Time to Celebrate

This evening I made it to Celebration, FL. Another day, another town, another host, right? Not quite. This is a stop I have been hoping for and anticipating since day one of planning. So you may ask, what brings me to Celebration? Well, quite frankly I don’t need a reason to celebrate. Ok ok, the real reason is to stay with Kurt and Emily, who 12 years ago took their children to all 50 states in one year.

Over a year ago I was chatting with my friend Beth about the plans for my trip. At that time I was searching for as much feedback as possible. Beth, from Traverse City, remembered another girl from high school, that girl was Amy. Not only was Amy the same age as me, but she also went to Michigan State. So I made a cold phone call and got in touch. While being home schooled (or road schooled?) Amy and her younger brother John were given a tour of a life time. At ages 12 and 7 they not only saw all 50 states and all 50 capitols, they were able to meet all 50 governors who signed their sweatshirts. That beats any U.S. history class that I took when I was 12.

One tour of the United States is never enough. For Amy and family it would continue for the next three years. Book tours and speaking engagements would fill Amy’s agenda. In addition to this there were phone calls from across the country. The Today Show, MTV, CNN, and the national evening news are only a few of the dozens of television interviews. I’ve been excited for all the press and success I’ve had at this point, but it’s hard to imagine having that much excitement and selling ten of thousands of books. Maybe I can make it there too.

For a good few hours this evening the conversation between Kurt, Emily, and me were about our travels. It’s the hundreds of stories that make a tour what it is. And more than anyone I’ve met on the trip they know exactly what I’m going through! Of course they mentioned to me that after a trip like this, “you’ll never be normal again.” I don’t think I’ll find out what that means until months after returning home. Now doing it at age 12 and 7? Impressive! At age 7, I wonder if John is the youngest person to see all 50 states, at least in a one year time.

Congratulations Kurt, Emily, Amy, and John. An amazing accomplishment.

Check out Amy’s book here!