I forgot Rhode Island, Thanks. We used to go swimming at Misquamicutt and catch the waves. I have been to 8 states.
All 57. Me and the President.
Pennsylvania
Delaware
New Jersey
New York
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Virginia
Maryland
South Carolina
Georgia
Florida
Ohio
Missouri
Kansas
Minnesota
Illinois
I think I might be missing a couple. It would be more than a couple more if driving through or riding a train (without setting foot down) or airports only counted.
Lived in:
Illinois (Born)
Missouri
Texas
Visited:
Massachusetts
New York
New Jersey
Delaware
Maryland
Pennsylvania
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Florida
Tennessee
Kentucky
Ohio
Minnesota
Kansas
Arkansas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Oklahoma
Colorado
New Mexico
California
Washington
Idaho
Passed through (stopping for gas, or maybe overnight on a long road trip):
Connecticut
Alabama
Nebraska
Iowa
Montana
South Dakota
Wyoming
Wisconsin
All except:
Alaska
Maine
ND
SD
Montana
Idaho
Oregon
Iowa
But Ms Hook and myself are heading off to Alaska this summer, so it’s soon to be 50.
48 for me, all but Alaska and Hawaii. My parents were big on travel vacations and we took one big one and several small ones every year. Then, I was a truck driver. That helped. Then, I drove cars for a living, delivering them all over the US. I got my last 3 of the lower 48, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, when I had to deliver a car to Boston from Kansas City. I took the northern route, stopped in Niagra Falls, then across NY state, through VT and NH, then over to Maine, and entered Boston from the north.
I’m sure I’ll never make it to Alaska and Hawaii before I die, so I have to be content with my 48.
I’ve also been to Canada, Mexico and England.
- Missing AL, OK, SC. No excuse on South Carolina, since I go to NC a couple times a year–hopefully will take care of that soon. Those other two might be tough without another cross-country road trip upcoming, though…
Let’s see… 35 plus Washington, D.C.
Grew up in eastern Ohio and was in Penna. all the time, and W.Va. a bit less, as a kid. Frequently vacationed then on the Outer Banks of N.C.; stopped in Va. often on those trips.
Also went at least once each to California, Fla., La., Maine, Minn., N.Y. and N.J. on family trips when I was a boy, including great whitewater rafting trips in Ore. and Utah.
Just after high school, went to the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mex., passing through Mo. (among other states mentioned elsewhere here) on the way.
Visited Ariz., Conn., Colo. and R.I. in college. Had two internships in Washington, D.C., but I think I’d been in town before. Visited my future wife’s family in Vermont while in college, and since have been back just about every year. Went to Hawaii on a wonderful family trip right after college.
Then traveled to Ga., Mass., Mich. and N.H. while working on the Dukakis campaign.
Went to a seminar once in Dallas, Tex.
Went to Alaska a few years back on a terrific Inside Passage cruise. Have been to Illinois, Indiana, Ky., Miss., S.C. and Tenn. on Lincoln- and Civil War-oriented field trips in the past decade or so. More recently, took a river cruise in Washington State.
The Dakotas, most of the Plains states and some of the Deep South states are still on my list.
Now I want to put up a poll where you can select multiple entries, so people can mark *which *states they’ve been in - both since people seem to want to share that, and since I’m a statistics geek and want to see which states are the most and least visited.
Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Hawaii, D.C.,
35(+1)
Incidentally, I think your qualification rule is stupid. You haven’t “been” to a state if you’ve driven through the entire thing from N->S, E->W if you didn’t stop for gas? But if you’re driving through a tiny sliver and you stop for gas, you’ve “been”?
What are you waiting for – that’s the best part of the US! Well, I don’t know about ND… 
I counted 26. I’m missing the Midwest and the Deep South.
IL (born and raised)
MO (lived there for a little over a year and live right on the border, so am there on a weekly basis)
VT
KY
TN
IA
OK
WI
IN
OH
WV
VA
PA
NY
NJ
FL
AK
WA
Your other poll made me realize that I had forgotten Massachusetts. This is particularly embarrassing since I have family there and spent a couple of weeks with them on at least two separate occasions as a child. I also made an adult trip to Boston, and on another occasion, spent about an hour in Springfield (work-related)
All 50 baby! Wow, three running threads in which I can brag about it!
3: Arkansas and Missouri (I live close to the border) And Alabama for space camp in sixth grade for science club.
If I cound drivethroughs: Kansas (went over the line in Kansas City to say we did it.), Tennessee and Mississippi on the way to Alabama.
That reminds me: in late 2000, in the last days of Bill Clinton’s second term, some White House staffer did some counting and realized that the President had been to every state at least once… except Nebraska. A quick visit was organized, putatitively so that Clinton could congratulate Ben Nelson at a public rally for his election to the U.S. Senate.
Maine, NH, Vermont, Mass, Conn, NY