Sweet Caroline - or Carolina, in this Case

Our 38th state may be my most difficult challenge as it will (hopefully) result in a 100k bike ride. In keeping with the educational side of this blog - you know, hoping that my daughters will learn something from this experience other than how to pack - I'll leave you with some fun facts about South Carolina.

1. The walls of the American fort on Sullivan Island, in Charleston Harbor, were made of spongy Palmetto logs. This was helpful in protecting the fort because the British cannonballs bounced off the logs.

2. South Carolina entered the Union on May 23, 1788 and became the 8th state.

3. The state dance of South Carolina is the Shag!

4. Before being known as the Palmetto State, South Carolina was known as, and had emblazoned on their license plates, the Iodine State.

5. Tyler Brothers Work Shoe and Boot Company in Wagener produces 8 major brands of OSHA approved safety footwear, including such famous brands as Redwing, Georgia, Northlake, and Wolverine.

6. The Edisto River Canoe & Kayak Trail covers 66 miles of the river for which it's named. The Edisto is reputed to be the world's longest free-flowing "blackwater" stream. "Blackwater" is a term that not only describes the color of the tannin-rich water, but also refers to the peaceful rate of flow that characterizes such rivers.

7. The Isle of Palms was originally named Hunting Island and then Long Island, it's thought to be at least 25,000 years old, and was first inhabited by the indigenous Seewee Indians.

8. Sweetgrass basket making has been a part of the Mount Pleasant community for more than 300 years. Basket making is a traditional art form that has been passed on from generation to generation.

9. Fountain Inn is proud of the town's most famous native son. Clayton "Peg Leg" Bates lost his leg in a cotton gin accident at the age of 12; he overcame his tragedy to become a famous dancer. His signature step was the "Imitation American Jet Plane," in which he would jump five feet in the air and land on his peg leg, with his good leg sticking out straight behind him. During his career, Bates performed more than 20 different times on the Ed Sullivan television show more than any other artist.

Carry On Wayward Son

Back-to-back racing weekend includes not only a 10k in Oklahoma, but also a half marathon in Wichita, Kansas. Believe it or not, I am running the half sponsored by Taco Bell, and my instructions say to follow the Taco Bell signs along the route. I find it humorous that Pizza Hut (marathon course and Pizza Hut opened their first store in Wichita) and Taco Bell (Half marathon course) are sponsoring a running event!

So here we go. Kansas was so interesting that I included extra fun facts about the 36th state that this family is tackling!

1. A ball of twine in Cawker City measures over 38' in circumference and weighs more than 16,750 pounds and is still growing. How is this even possible?!

2. A grain elevator in Hutchinson is 1/2 mile long and holds 46 million bushels in its 1,000 bins.

3. South of Ashland the Rock Island Bridge is the longest railroad bridge of its kind. It measures 1,200 feet long and is 100 feet above the Cimarron River.

4. Kansas won the award for most beautiful license plate for the wheat plate design issued in 1981. Wheat is such a big deal here that in 1990 Kansas wheat farmers produced enough wheat to make 33 billion loaves of bread, or enough to provide each person on earth with 6 loaves.

5. Dodge City is the windiest city in the United States. You know I'm going to have to check this out for myself!

6. At one time it was against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie in Kansas. How is this even possible?!

7. The first woman mayor in the United States was Susan Madora Salter. She was elected to office in Argonia in 1887. And to think, this was way before women had the right to vote!

8. The first black woman to win an Academy Award was Kansan Hattie McDaniel. She won the award for her role in "Gone with the Wind."

9. Smith County is the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states.

10. Amelia Earhart, first woman granted a pilot's license by the National Aeronautics Associate and first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean was from Atchison. There's actually a neat Century ride held in Atchison in her honor.

11. Dwight D. Eisenhower from Abilene was the 34th President of the United States.

12. Wyatt Earp, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok and William B. "Bat" Masterson were three of the legendary lawmen who kept the peace in rowdy frontier towns like Abilene, Dodge City, Ellsworth, Hays, and Wichita.

I'm looking forward to visiting this great state!

Next up: Oklahoma

October is always a busy racing season for me. I have noticed that in 2009 and 2010, I ran the most number of races in October. This year will keep that autumn running tradition alive.

Our next stop: Madill, Oklahoma for Alice in Runner-land 10k. For a little education, here's some information you may or may not have known about Oklahoma:

1. The world's first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City on July 16, 1935.

2. Turner Falls Park in Davis is the oldest park in Oklahoma. Many springs from the world famous Arbuckle Mountains form Honey Creek that cascades down a seventy-seven foot fall to a natural swimming pool making the majestic Turner Falls the largest waterfall in Oklahoma. Might have to check this out!

3. There is an operating oil well on state capitol grounds called Capitol Site No. 1. How weird is that?!

4. Phillip H. Sheridan, George A. Custer and William T. Sherman were the founders of the USA's main artillery fort at Fort Sill.

5. Born in 1879 on a large ranch in the Cherokee Nation near what later would become Oologah, Oklahoma, Will Rogers was first an Indian, a cowboy then a national figure. Will Rogers was a star of Broadway and 71 movies of the 1920s and 1930s, a popular broadcaster and wrote more than 4,000 syndicated newspaper columns.

6. Boise City, Oklahoma was the only city in the United States to be bombed during World War II. On Monday night, July 5, 1943, at approximately 12:30 a.m., a B-17 Bomber based at Dalhart Army Air Base (50 miles to the south of Boise City) dropped six practice bombs on the sleeping town.

7. An Oklahoman, Sylvan Goldman, invented the first shopping cart. think of him next time you see one miles from a Target sitting all alone on a sidewalk.

8. Tahlequah, Oklahoma is the Tribal capital of the Cherokee Nation.

9. Bob Dunn a musician from Beggs invented the first electric guitar 1935.

10. Oklahoma is bordered by six states: Texas to the south and west, Arkansas and Missouri to the east, Kansas to the north and Colorado and New Mexico at the tip of the northwestern Oklahoma panhandle. Do you know which state is bordered by more? (Jeopardy question, come on!)

Massachusetts Fun Facts

I'm running a neat little 5k race in Cambridge this weekend as part of their Oktoberfest celebration (costumes are encourages and oh I have my costume ready!). The girls and I are flying to Boston, doing a little Boston authors kind of tour, eating pizza in our room, and paying outrageous in-room movie pricing as part of this weekend jaunt. As with all our states, I like to throw in a sprinkle of education with "fun facts."

Boston is one of my favorite towns and I never tire of visiting there (love San Francisco as well!). So let's begin with some odd stuff that makes MA awesome:

1. Boston built the first subway system in the United States in 1897.
2. There is a house in Rockport built entirely of newspaper.
3. The Fig Newton was named after Newton, Massachusetts.
4. 1634: Boston Common became the first public park in America.
5. Glaciers formed the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard during the ice age.
6. The Boston Tea Party reenactment takes place in Boston Harbor every December 16th.
7. The first Thanksgiving Day was celebrated in Plymouth in 1621.
8. The official state dessert of Massachusetts is Boston cream pie.

Yay 34 states! Massachusetts, here we come!

Rhode Island Fun Facts

The excitement of the 29th state is mounting. So in honor of checking off this family’s 29th state, below are some “fun facts” about Rhode Island. After all, this is a family blog – so it’s got to be educational, too!

• It was the last of the original thirteen colonies to become a state.

• Rhode Island never ratified the 19th Amendment regarding prohibition.

• Judge Darius Baker imposed the first jail sentence for speeding in an automobile on August 28, 1904 in Newport.

• St. Mary’s, Rhode Island’s oldest Roman Catholic parish, was founded in 1828. The church is best known as the site of the wedding of Jacqueline Bouvier and John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1953. Wedding details can be found here .

• Rhode Island has no county government. It is divided into 39 municipalities each having its own form of local government.

• Rhode Island’s official state name is Rhode Island and Providence Plantation. For those of you following today’s news, go here to learn more about why Rhode Islanders are voting this election for a name change.

• The era known as The Industrial Revolution started in Rhode Island with the development and construction in 1790 of Samuel Slater’s water-powered cotton mill in Pawtucket.

• The White Horse Tavern was built in 1673 and is the oldest operating tavern in the United States. What a beautiful and historic place!

• Lastly, in honor of election season: Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, established the first practical working model of Democracy after he was banished from Plymouth, Massachusetts because of his “extreme views” concerning freedom of speech and religion. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams publicly acknowledged Roger Williams, as the originator of the concepts and principles reflected in The First Amendment. Among those principles were freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of public assembly.

While in Rhode Island, we'll be visiting a couple college campuses since pumpkin is exploring colleges during her junior year. Looking forward to visiting Providence and nearby Newport. Exciting stuff! Now I just have to make sure my super comfy Brooks Adrenalines can carry me to the finish line so I can enjoy this lovely area!