I got to the map on this page via Dustbury.
Click states in the map to cycle through the colors, or use the list beneath. Choose:
red for states where you’ve not spent much time or seen very much.
amber for states where you’ve at least slept and seen some sights.
blue for states you’ve spent a lot of time in or seen a fair amount of.
green for states you’ve spent a great deal of time in on multiple visits.
These are definitionally tricky categories. In addition to NY and NC, where I’ve lived, I’ve added PA to the green category, because at least three of my grandparents’ families lived there. The parents of my childhood friend Carol owned a cottage in northern PA, where I visited a lot. I’ve seen my now-ex, the Okie, there. One of my brothers-in-law lives there now.
Likewise, I spent so much time going to Boston and Springfield that I added Massachusetts to the list. The same then future brother-in-law used to live there, who I visited after I appeared on JEOPARDY! in Boston.
California almost made the list, due to multiple visits to San Diego; I’ve actually been to the major league ballpark there more than any other. Vermont was also on the blue-to-green bubble. Washington, DC would be definitely blue.
Most of the amber states I visited as a result of a single conference visit: Colorado, Kentucky, Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin. I went to Michigan and Ohio on a train trip in 1998. Oddly, the only place I’ve been in West Virginia is Martinsburg, about halfway between Albany, NY and Charlotte, NC, but we’ve been there enough times to identify the restaurants and hotels, practically from memory.
A few years ago I did a similar map, but it was a merely/yes no thing. Sadly, I haven’t added to the thirty states I’ve visited since my trek to Chicago, IL in 2008. But we ARE working on adding to The Daughter’s list.
Incidentally, if I were to add the Canadian provinces, Quebec would be amber – two trips to Montreal in the 1990s – but Ontario would be blue, with trips to Windsor, Toronto, Peterborough, and especially Niagara Falls.
