Summer Bucket List 2017

Blogging while not on a trip?! Whaaaaaat... Ya, it's a little different, but stick with me. I'm on a mission here, and the public should be informed. (I'm not sure why exactly the public should be informed, but roll with it for now.*)

This summer. My goal is to make it to the 12 states that put me shy of visiting all 50. Some might say it's impossible. 12 states in one summer? Spread across the US? Maybe it is. But I am going to do my very best to prove the naysayers wrong. Here are the 12 states I still have to cross off my list, and three possible sites** to visit.

 1.  Alabama

        - Civil Rights District 

        - Vulcan Park and Museum 

        - Mobile Carnival Museum 

 2.  Alaska

        - Flattop Mountain Trail

        - Sea Kayaking

        - Mendenhall Ice Caves 

 3.  Indiana

        - Bluespring Caverns 

        - Indiana Medical History Museum 
        - Rotary Jail Museum 

 4.  Maine

        - Arcadia National Park

        - Old Port

        - Victoria Mansion

 5.  Mississippi

        - Elvis Presley Birthplace

        - Vicksburg National Military Park

        - Rowan Oak - Home of William Faulkner

 6.  New Hampshire

        - The Basin

        - Madame Sherri's Castle

        - America's Stonehenge

 7.  North Carolina 

        - See the Blue Ghost Fireflies

        - Abandoned Henry River Mill Village

        - Acid Park

8. Ohio

        - "A Christmas Story" House

        - The Great Serpent Mound

        - The Troll Hole Museum

9. Oregon (Portland)

        - Mill Ends Park (World's Smallest Park)

        - Eat a Voodoo Doughnut 
        - Visit the International Rose Test and Japanese Gardens

10. South Carolina

        - UFO Welcome Center

        - Drayton Hall Plantation

        - Old Slave Mart Museum

11. Tennessee

        - Dollywood

        - Graceland

        - The Lost Sea Adventure

12. West Virginia

        - Congressional Fallout Shelter at the Greenbrier Resort

        - Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

        - Moth Man Museum

** Disclaimer: The three things are just ideas and not actual bucket list items. They're not make-it-or-break-it must-sees, but some ideas to focus the adventure. A lot of them are very spread out... It might not be realistic to hit them all in one trip. And if I know anything about the way my family travels, it's that we rarely have a plan, and if we do, we rarely stick to it...

Some of these sites are recognizable landmarks, like Arcadia National Park, and some are a little more eclectic... *cough* Troll Hole Museum *cough*.  This is because although I did some Google and TripAdvisor research, (types "Top Ten Things to do in Tennessee"), the majority of my research was using AtlasObscura. I had never used this website before writing this post, but I wish I'd found it years ago. Part social media, part travel guide, part bucket list, if you have ever suffered from extreme wanderlust, check out this site and spend some time exploring. (Or maybe don't. I went down a travel searching rabbit hole, and that's three hours I'll never get back.)

Please let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions for any of these states or cities. Do you have a site that I can't miss? Or have you been to any on my list, and think I should stick clear? (In that case, many thanks for the heads up!) I welcome any information. (Maybe THIS is why the public should be informed!* To follow along and create a legible narrative sure whatever, but also to give some traveling suggestions.)

Peace, 

Cristiana