Looking at this map brings interesting things to mind...
This is my "stomping ground" and while my kids seem far away at times, I realize that I am very fortunate that they are just up the road and I can get to them all with no worries!! I love this part of the country, it is home and holds memories that I cherish...as well as future adventures that I look forward to!
It's interesting that my present day hometown, Panama City, isn't on the map in Florida, but my childhood hometown of Parkersburg, WV is!! Looking at a map it seems weird to me that you have to travel slightly NW to get to Columbus, OH!! While it didn't really seem southern to me while growing up, I did live south of the Mason-Dixon line so technically I have always been a southerner!!
Lots of love for this part of the country...We've done a couple trips to Philadelphia, Boston (fabulous place to take a group of 5th graders), New York City (my absolute favorite big city), and Vermont...our favorite after-Christmas-to-see-snow destination...
Okay, so before I get too wrapped up in my map let me just end this post with Five things you can use a map for on a Friday...or any other day!
1) You can learn all the states...or relearn them! Over Christmas we somehow played this game in which we had only so many minutes to write down all the states...I did it by alphabetical order, one of the girls did it by regions, Chels's bf Stephen wrote down the ones he could think of...I don't remember, but i THINK Kate was the winner! We all got 40-some...but you know Rhode Island...it slips your mind!
2) You can learn all the state capitals! This is really useful knowledge if you are ever around Richard Dodd who loves the joke..."How do you pronounce the capital of Kentucky...Louisville or Loueyville?" (It's...Frankfort :)
3) You can buy a map for every vacation you take and visually journal your trip on the map by marking all the places you visit and adding pictures; then matte and frame it. Instant scrapbook! My father-in-law has done this for several of his vacations and they are all hanging along one of the hallways...very cool!!
4) You can do cool stuff like mark every state you have been to; every big city you have visited; every state park you have camped in; every place you have run a race...the possibilities are endless!
5) You can come up with some excellent ideas for future vacations...I am definitely thinking I want to go to the Grand Tetons, Alaska, and Texas someday!!!
What can I say...I love a map!!
