Well Traveled Fishing Car

Folks sometimes like to tally of how many states or countries they've visited or something more specific, like the number of states where they have caught a fish. Not long ago, my 12-year-old son Asher wondered aloud how many states our Ford Fiesta has traveled through in the 2 1/2 years since I bought it used. Asher has helped me log a lot of miles in quite a few states in the Fiesta, so it makes sense that he would think about that question.

I tried just tallying in my head, but that got confusing pretty quickly. So I printed a simple map of the states and starting thinking through travels and coloring in states. When I was finished, I had colored in 39 of 50 states. Two of the blank ones, not surprisingly, were Alaska and Hawaii. Also uncolored was Rhode Island, which is one of two states I've never visited. (The other is Hawaii.) The remaining blank states were in clusters it the upper Midwest and the Southwest and included some states where I've spent plenty of time -- just not in the Fiesta. Maybe someday.

I've admittedly been looking at bit at something with 4WD or AWD, more clearance, a bit more space, and a roof better suited for toting a boat for fishing expeditions, so it's hard to say weather the Fiesta will find it's way to those other regions. That said, the practical space it offers for being so small is astounding, it's comfortable to drive, and I sure like that 40 MPG when I'm logging a load of miles.