My final state capital to visit was Juneau, Alaska!!! The only way to Juneau is the scenic route. You can only fly or ferry to Juneau. I chose to ferry from Haines via the Alaska Highway (1422 miles) and Anchorage. The beautiful was astounding and I saw all kinds of animals (moose, deer, stone sheep, porcupine, black bear, grizzly bear, willow ptarmigan, arctic swan, orca, humpback, dolphin, sea lion, bald eagle), tons of flowers and the mountain vistas were breathtaking. The town of Juneau is the second largest city in the USA by land area because it is spread out over a long area along the coast (2717 square miles). It is larger than the state of Delaware! However, Juneau has a population of only about 30,000. This is a popular stopping place for cruise ships. I enjoyed the small town with its stair-sidewalks because alot of the town sits on the side of the mountains. I stayed at the Juneau Hostel for only $10. Great deal and a decent place to sleep. I bougth a bagel and a mango drink from the SilverBow Bakery and ate my meal at the state capital to celebrate my accomplishment! So....what's next???
HAWAII!!! My parents invited me to go with them to Hawaii five days before they left. It actually worked out to go and the first thing I did when I got there was go to the capital building and capture the 49th state capital. I spent three days on Oahu and four days in Maui. Incredible time of hiking Diamond Head Crater; taking in the Polynesian Cultural Center; stopping at the USS Arizona memorial; enjoying pineapple icecream at the Dole Plantation; seeing the Hawaiian Green turtles; watching the surfers at Sunset Beach; cracking a "stolen" coconut; picking oranges, pumelos and bananas; snorkleing at the Black Rock on Maui; driving the bridge laden Road to Hana; seeing the black, red and brown sand beaches; watching the humble humpbackwhales; driving to the top of Haleakala Crater for the sunset; viewing the Iao Needle; breakfast at Denny's and so many other great things that I got to experience. I am blessed.