In our second year of 50 in 5, May 2018 – May 2019, we visited 13 states. We went far north to Maine, and even ticked off our home state of North Carolina. Here’s a recap of our adventures in year two:
What are your top 3 memories from this year of travel?
Hannah: My favorite memory is visiting Maine. I had wanted to go there for so many years. Even though we didn’t spend much time there, it meant so much to me. A close second was attending Moon River Music Festival in Tennessee. And I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t mention that going to Disney World was a highlight of the year.
Brandon: Riding scooters through an empty downtown Cincinnati was awesome. Eating lobster rolls on the rock beach of Maine (in our Jeep!). Both of those are like top 5 for ALL of 50 in 5 for me. Honestly, number three is the Judah & The Lion performance at Moon River. It was raining, but it was so high energy it didn’t even matter—an epic performance.
What was a challenge you encountered?
Hannah: Money and budget! We did a lot of travel in year two. Brandon worked many overtime hours for extra cash ahead of our New England trip. He’s the best. I’ll also mention the clogged air filter we discovered in my car on the way to Chattanooga for Moon River, just so I can include the photo below:
Brandon: The people who wouldn’t stop partying at the Airbnb beside ours in Lexington, Kentucky.
What surprised you?
Brandon: How accurate all of the stereotypes about West Virginia are. Maybe how nice all the people in Boston were. Those stereotypes were not true. They were all really cool.
Hannah: Cincinnati surprised me! We loved it and we’re both dying to go back.
Where would you most like to return and why?
Hannah: I’d love to do our exact New England trip again, in a different season. And Cincinnati, of course!
Brandon: I want to go to Maine in a warmer month when things are still open. It was really cool when we went, but everything was closed and there were no people. I would go back to Cincinnati… we have a lot more to explore there.
What was your favorite meal of the year?
Brandon: That’s easy. The monkfish at Engine Room in Mystic, Connecticut. It was the best fish I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. And I had Sons of Liberty whiskey there for the first time, too.
Hannah: We stopped at a random place in Chattanooga, Fat Boy’s Roadside Eats, and I had the most delicious sweet potato fries & fry dip. We liked it so much that we stopped there again on our way out of town. And I’ve made that dip approximately 1,000 times at home. As far as an entire meal, I’m going to go with Moxy in New Hampshire.
What are you looking forward to in year 3?
Hannah: New Orleans, Louisiana, for my birthday! I haven’t really planned much else, so we have a whole year wide open.
Brandon: I can’t wait to go to New Orleans. I’ve wanted to go there forever because of their music scene.
By the numbers
In year two, we spent 19 nights away from home. We stayed eight times in standard hotel chains, once with Brandon’s grandmother, and in three different Airbnbs. We took two flights and rented one car.
Brandon left one Chromecast in a hotel room, never to be recovered. We made one critical mistake eating sea urchin. I was injured during one of our trips. One person backed into our car in standstill traffic on the highway. We visited one state park and one museum. Too much bourbon was consumed to count.
