Doug and I have had a goal of visiting all 50 states together since we started dating.
We share a love of travel; it’s something that we believe in and actively prioritize in our lives. Brainstorming places to go is one of our favorite conversation topics; there’s usually some sort of master plan of “Our next big trip” being brewed upon in the background. There’s two big lists we have going: Our USA Travel Bucket List, and our International Travel Bucket List.
Of course, we could just combine the two lists, but then it’d be comprised of basically every great place in the world. Ha! Two lists, broken into domestic and international, feels more manageable. Especially when you consider the different factors in our season of life that don’t allow us to just get up and go across the seas — things like having a family to consider, limited funds, and “vacation days” to okay with bosses.
Our USA Travel Bucket List
Our USA list has always been our “Priority” list.
Traveling within the USA is typically more affordable, manageable (you can easily do long weekend trips and still feel like you’ve experienced a place!), and traveling domestic is also significantly more family friendly (Road tripping is an option if we want!)
With all that in mind, our approach is to try and tackle 2 – 3 USA-based places per year, and 1 international place every other year. Manageable, yet still an amount that we feel itches our big scratch to travel. If we accomplish more than that – YEEHAW! (I should note we’ve both been to states individually, but we don’t count those trips toward our tandem USA Travel Bucket List accomplishment unless we’ve been there together!) I’ll save sharing our top international places for a different day — today’s all about the good ‘ol USA!
We’ve currently been to about half of the states within the United States together!
Here are some of our favorite places in the country that we’ve been to so far. White water rafting in the mountains of West Virginia, hiking Zion National Park in Utah, and our yearly trip to Florida beaches with my family is always so relaxing. We started dating while on a trip to Kennebunkport, Maine. Los Vegas, Nevada and Nashville, Tennessee just plain FUN. Austin, Texas is eclectic and unique, and New York, NY is always appreciated for its amazing energy. And one of our all time favorite places to travel to is California — Los Angeles and Palm Springs are amazing year-round.
So, where to next? When you want to hit up all 50 states, it’s a tough question! Every state has so much to offer and things we want to see. But, here are the top places that we want to prioritize going to next.
The Top 10 Places Currently On Our USA Travel Bucket List
Hike + Backpack in National Parks
One of our favorite trips to date was Zion National Park; it was such a magical place and ignited a love for hiking in us! Top national parks currently on our list include Glacier National Park in Montana, Crater Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Denali National Park in Alaska, Great Sand Dunes in Colorado, White Sands National Park in New Mexico, and Acadia National Park in Maine. These would all be places we’d LOVE to go to with our kids. I know this technically should count as multiple places on this list but I’m grouping them under one because there’s too many others I want to mention! 😉
Maui & Oahu, Hawaii
I have a few friends who went to Hawaii on their honeymoons and all say it’s their favorite place they’ve ever visited. Give me sand and sun and I’m happy — I can only imagine the feeling of these elements in Hawaii!
See Aurora Borealis in Alaska
We want to go on a big Alaskan tour seeing all the state has to offer — the Aurora Borealis is something that’s on our LIFE bucket list and a must do! We also really want to see the glaciers.
Wine Tasting In Napa Valley
We love California; can you believe we haven’t been to Napa Valley together?! Wine tasting here is a must!
Drive The Pacific Coast Highway
Another Californian must-do!
Rent a Houseboat on Lake Powell, AZ
Lake Powell looks incredible — we’ve had it on our list since my gynecologist in Chicago recommended it to us while we were pregnant with Grace! We think this trip would be so fun to do with our kids and another couple. This is one that we’d love to do as a family, so we need to wait for the right timing, but I can see us doing it in the next few years for sure!
Swim In Lake Tahoe
A place I’ve been but Doug hasn’t. Lake Tahoe is absolutely breathtaking!
Seattle, Washington
And here’s a place Doug’s been but I haven’t! He’s convinced this will be one of my favorite cities after I visit. I’ve done a lot of research and have to say, even from the photos I agree.
Drive all of Route 66
The ultimate summer road trip! We want to do this once the kiddos are old enough — probably in their teenage years. We’d start in Chicago, IL and end in Santa Monica, CA, and the trip would check off some of our never-been-before states like Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona. There are so many sights to see and stops along the way that we’d want to see – we’d make it a full 2 week trip!
Charleston, North Carolina
I LOVE Charleston so much, but Doug has never been! He’s so curious as to what the hype is all about. It’s one of those places where you definitely need to experience the city to “get” it and this is top of our list.
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One thing is certain — the top places on our USA travel bucket list only start to scratch the surface of all there is to see and do in this amazing country!
PS –
PS – Top Things To Do In Denver + All We Did In Austin, TX + Our Girls Trip to Savannah, GA
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