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Physical State of Matt #26: ALASKA
It feels weird to call Alaska a state. It is simultaneously distinctly American and something else entirely. It feels removed from the...


Physical State of Matt Interlude: CANADA
The driving route from Ithaca to Fairbanks, Alaska took me over 4,200 miles through 6 Canadian provinces and territories in sub-zero...


Physical State of Matt #25: SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina marked the halfway point of this trip. It should have been a thrilling milestone. I should have been beaming with pride....


Physical State of Matt #24: FLORIDA
Florida. The name conjures images of bright sunlight sparkling off of aquamarine water, golden beaches, and Disneyland. I experienced...


Physical State of Matt #23: NORTH CAROLINA
Little did I know when I set out that a dangerous walk along a breakwater, a Civil War cannon, and a naked sunrise awaited me in North...


Physical State of Matt #22: MARYLAND
Mother Nature finally caught up with me in Maryland... My four hour drive from Pittsburgh to Annapolis was uneventful except for one...


Physical State of Matt #21: PENNSYLVANIA
After a five-month hiatus from the trip, I felt conflicted as I pulled onto the highway. It was like starting all over again, but without...


Physical State of Matt #20: IOWA
If you had told me at the beginning of this trip that my week in Iowa would be one of the most action-packed yet, I’d have told you to...


Physical State of Matt #19: MASSACHUSETTS
I had only planned to visit my friends on Martha’s Vineyard for the weekend, but it was so idyllic I turned it into my Massachusetts...


Physical State of Matt #18: NEW HAMPSHIRE
I don’t have much to say about New Hampshire other than I went there. It’s not that the state was awful or anything, I just didn't do a...


Physical State of Matt #17: MAINE
I was having a lot of big feelings as I departed Ithaca , on my way to the only New England state I had never visited. The two weeks I’d...


Physical State of Matt #16: MICHIGAN
Almost two hundred years before I entered Michigan's Upper Peninsula, this remote patch of wilderness helped prevent a war between two...


Physical State of Matt #15: OHIO
I am commonly asked what my favorite place so far has been, and the answer always shocks people. I fell in love with Sandusky, Ohio....


Physical State of Matt #14: WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia has always conjured up images in my mind of the locals from Deliverance , hillbillies from the backwoods of Appalachia...


Physical State of Matt #13: INDIANA
It’s a tale as old as time. Man goes to Indiana for a car race and a rave breaks out… My drive to Indiana, like the drive to Kentucky,...


Physical State of Matt #12: TENNESSEE
I hadn’t been to Tennessee since my move out to LA in 1998. On that trip, I hit a chunk of metal in the road and blew my tire 40 minutes...


Physical State of Matt #11: KENTUCKY
Kentucky is best known for two things - horse racing and bourbon - and I had plans for both. Equipped with my new hat and dress shirt I...


Physical State of Matt #10: LOUISIANA
I almost moved to New Orleans when I was nineteen. I was working at The John Thomas Steakhouse (which was sadly claimed by COVID), and I...


Physical State of Matt #9: ARKANSAS
The drive from Tulsa to Fayetteville was only two hours, so I got there on Saturday. I checked into my Airbnb early and had dinner at the...


Physical State of Matt #8: OKLAHOMA
Armadillo roadkill, an oil refinery, and a billboard for Naloxone were the first things to greet my eyes as I entered Oklahoma. This...
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