states and countries i have visited

Canadian and other non-US readers might not realize that Kansas City is in the state of Missouri. There is also a small, less famous Kansas City in Kansas, just over the other side of the Missouri River. Two cities with the same name, in two different states.

Previous to this trip, I had never been in Missouri, and I have never been in Kansas or Oklahoma, so I'm checking off three states.

I've always wanted to visit all 50 US states and all 10 Canadian provinces -- but in vague way, never something that guided my choices. I've simply planned trips when and as we could afford them. I'm not into the "bucket list". There's just a looooong list of places I want to go, and I just do what I can. 

I'm now mentally letting go of the every-state goal. For example, we've never been to Texas. There has long been a great music scene in Austin, and we now have family there, a cousin of Allan's. And there are two Major League Baseball teams in Texas. But given time, money, dog-care, and climate-change, it is unlikely we will ever plan a trip to Texas -- although not impossible.

At the end of this trip, this is the list of US states I have not been in. Driving through counts, sitting in an airport does not.

Arkansas

Hawaii

Idaho

Montana

North Dakota

Texas

When I see how short that list is, it makes me want to plan more US travel! But I don't want a checklist to determine our precious travel time.

In Canada, I have not been to PEI, or any of the territories. Moving from Ontario to BC by car really helped this list! My experience in Nova Scotia was brief and unsatisfying -- I attended a union conference, and had almost no time outside of a hotel -- but it was three days, so it counts. We spent three weeks in Newfoundland in 2007, and I visited the Bay of Fundy, in New Brunswick, as a child on a trip with my parents.

The list of countries (besides US and Canada) that I have visited is either very long or very short, depending on how well-traveled you are. I have colleagues who have never been outside of Canada or even the province. And I have friends, family, and colleagues who have traveled all over the world, way more extensively than I have. 

It's the same in my own mind. I cherish all the travel I've done, and wherever we went, we traveled widely, for at least a few weeks. And at the same time, this is a fraction of all the places I'd like to go. Both at the same time. Such is life. Countries I have been in:

Bermuda

Brussels

Egypt

England (several times)

France (several times)

Ireland

Italy (twice)

Jordan

Mexico (all over, not resort travel)

Peru

Spain

Switzerland

I'd like to see Cambodia, Greece, and Türkiye on this list, but given my age, finances, and priorities (such as not spending our retirement years in poverty), I'm fairly certain that won't happen. Although not completely ruling it out.