5. South Carolina

It's no wonder I love history as I do. It began early, and I'm thankful for my wonderful family that took me to it so early. Charleston as one of my first experiences was a beautiful one - sunny battery walks with sparkling water, wind-sung boat rides in the harbor, chalk grey naval ships, the mystique of famous fort,  the grand avenue of oaks at Boone Hall, and the somber, cell-like slave quarters. These were visions I absorbed and knew, even at a young age, were part of who I was ~ who we all are, for better or worse. I knew even then it needed to be visited and studied.

Walking along the battery

A historic house on the battery

Harbor boat ride

The USS Wainwright Destroyer moored in Charleston, her home port.
She saw service in Vietnam and played big roles in the 1976
US Bicentennial events in New York City.

Fort Sumter

Boone Hall Plantation

Slave quarters

Into the ocean with dad

4. North Carolina

I know North Carolina falls next in my list of states, if not for the best reason in the world... I may have to give it due diligence for a later, better reason (like a trip to the Land of Oz theme park just a few years later), but this first visit story is really too good to pass up.

I remember my first visit to North Carolina, simply because the bear skin rug in the billiard room of Biltmore estate traumatized me to such an extent I'm sure I ruined the rest of the visit for my poor family. Biltmore, even then, was a financial investment to be enjoyed. It is "America's castle," the vast summer estate of the Vanderbilt family.

And, as anyone who has been there knows, the billiard room is probably the first "real" room in past the foyer and indoor atrium.

Note the rug in front of the fireplace

There were many other glorious trips to Biltmore; a birthday trip with my high school sweetheart; taking a special cousin for the first time with a beloved aunt and uncle; stopping on the way to the coast with my best friend, my mother and another aunt; enjoying a full-moon concert on the lawn; marveling at the decor at Christmas; and most recently oohing and ahhing over the dressing Downton exhibit with dear friends... 

For that first experience, however, I am sorry. To my credit, I really was pretty sure it might be in hot pursuit through the house.

Disclaimer: I was about 3 at the time.

State Nickname: The Old North State; The Tarheel State

State Flower: Flowering dogwood

State Wildflower: Carolina Lily

State Bird: Cardinal

State Animal: Eastern Gray Squirrel 

State Tree: Pine

3. Florida

I think Florida served several purposes. Ultimately, it was a visit to Aunt Kaye, mom's sister. Underlying, I think it was return to part of mother's past, a place she didn't go very often.  As part of the journey, we stopped at Bay High School in Panama City. The fact that mom finished high school in Florida and not Alabama is involved in a tale of family sorrow, involving the untimely death of my grandmother. The family scattered, and that's all I know about this period in her life, really. The worse things were, the less she talked about them. But that was common in those days.

As for the Gulf... It might as well have been the ocean in relation to my size! I still remember the white granules of sand glistening along the sides of my feet, the prick of burrs, and the expanse of blue ~ blue sky, blue water, blue air.

Dane was the quintessential big brother and showed me stars outside of the sky.

Most of all I remember the rush of the water ~ the thrill of it's approach and the sudsy, tickling bubbles around my feet. At that age I felt I could command the water, and I shouted, "Wait a minute!" to the waves when they began to recede. It was a lesson, I suppose, but at that time there was nothing better than to be alive and shout with abandon at infinity.

State Nickname: The Sunshine State

State Flower: Orange Blossom

State Wildflower: Coreopsis

State Bird: Mockingbird

State Animal: Florida Panther

State Tree: Palm

2. Sweet Home Alabama

My mother's home state was my second state ~ I made it there by the age of four months ~ off to a good start! I look at the photos now, and think, this is how generations overlap. Briefly, nominally, and ultimately, in photography or memory.

Mother's father, my Granddaddy W. Armstrong Barton, holding one of his famous watermelons.

Luscious reds, watermelon seed fights, tall pines, heat and humidity, heady aromas from larger than life flowers, late afternoon picnics, and a copious amount of aunts, uncles, and cousins. This was Alabama.

Enjoying the bounty in the fresh air and open

In CenterPoint

Uncle Robert's antics at a picnic

Happy and relaxed in the arms of cousin Judy

State Nickname: None Official/Alabama the Beautiful/Heart of Dixie

State Flower: Camellia (my mother's favorite flower)

State Wildflower: Oak leaf hydrangea

State Bird: Yellowhammer

State Animal: Black bear

State Tree: Southern long-leaf pine

1. Tennessee

Naturally, your first state is the one in which you were born ~ in more ways than one.

Tennessee. Tanasqui, a Native American village happened upon by Juan Pardo and Spanish explorers. Tanasi, another later "found" by the British. We know it is a Cherokee word, but the meaning is lost, from all I can find.  A mighty river with the same name, dipping down a giant valley. A state so long and varied it is given three sections physically as well as culturally.

I was born in the upper North East part, a child of the mountains. This is the land of my father's people. He had traveled with the navy, so my siblings were born in WA and CA, but he came back here by the time I came along a decade later ~ and he never left again.

Maybe it's my Gemini sign, but I conversely adore the highlands with their complicated and fascinating customs ~ while finding frustration with the same Scot-Irish mindset and mentality. I say it because I am one. This why the world is open to travel, and why TN has always been called home.

There's always music, mysticism, superstition, and folklore.

State Nickname: Volunteer State
State Flower: Iris
State Wildflower: Passion Flower
State Bird: Mockingbird
State Gamebird: Quail
State Animal: Raccoon
State Tree: Tulip Poplar

Wanderlust is real ~ a transition

My Sojourns page will now be dedicated to seeing all 50 states by age 50. There are nine left to go and five years in which to do it. Along the way, I'll be writing about my first and/or favorite visits to the ones already checked off. This is a glorious country - let's get exploring!