Oh, it’s certainly North Dakota. My family took a road trip to Montana and Yellowstone National Park this past summer. I remember the drive through ND as boring and desolate from when I was a kid…I have to say that, almost 20 years later, it seemed even more so. Interstate exits with no town name, no road name…just an exit number and some gravel road that goes off into the distance. Anywhere else, there would at least be gas stations and restaurants–heck, South Dakota’s got eight million billboards advertising Wall Drug. In North Dakota, nothing. Nothing at all.
Kansas is close, but my grandma lives there, so there’s one thing vs. North Dakota’s zero.
The Nordic Needle is in North Dakota. It’s an awesome needlework shop that’s a good place to get less schmaltzy cross stitch. (I mean, I haven’t BEEN there of course, they have a website.)
Sorry, when I was living in Philly and my family came to visit, we went down to Delaware. On purpose.
I think it’s just that Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland and Connecticut are so small most people don’t even know they’re there. And at least Delaware and Maryland aren’t “next door” to one of the world’s greatest tourist destinations.
I know lots of (old) people who go to Iowa to gamble. My grandparents used to go to the dog track in Dubuque all the time, but stopped for a reason I can’t remember.
Iowa also has that community of Amish/Hutterites/whatever that attracts a lot tourists. And the Ertl company in Dyersville, along with the National Farm Toy Museum, which I have been to. (It’s nice if you like dioramas of farmland and very small tractors, which I don’t especially.)
I’ll also chime in to defend Delaware. Throw residents of NJ and SE PA in with the Marylanders. The lack of sales tax is a big reason for visiting. Lots of people I know go there to do major shopping, make big purchases, and… buy cartons of cigarettes.
I’ve been a tourist in Iowa (Amish country); and Ohio is really quite lovely. My vote is for Nebraska. I’ve never been there, and maybe it’s perfectly wonderful. But they just don’t seem to be a big tourist draw.
So untrue. Otherwise I’d go to Newport of a Summer Saturday. But I can’t because of all the damn tourists. Rhode Island has tons of beaches and there are towns such as Narragansett that are full of rental properties for all the tourists that vacation here.
But the second smallest state - Delaware- yeah, I’ve never heard of anyone going there. I was actually quite stunned to learn my grandmother was born in Wilmington. Seriously, I would have been less surprised if she had told me she was born on Mars.
