Hitting the road

It's clear I don't get out much.

Not all that much in my 70 years, for sure. In fact, I'm certain some of my friends will chuckle at this paltry list. Why just who would guffaw over this? I'm thinking of a dear college buddy and a former writer, both of whom have traveled all over the place.


Ah yes, it's Pete overseas. A 2023 photo of your friendly author (left, of course) with the statue of Irish singer Joe Dolan in the Market Square of Mullingar, County Westmeath.

Before you allow yourself a hearty ha-ha, keep in mind I have been to places in my home state of Pennsylvania such as Apollo, Moon, Venus, Mars, Slippery Rock, Brave, Big Beaver, and yes, even Fombell. Oh, and I now live in Florida, which certainly is quite a trip in itself these days.

The real reason I've compiled this is because . . . well, I was wondering if I'd visited more countries than I have visited U.S. states.

Yeah, this is what I do when I can't fall asleep.

The final tally says the states win, but it's close.

So for your enjoyment and as an inspiration for you to create your own list, I'm providing this public service. It's also a reminder to me that I should travel more (we're going to Arkansas in 2024; maybe we can hit Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana while we're in the region), so off we go!

STATES

1. Pennsylvania (I am indigenous!)

2. Ohio

3. Michigan

4. Indiana

5. Illinois

6. Kentucky

7. Tennessee

8. Florida

9. Georgia

10. South Carolina

11. North Carolina

12. Virginia

13. West Virginia

14. Maryland

15. Delaware

16. New Jersey

17. New York

COUNTRIES

1. United States

2. Canada

3. Bahamas

4. Guadeloupe

5. Saint-Martin (French side)/Sint Maartin (Dutch side)

6. Barbados

7. Greece

8. Germany

9. Poland

10. England

11. Scotland

12. Northern Ireland

13. Ireland

* – Counting Saint Martin as one country since there is a unity movement afoot; Guadeloupe is a “department of France,” but since this Caribbean island clearly is not France, I'm counting it as one nation. Also, our 2023 sea voyage around the United Kingdom took us into the territorial waters of the Netherlands, but I'm not counting that; nor am I counting the nations in which we flew through the airspace. I'm counting the individual nations in the United Kingdom.

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