Hi! My name is Charles, and I visited every contiguous U.S. state in the same trip. Learn more about me and my travels in "Road Trip w/ Charlie!"
You will likely see this photo again when I document my NYC experience!
We’ve all had that one really outlandish goal, right? An aspiration that you hope to one day reach even if it seems unlikely? Like winning the lottery. Or going to the moon.
What about the perfect trip or getaway? Is there somewhere you’ve always dreamed of going, but things just haven’t lined up to make it a reality quite yet?
For me, that perfect trip was driving across the United States, seeing all the different sights that I never had the chance to experience. I was born in Ohio, and though I was lucky enough to enjoy several family vacations growing up, there were always those landmarks on the other side of the U.S. that people at school would mention visiting, like Yosemite or the Grand Canyon, that I had never really had the opportunity to visit.
Time passes, and things change, and opportunities can start to dry up as you get older and enter the workforce. After a while, I began to lose hope that I would ever get to visit some of the coolest places this country has to offer. Then, after many years of saving, the stars aligned within my personal life to enable me to finally realize this dream I had. The excitement that I felt when I planned the trip was hard to describe.
This “Day 0” article will serve as the inaugural entry in a series titled “Road Trip w/ Charlie,” in which I will be documenting this trip’s events, destinations, and other useful things I learned along the way.
At the beginning of April in 2023, my apartment lease ended, I put all of my belongings into storage, and I began my journey in Michigan (the state I was residing in at the time). I set out with the goal of visiting all 48 contiguous U.S. states in the same trip, weaving my way across the country in a pattern that gave my family a headache when I first described my plan.
An early draft of my destination list.
I had come up with a list of all the places, activities, and events I wanted to see, researching optimal driving paths to ensure I didn’t become too burnt out from extended periods of driving. Before leaving, I made arrangements with several of my friends across the country to stay with them at various points during my travels. Their hospitality was perhaps the single most important thing that allowed me to see this crazy idea through all the way to the end, and I am greatly appreciative of their understanding and kindness.
Seattle is beautiful in April.
With a plan in hand, a preliminary budget, essentials packed in the trunk, and a mind open to any possibilities that could present themselves, I started the engine on my Honda Civic and hit the road!
(Side Note: After completing the trip, I would NOT recommend performing a road trip such as this one in a Honda Civic. It started off fine. But then I started collecting memorabilia… It would have been nice to have more room.)
This ol' car has been with me through a lot...
Overall, this road trip was an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience that I am very grateful that I was able to make possible. All those sights I never got around to seeing, the things I never got around to doing, and the people I had never met — I finally saw them, contributing to a newfound greater understanding of this world we live in, and I would never trade that for anything.
But this is just the start! For more information on each step of my journey, and to discover the places that I saw, feel free to explore the rest of my articles in “Road Trip w/ Charlie.”
Until next time, travelers!
