My domestic travel has included 23 US states, although the majority occurred during a cross-country trip on a Greyhound bus.

On this page, you will find overviews of my time in each US State and links to any location-specific blog posts for the region.

1. Washington
2. Oregon
3. Washington DC
4. Bus Trip
5. North Carolina
6. New York
7. VA, SC, GA, FL

Washington

Growing up in Washington state, I did have access to Canada for summer trips by sailboat.

My father enjoyed skiing, and our winter trips included Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier.

In the spring, we would visit the hot springs on the mountain.

Oregon

After graduating from high school, I moved to Astoria, Oregon, where I attended and graduated from the Tongue Point Job Corps Center.

While at the center, I had some trips on an activity bus to Portland for an ice hockey match and a monster truck rally without earplugs. We also explored the Lava River Caves, and I forgot to pack a flashlight.

Washington DC

I was part of a group of students selected to attend a conference in Washington, DC. We did the sightseeing thing and went to the Museum of Flight and the Capitol building.

We saw Hillary Clinton doing an interview, and we got to meet our state representatives (OR).

Bus Trip

For one of my summer vacations from the center, I went and visited my Aunt in North Carolina. This was the long bus trip touching 20 other states. I took photos, but with an old cellphone, I no longer have.

The few images I still have from the center are excellent examples of shaky-hand photography. All of them are either fuzzy, out of focus, pixilated, or discolored.

Photo technology has come a long way. I wish camera phones were good back then, or that I had invested in a proper point-and-shoot camera.

After graduating from the Job Corps Center, I went on a trip to England, France, and Spain. My father’s side of the family hails from Britain, so I got to see my uncle and his family. My Uncle had visited us once previously, but this was my first time going to see him.

North Carolina

After returning to the States, I moved into my relative’s home in North Carolina. My mother had already moved there a year or two earlier.

I’ve resided in NC since late 2007. Trips have mostly been by car and have included stops in Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Durham, and Cary.

New York

After our European trip, my father moved to NY, where he moved in with his current partner.

I visited NY thrice, once after I sustained a workplace injury and needed time to recover, another time to see my uncle, who was visiting from England and lastly, as an overnight stop-over before flying out to Guadeloupe in the Caribbean.

I have visited the Jamaica Bay Bird Sanctuary and went to Macy’s.

VA, SC, GA, FL

On one domestic trip, I rode the Amtrak train up to Virginia and boarded my father’s small sailboat. He had sailed down the coast with his partner, and she was now heading back to NY.

The trip involved sailing and motoring down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) or “the ditch.”

The ditch is a trench about 90 feet across and 12 feet deep that is dug out and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers using these backhoes on barges.

The ditch allows for small boat marine traffic to navigate up and down the coast without needing to go out into the ocean. You can travel from NY to FL safely, thanks to the hard work of the Army Corps of Engineers.

Our trip passed through ports and anchorages in Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

We waited in Florida for a window of good weather to make the crossing to the Caribbean, but I eventually got tired and decided to finish my part of the trip in Florida.

My father continued the trip and eventually was able to cross the Gulf and reached the Caribbean islands. He would later repeat the trip in a larger boat and in 2019, I joined him and his partner in Guadeloupe for a Caribbean cruise.