My 50 State Quest

By Valerie Sanfilippo

While on a birthday vacation in Colorado, Valerie had an “a-ha” moment which prompted her to embark on a quest to see all 50 states. Destinations and itineraries were decided by random inspirations and always lead to noteworthy intrigue.  Join Valerie as she gives you detailed experiences at some of America’s premier Major League Baseball stadiums, first-hand perspective of a foodie tour in Delaware, as well as visual imagery of some of America’s natural beauty like the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, Maine’s spectacular coastline and the breathtaking landscape of the American southwest. Not only does Valerie’s story take you through America’s greatness, but it also embodies her personal life adventure which is filled with an unwavering will to persevere and grow.  This book will not only pull at your heartstrings but provide a comical tale of discovery and hopefully inspire the reader to get out there to find the extra in the ordinary.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781648011733

Book preview

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Copyright © 2020 Valerie Sanfilippo

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2020

Cover design by Simon Thompson

ISBN 978-1-64801-171-9 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64801-172-6 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-64801-173-3 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Letter to Reader

State Visited Timeline

US Map with numbers

Prologue

New Jersey

Florida

New York

Pennsylvania

Virginia (technically)

North Carolina (technically)

South Carolina

Connecticut

Ohio

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

New Hampshire

Return to State Number 8 Connecticut

Nevada

Maryland

Vermont

Colorado

Washington

Alaska

Arizona

California

Utah

Texas

Oregon

Illinois

Wisconsin

Maine

Delaware

Missouri

Louisiana

Tennessee

Georgia

Wyoming

Mississippi (by way of Memphis, Tennessee)

Arkansas (by way of Memphis, Tennessee)

Alabama

Oklahoma

Midwest Trex (States Number 37–42: MN, ND, SD, NE, KS, [MO], and IA)

Minnesota

North Dakota

South Dakota

Nebraska

Kansas

Iowa

Baseball Road Trip (States Number 43-46: IN, MI, (OH), (PA), WV, and KY)

Indiana

Michigan

Bonus Chapter 2 Revisit Ohio and Pennsylvania (by checking out Cleveland, then venturing over to Pittsburgh)

West Virginia

Kentucky

Final Summer Fling Trip (States Number 47 and 48: MT and ID)

Montana

Idaho

New Mexico

Hawaii

Attractions Index

US Map Blank

To my kids:

always remember to see it, do it, and taste it all!

And please don’t forget to send me a postcard.

I love you!

Letter to Reader

Dear Reader:

Thank you SO much for purchasing my book! I am truly honored and privileged that out of all of the available options, you decided to select my story. I hope, in advance, that you enjoy my journey as much as I enjoyed experiencing and writing about it.

The design of this book has definitely evolved during its creation. After each one of my travels, I would construct a one-page scrapbook page for myself, just so that I would have something unique to reminisce my adventure. I would share my artwork with friends and family, who then suggested that I should create a coffee table book with all the pictures I had amassed from all of my travels. So when my life presented me with some downtime, I began to assemble my coffee table book. When I looked at the photos, I was reminded about some of the backstories that went with each photo, so I decided to add little blurbs to each image. My blurbs began to get longer, and eventually turned into paragraphs. Paragraphs turned into chapters, and before I knew it, I was writing a book!

I assembled a small cohort of a few friends to review my writing and provide constructive feedback. From their suggestions, I was able to add features to this book to hopefully provide you with a more well-rounded product. For example, at the beginning of this book you will find a timeline and a numbered state-map. My journey to visit all fifty actually kicks off in 2011, however prior to then I had been to a few states and felt that in order to tell a true tale I had to start the story from the very first state, New Jersey. Thus at a friend’s suggestion, I decided to create a timeline to help navigate you through my journey, especially since there were some repeat visits to certain states. The numbered map is a result, and a nod, to all of my students. While I was teaching, I had a blank map of the United States in my classroom, and after every visit I would color in the newly obtained state. My students became very excited about my quest, and after any scheduled break, they eagerly inquired about where I went and what I ate. Therefore, I’m providing you with a copy of my state map, numbered in the order that I had been to each, as well as, a blank copy for you to number or color in your journey of visiting states at the end of this book. Also, at the end of this book you’ll find an attractions index, which will provide you with the necessary contact information to the sites that I had visited, should you decide to visit the same.

Again I am beyond grateful that you purchased my book, and I truly hope you enjoy reading it, looking at the collages and maybe finding inspiration to travel in the amazing United States!

Eat well and travel often,

Valerie

State Visited Timeline

US Map with numbers

About the Author

Valerie Sanfilippo is your quintessential Jersey girl, who has a strong passion for food, travel, and softball, as well as, her beloved Jack Russell Terriers. For her first act, Valerie served as a middle school science teacher, and during her career, she took full advantage of her predetermined breaks to travel to and visit each one of the states in the United States. Almost as much as the actual travel, Valerie loved sharing her experiences of what she saw, did, and ate while in each state with her students, friends, and family. With the ambition to become an authority on food and continental travel, Valerie decided to present her quest to the masses.

Prologue

Iwas about to turn thirty, and I had no idea what I wanted as a gift to celebrate entering into my third decade of life. I was a certified tenured teacher. I was in an on-again, off-again relationship. I was recovering from a breakup with my college sweetheart that resulted in the sale of our townhouse, so I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted at this juncture of my life. I realized that receiving material things wasn’t what it used to be like when I was younger. I was at the point where if I really wanted something, I could simply go to the store and get it for myself. However, I realized that gifts were no longer material desires but more about the experience. Yes, that’s it; I wanted to experience things!

My birthday is a winter one, and since I enjoyed skiing, I figured that a trip out to Colorado would be an epic birthday gift. So I quickly started doing my homework [such a teacher] in how to get there, where to stay, what to do, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed planning this vacation, and I was so excited about going on the trip that I never felt the dread of turning thirty.

My trip to Colorado was spectacular! The skiing was great, the hotel was fantastic, the nestled town of Breckenridge was picturesque, and we even went snowmobiling! And as I sat in the waiting area, before I had to board the plane to return home, I reflected on how absolutely amazing my trip was and how I would treasure this experience forever. I was thoroughly impressed by Colorado’s beauty, intrigued by the lifestyle and culture of the Coloradans in a quaint little mountain town and, of course, the food. I knew there was so much more to explore, see, and do. Prior to this trip, I had often vacationed in the Caribbean islands, and people would always ask me when I was going to travel and see Europe, to which I would respond, it’s on the list, but how can I go see someone else’s country when I haven’t even seen my own? A-ha moment, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to go and see all fifty states!

I was so excited by this new plan that as I was traveling across our country to return home to New Jersey, I started making a list of the states that I’ve already been to, and couldn’t wait to research where to go next. I figured the rules would be simple:

When visiting a state you,

must spend at least one night in order for it to count (you can’t just drive through the state);

see an attraction or do something popular in the state;

need to try a state food or meal that the state is known for (i.e., a Taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwich in New Jersey or a Denver omelet while in Colorado);

gotta take a selfie or have a picture taken with something neat;

obtain a magnet in the shape of that state, as well as some article of clothing (for example, T-shirt if you are there when it’s summer/warm, sweatshirt if you’re there when it’s cold, or long-sleeved T-shirt when it’s in between warm and cold); and

send a postcard to my kids and my future brother-in-law, Lee.

I always knew our country was special, and now I was going to be able to see and experience it firsthand. I was so excited at the upcoming prospects that I grinned from ear to ear for the remainder of the flight home.

State Number 1

New Jersey

Iwas born, raised, and reside in my home state of New Jersey. I grew up in a small suburban town ten miles outside of New York City. My county was often dubbed the unofficial sixth Boro to New York City, and there are plenty of characteristics that would solidify the nickname. Anyway, New Jersey is a great place to reside in. We have four seasons; you can get anywhere with ease via our highway system (especially using the Parkway or Turnpike). New York City is just a stone’s throw away if you live in Northern New Jersey, while Southern New Jersey has Philadelphia (however, it could be a quick ride to either city, or you could sit in traffic for an hour or more). But the two best features of New Jersey have got to be the shore and the diners (okay, well, not pumping your own gas is a pretty nice convenience too)! The Shore is so famous that MTV produced the reality epic show The Jersey Shore from 2009 to 2012. However, aside from the eye-rolling any real New Jerseyan would do if anyone would compare us to the reality show interpretations, the real Jersey Shore is a unique situation for anyone to experience. Surely, you have your party beaches, your family-friendly beaches, your quiet and serene beaches, and your famous-for-a-reason beaches. But no matter what your preference is, you can still enjoy a day trip, long weekend, or vacation at the Jersey Shore.

The other time-honored tradition of New Jersey has got to be a visit to any diner. Most diners are open twenty-four hours, and no matter what time you visit, you may order whatever your heart desires. For example, after a night out of clubbing (yeah, I just heard it as I wrote it), you and your posse make a necessary stop at your diner of choice and order burgers, fries with gravy, pancakes, a Taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwich, a turkey club sandwich and definitely an order of mozzarella sticks. Surely, items like this have their designated breakfast, lunch, or dinnertime slot at other restaurants. But at three in the morning at the Lyndhurst diner, this is our delicious reality.

The Taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwich is THE ionic food to eat if you are ever in New Jersey (with a close runner-up being the Italian hot dog, which is a hot dog stuffed inside pizza bread along with peppers, onion, and potatoes—pure heaven for your taste buds). This pork delicacy originated in Trenton, New Jersey, and it is either called Taylor ham if you are in North Jersey, or pork roll if you are in South Jersey. Whatever the case, this quintessential sandwich of salty pork compliments the melty cheese, and together they balance the egg, which can be either fried or scrambled. Out of all the establishments that I’ve been to that serve this New Jersey creation, hands down the best Taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwich has got to be from Eppes Essen in Livingston, New Jersey. Eppes embodies the diner concept but is actually more like a restaurant/deli. Either way, on the days that I forgot to bring lunch, I would call Eppes to place my order, and within ten to fifteen minutes, I would have the best Taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwich ever. The way Eppes makes their eggs seems like it’s a scrambled egg omelet (I think it’s an omelet, but the eggs are so fluffy and airy that they remind me of scrambled eggs; either way, they are simply delicious).

Other noteworthy food runners-up include the Italian hot dog [the best one can be found at Dickie Dee’s in Newark], fries with gravy (if you add cheese to that, then they become disco fries), a sausage/pepper and onion sandwich [best SPO sandwich has got to be at Midway Steak House in the middle of the boardwalk at Seaside Heights], and pretty much any other item that has a fresh Jersey tomato on it. Besides your local diner, you can find all this mouthwatering deliciousness at the Shore. Any boardwalk that runs along the Jersey beaches have an establishment on or near it that can greatly appease your taste buds after your olfactory senses catch a whiff of the Jersey Shore air (not to be confused with some of the other scents you might pick up along the Turnpike). Oh, and one last thing, before you say bye to the Shore, you must stop by any candy shop [again, probably somewhere along the boardwalk] and pick up some saltwater taffy. I know there’s commercial taffy, but nothing comes even close to the taffy you’ll find on the boardwalk. My taffy recommendation would be either Berkeley Candy or Van Holten’s Sweet Shop, both located in Seaside Heights, New Jersey (yes, the same location Jersey Shore was filmed at). Trust me, I wouldn’t steer you wrong on this.

State Number 2

Florida

Florida gets spot number two because when I was going through one of my baby books, there were pictures of me at age two on a vacation with my family in 1983. So chronologically, Florida gets spot number two on my quest; however, I can only really honor the experience when I returned in August 2010 to visit my very good friend, since I can reflect and write about it as an adult. In 1983 and 1986, my parents took us [my sisters and I] to see family, as well as visit Florida’s premier attraction, Disney World (c’mon, how can you not go to Disney World if you’re in Florida). But I can personally recall one experience that I had when we were there in 1986; at the Epcot Center, there was a 3-D movie called Captain EO (1986) staring the late Michael Jackson.

I remember how realistic the 3-D movie was (for the time period, it was a high-tech advancement), and I loved Captain EO’s flying pet companion Fuzzbucket (my parents even purchased a stuffed toy of him as a souvenir). I later learned that upon Mr. Jackson’s passing, Disney brought back Captain EO for a limited-time engagement. The reviews claimed that the film was subpar, and surely it can’t compete with the spectacular technology we currently have today. I’m still going to hold fast that it is a classic ’80s masterpiece, and as a five-year-old, I really enjoyed it.

Okay, so besides visiting Disney World in Orlando, I returned to Florida, as mentioned before, in 2010. This time, my very good friend Kristie had invited me down to visit her, and I eagerly booked my plane ticket for an August 2010 visit. Well, surely visiting Florida in August was a tremendous mistake. Not that I didn’t want to visit my friend, but the heat and humidity was off the charts. Immediately after I got off the airplane and was on the jetway, I was almost literally knocked down by the sheer intensity of the weather. For a moment, I truly contemplated turning around and getting back on the plane in order to go home. However, I was there to see my friend and was hopeful that the weather wouldn’t be so bad once I got used to it.

It had been almost nine years since Kristie and I had seen each other, and with my true love away on vacation with his family in Italy, I definitely was taking full advantage of traveling. Kristie did well in planning an itinerary that would include things to do and sights to see that were entertaining and interesting. Since I was starving, she suggested that we check out Sweet Tomatoes, since they offered pretty much everything anyone would want. Obviously, we didn’t have a Sweet Tomatoes in New Jersey, so I was totally interested in trying it out. Once we stepped into the restaurant, I gave a quick look around, and it truly did have everything someone would want for a meal! If you’ve never heard of or been to a Sweet Tomatoes, it’s basically a buffet, but a totally healthy-focused one. It consists of stations that include a massive salad bar, a soup area, pasta spot, and other hot items that someone might want. After lunch, we set out for our first activity: a visit to the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. It was a cute little historic spot to walk around and continue catching up with one another.

From the lighthouse, we returned to her residence, and I was introduced to and welcomed warmly by her grandparents. My friend had lived in Arizona prior to moving out to Florida, so she was in a transition period, since she was awaiting the close on a home she had purchased, and her grandparents invited her to stay with them until she was able to move into her new home. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with her grandparents since they were both former educators from New Jersey, and even though there was a time-in-classroom gap between us, it seemed our opinions and concerns were still on the same wavelength. They had retired to Florida once they were able to, since the cost of living was cheaper, and it allowed for their pension to stretch further than it could if they stayed in New Jersey (plus they were definitely over the New Jersey winters). I reflected on their theory, and I knew for sure that I would never retire to Florida; stretchability of pension or not, the heat was far too intense for me, and I’m hopeful that I’ll never get tired of the snow.

As dinnertime was approaching, Kristie suggested that we check out DJ’s Deck Down Under for dinner, since they had live music and outdoor seating on the pier. Even though I can’t remember what I had for dinner, I do recall that the music was good, the food and drinks were tropical, and there was a light breeze which made sitting outside palpable. The next day, we ventured over to Blue Springs State Park to spend the day. The spring was neat, since I had never been to one before. I learned that the water was a constant seventy-two degrees every single day, and figured that seventy-two degrees would be so refreshing on such a hot day. But when I actually stepped into the spring, my nerve endings registered that it was way too cold to swim in, so I opted to just sit on the side and dip my feet into the spring water. My gal pal was a trooper, and she got in and tried coaxing me in, but I was far too much of a brat to even consider swimming in anything less than eighty degrees (I suppose you develop restrictions to things as you get older, since as I looked around the spring and saw numerous kids having the time of their lives swimming in the water and realized that I probably would have done the same thing when I was their age).

After a while, Kristie got out of the spring and suggested that we rent a paddleboat and ride along the fishing area. As we were paddling around, I couldn’t help but notice that the sky was quickly changing from sunny to cloudy, and before I could say that we should turn back, a monster clap of thunder rattled the area. You better believe that my legs went into pure sprinting mode, and I fast-tracked us back to the launching dock. We got caught in some of the rain, but it wasn’t a thunderstorm, so I was relieved, to say the least. Once we returned our boat, my friend could tell that I was done with our outdoor adventures for the day.

The following day didn’t include as much adventure as the other two had, but we did have a short visit to one of the local beaches. The beach wasn’t as populated as I had expected, since my frame of reference of Florida beaches is when MTV shows spring break-type stuff, I suppose I figured that all Florida beaches were always jam-packed with people. We had a nice stay at the beach, the water was clear and warm, and I even encountered a large blue crab walking parallel with me along the surf. After the beach, it was time for my friend to drive me to the airport, since I had to return to New Jersey in order to be at soccer practice, since I had accepted a position to be an assistant coach for a high school girls’ Varsity soccer team, and we were preparing for the 2010–11 season with mandatory summer practice sessions. It was a nice and quick trip to the Sunshine State, but the most valuable lesson I learned was to visit Florida in any month but August, ever again (that is, unless you like one-hundred-degree temperature and humidity, then more power to you).

State Number 3

New York

Iemerged from the bus terminal and was in immense awe: before me was New York City in full weekday action. We were on 42nd Street, and the amount of people, cars, neon lights, and stores made me think that this was some kind of festival. No, my aunt quickly told me, this is just a normal day in New York City. My cousin then caught a cab for us, and we were on our way to the American Museum of Natural History, our reason for coming into the city on a sunny July day in 1995.

Okay, let me explain why we were doing a day trip into New York City. Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park was released in 1993, and after watching it, I became insanely obsessed with dinosaurs. I read everything I could find. I drew pictures of them, and any opportunity I could talk about dinosaurs, I would. So before the school year ended while I was in eighth grade, one of our science teachers brought in a paleontologist to talk to us. I was in my absolute glory; seriously, you would have thought I was meeting a major celebrity or the president of the United States. I prepared numerous questions, and with fingers crossed, I was hopeful that I would have the chance to ask him at least one of them. The presentation was very informative, and I hung on to every word he spoke and every artifact he showed us.

At some point, my teacher had informed the paleontologist that I had created a monster list of questions, and before the end of the presentation, he invited me to stay behind so that I could ask my questions. That was the equivalent to winning the lottery for this fourteen-year-old, and he was so polite to answer all of my questions. Halfway through my barrage of questioning, he said that my personal knowledge was pretty extensive, and he invited me to come visit the American Museum of Natural History for a tour and to see how they prepared the exhibits. I was so over the moon! My interview finally concluded, and I couldn’t wait to tell my family about my amazing day. When I shared the details from my great day at school with my family during dinner, my mom said that we would do a day trip once school had let out.

Thus that is how I was able to earn New York as state number three. Now I’m aware that I’ve violated my own rules, but this was the very first time I went to New York City, and it had a profound impact on me. There would be numerous trips into The City as I continued to visit museums, famed landmarks, dance-and-comedy clubs, and other various attractions. But I also earned major points for experiencing New York because my college sweetheart lived in Brooklyn, and a few years after we graduated college, we decided to live together in a townhouse in Staten Island. So I could go on and on in this chapter to recount all of the marvelous things I did, saw, and experienced in New York, or I probably could even write an entire book based on my experiences in just New York alone, but for all intents and purposes, I will focus on my favorite New York City food and baseball. In order to select these two New York features to be represented in this book, I had to make a list of my top ten favorite experiences I’ve had in New York (and trust me, that was no easy task).

So in good ol’ Mr. David Letterman fashion, here is Valerie’s New York Top Ten [in no particular order]:

Popular Brooklyn food’s:

pizza at L & B Spumoni Gardens

a hot roast beef sandwich at Brennan & Carr

a hot dog at the Original Nathan’s Hot Dog stand in Coney Island

Central Park (especially the Central Park Zoo)

Radio City and Broadway shows

Foodie Tours

The Empire State Building

Greenwich Village (aka The Village)

The Staten Island Ferry

South Street Seaport

Spirit Cruises

Baseball:

Brooklyn Cyclones

New York Mets

New York Yankees

Staten Island Yankees

I fell head over heels with my college sweetheart in October of 1999. We were both freshman at the University of Hartford (UHa), and fate had us assigned in dorm suites that were directly across from one another. I absolutely hated my time in high school, and my one wish was to have a steady boyfriend which never materialized during those heinous four years. But college was a different story, and the universe awarded my steady-boyfriend wish during my time at UHa. Anyway, he was from Brooklyn, and during our long-term relationship, I would often frequent the BK [Brooklyn]. My sweetheart did a great job of showing me the Brooklyn hot spots, and my love for a square slice of pizza from L & B Spumoni Gardens will forever be ingrained in my heart. The first time we went to L & B’s, it was a nice summer day, and the typical Brooklyn fantasy was in full swing. What I mean by that is L & B is located in the Bensonhurst neighborhood, which has a strong Italian influence, and the quintessential guido presence can be observed. So on this particular day, as we arrived at the famed 86th Street spot, there were sport motorcycles, white T-shirt and jeans on spikey-haired guys and makeup heavy, but gorgeous divas all sitting around the red tables enjoying their slices and sodas. I think my jaw dropped in awe, and my sweetheart had to remind me to stop staring, but the sight was just so mesmerizing.

The scene that I had always pictured when I thought of Brooklyn was actually happening in real time. We made our way to the open window for slices on the left side of the building, and my sweetheart ordered our lunch. My preferred slice of pizza is always from a round pizza, as I’m not totally crazy about Sicilian pizza, but my sweetheart insisted that I try the square. So armed with a slice of each, we found an open table and proceeded to experience the best pizza in Brooklyn [note: I’ve tried other pizza establishment in Brooklyn, like Grimaldi’s Pizza in dumbo, but L & B will always be my number one!]. OMG, it was sheer bliss after my first bite! Everything was total perfection! The tomato sauce, the crispiness of the crust, and the extra Parmesan cheese which I had to add to the top of it. I inquired as to where the mozzarella cheese was, and my sweetheart explained that it was under the tomato sauce. After I finished my square, my sweetheart teased me that I wouldn’t like the round, but I found it to be just as delightful (even though a square slice from L & B’s was my new favorite slice). We finished our lunch and cleaned up our table area so that the next visitors had somewhere to sit and headed off to do some shopping along 86th Street.

Another famed location my sweetheart introduced me to was Brennan & Carr’s on Nostrand Avenue, which is in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood. We were meeting friends there for dinner one night, and my sweetheart told me that this place was known for their hot roast beef sandwich. Always down to try something new, I looked forward to trying this Brooklyn fav. Upon arrival, there was a small parking lot which we were fortunate enough to find a spot in, and our friends showed up a few minutes afterward. The restaurant had a walk-up window, but we were dining indoors that night. The interior was small, but it had a bunch of small tables which could be pulled together to fit a larger group like ours. We were seated promptly and placed our orders. When the food arrived, it looked magnificent! I had ordered my sandwich to be dipped in their beef broth, and after I figured out how to pick up this masterpiece and bite into it, my taste buds were flooded with flavor. Seriously, it was juicy, savory, and mind-blowingly heavenly! Our conversations as a group slowed as we all enjoyed our sandwiches, but you can tell that everyone was truly enjoying their dinner. We finished up shortly thereafter and quickly proceeded to settle our bill and depart from the roast beef haven in order to make it to the movies, and I swear I probably didn’t stop gushing about how amazing I thought Brennan & Carr’s was for the rest of the month.

So, besides my love for food (especially the food in Brooklyn), I am also a baseball girl. You could say that it’s due in part to being in my DNA (my paternal grandfather’s nickname was Yank, and we later learned that it was because he was supposed to play for the New York Yankees; however, World War II took him in another direction. My father was an All-State baseball pitcher and was scouted to play for the Texas Rangers, Oakland A’s, and Milwaukee Brewers but made a decision to not continue into the majors). Thus, it was only natural that I played Little League baseball and then eventually moved over to girls softball [it’s the same game, just softballs leave bigger bruises]. Anyway, so you would say that I am a fan of the sport, and I don’t particularly favor one team over another.

My sweetheart had always talked about visiting all of the Major League Baseball (MLB) stadiums and even suggested while we were in college that we should rent an RV with all of our college friends and go around the country to see as many stadiums as we could during the summer. Unfortunately, his idea never turned into a reality, but as a couple, we made sure to check out our local teams and their stadiums. My very first baseball stadium visit was to Keyspan Park in order to see the Brooklyn Cyclones. Since it was newly opened in 2001, and bringing baseball back to Brooklyn since the days of the Brooklyn Dodgers, my sweetheart took me to check out a game. This would become the first of many visits I would have at Keyspan Park because after our first visit, my sweetheart ended up getting a summer job at the stadium as a beer vendor. Thus, my love for visiting stadiums grew from the many summer nights I spent watching Brooklyn baseball, while my sweetheart and our Brooklyn friends worked at Keyspan Park.

Since my sweetheart knew that I had never been to an MLB game, he promised to take me to both Shea and Yankee stadiums. My college sweetheart was a huge Mets fan, so my first major league baseball game was to see the New York Metropolitans (affectionately known as The Mets) at the original Shea Stadium [Stadium 1]. I enjoyed the experience very much; there was a sea of orange and blue in the seats, the food was typical stadium food (smelled delicious, but insanely overpriced, but that’s expected, and a friend of ours did in fact get a bag of peanuts to eat), and in between the field changes, there was an array of fan activities to enliven the crowd and keep the energy up (which, if you watch the game on TV, you never get to experience).

My sweetheart promised to take me to a Yankees game before they built the new stadium, and when we went we sat with the fellow bleacher creatures and enjoyed watching the Bronx Bombers play on their iconic field. Between all of the stadiums (Shea, original Yankee, City Field and then the new Yankee Stadium), I must say that I thoroughly liked the original Yankee Stadium best. After years of watching A League of Their Own (1992) [hands-down my absolute favorite movie of all time], I felt that [original] Yankee Stadium was a huge nod to the days of ol’ and truly represented the experience as the idyllic classic that some would have had in the 1920s. Upon entering the stadium, after showing your ticket, you walked into the ground level, which kind of felt like a basement, but you were in some kind of concourse where you could purchase your concessions and navigate to find your seated area.

We were in the bleacher section, so when we found our designated numbered area, we went up the steps, and the majestic beauty of the House that Babe built was before me. OMG, this was classic baseball at its finest! I knew that when I went to Yankee Stadium [Stadium 2], this wasn’t the absolute original look, and that over the years it had been modified. But for me, it truly held an epitomic feel. Our seats in the bleachers gave us a similar view of an outfielder. I was able to see everything. From the guys waiting in their dugouts, the beer and other vendors walking up and down the stairs in their designated sections, to the advertisement signs and retired numbers (especially the classic 42, in honor of the great Jackie Robinson). It was an amazing day to experience America’s favorite pastime and to capture the sights that would forever reside in my memory.

Before I move on to the next chapter, I must tell you about the best foodie tour in New York City. Okay, so the desire to call myself a foodie was established sometime in 2013. I mean, I’ve always enjoyed food, and I never had an issue with trying something new, but the whole foodie revolution heightened after my mom and I were in Delaware (state number 27) and someone had asked us where the best pizza in New York City was. A tad dumbfounded, we couldn’t give a solid answer because we never did a food tour or best-of-the-best experience in our beloved city (and this is always almost the case because you can ask anyone who lives or resides around the New York City area if they’ve ever been to the Statue of Liberty, Empire State building, or on a double-decker tour bus, and maybe they’ve seen one thing like that or none at all. It’s the unfortunate reality that we live so close to these attractions, and we don’t take the time to visit them. C’mon people, those attractions are not just for tourists!). Anyway, so after our foodie tour in Delaware [read all about that in chapter 27], we did our research and found a fabulous foodie tour company and booked our journey to eat our way through the impressive Greenwich Village (simply known as The Village).

Foods of New York Tours is the tour company to use if you are ever in New York City and want to experience New York City’s food scene. Their dedication, passion, tour guides, prices, and itineraries are so fabulous, it’s an absolute no-brainer as to why they have such stellar ratings. Even though this wasn’t my first ever foodie tour [our foodie tour eating Rehoboth in Delaware was and will always be the supreme number one], this tour will forever be used as the pinnacle to which all future food tours would be compared to. Anyway, we went on the Original Greenwich Village tour, and OMG, what a brilliant way to experience a neighborhood. The food was over the moon fantastic, the historic and cultural background information was intriguing, and I walked away fully satisfied in every aspect possible. I couldn’t wait to go on another tour and to tell everyone I knew about this epic experience.

State Number 4

Pennsylvania

During my sophomore year in high school, Bill Clinton was running against Bob Dole in the fifty-third quadrennial presidential election in 1996. Since any election is like a Superbowl event for any and every history teacher, my teacher ensured that we read, discussed, and did projects on everything in regards to the 1996 campaign during the first marking period. Interestingly enough, she was able to tie it into our current curriculum and provided us with a field trip to see the historic Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, thus securing Pennsylvania as state number four in my quest [okay, okay, so I’m technically breaking the quest rules again; so maybe the first sixteen states get a pass because the rules were created after Colorado (state 16)].

I remember that we, my classmates and I, saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, but I don’t recall it having a significant impact on me since, like all other fifteen-year-olds, we just cared about not being in school that day. Philadelphia eventually becomes more memorable when I met my bestest friend in the whole wide world when I was on a cruise to Bermuda in 2003. Joey lived in Holmesburg, and his home was literally down the block from the Holmesburg Prison (where the prison scene in the 1996 Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford movie Up Close & Personal was filmed). Anyway, my first visit to Joey’s neck-of-the-woods was actually a day trip to Center City (the heart of Philly). We went to the Ben Franklin Museum of Science (which, I must tell you, was probably one of the most fun museums I have ever been to), had lunch at Bertucci’s (I know, I know we should’ve had cheesesteaks somewhere—that happened on another visit), and a run-up the seventy-two steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in true Rocky Balboa fashion (complete with a two fist-up photo to commemorate the feat; seriously, how could you not want to run up the steps?).

Seeing Philly with my bestie was definitely my most favored way to earn Pennsylvania, even though we didn’t eat cheesesteaks. The cheesesteak experience was best completed when my true love and I made a day trip, sometime in 2012, to sample a cheesesteak from both Geno’s and Pat’s in order to decide which Philly cheesesteak reigned supreme. Now, prior to that outing, while I was dating my college sweetheart, we once had cheesesteaks at Tony Luke’s on East Oregon Avenue because we had gone to a Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park [Stadium 3]. It was a good cheesesteak, but it wasn’t a contender for the Great Cheesesteak Debate. So, a few years later, my true love and I ventured to the iconic establishments of Geno’s and Pat’s (which are directly across from one another) and had our very own taste test to determine which one we would cast our vote for. My favored choice was Pat’s because to me I felt that Pat’s was just a better cheesesteak. Don’t get me wrong, Geno’s was tasty, but I think Pat’s just edged Geno’s out due to the flavor profile it created. By no way, shape, or form is my opinion an end-all, be-all, so please feel free to conduct your own taste test and decide. I urge you, as a patriot, to add the Cheesesteak Debate to your bucket list (trust me, you’re eating two excellent Philly cheesesteaks, so it’s a win-win on any given day).

Virginia (technically)

State Number 5

Virginia

(technically)

Okay, so Virginia technically gets to earn its place as state number 5 because my parents had planned a family vacation to South Carolina in 1998. When we set out for South Carolina, we drove so quickly through Delaware and Maryland that we didn’t even notice we had even been in another state. Since it was such a long road trip, my parents decided to spend a night in a hotel somewhere in Virginia. I’m sure we had a breakfast somewhere before we were back on the road, but I can’t