So where are we going?

I guess it may be no surprise, but the first question I get asked when I mention I am going on holiday is 'Where are you going?'

While I'll go into more details of the actual journey when we get ready to start our road trip it is worth putting this trip into context.

Two years ago, as outlined in the blog at that time, I fulfilled a long held aim and managed to visit the last six states which led to me having visited all 48 of the contiguous US states. The trip was an amazing wander through 21 of the 48 states - this time we have a similar aim, but a more sensible route.

Drew, whose first visit to the States was in 2002 made Utah his 40th state in that 2013 visit, so, as we noted back then, he has now got 8 more to do and that informed the original planning for the route we are planning to take for this year's holiday. So by the time we get to Colorado Drew will have made it to the 48 states.

The route looks like this:

So during the holiday we will travel through 16 states (plus one Canadian province) which will include Drew's missing 8 - Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and Colorado. For me the only new area will be our trip into Ontario, taking me to six Canadian provinces (of 10). Still, though I have been to all these states before, the routes we are likely to take will be different from my previous visits, though parts of the route will be very similar to the time my sister, brother-in-law and I did Route 66 in 2000 - I suspect things will have changed in the 15 years in between, a theme I suspect the blog will come back to when we get to that part of the journey from Chicago on.