Travel Thursday: Top 20 Road Trips

I came across this on Pinterest, however, the link to the original site said it no longer existed so I can't give proper credit.  I thought it was kind of cool because, while we've been racing through our 50 states challenge, we've managed to hit 18 of the 20!

1. I raced in New Orleans and spent the weekend there with Greg.
2. Grand Canyon was a family trip with all four of us (no racing-shocking!). 
3. The family visited Yellowstone the weekend Greg and I ran the Dirty Dash.
4. Greg and I visited Nashville while I was being interviewed by Vanderbilt.
5. Megan and I took a girls trip back in 2001 and spent a couple days in San Diego.
6. Meg and I visited Niagara Fallsin 2001 and I even saved Meg's sweatshirt because she wore it everywhere!
7. All of us have visited Boston for various trips and reasons and would go back there in a heartbeat! I ran a race in Cambridge - it was my first time to wear a costume as well.
8. Washington, D.C.  How can you not love our nation's capitol.  I ran the Marine Corp marathon there and we've taken numerous family trips.
9. New York City.  We celebrated Meg's 11th birthday there and definitely need to introduce Bridget to this amazing city.
10. Las Vegas. Oh yeah, I've been there.  And strangely enough, so has Meg and Bridget.  We have a modern definition of family trips obviously. And yeah, I ran a race there, too.
11. Mount Rushmore was awe-inspiring.  We visited this site while in South Dakota to run a race.
12. Chicago has been our most visited city.  Greg and I used to take weekend trips there when dating. He now finds himself on work trips there often. He competed in his first triathlon in Chicago, so it's also been a race destination for this family.
13. Orlando is magical.  I hate Florida in general, but love Disney World.  What's not to love? I ran the Princess Half Marathon there and, if you ask Megan, it was one of our favorite family vacations.  Bridget keeps asking to go back and I would gladly do it!
14. We have yet to visit the Wisconsin Dells.  I'll have to google why this place is so special.
15. Daytona Beach? Really? Daytona Beach made this list, but San Francisco did not? I have not been to Daytona Beach and I'm not sure I'm even interested.  No, not interested.
16. Portland - I'm assuming this one is Maine and the other one is for Oregon.  I've been to both and prefer Portland, Oregon.  AMAZING city.  You definitely must go there.  Best donuts, fantastic coffee, wonderful vibe, great food, and maybe one of the best race experiences I have had to date.
17. We recently visited Seattle in October and I loved it.  Except for the long plane ride, I would enjoy going back and visiting again. Can't say enough nice things about this city.
18. Austin was awesome.  Greg and I enjoyed a weekend of debauchery at the Austin City Limits festival a few years ago.  We are huge Black Keys fans and Dan Auerbach was playing solo there.  It was also the year of excessive raining so it was a mudfest. We left our shoes in the hotel. No way were we bringing those yucky things home.  And Torchy's Tacos - a must visit site if you ever go to Austin.
19. Portland - see number 16 above.
20. Miami was the location of one of my birthdays and where I got my tattoo. We had great food, wonderful drinks, lots of dancing and truly enjoyed ourselves in a land where it's so fun being an adult.

So many wonderful cities and/or destinations were left off this Road Trip list, but it's nice to know that we've hit the major ones.  And we look forward to wandering around this amazing nation of ours to find some more places to kick back, unwind, and enjoy.