To Vermont - Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont

 When I learned that one of my cousins was to be married in Vermont - at the church where Robert Frost was buried, no less, I had to find a way to go! Luckily, I'd formed a kindred relationship with her sister, and had spent part of the previous summer with her in Virginia, exploring the Chesapeake, Williamsburg, Jamestown, and so much more. Her family took me in and along for the ride!

There was so much adventure that summer - in Vermont we took in covered bridges, the Norman Rockwell museum where some of the children painted into his scenes of Americana were now tour guides. The Old First Church was as lovely as expected, and I paid homage to the poet. On the way back, we stayed in NYC - where I had my first taste of the big apple. We passed Shakespeare plays by the castle in Central park, saw Cleopatra's needle, climbed the Statue of Liberty, and rode to the top of the Empire State Building at sunset.

7. Georgia

Something I looked forward to every year was spending part or all of my summer break with my sister. We had a special kinship and desire for adventures, even then, and I loved helping take care of and playing with my niece and nephew. 

In the summer of 1986 she had moved to Roswell, Georgia - and so it became more than a "drive through" state. It was a land of tall pines with pollen sweeping from them like golden rain. 

6. Virginia

The first quick jaunt into Virginia came with a visit to Hungry Mother State Park with mom and dad, aunt, uncle, and cousins. This would begin a tradition of trips with this group that spanned the years through high school. 

Hungry Mother State Park is a beautiful place, despite the sad folklore behind the name. From the park website:

The Legend of Hungry Mother

Legend has it that when the Native Americans destroyed several settlements on the New River south of the park, Molly Marley and her small child were among the survivors taken to the raiders’ base north of the park. They eventually escaped, wandering through the wilderness eating berries. Molly finally collapsed, and her child wandered down a creek until the child found help. The only words the child could utter were "Hungry Mother." The search party arrived at the foot of the mountain where Molly collapsed to find the child's mother dead. Today that mountain is Molly’s Knob, and the stream is Hungry Mother Creek.

The 108 acre lake with a sandy beach was a delight the day we visited. I thought we WERE at the beach!

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