United States of America (USA)

Arizona (AZ)

California (CA)

Nevada (NV)

New Mexico (NM)

Utah (UT)

June 14, 1777: Congress passes The Flag Resolution: “It is resolved that the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternated red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.”  Those original 13 colonies included: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.By law, a star is added to the Flag on the Fourth of July following the admission of a state(s) to the Union.  In 1959 the present 50 states were completed with the addition of Alaska and Hawaii.

In our opinion North America can be best experienced via a road trip... choose your start and end point, hire a car and GO. That is surely the way we prefer to explore the USA. On the next pages you find an impression of the road trip which took place in 'the electronic age' - combined with some facts & figures. Photo's of earlier trips will follow as soon as they have been scanned.

'The Stars And Stripes'

In 2009 we already considered the Netherlands a country with too many rules and regulations (and Yes, it has gotten worse over the years) but during our roadtrip through the USA it became apparent that everything is relative..... it can be worse somewhere else. Follow the link to a page full of useful and less useful and sometimes even hilarious Dos & Don'ts..

Of all visited states (and we have visited quiet a nice number over the years; more than discussed presently on this website) Arizona by far is my favorite in relation to nature: rough, extreme and very colorful.  During this trip we visited Yuma State Prison and for the second time Petrified Forrest and Painted Dessert.

It does take a bit of time to leave Los Angeles (503 sq.mi.), however before doing so we visit the Warner Borthers Studios as I did grow up with Looney Tunes and imitated  "What's up, Doc?" (Bugs Bunny - first appearence on April 30th, 1938) to my heart's content. Further stops in California at San Diego Zoo and Yanks Air Museum in Chino.

Las Vegas, Nevada was visited first time by Arno in 1978 (just before we met); it was about time to check out the city's development in 2009. The changes were massive as I had noticed already on the various business trips I made to 'Sin City'.

New Mexico has provided us with a nice variety of activities. There seems to be a clear distinction between activities for boys or girls but it will bring us on average to a nice 'gender neutral' offering. We have visited following: White Sands Missile Range, Museum of Nuclear Science & History, Ice Cave & Bandera Volcano and Albuquerque Bio Botanic Park.

We have not seen much of Utah but what we did see surely warrants a return visit. This time we aimed at visiting the North Rim of the Grand Canyon- what did not happen in the end. We thoroughly enjoyed the scenary during the trip from Arizona, via the most southwesterly corner from Utah to Nevada (Las Vegas).

Dos & Don'ts

Florida (FL)

Texas (TX)

Tennessee (TN)

Hawaii (HI)

Louisiana (LA)

New York (NY)

Massachusetts (MA)

We have visited Florida a number of times as this state has places of interest to everyone's taste. Just to name a few: Kennedy Space Center, Disney World, Universal Studios, Everglades, Florida Keys, Cypress Gardens, Edison & Ford Winter Estates. But the absolute highlight for us was witnessing live the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavor in 1996.

South Carolina (SC)

Georgia (GA)

Nevada (NV)