them fixed. So I sat in a plane on the runway for a short time while the mechanic fixed the toilets. Still, that’s more like a visit than to states like Alaska and Oregon, where I can only claim to have flown over them (in the case of Alaska twice, on planes flying between Detroit and Osaka).
I consider that I’ve visited a state when my feet touch the ground, or my butt is in contact with something that touches the ground. Length of time is immaterial as I count it.
Therefore, if I drive through the West Viriginia panhandle, which takes about 10 minutes to cross from Ohio to Pennsylvania, it counts.
Standing in the Dallas Airport on a layover counts.
Flying over Utah at 30K feet does not.
You’re making the rules for what you say is a visit, so it’s whatever you decide, ultimately.
I follow the same rules- EXCEPT - I must leave the airport. For “counting” the state purposes, I consider the airport to be neutral soil. Otherwise, touching the state? Count it. Drove through Rhode Island, at night, but it counted because we stopped for gas.
Giles you meet VunderBob’s criterion. My trip to Hawaii was for my honeymoon. We sailed on the SS Independence to a bunch of the islands and had a great time.
But I worry about VunderBob’s criteria.
Me: I’ve been to all 50 states.
Texan: Oh yeah? Where did you go in my state?
Me: I had a layover in Houston
Texan: That doesn’t count, you lilly livered varmint. (I imagine that all Texans sound like Yosimite Sam. My layover didn’t help to convince me otherwise)
I had one friend say that I had to spend the night in the state. I was planning on an Alaskan cruise. That wouldn’t fly with him.
If I just have to drive through the state, it looks like I can take care of NH, VT, CT, and RI in about 5 to 10 minutes.
No, no, no. That’s discriminatory against people who don’t have feet.
The rules are, like VunderBob says, either you touch the ground, or they touch something that is touching the ground. So, driving counts, even if you don’t get out of the car. I was near the border of a state I’d never been to once, and drove about 30 minutes out of my way just so I could check it off my list.
Airports don’t count.
To me, the essence is to experience some of the state, even if it’s a tiny, tiny silce. In an airport, you rarely see outside, and if you do, it’s just the tarmac.
The airport definitely doesn’t count. Airports are like embassies or something.
I do think it’s cool when an airport incorporates its state’s identity. I liked all the mountain-themed decorations and information about the state and its history at the Denver airport. But it was nothing there that couldn’t have been reproduced elsewhere for a “Colorado” exhibit. It was a good advertisement for Colorado, but it wasn’t really like visiting Colorado itself.
I disagree. When I “visit” some place, it means I have taken the time to at least get acquainted with the place.
Otherwise, it’s like saying that the Jehovah’s witnesses are “visiting” when they ring my doorbell. They did not come in, they did not sit down, they did not visit me. They just rang my doorbell.
If one’s goal is to be familiar with a state, it makes sense to require at least a night’s sleep there.
But if you only want to have been in all 50 states, then all you have to do is be physically within the state. Airport, freeway, whatever, it counts.
So if your goal is to be in all 50 states, that’s not hard to do. If you want to do something more substantive in each of the states, then you should be a little clearer on the goals.
I think you need a meal at a local place (even while on the road), or a visit to something unique to the state to count. I drove through Oregon, but other than getting gas I did not really stop. I don’t think that should count. Later I came back and spent two days at Nike, plus 2 other sales calls. That felt a little bit more like a visit.
My point is, was and will always be, YOU set the rules in something like this, and it doesn’t matter a whit what anyone else thinks about it. If your definition means you set foot outside the airport terminal or buy a stick of gum at a gas station, more power to ya. I have my criteria of what defines a visit, and it’s not going to change because I like it the way I defined it.
At a bare minimum, the state should offer you some tea or lemonade and a snack, such as shortbread cookies. You should spend at least a half hour chatting with the state and politely leafing through its photo albums. If the state knitted its own afghan or crafted any of the curios displayed on the fireplace mantel, be sure to compliment its handiwork. When you leave the state, give warm thanks and promise not to be such a stranger, whether or not you actually plan to return.
I agree with the “no airports” rule. It’s like being in an embassy; for all intents and purposes it’s like being on foreign soil.
I make sure I have feet on the ground. If you’re driving through you have to stop and get out of the car. A meal is nice but not required. Those are the only two rules I use. By that measure I still have 5 states to go.
I count it as boots on the ground - except the airport - through at least one interaction with a native, or one culturally unique experience. Driving through counts if it’s over 3 hours ish, and only during the day, where you can partake of the scenery. Any of the above fulfills the requirement.
I’m currently at 35 visited, missing parts of the southwest and far northeast, plus a couple western states. And AK/HI.
My goal is to have been in all 50 states. To that end, I count any sufficient contact with the ground, such as in a car or plane on the ground. Airports count. An airport is just as much within and part of a state as any other property in the state. Driving across the WV panhandle is no different than being in a WV airport.
My parents live in Colorado and do a lot of camping throughout the west, midwest and Canada. My father came “out East” to see his mom in Penna and drove up to my house. He said the driving went by so quickly since there was always something happening, like a new state, as compared to, say, seven hours in Kansas.
