This reminds me of a “side trip” my wife and I took coming back from Maine a few years ago. Without really planning to do so we had managed to pass within seeing distance of the “High Points” in NY, VT, NH, NJ, and were on our way to pass the one in VA which is near 81 (which shares pavement with 64 for a stretch in western VA). The map said that WV’s high point is near enough to its border with VA that we decided to go “see” it and thus spent a couple of hours on some back roads headed in the general direction. We gave up after realizing these roads weren’t good for “making time” so we went back to 81/64 without getting out in WV. So by the standards some are suggesting for counting WV in our travels, at least on this trip we didn’t make it. However, by my own standards we were damned sure in WV!
Unless someone has moved it since the last time I went through, 70 goes straight through Wheeling, West Virginia. If you drove on an interstate that went that close to West Virginia, you went in the state.
Of the states of the US:
(1) I really have not been to Alaska, becaue I just flew over it at a very high altitude.
(2) I really have not been to Hawaii, because the plane I was in landed there, and no one got out of the plane or entered it, except for a mechanic who was fixing the toilets.
(3) I really have not been to Delaware, because I’ve just been through on buses and trains.
(4) I sort of have been to Arizona, because I’ve spent several hours at Phoenix Airport between planes.
(5) I definitely have been to New Hampshire, because I detoured there from Vermont to spend an hour or so walking around a town.
I dunno… I took a bus from NYC to Boston, and the only reason I know what states I went through is from Google-Mapping the driving directions afterwards. I certainly don’t count CT (and RI?).
I’d like to third Fern Forest’s rules, in fact, this is how I think of things, with the exception that it still feels like cheating if I’ve only been in a state or city’s airport on a connecting flight. Airports seem so universal and alike to me to really qualify.
Since a lot of people like to split hairs on defining what counts as being in a state, I’ll describe the extent of my visitation in each of the states that I count as having been visited on the basis of the fact that I was on the ground and within the geographical boundaries of that state at one time or more:
[ul]
[li]California- Visited once by car[/li][li]Colorado- Drove through it once, only stopped to take a leak and fill up for gas and eat twice. All other visits were layovers in the Denver airport[/li][li]Idaho- I live here[/li][li]Kansas- Flown there a few times, also driven in and through Kansas[/li][li]Montana- Visited once by car[/li][li]Nevada- Visited by car a few times[/li][li]Oregon- Visited many times by car[/li][li]Texas- Only been in Houston’s airport for layovers[/li][li]Utah- Only been in Salt Lake City’s airport for layovers[/li][li]Washington- Visited there several times, gone there by car once[/li][li]Wyoming- Drove through it once and spent the night in a motel[/li][/ul]
Another criterion might be if you have ever spent money in the state. The only state I have visited but I never spent any money in was Utah as it was a short layover. I do remember buying a Coke and maybe a snack when I was in Texas, however (4-hour layover).
I agree that merely flying over the state doesn’t count.
Driving through absolutely counts if you got gas, food, or stopped at a roadside attraction or historical marker.
Driving through without stopping counts if you crossed the state (from east to the west or north to south) or went a significant distance inside the state. However, if it’s something like Las Vegas to Salt Lake City, the 30 miles inside Arizona don’t count (unless you get out of the car).
Layovers don’t count unless you leave the airport.
When I went to Brattleboro VT, I went over the bridge explicitly so I could say I’d been in NH. Guess what’s literally in view just over the border in New Hampshire? A Wal*Mart 
I can’t believe some of y’all are counting layovers. I once had a layover in Cincinnati. Later, I found out that the Cincinnati airport is actually located just across the border in Kentucky. Could I say that I’ve been to Kentucky? I didn’t even know I was there at the time!
If you drive through, I say it counts. However, I can’t decide whether I can say I’ve been to Croatia and Serbia or not. I did pass through both countries on a bus, but it was the middle of the night, I was trying to sleep, and I saw approximately nothing. (Well, I was awake when we passed through Belgrade and I did look around.) I did get out of the bus at the borders and get my passport stamped. (I held up the bus in Croatia, too. Apparently it’s suspicious to travel on the Sarajevo-Skopje night bus with an American passport.) What do you guys think?
I count drive-thrus and layovers, but not fly-overs.
How about a “catch” rule? To qualify for a state, you have to get out baseball gloves with a partner and play catch for 5 minutes straight at least 50 feet apart. If you have an opportunity to do this, you are obviously free in the state and you aren’t if there aren’t any opportunities. This rule covers the major issues fairly well and it is hard to cheat or for it to be ambiguous.
JUDGE: Please tell the court if you were in California at the time of the incident.
WITNESS: I was not.
JUDGE: Where were you then?
WITNESS: In my car.
JUDGE: Where was your car?
WITNESS: In California.
JUDGE: While your car was in California, at any time, did you urinate, defacate, sleep, spend money, make a snow angel or dirt angel, play catch, stop at a point of interest other than for food or fuel, touch the soil or water with your bare flesh, or get out of the car without any roof or similar cover over your head, or spend any time out of your car at any location other than an airport or similar travel terminal?
WITNESS: No.
JUDGE: Ok then, you were not in California.
What if you’re alone? Can I just lie on the ground and toss the ball straight up and catch it repeatedly, whilst chatting away on the phone?
No, of course not. Most people can’t just throw a ball 50 feet up in the air for five minutes straight and most will resort to cheating as they get tired if there isn’t someone there to watch. If you are travelling alone, you just have to go up to someone, tell them for are out of state visiting for the first time and you need to play catch for a few minutes. Most people love to play catch even if they haven’t done it in a while so the bigger problem is how to get them to stop playing catch or even starting a pickup game of baseball. That is where this rule is better than the others. It encourages you to meaningfully interact with the natives and form bonds even for just a little while. I think that should be a category on its own.