I grew up in a family with a bit of wanderlust. My dad, in particular, really wanted us kids to see more of the world than what was right around us. We did zigzagging roadtrips across the country and when I was 14 he made a trip to Europe happen for our family. During my childhood, I was able to visit 48 states and several countries. State #49 (Hawaii) happened when I was in college and state #50 (Alaska) finally happened in 2017 ( more on that trip below).
I'm not as much a wanderer as some of my siblings who have been to well over 50 countries (and in my brother Nate's case, more like 80), but I definitely inherited the desire to explore new places. We did a lot of the same kinds of zigzagging road trips across the country with our family over the years and once the kids were a little older have taken them to see more of the world as well!
One day several years ago, I decided to tally up the states and countries we had visited together. I created a spreadsheet and still update it every time we visit a new place. That was when we figured out how close we were to visiting 50 states together in our family. That was also when we planned our spring break trip to the Deep South to knock off a few states for Glen and the kids and Alaska a couple months after that. That trip to Alaska got Glen, Spencer, and I to 50 states.
But Hawaii remained elusive.
We had gone to Alaska while Cami was on her mission (something she's a little sad about), so we decided to try and visit Hawaii with everyone. The difficulty with that requirement meant that we were working around Emma's and Adam's missions, Garrett's medical school schedule, Cami's nursing school schedule, Adam's BYU schedule, Ellie's high school schedule, and Glen's work demands. Oh, and let's not forget that there was a worldwide pandemic thrown in there too.
Finally....after a lot of back and forth on the dates that would work for everyone....we made it happen! Now everyone but Cami, Garrett, and Lucie have been to all 50 states!
I am still very much in recovery mode from traveling, so I don't have it in me to blog poetically, but I also really want to make sure this all gets written down while it's still fresh, so these posts will be simple recaps of each day we were in Hawaii--with lots of photos, of course. 😀
I'm not as much a wanderer as some of my siblings who have been to well over 50 countries (and in my brother Nate's case, more like 80), but I definitely inherited the desire to explore new places. We did a lot of the same kinds of zigzagging road trips across the country with our family over the years and once the kids were a little older have taken them to see more of the world as well!
One day several years ago, I decided to tally up the states and countries we had visited together. I created a spreadsheet and still update it every time we visit a new place. That was when we figured out how close we were to visiting 50 states together in our family. That was also when we planned our spring break trip to the Deep South to knock off a few states for Glen and the kids and Alaska a couple months after that. That trip to Alaska got Glen, Spencer, and I to 50 states.
But Hawaii remained elusive.
We had gone to Alaska while Cami was on her mission (something she's a little sad about), so we decided to try and visit Hawaii with everyone. The difficulty with that requirement meant that we were working around Emma's and Adam's missions, Garrett's medical school schedule, Cami's nursing school schedule, Adam's BYU schedule, Ellie's high school schedule, and Glen's work demands. Oh, and let's not forget that there was a worldwide pandemic thrown in there too.
Finally....after a lot of back and forth on the dates that would work for everyone....we made it happen! Now everyone but Cami, Garrett, and Lucie have been to all 50 states!
I am still very much in recovery mode from traveling, so I don't have it in me to blog poetically, but I also really want to make sure this all gets written down while it's still fresh, so these posts will be simple recaps of each day we were in Hawaii--with lots of photos, of course. 😀
MONDAY, MAY 23
- Left home around 3:30am--SLC- LV - SD - HNL -- For the record, San Diego airport is terrible and you have to leave security just to transfer to another gate. That meant disposing of all our liquids again and waiting in longish security lines between flights. We weren't impressed.
- What I read on the plane: "Cured: The Life-Changing Science of Spontaneous Healing" by Jeffrey Rediger, MD. It's a fascinating book looking at some of the weaknesses of modern medicine's focus on treating symptoms and disease, rather than on prevention and healing. Highly recommend!
- Arrived to Honolulu around 12:00pm, got our luggage, rented cars, drove to get lunch (Off the Hook Poke and a nearby ramen place for the anti-raw fish among us)
- Lyon Arboretum —short walk enjoying the beautiful and unique trees and flowers
- Walmart for groceries. We tried really hard not to choke over the high prices of everything in Hawaii...even in Walmart!
- Checked into Airbnb...this was the view off our back porch
- Chill night with some people playing pickle ball, a few who went to beach, we all played a family game
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- Did a taste test of Hawaiian sour gummies with li hang mui powder, gummies were okay, do not recommend the powder (planned by Emma)
- Went to bed early and very exhausted!
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