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So this is something I'm very curious about. I've been to 12 states and will be adding Texas next month and possibly Missouri and Kentucky in September and hopefully Illinois in October. I count any state that I've driven through as "been to that state." So initially the only reason we went to Alabama was to get to Florida. I still counted Alabama anyway. Though now I've actually spent time in Alabama so it's moot. I've been to Delaware twice, but just passing through to go to NYC. I did stop at a rest area there, but still haven't done anything significant in Delaware, but I count it anyway.
My girlfriend on the other hand sees different. She only counts "being in states" if she's spent significant time there. She goes to Ohio almost yearly and they drive though West Virginia. If you ask what states shes been to, she will not say WV. She doesn't count "drive through states." She's been to Hawaii too, but had to make at stop at LAX. She doesn't count California.
We've been debating this nonstop and I'm just curious how other people do it. My mom and her mom both agree with her...to me, it doesn't matter if you spend time in the state or not. If you touch down on that states soil, then you've been there. If you go to the four corners and place your foot in each state, you've been to all 4 of those states imo.
I can kind of see the logic with airports. If you never leave the terminal, then I guess why count it? When I go to Texas, I think I have a stop in New Orleans. I want to count Louisiana because I'll be "touching" Louisiana. Though I feel I shouldn't count it as I'm not doing anything other than moving from one plane to the next. I think I could put an asterisk there.
So when it comes to my gf, I agree that her counting California I guess is silly as they literally got off the plane and ran to the next one and that was it. But West Virginia? I think that definitely should count. Sure they've only driven though...but she's still looking at WV scenery, riding on WV roads, smelling WV air, reading WV signs, seeing WV cities...you're in WV. That should count.
How does everyone else "count" where theyve been? Do drive through states count? Does connecting at the airport count? Do you have to spend "significant" time in the state? If so, what counts as significant?
Usually when I do these lists I use two columns. One for real time spent and one for simply having driven through. I don't count changing at airports. That really seems like pushing it. I never thought about it before but I also don't typically count states I've been through via train. Somehow driving feels different, maybe because you at least stop to fill up, eat lunch, etc., whereas by train you are literally just passing through and not even intereacting with the traffic.
Based on my state traveler decoder ring and secret manual, you must have actually been across the state line and spent time traveling on the ground. You have to leave the airport terminal and spend a little time on the ground away from the airport -- not just sitting and waiting for your next flight or running across the tarmac.
For example, if you cross the Mississippi River near Cairo Illinois and then almost immediately go south and cross the Ohio River into Kentucky, you get to count Illinois even though you were there less than five minutes. You were actually on the ground in three states and saw the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers so that counts. Your feet probably did not touch the ground in Illinois so some purists might find fault. Just show them this official post.
Now, you need to know that the Four Corners monument is misplaced by some distance and is not actually at the true spot that people think it is. It is about 1800 ft. off the mark to the east so some would say you were not actually in Arizona and Utah. But, the US Supreme Court leapt onto the breach and ruled that the monument, though it be wrong, it is right and truly marks where the four states come together. That may defy logic and drive surveyors crazy but they can do what they want. If I were you I'd make an effort to visit all four states -- it might take a half hour or so if you are there anyway. The court might change its mind.
So, essentially, normal uneventful airport layovers don't count. If your flight is cancelled and you have to stay at a hotel overnight it counts. If your plane crashes in a new state you can count that state. If your plane crashes in the ocean and you wash up on a beach, say in South Carolina, and they take you to a hospital in North Carolina you get two states. You don't have to be conscious to count a state in such dire instances.
I hope this clarifies everything. Most people have their own rules but I have the benefit of the decoder ring. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
If I drive thru, I've been there. Been to DFW about 5 times and driven through the city once. I count it now that I've driven through it but I'd make a point to say I've been to the airport a few times.
Been to LA and just LAX on my way to Seattle and I do count it since I walked outside and smoked a joe with my friend who had never been to California. Feeling that weather is enough for me to say I was there, again.
Driving through a state means you have been 'through' the state.
As in, I spent a week in Texas, but I've been through Georgia, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
To say you've been in a state (in my opinion), you need to have done something there. It could be visiting a museum, staying in a campground, exploring a city or a state park. But you have to have something to say about it other than the road conditions and view from the highway.
-Spend the night.
-eat a meal somewhere other than a highway rest stop.
-visit a specific destination (e.g. hopped off the highway to see Niagara Falls? You've been to New York).
Three weeks ago, I took a drive through northern Mississippi. I drove south on U.S. 61 from Memphis past Tunica to Clarksdale, and east on U.S. 278 through Batesville, past Oxford, Pontotoc and Tupelo, and through Amory before entering Alabama. As I drove, I saw how flat the terrain of the Mississippi Delta was, and how big the hills became east of Tupelo to the Alabama state line. For that matter, the terrain and vegetation from Batesville to Tupelo reminded a lot of the Georgia Piedmont. I never got out of the car in Mississippi, but since I saw parts of it with my own eyes, I experienced it, so I've been there.
On a related note, U.S. 278 from the Mississippi state line to Cullman is almost mountainous, which surprised me, especially given all the tornado activity they get in northwestern Alabama. In fact, I stopped in Guin, which was obliterated by an F5 tornado in 1974, and it's tucked away in a valley. And there's lots of forest and steep hills from Hamilton to Cullman too.
Setting my feet on the ground, even if I'm just going inside a convenience store and that'll be my only stop in the state, counts. Setting my feet on the ground, even if I walk in to the state for a distance of two feet, counts. Frankly, if I drive through it, I've been to that state; for example, I count the first time I drove through Nevada as having visited that state, even though my body never left the car.
Three weeks ago, I took a drive through northern Mississippi. I drove south on U.S. 61 from Memphis past Tunica to Clarksdale, and east on U.S. 278 through Batesville, past Oxford, Pontotoc and Tupelo, and through Amory before entering Alabama. As I drove, I saw how flat the terrain of the Mississippi Delta was, and how big the hills became east of Tupelo to the Alabama state line. For that matter, the terrain and vegetation from Batesville to Tupelo reminded a lot of the Georgia Piedmont. I never got out of the car in Mississippi, but since I saw parts of it with my own eyes, I experienced it, so I've been there.
On a related note, U.S. 278 from the Mississippi state line to Cullman is almost mountainous, which surprised me, especially given all the tornado activity they get in northwestern Alabama. In fact, I stopped in Guin, which was obliterated by an F5 tornado in 1974, and it's tucked away in a valley. And there's lots of forest and steep hills from Hamilton to Cullman too.
I've been to Cullman too! Lol were probably the only people on here who's been to Cullman...
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