Even before our trip began, controversy rocked the family to its core. We affixed a U.S. map outlining all the states to the front slide of our motorhome to visually show our travels. We have camped in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Accordingly, we started off with those state stickers added to the outline map of the U.S. But what to do about Mississippi? We have traveled through Mississippi in the motorhome and stopped for fuel. The kids, M3 and L, insist that we must camp overnight in a state to qualify for addition of that state’s sticker. As such, Mississippi remains conspicuously missing from our map.
We have now qualified to add the Kentucky state sticker under even the most rigorous standard proposed. Accordingly, I will soon be pulling out the supply of stickers. What criteria would you use to decide whether a sticker goes up? Options include:
-Just driving through a state is OK
-Must have boots on the ground
-Must have boots on the ground for __ hours
-Must engage in a meaningful activity while in the state
-An overnight stay is required
What say you? I urge you to help us resolve this crisis.
Must have boots on the ground for a couple of hours and/or engage in a meaningful activity. (No drive through / gas stop credits ! )
So I can drive across Mississippi observing her beauty for hours, stop, exit the motorhome, pump gas, shop for snacks, pay the Mississippi proprietor $200, leave what I consider to be a meaningful “deposit” in a Mississippi men’s room, fix a faulty jack under the motorhome, enter the motorhome, and finish my drive clear across Mississippi and not get credit!? Harsh!
Making a deposit always counts as a meaningful activity.
I vote for meaningful activity, regardless of how much time it takes. If you see something important and it only takes 30 minutes, that would count. On the flip side, if you saw nothing but had a good time doing something family-oriented for a few hours, I’d call that meaningful as well. There are many paths to meaning.
Meaningful activity but doesn’t have to be overnight.
Definitely agree with Val and Steve! Meaningful activity!
Boots on the ground for x number of hours.
Boots on the ground is sufficient
Boots on the ground with photographic proof.
Meaningful activity! Something that makes you remember that state in a unique way.
I agree with mean full activity!
I think stopping for gas and fueling up will do quite nicely. If you bought snacks in a state, well that counts, too.
Thanks for all the comments. We are going to leave Mississippi off the map for now. We will likely swing through there on our way home. Hopefully, the rest of the states will be fairly clear cut.