{"id":5390,"date":"2026-06-13T13:18:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T20:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hovorka.org\/?page_id=5390"},"modified":"2026-06-13T13:22:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T20:22:26","slug":"final-5-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hovorka.org\/index.php\/trips\/final-5-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Final 5 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
May 19, 2026 - Jun 3, 2026
Last updated: 6\/13\/26 10:00am PT<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
This was a driving trip to visit “The Final 5”, the five states we hadn’t already set foot in together. When we first started traveling, we didn’t think about going to all 50 states. We just started traveling, and because we always wanted to go someplace new, we ended up going to many different states. So we then started thinking that we should try to get to all 50. As more time passed, we changed our minds, thinking it’s not worth going someplace just to check a checkbox. But the Total Eclipse Trip of ’24 had us going to three states we didn’t think we’d ever visit. At that point we thought, why not hit them all? That left eight states unvisited, three of which we hit on the Hall of Fame Tour in ’25. Now in 2026, five were left, easy enough to finish in one trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We flew into and out of St. Louis, drove 2479 miles through Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and Kentucky (and the southern tips of Indiana and Illinois).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have now visited all 50 US states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are two states (North Dakota and Minnesota) where we didn’t see any sights, but we drove the entire width of both of those states (during our move from Chicago to Seattle). We slept in Fargo, ND and ate food in both states, so they count. We saw more miles of Minnesota and North Dakota than we saw in Kansas or Arkansas (or tiny Rhode Island or almost as tiny Delaware). We breathed the air and touched the ground. That should be criteria enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
St. Louis, MO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May 19-21, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
There are two highlights of St. Louis, the Arch and Forest Park. Everyone goes to The Gateway Arch. But Forest Park is nice and worthy of a visit. It was the site of the 1904 World’s Fair. Today, the park has plenty of walking paths, a golf course, multiple museums and a zoo. The museums and zoo are free (no idea about the golfing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we landed in St. Louis we got food. Two places that kept coming up in the searches for local food were Imo’s St. Louis style pizza and Ted Drewes frozen custard. Both were disappointments. The pizza had “provel” cheese, which is very creamy and not bad, but the sauce was not pizza flavored. Not sure if it was missing garlic or oregano or basil or something, but it was weird. Ted Drewes was another disappointment. Their frozen custard was melty\/liquidy, and devoid of “bits” added to the concrete. On this trip, we went to Andy’s Frozen Custard 10 times and it was way better (We love Andy’s). In St. Louis, we also ate at Tucanos Brazilian Grill for churrasco, Zia’s for Italian and Havana’s Cuisine for Cuban, all were good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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L to R, T to B: St. Louis MO, Jonesboro AR (raining), Nashville TN, Pigeon Forge TN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
St. Louis, MO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May 19-21, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The Gateway Arch was built in the 1960’s.  We did not go to the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Notice the small human at the base of the Arch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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St. Louis, Mo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May 19-21, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Forest Park<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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World’s Fair Pavilion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Jewel Box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Below is the sculpture at one of the park’s entrances, near the zoo. Each time you look at it, you see more animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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At the zoo<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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We also went to the Missouri History Museum (which had an interesting exhibit on the 1904 World’s Fair) and the St. Louis Art Museum (mostly to kill time before our flight home)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
St. Louis, MO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May 19-21, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
We went on a factory tour at Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate. We got closer to the action than at the Fannie May tour in Canton, OH.  It was a free tour with some free samples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Downtown, near the Arch, is the Citygarden Sculpture Park<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Near our hotel was another sculpture park, the Laumeier Sculpture Park.  They had an eyeball like the one we saw in Dallas, TX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Elephant Rocks State Park MO, Parkin AR & Memphis TN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May 22, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Elephant Rocks State Park is about a 1.5 hour drive from St. Louis.  It was a nice park with interesting rock formations.  Well worth the stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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It was tough finding interesting activities in Arkansas without traveling many miles in the wrong direction. We stopped in Jonesboro for custard at Andy’s, then stopped in Parkin, AR at the Parkin Archeological State Park, which is very small and not that interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Parkin Archeological State Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We stayed at a hotel in West Memphis, AR.  In the early evening we drove into downtown Memphis to see Beale St.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Memphis to Nashville, TN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May 23, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
In the morning, we walked the bridge across the Mississippi River, between Arkansas and Tennessee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Ed in Tennessee and Denise in Arkansas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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From the Mississippi River bridge looking toward downtown Memphis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lunch was in Memphis at Cozy Corner for BBQ ribs.  There was a line to get in before they opened, so it must be good.  It was pretty good, but we aren’t BBQ experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On long driving days, we tried to find interesting places to stop so we could stretch our legs. We stopped in Brownsville, TN to see “The Mindfield”, a bunch of discarded metal structures assembled together as art. It wasn’t close enough to the interstate to be worth the stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Nashville, TN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May 23-25, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
In Nashville, we had scheduled a night-time sky viewing through the Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory, but it got canceled due to clouds. That one night was the only night it would have been available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the mornings, we walked around in a park at Radnor Lake. Other than the weather being warm and humid, it was a nice park. We saw an eagle, beavers, otters, turtles, and owls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In downtown Nashville we went to the Tennessee State Museum, which kind of broke us for history museums. They all seem very similar and we’ve been to a lot over the years. Lunch one day was at the Assembly Food Hall, which is a giant food court. One day we went to 312 Pizza, where we had Chicago style thin crust and it was good. We also stopped at Goo Goo Chocolate, where the first combination candy bar was invented in this country (it wasn’t that great).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below is The Parthenon, a full size replica of the one in Greece, built for the Tennessee Centennial celebration in 1897 (was rebuilt in the 1920s).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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We also went to the Musicians Hall of Fame, meant to focus more on the people behind the scenes (studio musicians, producers and songwriters) and less on the famous people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Paul Shaffer outfit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Glen Campbell and Rick Nielsen photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Burgess Falls & Knoxville, TN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May 26, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Burgess Falls State Park was a nice break from driving.  We spent about an hour walking in the woods to some waterfalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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This bridge used to carry a pipeline<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lunch was at Gondola Pizza in Crossville, TN, and it was pretty good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Knoxville, TN, we stopped at the Sunsphere. The tower was built for the 1982 World’s Fair (which Ed attended during a high school band trip). It’s not very tall. We did not go up to the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Great Smoky Mountains & Pigeon Forge, TN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May 27-29, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Mostly driving and some light hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains. The most interesting thing was seeing a couple of black bears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Wet bear tracks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Great Smoky Mountains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We spent 3 nights in Pigeon Forge. It’s a crazy busy tourist destination. But it is a good place to stay for access into the national park.  The food was marginal at best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We rode the Goats on the Roof Mountain Coaster. It’s a single rider car that you sit in and control the brake, so you can go as fast or as slow as you want. It was fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Goats on the Roof Mountain Coaster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We visited the Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum which has over 20,000 pairs of salt and pepper shakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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We also saw what we think is an elk at the side of the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Blue Ridge Parkway, NC<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May 29, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
On the way to Asheville, NC, we drove to the Kuwohi Observation Deck. The observation deck straddles the state line between Tennessee and North Carolina and has some great views of the Smoky Mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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After Kuwohi, we made a quick stop at Newfound Gap, also on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Hey look! Us at the Appalachian Trail again, which we also crossed in West Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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More waterfalls at Deep Creek, NC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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We finished up our day in Asheville, NC.  To get there, we drove a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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On the Blue Ridge Parkway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Asheville, NC<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May 30, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Woke up at 4:50am to the fire alarm at the hotel. It was an extremely loud fire alarm, no sleeping through that! We had to evacuate, but there was no fire, just a false alarm. Not sure, but it appeared like they were preparing breakfast and set off the smoke detectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Lunch was at Luella’s BBQ. We had pulled pork sandwiches. They were good, but the sauce was very liquidy (a North Carolina thing?) and didn’t stick to the meat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We went to the North Carolina Arboretum.  Nothing was blooming, but the bonsai garden was impressive.  Here are a bunch of pictures of the bonsai trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Pictures in front of the only flowers blooming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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For an evening snack, we went to Whit’s Frozen Custard, since Asheville doesn’t have an Andy’s. It was good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Asheville, NC to Louisville, KY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May 31, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The drive to Louisville takes us back through Tennessee. We stopped for lunch in Knoxville at Austin’s Steak and Homestyle Buffet. It was surprisingly good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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We stopped in Corbin, KY at the Harland Sanders Cafe and Museum. Harland Sanders is also known as “Col. Sanders”, creator of Kentucky Fried Chicken. This is the site of his first location.  There is a modern KFC inside with museum displays sprinkled throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Louisville, KY (and Clarksville, IN)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
June 1-3, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
On our first day in Louisville, we went to the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory for a tour. It was a good and interesting tour. They have their own forests where they grow the wood to make bats. The tour guide said that trees planted this year will be used to make bats in the 2090 baseball season (not sure if that was true or a joke).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Wood in the form used by the bat making machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The old way to make a bat, with a lathe and hand tools<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The new way to make a bat in about 30 seconds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Savannah Bananas bats<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Painted bats<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mr. Cub’s signature<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Just across the Ohio River, in Clarksville Indiana, is one of the world’s largest clocks.  The Colgate Palmolive Clock.  According to Wikipedia, it is the 4th largest clock in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The red arrow points to the clock seen from Louisville<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Louisville, KY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
June 1-3, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The best meal on this trip was at Tikka Tacos in Louisville. It is an Indian Mexican fusion restaurant. Below is a picture of the Bollywood Tacos and Desidillas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Tikka Tacos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We visited the Bernheim Forest, about 45 minutes south of Louisville.  This park has some interesting sculptures.  (Seems like we saw a lot of sculptures on this trip, doesn’t it?  Definitely unintentional)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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My favorite was the giant tin man<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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A little farther south was the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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“A symbolic reproduction”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Louisville, KY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
June 1-3, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
We went to the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs. From the grandstand, the tour guide told us the history while we watched a few horses get some exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Kentucky Derby trophy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Triple Crown trophy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
June 3, 2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Driving back to St. Louis, we cut through the southern tips of Indiana and Illinois.  To break up the drive, we stopped at another Abe Lincoln site, his boyhood home in Lincoln City, IN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The foundation of the house<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The next stop to stretch our legs was at the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle in Collinsville, IL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The final stop before St. Louis was at the Cahokia Mounds, also in Collinsville, IL.  This area was occupied from 700-1400 AD (maybe).  The tallest mound is about 100 feet tall.  We went to the top of that mound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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People on top of the tallest mound<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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From the top, you can see the Gateway Arch in the distance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Map<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Roughly the path we took from St. Louis to Asheville and back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
May 19, 2026 – Jun 3, 2026Last updated: 6\/13\/26 10:00am PT This was a driving trip to visit “The Final 5”, the five states we hadn’t already set foot in together. When we first started traveling, we didn’t think about going to all 50 states. We just started traveling, and because we always wanted to … Continue reading “Final 5 2026”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":499,"menu_order":48,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5390","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hovorka.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hovorka.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hovorka.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hovorka.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hovorka.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5390"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/hovorka.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5565,"href":"https:\/\/hovorka.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5390\/revisions\/5565"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hovorka.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hovorka.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}