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Where in the uSa is
​flat amelia

How many states I've visited ...

13

updated April 2022

TENNESSEE

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1

Nashville

My first trip...

I travelled by the U.S. Postal Service to Nashville, Tennessee.

I stayed witth my cousin

Rick & Karen and visited

Top Golf.

FLORIDA

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2

Orlando

My first vaca trip...

I travelled by plane with Rick to Orlando, Florida. This was a work trip so I spent most of my time at Top Golf.

I learned that Florida is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. 

back
to

TENNESSEE

Nashville

After Florida, I met my cousin Tina & Brian who had to evacuate New Orleans during Hurricane Ida.

While they were in town we listened to lots of music & visited the Parthenon in Nashville.

Next on the agenda...

Road Trip!

ALABAMA

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3

Elkmont

Our first stop on the roadtrip was in Alabama where I saw the Saturn IB Launch Vehicle that was built by NASA in Alabama.

Next we drove through Birmingham where I learned a lot about the Civil Rights Movement & Tucaloosa, a college town where

football is life.

Birmingham

Next we drove through Birmingham where I learned about the Civil Rights Movement – including the Birmingham Campaign, Martin Luther King Jr.'s arrest after leading a peaceful protest and the letter he wrote from the Birmingham Jail.

Tuscaloosa

Before leaving Alabama we drove through Tuscaloosa which is basically a college town where football is life.

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4

MISSISSIPPI

Meridian

Our second stop on the roadtrip was outside of Meridian, Mississippi.

Although we didn't make too many stops, Brian and Tina told me about driving down the Mississippi Blues Trail, Civil Rights history, and more...

Mississippi Blues Trail

What I learned about the Mississippi Blues Trail...

Mississippi spawned the single most important root source of modern popular music from BB King, Howlin' Wolf, Ike Turner, Elvis Presley, and many more...

Muscle Shoals

What I learned about the Muscle Shoals...

This town is known worldwide, not only for the music recording industry, but also as the birthplace of W.C. Handy, Father of the Blues and Helen Keller, First Lady of Courage.

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5

LOUISIANA

New Orleans

I arrived in New Orleans with Brian and Tina just after Hurricane Ida left. This was their first time back since evacuating during the blackout.

While in NOLA we walked the neighborhood to see how bad the damage was, we ate beignets at their favorite cafe, and enjoyed learning about its local history, listening to jazz in the streets, and learning about the French culture.

What I learned about Louisiana:

  1. Indigenous people called it Balbancha, “land of many tongues,” and they inhabited the rich delta lands between the Mississippi River (“Father of Waters”) and Okwa-Ta (“Big Water,” Lake Pontchartrain).

  2. French explorer Robert Cavelier, claimed Sieur de La Salle in 1682 for the French Crown.

  3. France ceded Louisiana to Spain, to keep it out of the hands of the British, victors of the recent French and Indian War.

  4. Throughout the1700s, Louisiana was a Spanish colony and functioned as an important trading and cultural partner with Cuba, Mexico, and beyond.

  5. The Spanish liberalized policies governing slavery, which enabled the dramatic growth of a caste of free people of color.

  6. In 1803, the Spanish retroceded Louisiana back to France, only to have Napoleon sell the entire Louisiana colony to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

  7. Significant battles of the War of 1812 and the Civil War were fought over the city.

  8. New Orleans is known for its distinct Creole culture and vibrant history.

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6

KENTUCKY

Kentucky

I took one last road trip with

Tina & Brian to Ohio. On our way there I got to see three more states...First stop – Kentucky!!!

What I learned about Kentucky:

  1. It became the first U.S. state west of the Appalachian Mountains.

  2. During the Civil War in 1861, Kentucky was torn apart by conflicting loyalties so they were considered a neutral state.

  3. The Kentucky Derby is the longest running sporting event in the US, dating back to 1875 and considered a celebration of southern culture and a true icon of Americana. 

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7

INDIANA

Indiana

Next we drove through Indiana.

It turned out we would end up driving back and forth from Ohio to Indiana a few times during our visit. It had the closest roller skate rink,Target, and Starbucks!

What I learned about Indiana:

  1. 19th territory to become a state.

  2. Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home is in Indiana (from 7-21).

  3. Indiana supported the Union during the Civil War.

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8

OHIO

Eaton, Ohio

We spent most of our time in Eaton, Ohio, which is a small town outside of Dayton in the southeast corner of the state. While I was there I enjoyed the fall leaves one day and saw my first snowfall! Brrr...it was cold!

On a bike ride we visited the Roberts Covered Bridge. It is a Burr Truss covered bridge and is said to be the oldest covered bridge in Ohio, the second oldest covered bridge in the United States, and the oldest of the six remaining "double-barreled" covered bridges in the United States.

More facts I learned about Ohio:

  1. It's known as the "Buckeye State" after its Ohio buckeye trees.

  2. There are a lot of people who live on a farm with corn fields that is actually owned by a company who uses the corn to make feed for cows.

  3. In 2003, Congress officially declared Ohio as the “birthplace of aviation” over North Carolina, because Dayton was the home of Wilbur and Orville Wright, who were credited in inventing and flying the first aircraft. 

After returning back to NOLA, Tina packed me up and I travelled via the US Postal Service to Idaho...

#

9

IDAHO

Meridian

I travelled by FedEx to meet Meli's family in Idaho!

I arrived just in time for the season to change from fall leaves to beautiful white snow. During my trip we went to the woods and cut down a Christmas tree. We visited Smokey the Bear in the Boise National Forest and I enjoyed all the excitement winter brings, including sledding down the hills by their house and skiing in the mountains.

More facts I learned about Idaho:

  1. In 1805 Lewis and Clark entered Idaho at the Lemhi Pass.

  2. In 1890 Idaho becomes the 43rd state.

  3. Idaho's Salmon River near Riggins is the longest free-flowing river that heads and flows within a single state.

  4. Idaho's capitol is Boise.

  5. Known as the Gem State, Idaho produces 72 types of precious and semi-precious stones. 

And now...I am off to California!

CALIFORNIA

10

#

San Diego

Winter in Southern California is sooo...much different than Idaho and no snow, just a lot of sun. While in San Diego I met Meli's cousin Ania and her friend Megan. Megan took me to the beach, we went to a Gulls hockey game, I watched her race her sail boat, and she even taught me how to sail too. What an adventure!

More facts I learned about California:

  1. The first explorers and settlers of Coastal California were American Indians.

  2. Spanish navigator Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo became the first European to sight the region that is present-day California in 1542.

  3. In 1850 California became the 31st state, and is now the third largest state behind Alaska and Texas. 

  4. In 1769, the Spanish began to build missions in California in an effort to convert the Native Americans to Catholicism. They also built forts called presidios and small towns called pueblos. Two of those famous presidios are San Diego and Los Angeles.

And now...I am off to New Mexico!

11

#

NEW MEXICO

Santa Fe

Millie's family in California, the Krahl's also had family in New Mexico, so I was lucky to travel via US Mail to Santa Fe, the capitol of New Mexico.

More facts I learned about New Mexico:

  1. In 1598 the first Spanish settlement was established on the Rio Grande River by Juan de Onate; in 1610 Santa Fe was founded and made the capital of New Mexico. The U.S. acquired most of New Mexico in 1848, as a result of the Mexican War, and the remainder in the 1853 Gadsden Purchase

    Santa Fe is the capitol of New Mexico.

  2. Fiestas de Santa Fe has been held since 1712 to celebrate the Spanish reconquest of the city in 1692 by Don Diego de Vargas from the Pueblo tribes who had occupied the city since the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

  3. In 1924, artist William Howard Shuster, Jr. burned the first Zozobra in his backyard at a party for his friends and fellow artists during Fiestas."Zozobra" is a Spanish word for anxiety, worry, or sinking. The Burning of Zozobra is a unique cultural event that has continued for 97 years as a way of ridding oneself or one's community of evil.

  4. New Mexico is know as the 'Land of Enchantment'.

  5. New Mexico was admitted to the U.S. as the 47th state on January 6, 1912.

  6. It became the center for the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. The first atomic bomb was developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory and was detonated at Trinity Site, New Mexico.

Now I am off to Nevada!

12

NEVADA

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Las Vegas

I travelled to Meli's aunt in Las Vegas via US Mail! Her aunt and uncle took me to see the Las Vegas strip and sat on their porch facing the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

More facts I learned about Nevada:

  1. Las Vegas was settled in 1905 and officially incorporated in 1911.

  2. In 1922 the Historic Westside School was built in Historic West Las Vegas on W. Washington Avenue and D Street. The building was the first grammar school in West Las Vegas and is the oldest remaining schoolhouse in Las Vegas.

  3. During the 1940's the Las Vegas Army Air Field (now Nellis Air Force Base) was built in the northeast and the first hotel-casinos opened their doors: El Rancho Vegas (first themed resort on the Strip), followed by the Last Frontier (1942), Flamingo (1946), and Thunderbird (1948).

  4. In 1946 Fremont Street from Main to Third Streets was named Glitter Gulch by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and El Cortez hotel‐casino opened.

Now it's time to head home!

Where in the USA is Flat Amelia?

home in Arizona

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