The City I Most Want to Visit in Each State, Part 4: Kansas to Maryland

This is the fourth post in a series. I recommend reading the first, second, and third posts before this one. Today I'll be picking the city in Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, and Maryland that I most want to visit, then listing my top 2 attractions in each location. 

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The City I Most Want to Visit in Each State, Part 4: Kansas to Maryland

 

The city I'd most like to visit in Kansas is Wichita. Quite a few celebrities grew up in Wichita, including Mars, the pygmy hippo who stole the internet's heart. Mars lives at Tanganyika Wildlife Park, which is my top attraction in the Wichita area. The next place I'd visit is the Museum of World Treasures. 

Paducah is the city I'd most like to visit in Kentucky. Paducah looks like such a charming town. It is one of 10 cities in the US that have been designated a UNESCO Creative City (I've been to 8 of the 10 and I very much want to finish that list.) I most want to visit the National Quilt Museum. Now that I'm a (novice) quilter, I am especially interested in spending time there. Steve and I watched Chef Sara Bradley cook during the Tournament of Champions All-Star Christmas and would really enjoy eating at Freight House, her restaurant in Paducah. 

Before visiting Natchitoches, I need to practice pronouncing it. It's NACK-uh-tish. I can pronounce it just fine until I see the word again and my brain goes to to Spanish. Anyway, Natchitoches is the city in Louisiana I would most like to visit. While there, I would go to Cane River Creole National Historic Park and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum.

The city I most want to visit in Maine is Augusta, the state capital. When there, I'll visit the Maine State Capitol, as well as the Maine State Museum. Of the 5 remaining state capitals we haven't visited, this will probably be the last, as it is the farthest from us and not close to any of our other remaining must-see destinations. Fun fact: Augusta, Maine (which is obviously part of the contiguous United States) is significantly farther from us here in California than either Juneau, Alaska or Honolulu, Hawaii. 

This may be a bit of a surprise since I'm not a beach person, but the next time I visit Maryland I would most like to go to Ocean City. My highest priority would be taking a boat tour from Ocean City to Assateague Island. The other thing I'd most like to visit is Ocean City Life-Saving Museum. 

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Are there any other must-visit places I need to know about? Please let me know in the comments!

The City I Most Want to Visit in Each State, Part 3: Hawaii to Iowa

This is the third post in a series. I recommend reading the first and second posts before this one. Today I'll be picking the city in Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa that I most want to visit, then listing my top 2 attractions in each location. 

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The City I Most Want to Visit in Each State, Part 3: Hawaii to Iowa

 

The city I am most interested in visiting in Hawaii is Kula on the island of Maui. It's a small community known for its farms and botanical gardens. There are a lot of farm and garden tours that sound really interesting. I would most like to tour the Kula Botanical Garden and then take the Haleakala Creamery Farm to Spoon Tour.

When we traveled to eastern Idaho in 2021, we didn't end up going to Pocatello because the place I most wanted to visit was closed on the days we were passing through. The next time we're headed that direction, I'm going to prioritize visits to the Museum of Clean and the Idaho Museum of Natural History.

The city I most want to visit in Illinois is its capital, Springfield. Springfield is one of the five remaining state capitals I haven't visited. There are a lot of neat things to see and do there, most of which are related to Abraham Lincoln. My top two attractions are the Illinois State Capitol and Museum and the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

South Bend is the city I'd most like to visit in Indiana. The first thing I'd do is tour the University of Notre Dame. My second activity would be the National Studebaker Museum. 

It should come as no surprise to anyone that I want to visit the Ice Cream Capital of the World. Le Mars, Iowa certainly got my attention with that nickname! Le Mars produces approximately 200 million gallons of ice cream per year, more than any other city in the world. The first place I'd go is the Wells Visitor Center, so I can learn more about how all that ice cream is made. Then I would head out on an Ice Cream Sculpture walk, to find the 55 six-foot tall decorated ice cream cones that decorate the streets of Le Mars. 

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Have you been to any of these cities? Do you have recommendations for other attractions I should visit? Let me know in the comments!

The City I Most Want to Visit in Each State, Part 2: Colorado to Georgia

This is the second post in a series. I recommend reading the introductory post first. Today I'll be picking the city in Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, and Georgia that I most want to visit, then listing my top 2 attractions in each location. 

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The City I Most Want to Visit in Each State, Part 2: Colorado to Georgia

 

I would love to travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado. Olympic City USA is home to the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center and the Olympic committee headquarters, more than 20 national Olympic governing bodies, dozens of national sports organizations, and my top pick for attractions, the US Olympic and Paralympic Museum. I would also love to take the cog railway to Pikes Peak. 

The city I'd most like to visit in Connecticut is New Haven. I'd start my time at Yale University, specifically at the Peabody Museum. It looks incredible. I would also like to check out Lost in New Haven, which looks really unique and would be a good introduction to the area. 

On my next trip to Delaware, I'd most like to visit Wilmington. The are six units of First State National Historic Park; Wilmington is home to three of them. I'd start my visit at Fort Christina. I'd also plan to visit the small but charming Brandywine Zoo. 

It should be no surprise that the city I most want to visit in Florida is its capital, Tallahassee. We have been to 45 of the 50 state capitals and I'd love to see the rest. My priority would be the Florida Capitol and the Museum of Florida History. 

My top choice for a city to visit in Georgia is beautiful and historic Savannah. I would start by riding a full loop on Old Town Trolley Tours; we've taken Old Town Trolley Tours in multiple cities and always found them to provide an excellent overview to a city. After learning all about the city and seeing its most famous sites from the trolley, I would check out the American Prohibition Museum. 

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Did I miss any must-do attractions in these cities? Let me know in the comments what else I should do when I make it to these cities!

The City I Most Want to Visit in Each State, Part 1: Alabama to California

I've been to all 50 states, but there are still lots of places I want to visit in the US. There are cities I want to revisit because cool new things have opened since I was last there, like Chicago and Washington DC. I want to revisit other cities, including San Antonio and Atlanta, because attractions I wanted to visit were closed on the days we were there, or we simply didn't have enough time to see all of the highlights. But that's not what this blog series is about. Instead, I'll be picking the one city in each state that I most want to visit for the very first time. 

Here are my ground rules: 

• I can only pick cities I have never visited, even if that visit was really short. I'll allow an exception if the only place my feet touched the ground in that city was the airport. 
• I can only select one city per state, without ties.  
• I have to choose my top 2 attractions in that city that led me to select it. I'm not going to be pedantic about whether an attraction is technically in that city. The metro area counts. 

With that established, let's get started!

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The City I Most Want to Visit in Each State: Alabama to California

The city I most want to visit in Alabama is Selma. I really wanted to include it when we visited Alabama in 2022, but I just couldn't make it work. When I do visit, the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute and the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail Interpretive Center are my highest priority to see. 

Of all the places I haven't been in Alaska, I most want to visit Fairbanks. The Golden Heart City is home to the Museum of the North and the Fairbanks Ice Museum. Fairbanks is also a great place to see the Northern Lights. 

I've traveled extensively through Arizona, but there is still plenty of The Grand Canyon State that I haven't seen. Topping my list of cities I'd like to visit is Page. It looks absolutely stunning. My top attractions include a tour of Antelope Canyon and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. 

The city I'd most like to visit in Arkansas is Bentonville. I would start my visit at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Its campus looks absolutely stunning and that's before you even go inside where, presumably, there is a lot of beautiful art. Next, I would visit the Walmart Museum. 

Of the places I haven't been in my home state of California, the city I most want to visit is Palm Springs. Interestingly, Palm Springs wasn't on my radar until recently. I'd thought of it as mostly golf courses and swimming pools until I attended the 2023 Outlook Forum and learned that it is so much more. The two places I most want to visit are Agua Caliente Cultural Museum and Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. 

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What about you? What cities would you most like to visit in each of these states? Let me know in the comments!

22nd Anniversary

Steve and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary in beautiful Sausalito. This is the layout I made. 

22nd Anniversary (affiliate link)

I included pictures from the time in Sausalito, as well as our day of fun in nearby Fairfax and San Rafael. It's a simple page, but there are a lot of memories packed into those six photos. I'm glad to have the layout in the album.