Traveler Info
Biography
I’m originally from Ft. Smith, AR, but have moved around alot. I left Ft. Smith to go to college at Morehouse College in 1994. During school, I went to visit family in Alaska during the summer of ’96 and landed a good paying job that kept me there until 1999. I returned to school in the summer of ’99, which created one of my favorite road trip memories as my parents flew from Arkansas to Seattle and I shipped my car from Anchorage to Seattle and the 3 of us drove from Seattle to Arkansas over several days and drove down the Pacific Coast Highway, saw the giant redwood trees in northern California and enjoyed the drive.
After returning and finishing college, I worked in Atlanta for several years before moving to Phoenix, AZ for work. During my time in Phoenix, an opportunity presented itself to return to Arkansas working at Walmart’s Corporate headquarters doing real estate. After some time in NW Arkansas, I temporarily moved to Jackson, MS and then to Nashville, TN, where I’ve been for the last two years.
This weekend I drove through 7 new states while taking a friend from Nashville to Rhode Island, so that leaves ID, WY, MT, ND & WI, which I’m trying to complete on Saturday, July 4th, 2026 or roughly 40 or so days from now! That will allow me to complete 50 states at 50 years old on the country’s 250th birthday! I will fly to ID and drive east until I finish in Wisconsin.
On my application, I paid for the certificate, lapel pin and t shirt in hopes of being able to wear the t shirt on July 4th when I complete my 50th state. If that’s not possible until all states have been reached, I understand!
Thank you,
Traftin
Number of States Visited
45
Memorable Travel Experience(s)
My first long roundtrip road trip with my parents that started in Arkansas, went to Michigan, then Toronto, Canada and on to Buffalo, NY and back.
Another great road trip was flying from Alaska to Seattle, picking my car up from the ferry and driving with my parents down the Pacific Coast Highway through Washington, Oregon No & So California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Another great trip was a round trip drive that started in Phoenix, AZ all the way across the country to Atlanta and back.
I may have spent the least amount of time out of everyone in Hawaii. I spent 6 hours in Honolulu getting a same day passport during the pandemic so that I could take an international vacation after misplacing my prior one!
Lastly, a couple of days ago I helped a work colleague drive from Nashville to Rhode Island. I was able to visit 7 new states on that trip including WV, DE, CT, RI, NH, ME and VT bringing my total to 45 states!
My Favorite Place On My Journey
Each state has something unique to love!