The Road Less Traveled - My State Capitol Journey
9,514. That’s not a number you’ll see often or associate with anything of significance. Here’s a hint: It’s an atypical statistic about the United States. However, it holds significance for me, as someone who is anything but typical. This number represents the greatest distance between any 2 points in a United States territory. You’ll find these extremes in Guam and the US Virgin Islands. The point of land in both territories is called Point Udall, named after 2 brothers of the Udall family, which has been a powerful American political family for the past 100 years. Morris “Mo” King Udall served in the House for 30 years as a Representative from Arizona. Mo succeeded his brother, Stewart, from that same district, while the two brothers both served in the US Interior department. The points of land were named in 1969 (USVI) and 1987 (Guam), and one can say that the “the sun rises and sets everyday in the United States at Point Udall”. But unlike the Kennedy’s, the Udalls are not household names, and unlike most Travel articles, this one is also anything but well treaded.
There is a good chance you never knew this information about the Udalls’ and an even better chance you’ll never use it. But the context behind the things we see everyday, but don’t put much more than a passing thought to, is something I enjoy thoroughly. and comes as no surprise to me as someone who’s #1 Clifton strength finder is ‘Context’. But, the reason why I chose to highlight this obscure fact, is that this is roughly half the distance I have traveled, by car, in the United States visiting state capitol buildings over the past 8 years. Since November of 2016, I’ve traveled, by car, roughly 19,800 miles visiting 42 state capitol buildings. After next month, I will top 20,000 miles with 45 State Capitol visits logged. By the end of April, I will be able to say that I’ve traveled the equivalent of the distance between the 2 most extreme points of the US and back again. For a more familiar visual reference, I’ll have driven 4/5ths the circumference of the Earth (24,901) just on my state capitol visits alone. (I have also been to 21 National Parks, 16 Major League Baseball Stadiums, and 13 countries outside of the US as of this writing.)
But it is in the details, which lie something greater, a story to be told. That is why instead of beginning my Travel stories with painstaking details, like the deadliest state Capitol is Tennessee as 4 people are buried there (2 within the walls!), I must first identify the Why. (Thanks, Simon)
Invariably, I prepare myself for the looks of bewilderment and followup questions when I tell people that I’m taking off for a vacation and it includes driving multiple 6 hour days with stops in places nobody would associate with the word ‘vacation.’ But I never was the one to follow the crowd. And as I have gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate the overlooked, as someone who struggled to find their own way in this world. It’s not by accident that I chose to pursue the State Capitol Journey. For it is not a route or choice that many will make. Just as I did not choose to have these life challenges. But it’s in these difficulties that I have not only found strength to stand out, but to dig beyond the surface (behind the marbled columns), to find out how we are more alike, than we are not. Commonality, this connection, has fueled my desire to bring people together. One that has driven me to become leader in my career, steering Cross-Functional teams and individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and personalities, towards a common goal. More to come on that later.
I have criss-crossed this country enough to provide words of wisdom that apply both in travel and in life:
We are more alike than we are different. Keep an open-mind and be ok with being uncomfortable. It’s often a sign of growth.
If you treat others the way you want to be treated (the golden rule), the rewards will come back to you in spades
One person does not define an entire community. I don’t care who sits in the Governor’s chair, the Capitols are bigger than any one individual.
History cannot be changed, but one can learn a lot by placing themselves in the shoes of our ancestors. Decisions are made within the context of the era and situations. We are an ever-evolving society, bound by our flaws and imperfections.
The smaller the capital city, the larger the the sense of community. I have a soft spot places like Montpelier, Pierre, Concord, and Frankfurt. These David’s can go toe-to-toe with Pheonix, Boston, and Atlanta in many ways.
Perhaps the picture is coming more into focus for you. The State Capitol buildings are grand, unique, filled with history and stories. They are by themselves, amazing attractions that you may find on TripAdvisor or Viator, or other travel websites as “things to do” while you’re in a specific city. But for me, they are bigger than that. They are bigger than the experience of checking off another item on the bucket list. The Capitols are my north stars, waypoints that connect each other in a series of something bigger, the story of America, of our ancestors, of our past accomplishments and mistakes, of what we are doing today to move forward. It’s not much different than our own life stories, just on a much larger scale.
At a time when this country feels more divided than it’s ever been, it often frustrates me reading social media comments or listening to stories about attitudes regarding different parts of the country. It’s apparent that a lot of people do not leave the comforts of their home and experience first-hand this world to form their own opinions. I came across a quote the other day summarizing this sentiment. “When setting out on a journey, never seek advice from those who have never left home.” by Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet, who’s considered one of the Islam’s greatest philosophical influences. Rumi is reminding us that those who have not attempted such journeys themselves cannot hold the same weight in advice as those who have lived, sacrificed, and risked to experience the journey themselves.
As I round 3rd base and come back to home on this personal quest, I am feeling bittersweet and grateful. On one hand, I will miss the excitement of rolling up to a new Capitol building, knowing full well I will be leaving it with a new story to tell. (I am writing about all of them individually), but on the other hand, I am grateful to be blessed with such an opportunity. Along the way, I have run into others that are doing the exact same thing, perhaps for similar reason. It is comforting to find these individuals and also to humble oneself; ensuring that I do not get caught up in the ‘terminally unique mindset,’ one that invites grandiosity and superiority, rather than acceptance and gratitude.
While I have 8 more to visit, in order to complete the journey properly, I will return back to the Capitols that were closed at the time. Next month I’ll be increasing my State Capitols visits to 45, but my full inside access will be at 32, with plans to return to those I have yet to see from the inside, which actually gives me a lot of joy knowing that the journey is closer to 2nd base, then home.
But even when the time comes that I have crossed the plate on all 50 buildings, both inside and out, I know that the journey truly isn’t over. For we never stop evolving, and the stories I’ve gathered along with the pictures (thousands of them), will continue to live on. This can be described as part of one’s legacy. But that doesn’t have to exist just within the page of one’s obituary. Legacy comes from the latin verb, Legare. It means to appoint and to send as an ambassador. And that’s the way I see it now, I am a state ambassador. I can carry the message from Alaska to Alabama. I have lived this in both my travels and in my professional life. I am literally the Minnesota state ambassador for a non-profit foundation promoting Chromodiversity awareness and am an active supporter in my Healthcare networks online and in-person carrying the message, turning obscurity into transparency and clarity.
In 2 weeks I’m going on my next vacation. I’ll be in Mississippi, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, and Tennessee. I’ll be in red states and blue states. I’ll hear accents from Cajun country to the Jersey Shore, there will be vast differences in infrastructure, geography, climate, and mannerisms. These are the easy things to see and celebrate! But there will be connections galore and it’s those interactions that I am most excited about as I continue to add to my ‘home’, one mile marker at a time.
Lastly, the other question I get all the time is which one is your favorite? To me that’s like picking a favorite among your children. Publicly, I will tell you all of them, but privately I have a list. It only makes sense to reveal those in due time, perhaps after I’ve had the opportunity to complete them all. I’ll give you a hint, it’s somewhere between Guam & the US Virgin Islands.