Alaska is off to an amazing start. It truly is The Last Frontier. On Day #1 of my Alaskan adventure, Gwendolyn and I found ourselves at the bottom of Exit Glacier. This was my first ever glacier experience and it was incredible. I have always loved snow and ice, everything about it. In front of me was this river of ice coming down from the Harding Icefield. Thousands of feet deep, a hint of blue from how dense the ice is, but despite that the ice is liquefied underneath from the massive amounts of pressure as it glides along. …

Seward is a little town of a couple thousand people, about 2.5 hours south of Anchorage. It’s a little town I have wanted to come to for a number of years, thanks to the influence of my friend Ben. My dream has come true. Here I am in Seward, AK. For a few summers Ben worked here in Seward and would constantly tell me about it and tell me I need to get there. …

Alaska! This is it, I did it, I have now made it to all 50 states in just under a year. All 50! This is the accomplishment of my life. I’m not sure what’s going to unfold this next week in Alaska, but it should be excellent. After this week I still have to make it back to Chicago to pick up the Invasion Mobile and then I’ll be welcomed back to Michigan after a year outside of the state. …

I have never been to a better wedding than this. I’m not just saying it because it’s my own brother, or because it’s the only wedding I have ever stood in. It was just perfect. After a week of rain we were all a little nervous about the weather for the outdoor wedding. And as we all woke up on Saturday morning we all witnessed the beginning of a beautiful day. …

Today was long anticipated. If you look at the map I have now completed a very big circle around the country. I’m back in Madison, WI, which is where I spent my 6th night of the trip. That was a long time ago, a really long time ago. The people, new experiences, and stories that fill the that big red line across the country seem to be more than what can fit in a calendar. …

I haven’t quite been to all 50 states yet and I’m saving Michigan for the last. So I have a few weeks left to really complete the circle. However, in a great way this stop in Lake Villa, IL is all about coming full circle. Many of you who read the site regularly may not have known about it a year ago. It was back on the 7th day of the trip after leaving home, September 14th, 2006. …

Wow, what awesome restaurants in Indiana! I suppose they need to do something to get people to come to the state. Haha! Just joking… sort of. Zwanzigz Pizzeria – Awesome pizza! Couldn’t get a lot down after just playing frisbee. But this is a place everyone must stop in Columbus. Tropical Smoothie – Great wraps, I suggest the chicken almond wrap and then maybe a raspberry smoothie, or whatever the fruit of your choice is. …

Wow, I can check off another Big Ten university. Booya! I was impressed, Indiana is a really nice university, Bloomington seems to be a cool town, and I got to stay in the dorms again! I helped Valkyrie and Alex move in, which brought back a lot of memories of the college days. But I have to say that the dorms and caff get a bad rating at IU. The restaurants are a different story, but I’ll get to that in the next blog. …

I had no idea, Columbus, IN is a leader in architecture. I would have never known. Some very interesting buildings around town. Two families in a row who had two daughters of the same age. But very different families. In Columbus, Valkyrie had first heard of my trip through U.25 magazine. Her family shows me a great time! The family has been to all 50 states together, spread over a few years. …

I don’t know what I got myself into this time. I like adventure, but that comes with some limitations. Valkyrie warned me that I was going to get dirty and to wear some clothes I wasn’t too concerned about. Well not a big deal, but I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into. It was four of us, Valkyrie, Georgia, Jeff, and me. Jeff and I were both rookies. …