A side thought - a nice travel-related gift for someone is a flag from each country they have visited/been in. You can buy them from various websites and the small flags can be displayed in a little stand - it was shocking to me how many countries our 22 year old daughter has actually visited (although some were little Caribbean island countries from a few cruises. I guess you could do the same with State flags.

if it's tickmarks you're looking for then technicalities count. I once missed a connection and was given a free hotel room in St. Paul's MN. That's the only time I've been in Minnesota so I have mixed emotions about counting it.

As has been pointed out, this is YOUR quest, so YOU get to make the rules.

My own personal criteria would be that I've had to have done something or seen something I would not do/see at home. My mom, daughter and I took a day trip to Morocco from Spain. We spent the day there~didn't spend the night~ate the food, saw some of Tangier, learned a bit about the culture and the history. According to my own criteria, I've been to Morocco. I don't count airports (changed planes in Amersterdam, Zurich, Dusseldorf and Franfurt but don't count any of those cities/countries), but if I've driven through a state in the US and seen the countryside, I count it.

Thanks for all the input. Honestly, I have never counted NJ although I've been to the Newark airport countless times but I have counted some of the other scenario's such as crashing at a friend's house across the stateline.

"What constitutes a "visit"?"

Feet or wheels on the earth within the borders.

Sadly, even the airports count.


Of course many would prefer greater substance...

That doesn't matter. Gotta go by the letter of the law.

This is somewhat like when people say they drove over the Golden Gate Bridge then they consider they have been to San Francisco. Or when someone spends 2 hours at the Grand Canyon and stops at 2 viewpoints that they have seen the GC. It just depends on how you want to look at it.

When we "did" the 50 states, we had to sleep in the state (we have also played golf in all 50 states.) Airports definitely don't count anywhere. Internationally I agree with ttnthumbs, we count Morocco, Gibraltar and Lichtenstein because we spent more than a few hours there even though we didn't sleep there. We try to stay over night if possible.

Personally, I don't think you have to sleep in a state for it to count.

I've been to the Vermont statehouse in Montpelier, the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, he Haskell Free Library in Derby Line, and the home of a friend of a friend in WIndsor—all on different trips in different years—plus I've been leaf peeping more than once (on still OTHER trips than the aforementioned), stopping at various sites to enjoy the view as well as for refreshments at places like the iconic Hogback Mountain Gift Shop. But I have yet to spend the night in Vermont.

Somehow, I don't think that disqualifies me from saying I've visited!

This thread is so inane it is lovable.

It makes me wonder what constitutes a visit to a restaurant.

*Walking by the restaurant.
*Reading a menu posted outside the restaurant.
*Opening the door and looking into the restaurant.
*Taking a seat at a table, but leaving before ordering.
*Ordering, but returning the food to the kitchen as unacceptable.

Etc.

HTTY

For myself, its doing something in the state other than just passing through

IE
a) Tourist attraction
b) eating a meal (not counting at airports or rest areas)

I've been in all 48 connected states. I've probably only slept overnight in about 44 of them. I was not sure about North Dakota so I got off the train for 2 minutes in Williston and took a picture of the station signboard. I've been to North Dakota for sure now. I did sleep on the train while it was moving through on the way to Fargo.
In the last 7 years I've been working on finding a geocache in as many states as possible. I've found caches in 20 states plus British Columbia Canada.

HTTY—

*Taking a seat at a table, but leaving before ordering.
*Ordering, but returning the food to the kitchen as unacceptable.

Those certainly count as VISITS. Not sure they would qualify as EATING at said restaurant.

gail - Those are pretty much our rules too. I count Arkansas because once when we were in Memphis, we got in the wrong lane and ended up going over the bridge into Arkansas. So we stopped the car at the soonest opportunity, got out of the car, took a deep breath, and then drove back to Memphis. I don't count Illinois because although I have been to Chicago airport 100 times, I have never left the secure area and entered Illinois.

You could do this:

http://www.datapointed.net/2012/08/f...united-states/

"This thread is so inane it is lovable."

Well bless your heart.

I've done all 50, and none of them were as minimal as those suggestions. I do think driving through RI and spending even half a day visiting the mansions would count. That's all about "seeing" something the state has to offer. To me, that's what travel is about -- but not spending the night in an airport hotel -- unless you also explored a city and enjoyedameal in a local restaurant.

NeoPatrick...agreed.

Experiencing something and just checking things off are two different things. I agree with Neo.

Neo - What if you ate at a restaurant, but didnt enjoy it? Still counts?

It's an interesting question and I agree it's up to you to decide.

If it were me, doing something worthwhile in a state would be my measure. A site and a meal, perhaps.