I recently read that the average American has visited 12 states, which puts me in a unique category of having spent time in 41 of them. I have yet to visit Washington state, the Dakotas, or the northeastern states. The good news is having experienced multiple coast to coast moves, I have become a well organized packer while continuing to downsize over the years. My kids will appreciate this one day when they discover that my life consists of a stack of journals, photos I have meticulously catalogued, and a couple of shoe boxes of mementos. Recently, I moved to South Lake Tahoe, CA from the east coast so another trip is not immediately in the cards. Should that day come, I would head directly to Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont. What I have learned throughout my travels is that you must talk to people in every state you visit to appreciate new surroundings, cultures, history, etc. By discovering and accepting other people’s differences and similarities, you can learn so much more about yourself -- provided you make time to listen.
