Liberty Tour Wrap Up

   I called our quick trip this past May the "Liberty Tour" because we essentially started with the Statue of Liberty and ended at the Liberty Bell and included Boston, where our country was born. It was a quick trip, took a total of 5 days-though 2 of those was simply getting to and from Tennessee. The main point of the trip was really to visit those states marked in red above. It has always been a dream of mine to visit all 50 states. Missing all of New England was an area easily covered in a short time. Getting in those last 10, in the Pacific Northwest, is going to be a bit more difficult.

Liberty Tour Day 4: Beautiful Vermont down to Philadelphia

   If you have been reading these each day that I post them, I thank you. If you have stumbled upon this post as a first then welcome. Today I am writing about the last day of our quick four day trip from our home in Tennessee to New England. Arriving in Vermont the night before brought my 'visited states' total to 40. Despite my not feeling well the day before, I had a wonderful time and loved being able to form actual opinions on a place rather than relying on assumptions.

Liberty Tour Day 3: Maybe See a Lighthouse in Maine

 

   Leaving Salem, Boston and Massachusetts was sad for me. I'm not really sure that I could live there, but I absolutely want to visit that area again and again. But we were on a mission to visit all of the New England states, so on we went. 

Liberty Tour Day 3: Lost in Boston and Seeing Salem

   Bumper to bumper traffic at 6am going in to Boston, of course. Remember, I don't need no stinkin' gps, I got maps and instinct! Take Storrow Drive, sure, that sounds right. Charles River, ooh pretty! There's an exit for Fenway, take that! Oh, not Fenway Park...where are we? Wrong way, take a right at the next street, then another right, then a left, just a few more streets. I think. Yes! There she is, what a beauty!

Liberty Tour Day 2: New York to Boston

    Finally being "in" New York after having stared at it all day was a little unusual. Just seeing the magnificent skyline felt like being immersed in it. I can't remember a time when I have spent so much time staring at another state without actually being in it. New Jersey and New York made states visited #33 and #34 for me, and that number would jump to 40 before the trip was over. I'm hoping to make 50 before I hit that age, but I'm starting to think Alaska will never happen.

   On to the trip!

The Real "About Me" Page

   I have decided to write a better "about me" page than the one that is available as part of the blog. I thought I would like to write a longer, more thorough explanation of who I am. Just in case anyone was wondering.
   First things first, the above photo is about as close as you will ever see of a self-portrait. I might post a few photos of myself when I was a small kid, but I refuse to get in front of the camera. No exceptions at all. No "selfies" here. I don't need photos of myself at a place or with a person to prove I was there. I have memories and the photos I take and that is good enough for me.

  Next I will tell you a little bit about me. Not what I like, but about me personally. I am a 40something(honestly- I've stopped counting) stay at home mom. I have one daughter, a teenager. I do not post photos of her on the internet, nor is she allowed to yet. I don't even mention her real name anywhere, she is simply known as "kiddo" and always will be. I was born in Texas, near Houston, and grew up there. I moved to Tennessee, near Nashville, in 1996. My mom moved here and I followed because I suppose I really needed a change in my life at the time. Went to work at Kroger and met my husband there. I am fairly conservative, I believe in God and the Constitution, I obey traffic laws to the letter and I love police officers.
  Now to discuss what makes me "me", my loves and obsessions:

• STARSIGN: Capricorn
• FAVE COLOR: Green, Black
• LUCKY NUMBER: 12
• MOVIES: O Brother Where Art Thou, Star Wars:A New Hope, History of the World Pt 1, 1776, Monty Python & the Holy Grail, Elephant Man, Gettysburg, Lego Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy
• BOOKS: any map book, "The Stand" Stephen King, 
• MUSIC: Beatles(George), Garth Brooks, Chris Gaines, Def Leppard, Duran Duran, some country, no pop music after 1990(I refuse to listen to any new music out there)
• TV SHOWS: Cops, Aerial America, Sleepy Hollow, Daredevil, Deadwood, X-Files, South Park, CSI(original & with Grissom only), nearly any history show
• FAVE SPORTS: football, hockey, baseball, 
• FAVE FOOTBALL TEAMS: Titans, Patriots, Broncos, Falcons, Lions
• FAVE HOCKEY TEAMS: Predators, Bruins, Avalanche, 
• FAVE BASEBALL TEAMS: Braves, Astros, Red Sox, Rockies, Tigers
• FAVE COLLEGE TEAMS: Tennessee, Michigan, Houston, Texas
• RADIO STATIONS I LISTEN TO: Sports talk, conservative radio
• ADDICTIONS: World of Warcraft, Dr Pepper, road trips, visiting cemeteries, history, learning, Lego
• DREAM PLACE TO LIVE: Wyoming, in the middle of nowhere, no neighbors, in the snow
• FEARS: Heights, flying, bugs, 
• FAVE FOOD: Mac&Cheese
• HATED FOOD: quite a few-but especially onions
• PET PEEVES: Bad drivers, loud music from neighbors
• FAVE SUPERHERO: Iron Man
• FAVE ANIMALS: cat, cougar, horse, wolf, meerkat
• HOW MANY PAIRS OF SHOES DO I OWN: 2
• TYPICAL BREAKFAST: fruit bar & a diet Dr Pepper
• FAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR: I only own tshirts & jeans, a hoodie for cold weather
• JEWELRY?: extremely plain wedding ring, that's all I own
• MORNING OR NIGHT?: Morning, though it gets harder to wake up as I get older
• PETS: at the moment, 4 cats
• TATTOOS?: No thanks
• FAVE HOLIDAY: Halloween, I love ghost anything, plus it means Fall & Winter are here
• INTROVERT?: Yes, extremely, and terribly shy. Quite severe social anxiety
• HOW MANY FRIENDS?: Zero, if you don't count family members
• RELATED TO ANYONE FAMOUS?: Cousin of the guy who let John Wilkes Booth in the back door
• COFFEE OR TEA?: Tea, Earl Grey please, I hate coffee
• FIRST CRUSH?: Anthony Hopkins in "The Elephant Man"
• FOREIGN LANGUAGES?: A little French, a little Russian
• WHERE MARRIED?: Justice of the Peace in Sevierville, Tennessee
• HONEYMOON?: Hiking in the Smoky Mountains, then weekend in a cabin
• TRAUMATIC LIFE EXPERIENCE: Saw best friend hit and killed by car in 1985

   I have lower than low self esteem. I am certain all of my photos are horrible. But I love to take photos, so if they only ever make me happy, I suppose that's enough. Here are some answers about my photography:

• FIRST PHOTO TAKEN: I recall being allowed to snap a photo of the fish at a temple on a trip to Hawaii when I was 7
• FIRST CAMERA: A 110 instamatic, probably around age 10
• FIRST PHOTO WITH THAT CAMERA: a squirrel at the San Jacinto Monument on a field trip with school
• FIRST SLR CAMERA: Pentax K1000, 1984, saved up summer job money to buy it
• FIRST PHOTO WITH THAT CAMERA: A Flock of Seagulls concert, the drummer showed me how to load the film before the show
• FIRST DIGITAL CAMERA: Fuji FinePix, Christmas 2002
• FIRST PHOTOS WITH THAT CAMERA: Christmas 
• FIRST DIGITAL SLR CAMERA: Canon Rebel XTi, May 2008
• FIRST PHOTOS WITH THAT CAMERA: Birds in the yard
• CURRENT CAMERA: The same Canon Rebel XTi, same camera for 7 years, only one I have
• PUBLISHED?: Once in a Civil War magazine. Also have a photo on display at a rest area in Tennessee

   And finally, collections. I like to collect things, lots of things!

• ON MY DESK: Pop!Vinyls: Tom Brady, Han Solo, Angel(Buffy), Tenth Doctor, Will Riker, Star Lord, Rocket Raccoon
• HATS: I love ball caps, have dozens of them, including my "Tin Cup Cast & Crew"
• LEGO: We can't afford very many sets, but I'd say we have a pretty decent collection
• HOCKEY STUFF: Have hundreds of pucks, dozens of sticks, jerseys, cabinet full of cards. I don't actively collect this anymore and would sell if the price was right. 

    
   If you have any questions, want to know anything I forgot to cover, please ask either in the comments here or on Twitter @graveskaut !

TL;DR version: we might get along if you are a conservative who loves history, road trips, sports, the United States, roadside America, abandoned places but not trespassing, and cemeteries. :)

Liberty Tour Day 2: A Cloudy New York City

   It wasn't ideal conditions. That's always my luck. Too hot, too cold, too foggy, raining. I rarely seem to visit somewhere thinking "this is a perfect day for this!" But sometimes that just doesn't matter.