Sort of in the spirit of those “where have you traveled” memes, I’m going to spend the next few Fridays making lists of places I’ve traveled and some specific memory or association I have with each place.

I hope some of you will play along too. (It doesn’t have to be on Fridays.) If you haven’t gone to all of these places, say something about why/why not, what you hope to do if you do travel there, or what you associate with the place. No 2 word cop-out answers, please!

Today, 10 states, plus a bonus — the District of Columbia, in alphabetical order:

1. Alabama: I don’t actually have any specific recollection of visiting Alabama. But seeing as I went on so many driving vacations with my parents as a child, that’s got to be when I’ve been there. I think we should do a weekend trip sometime soon, since it’s not a terrible drive. And I’ve always wanted to go to the Unclaimed Baggage Center.
2. Alaska: Never been there, either. My Dad and I used to talk about driving the Alcan Highway. We better do that soon, Dad, or global warming will end our chances!
3. Arizona: Ah, Arizona. Much of my favorite political organizing in grad school took place at a US Student Association annual meeting at Northern Arizona. Plus I drove through on my way home from California after September 11. It was in a Borders in Flagstaff that I realized all the maps in the US had been purchased by stuck people who decided to drive home earlier than I decided to drive home.
4. Arkansas: On a trip with my grandparents when I was about 11, we went to some crazy theme park. It was based on a cartoon about southern hick characters, I think? EDITED TO ADD: Dogpatch, USA, the Lil’ Abner Theme Park. Thanks, Andrea!
5. California: Where I was stuck September 11. Where many of my friends in the computer live. Where I met one of Levi’s Moms, while I was roommates with his other Mom.
6. Colorado: My most memorable trip to Colorado is back when I was probably 9 or 10. We went to Mesa Verde and saw the cliff dwellings, and we went to Four Corners, where you can stand in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico, all at the same time.
7. Connecticut: Many, many, many flights in and out of Hartford “International” Airport during college….
8. Delaware: My lovely wife and I spent our honeymoon at Rehoboth Beach. (Thanks again, Mikki, for lending us your condo!)
9. District of Columbia: It always aggravates me to see DC left off of lists of states, although technically, it isn’t a state. And I prefer to see it here in the alphabet, rather than down at the end near Washington state. That’s where I lived for ~4 years (Capitol Hill & Shaw/Truxton Circle; not counting the year in Takoma Park, MD or the year in Reston, VA), where I bought my first house, where I met my lovely wife, and where we legally changed our names.
10. Florida: My maternal grandparents moved to Florida when I was about 14. They lived in Eustis for a few years, and then moved to Lake Wales. My grandfather, uncle, and aunt still live in various parts of central Florida. Also, I celebrated my 21st birthday at Disney World. With my grandparents.
11. Georgia: Home, home on the range. Where I never expected to be. Where Noah was born, where I have a nice home….

Anyone else want to play? Isabel, Reno, I’m especially looking at you! (I’ll move on to international locations once I’m done with the US.)