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To sum up my impressions of our various destinations, I've decided to contribute poetry to this website. I settled on haiku, a tiny-verse form of seventeen syllables in three lines (not too taxing!). A poem per state is my goal.

"A good haiku is more than a mere statement of feeling or a picture of nature --there is an implied identity between two seemingly different things. Haiku is not expected to be always a complete or even clear statement. The reader is supposed to add to the words his own associations and imagery, and thus to become a co-creator of his own pleasure in the poem."
-from Japanese Haiku: 200 Examples of Seventeen-Syllable Poems

Manhattan Beach, California (8/16/98)

Land of my brother
hard bodies, sun worshippers,
it's all very weird.

Arizona (8/17-20/98)

Saguaros stand guard
Who knew the sky was this big?
The Anasazi

New Mexico (8/21-24/98)

Red chili peppers
Shocking yellow license plates
Velvet purple nights

Texas (8/25-27/98)

Come to Texas, y'all!
Make these boots your new best friend
Sweat your days away

New Orleans, Louisiana (8/28-29/98)

Bourbon, Gumbo, Jazz
Dog days of summer be damned!
Decay can be nice.

Atlanta, Georgia (8/31/98)

Sleepy "Hotlanta"
Coke Is It -- there's no escape
It's Ted Turner's town.

South Carolina (9/1/98)

Water on the road
Randa at the wheel -- watch out!
Hot grits for breakfast

North Carolina (9/2-3/98)

Old friends, new places
Forecast: warm fuzzies today
Flags flying proudly

James Madison University, Virginia (9/4/98)

Oh, happy campus
Bright jewel of the valley
I have Purple Pride

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (9/6/98)

The bitter battle
comes to life for me at last
under the red moon

New York City, New York (9/8/98)

I walk with purpose
Why is Eric so nervous?
It's my melting pot

Boston, Massachusetts (9/10/98)

Good luck grasshopper
How do you say "Faneuil Hall?"
An excess of brick

Vermont (9/12/98)

Clean air, happy lungs
Overalls and dairy cows
City stress begone!

Chicago, Illinois (9/16/98)

Distinctive skyline
Heartland hospitality
Two days -- not enough

North Dakota, "NoDak" (9/19-20/98)

Uff da! It's flat here
Wave hello to your neighbor
Say "dinner," not "lunch"

South Dakota, The Badlands and Mount Rushmore (9/21-22/98)

Leering, looming twists,
Beloved, weary faces:
The wild and the tame

Utah, Bryce Canyon (9/26-27/98)

Red dust everywhere
Squeegee -- where is our windshield?
Wanna see hoodoos!!

Special Guest Contribution!
Eric's Mom wrote this awesome haiku in honor
of our first wedding anniversary (9/22/98).

Two happy people
One year of discovery
Ten thousand milestones