48 state capitals and one long roadtrip. That was the original idea, though it has changed a bit since inception.
Back in Atlanta and needing a trip to fill some time between some bigger trips and family events this summer, we decided a roadtrip was in order. So we searched the area and found a reliable used car that doubles as a mini campervan. A 2003 Honda Element. These are great little cars with a very unique look - people either love them or hate them, and we were in the latter group until changing our mind on them a few years ago.
We found a great used Element - high mileage but still in very nice condition with a great service history, so we had it checked out by a few mechanics, talked our way into a week long "test drive", did some bargaining and were ready to go. Turns out that Elements are a kind of cult car with a very devoted following, and now with "Toasty", we're part of the club!
Being able to convert the car and use it as a camper will save us a lot of time and money, and more importantly, it will be a great adventure.
We came across a helpful and inspirational website of a professor that did some work with optimizing routes (similar to the Traveling Salesman problem in mathematics), and he came up with the "optimal" route to hit all 48 state capitals (capitol buildings). So we're doing a truncated version of this, covering 23 states and Washington DC, and we'll hopefully do the Western portion of this next year. Here's his site, in case you want to learn more.
http://www.randalolson.com/2016/06/05/computing-optimal-road-trips-on-a-limited-budget/
Please follow along with our journey and be sure to leave comments for us...otherwise I feel like I'm just talking to myself...
"Toasty" - our 2003 Honda Element passing by the skyline of Atlanta. (The name comes from the fact that many people think these boxy cars look like a toaster on wheels.) |
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