Day 0 – The Unofficial ‘Day 1’

When we decided to move there was a worry that we’d go from working in England to working in America without any kind of break. A well-spoken rat race to one with a twang and not to mention less holiday time. It seemed this kind of momentous life change required not just time to adapt, but also an excuse to fulfil a lifelong ambition of mine to do some major travelling (Joe’s lifelong ambition is ???).

Having dabbled a couple years ago in a quick ‘backpacking’ holiday around Europe (when I say quick, I mean quick – 7 countries in 17 days – and when I say ‘backpacking’ I mean our version of it – we had backpacks, but this was no hostel hippy-style travelling!), I felt we were ready for something more challenging.
My original plan had been to travel around Asia for a couple of months, but if our European trip had taught me anything, it was that Joe doesn’t enjoy travelling in the same way I do and if we were going to take a trip this substantial it would have to be a compromise where both of us would feel comfortable. Exploring our new homeland became an obvious second pick, but under the agreement that if I was going to give up the adventure of Asia we’d need to do something pretty spectacular to make up for it. Therefore I convinced Joe that the only way to do America was to REALLY do America…so…

Welcome to our blog: Fifty First States.

From tomorrow you can all follow along as we visit 49 of the 50 American states. Sure, it’s a bit of a cheat to call it ‘fifty’ when for now we’re only doing forty-nine, but one day Hawaii will be added and the name will make complete sense!
We will try and add a post a day, with some photos of what we’re doing, so make sure you check back often and leave messages for us as we’d love to hear from everyone while we’re on the road!

As for today, it’s the unofficial Day 1 of the trip because we’re off to the Minnesota State Fair and even though we’re not leaving our home state, we’re sampling one of it’s most famous delights – America’s biggest state fair – and that’s part of what this trip is all about, getting a taste of what each place has to offer.
Living in London means you don’t get to experience things like this, sure we have carnivals that come through, but they can’t possibly compete with this. My first trip to the fair was an eye-opening experience. It’s a weird mix of city and country life, with farm animals and endless lines of tractors crossed with people trying to sell you every kind of food you can think of (especially if it’s on a stick!) before the musical acts hit the stage. And to top it off there’s a princess parade where the beauty queens get their heads immortalized into statutes of butter. Yummy.
The day was a hot one, not helped by the amount of people, but between myself, Joe and our lovely friends, Ryder and Shanan, we managed to see the sights while constantly eating for 4 hours straight. Quite the achievement.

If just a small part of our two and a half month trip adds up to the amount of quirk the Minnesota State Fair had to offer it’ll be a huge success!

So, until tomorrow…
Ani

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