 Yellowstone National Park  Everglades Alligator Farm Homestead, Florida | Some of our favorite travel memories are about the animals we have seen or touched. How about you? Although we were hoping to see bears when we went to Yellowstone National Park, we were beside ourselves when we actually did. In the Everglades in Florida we were excited when we saw an alligator in the wild - but it added another dimension to get to hold a baby one at an Alligator Farm. Animal experiences from sea to shining sea! Consider making your visit to each state unique by having an animal encounter or make an animal-related stop in each state or country you visit. If you already have, let us know, you just might be a Travel Goal Getter Record Holder. There are different types of animal-related stops. Some will take a few minutes, some a few hours, some an overnight stay. Whatever your animal fancy or your trip allows - enjoy and happy travels! - Travel Goal Getter - Animal Experiences List. These travel sites entail getting close and personal with the animals.
- Zoos and Aquariums. The world is full of amazing animals and incredible zoos that take care of them. Please refer to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums or Wikipedia listings, there is certain to be a zoo in the state or country you are visiting! Also see our list of 10 Free Reciprocal & Discount Museum Programs and Resources.
- Wildlife Parks - Wikipedia has a decent list, but not near complete list of wildlife parks, but it will give you some possibilities. At some parks, animals come right up to your vehicle as you drive through their natural setting.
- Travel Goal Getter - Unusual Animal Travel Stops - Dog memorials, famous animals preserved, animal collection museums, and more.
- State Animal or State Bird Sightings- Some members have attempted to see the state animal or state bird while they are visiting each state. Be the first to complete this! .
| Author: Alicia
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Author: Eric | About the photo: Don and Vanda Edington pose in front of the sheriffs office on the set of the A&E TV Series Longmire, set in the fictitious Absaroka County, Wyoming and filmed in the real town of Las Vegas, New Mexico. They write trip reports and submit travel photos to the Denver Post as part of the Post's Paper Trails travel feature.
| I had the chance to sit down with Travel Goal Getter members Don and Vanda Edington who graciously welcomed me into their home a couple of weekends ago. Don, a retired member of the Navy Reserve and Vanda, an aspiring painter, are Travel Goal Getter Record Holders, having visited all fifty states twice. Beginning in 1998 and finishing in 2003, their first goal was to visit the state capitols. Despite tireless trip planning, speed bumps came up such as the time in Rhode Island when the state capitol was unexpectedly closed. This created a problem because their self-imposed qualification for a visit required them to set foot in the capitol building itself. Luckily, a guard patrolling the capitol corridors heard their desperate knocking and let them set foot in the building, even though a foot was all that the guard would allow. Their second visit to all fifty states from 2005 to 2009 was fueled by their newly discovered hobby of geocaching (see geocaching.org), a treasure hunting game in which you use GPS technology to hide and seek containers in thousands of locations across the world. The Edington's are contemplating a third visit to all fifty states but are still deciding on a goal. They have considered visiting the smallest cities in each state or visiting the geographic center of each state as their next goal to accomplish. | While we certainly covered the extent of their two all fifty state trips, I was left with something greater and more powerful than the notion that travel is just about checking off places visited. For the Edington's, travel is something more; for them, it's about making connections, meeting new people, and giving back to the travel community. You could say that Don and Vanda caught the travel bug on their first overseas trip (the Edington's are also world travelers and have visited 52 countries to date). Their two-week trip to England, which happened to cost $250 at the time, placed them with a host family, much like Couch Surfing (see couchsurfing.org) connects travelers today. It's no coincidence that the Edington's utilize couch surfing and are now travel hosts themselves; in the past few years they have hosted 16 fellow travelers. The Edington's have one trip planned in the near future: an Alaskan inside passage cruise to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. Beyond their Alaskan trip and whatever their future travel plans may hold, you can be certain that Don and Vanda will savor their time on the road and relish in the opportunities of enjoying new travel experiences and meeting new people from around the world. You might also like...
Author: Alicia UPDATE 8/4/13: Larry is attempting his third All Fifty States tour, playing 50 rounds of disc golf in 50 days. His first stops are in Alaska & Hawaii starting August 12th and his trip will end September 30th. He'd love your support! Visit soldieringonfordiscgolf.com for more information and ways to get involved. Larry's schedule is at the bottom of the post.  Larry Kirk on Wakiki Beach, Hawaii. | Welcome and congratulations to new member and disc-golfer Larry Kirk from Atwater,CA! He has been to all 50 states not once – but twice – and is preparing to visit them all a third time! Larry’s true passion is disc-golf and in an effort to spread his love of the game,decided to play disc-golf in each state. His first trip to all 50 took almost 9 years to complete, finishing up in 2010. Larry's trip began with family trips and continued with some work-related travel in his career as a technical sergeant with the Air Force National Guard. To conclude his first visit to all 50, he did a victory walk up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum….just like Rocky. see Rocky Statue and Steps. | Larry was soon ready for his second U.S. tour which he completed in 2012 in just 10 months. On one eleven-day trip from California to Tennessee and back, he visited twenty-three states. Larry said he has enjoyed meeting so many people along the way that “he never would have met” from high-ranking Air Force officials, National Disc Golf Champions,local news reporters, to people on the disc-golf courses. His last state the second time around was Hawaii (as pictured).
Best of luck to Larry as he secures sponsorships so he may begin his next quest to disc-golf in 50 states in 50 days. This third tour would make him the first All Fifty Club member to complete a third visit to each state. More about Larry’s travels and plans can be found on his Facebook page as Disc Golf Flyer.
REST STOP IDEA - Looking for a way to break up a long day of traveling? Disc golf might be a perfect way to get out of the car. It is like traditional golf, but instead of a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc or Frisbee. The disc is thrown at an elevated metal basket. The object of the game is to complete each basket in the fewest number of throws. A nine “hole” game takes approximately 45 minutes. There are special discs especially made for the sport but some try it out with a regular Frisbee. Disc Golf Course Review is an easy way to locate a course near you or along the road on your next trip.
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Author: Eric As reported by The Garden Island in an article titled Cyclist finishes 50-state ride on Kaua‘i, one year and two months since his journey began, David Miller has completed his quest to visit all 50 states by bicycle. What's amazing is that he completed his journey not in spurts of cycling here and there but in a row. David basically set out on his bike 14 months ago and never stopped! For 46 of the 50 states David had his dog Max in tow as they traveled raising $5000 for charities including The American Heart Association and The Cancer Research Institute. To read more about his journey visit David's website Bike 50 At 50 where you'll find a Google Map of his journey and more information. Congratulations David! | Photo used under creative commons from Earth Infrastructures. | Photo used under creative commons from ollanani. |
Congratulations to Nicole Smith on completing her goal of skydiving in all 50 U.S. States! She wrapped up her goal on Saturday, August 18th at Skydive Kansas, marking her 50th jump. You may recall Nicole's amazing inspirational story that we first highlighted on June 11th. Nicole was in a serious car accident in June 2011 in which her boyfriend was killed and Nicole was left in critical condition with a broken neck, back, tailbone, punctured lung, 2 broken ribs, 4 pelvic factures, and 2 brain injuries. A true miracle story, she writes on her blog that, "During my rehabilitation, I had time to focus on what is really important in my life." She got rid of many possessions and started focusing on her "bucket list". Her passion for skydiving was at the top of the list. Read about her amazing adventure at http://temptphate01.tumblr.com/. Congratulations Nicole! A true inspiration! Photo used under Creative Commons from joebazDo you have travel goals? See Achieving Travel Goals for some quick advice and a comprehensive primer to help you achieve travel goals. Check out a simple tool to help track travel goals and travel accomplishments - see our Travel Goal App for the iPad to learn more about tracking your unique travel goals on your own travel goal iPad app. Have you traveled to all 50 states, all 7 continents, or at least 15 countries? Become a member of our All Fifty Club, 7 Continent Club, and/or Traveler's Country Club for FREE today or give a membership as a gift! Happy Travels! you might also like...
This is an update to a previous post...Golfer playing 50 rounds in 50 States in 50 Days...Amazing story for the golfer and traveler alike... http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/golf/on-the-road-with-golfer-harry-scott-day-of/article_5eac295e-6e9a-53cc-89c6-f28df3ff61a2.htmlPress of Altantic City, 5/30/2012
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