We’re heading out this weekend for eight days in Ohio and Pennsylvania, with the primary goal of marking off 11 national park units for Jen. We fly into Cleveland, where we pick up a hybrid rental car and make our way to Dayton. From there, we pop down to Cincinnati for a MLB ballpark she needs, then make our way over to Western Pennsylvania. There are five national park units in the region, plus we’ll catch a game at the ballpark in Pittsburgh. From there it’s back towards Cleveland, where we fly out the following weekend.

What we hope to see, if things go as planned:

There’s not much on this list I haven’t already visited, but I’m sure I’ll enjoy my time nonetheless. This is a replacement trip for our canceled Canadian Rockies adventure, so it’s naturally going to underwhelm in comparison. But I love me a road trip and it’s hard not to enjoy exploring other parts of the country, so I’m still looking forward to the time away, especially with my favorite person.

Speaking of Jen, she’s starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for her NPS quest, so we’ll likely prioritize park trips for her until she finishes. If we’re successful in this itinerary, she’ll have fewer than 40 units left (whoa!), within range to finish as soon as Labor Day 2027. In fact, she’s already plotted out a possible schedule that would get to the finish line by then.

But we also have plenty of other travel goals, so perhaps she’ll spend a bit more time on the quest. After all, it’s way more fun to have a quest you’re actively pursuing than to have finished a quest. It really is all about the journey, not the achievement—I can personally attest to that.