1. Ohio, Buckeye State: lived in central Ohio for so many years, visited almost every corner of Ohio: Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, Bowling Green, Athens, Dayton. Strongly recommended tourism hotspots: Dayton's Air Force Museum, Columbus's Dawes Arboretum and Columbus Zoo, Hocking Hills Old Man's Cave.
2. New York, Empire State: visited Niagara Falls, Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Columbia University, World Trade Centers before September 11, 2001
3. New Jersey, Garden State: fishing, crabbing, turtling except gardening
4. North Carolina, Old North State: summer vacation at a vacation house of Outer Banks in 2003
5. California, Golden State: 12-day field trip from LA to Napa Valley, from San Francisco to Hearst Castle to Silican Valley then to San Diego
6. Arizona, Grand Canyon State: visited Tucson and its Carolina Mountains
7. Nevada, Silver State: visited casinos in Reno (1997) and Las Vegas (2004)
8. Oregon, Beaver State: visited Eugene and Sea Lion Cave along Pacific Ocean in 2009
9. Montana, Treasure State, Big Sky State: visited Glacier NP, Flathead Lake, tried to go treasure hunting but no time
10. Wyoming, Equality State, Cowboy State: the most recent state we visited because of Yellowstone NP
11. Colorado, Centennial State: National GAP Conference at Colorado State in 2003, visited Rocky Mountain NP
12. Michigan, Great lake State, Wolverine State: visited Michigan State University several times, like their horticultural garden; visited Detroit
13. Indiana, Hoosier State: visited Purdue University and University of Indiana at Bloomington; played U.S. Chess at Indianapolis in 2009
14. Illinois, Prairie State: job interview at University of Illinois at Urbana
15. Wisconsin, Badger State: visited University of Wisconsin at Madison
16. Virginia, Old Dominion: visited friends in Richmond, Virginia in 2010
17. West Virginia, Mountain State: first skiing trip at WinterPlace, WV in 2007 and rafting on the New River in the past June 2011.
18. Pennsylvania, Keystone State, Quaker State: visited Penn State in the Happy Valley in 1996
19. Kentucky, Bluegrass State: visited friends in University of Kentucky
20. Tennessee, Volunteer State, Big Bend State: visited Rock City and Great Smoky Mountains NP in 2007
21. Massachusetts, Bay State, Old Colony State: met old time friends and visited Harvard University and MIT in 1999
22. Alabama, Yellowhammer State, Heart of Dixie, Camellia State: visited Mobile, Alabama in 2003
23. Maryland, Old Line State, Free State: visited Baltimore and its Aquarium long time ago
24. Florida, Sunshine State: visited Disneyland twice, boarded Norwegian Jewel to Cruise the Caribbeans
25. Missouri, Show Me State: visited Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis long time ago
By Year 2011 I visited exactly half of the 50 U.S. States. What a journey!
