40 by 40: No. 25 – See the Great American Landmarks

I'm running a little behind in getting up to 40 things to do before I'm 40. At this rate I might not finish writing the list before I'm 40. So let's get to it. Here's No. 25.

No. 25: While traveling to every state, see the country's most amazing landmarks.

I had marked a link awhile back to America’s Most Beautiful Landmarks, as chosen by Travel+Leisure magazine this summer. I’ve seen some of them, but not all, and I absolutely love to go to the places everyone talks about whenever I travel – however tourist-y they may be. Most of the time, it’s worth it. So why not aim to do so while attempting to hit all 50 states before I turn 40?

The places on the list I have already been:


Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Keystone, South Dakota
We went several years when I was little. The Black Hills of South Dakota – home of Custer’s infamous Last Stand – was a frequent vacation destination for my family. We’d roadtrip up to the Badlands, and then to the Black Hills, where we would camp, play pinecone baseball, wander the area and swim in cold lakes. And we would always visit Mount Rushmore. I was told recently that Mount Rushmore is even cooler as an adult, and I’d like to experience that.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA
I went here when I was in San Francisco at the end of a long road trip. I have to say, it was pretty cool. I would like to go back however and actually ride a bike across the bridge. You can rent bikes and travel from one end to the other.

Photo by me in San Francisco in 2011

Washington Monument, Washington, DC
Thanks to work travel, I go to Washington, DC nearly every year – at least twice. And almost every time I go and walk on the National Mall, where you can find the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and a large number of very awesome museums – many of which I have yet to visit.

Photo by me in Washington DC.

The Fountains of Bellagio, Las Vegas
Is it sad that I have only been to Vegas for work? I really need to go for play.

New Orleans Garden District
I’m glad to see this on the list. I lived right near here when I lived in New Orleans – wow – more than six years ago now. Beautiful homes.

And I've seen several others on the list – including the RiverWalk in San Antonio, Texas; Cloud Gate (The Bean) in Chicago (a fun sculpture), and the Arch in St. Louis. There was nothing from Colorado on the list, oddly enough. You would think they would have thrown in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Those I have not yet been to ...
Grand Central Terminal and the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC (I’ve never been in New York City at all), Niagara Falls, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park in California, Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (guess that means I have to go back to Hawaii!), Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and several spots on the East Coast, where I’ve spent relatively little time.


What’s a little sad is that I’ve been to many of the states whose landmarks are on the list, but did not see the landmarks while there. Luckily, I’ll get a second shot at many of them.