One of the most significant and interesting benefits of travel is to see the places where history was made. An understanding of different cultures and how they interact is vital in today’s world, and history, of course, is an important part of culture. The United States, even though it is a fairly young country, has been the location of numerous important historical events, and the American society has done a marvelous job preserving these sites. These historical locations are among the most important tourist attractions in the country, especially for Americans. There are also many memorials to individuals or events which commemorate historical occurences or have historical significance. My Bucket List includes many of these places, and, as you can see from the asterisks, I have already visited a large proportion of them.

             Alamo* — San Antonio, TX

             Arlington National Cemetery* — Arlington, VA

             Cahokia Mounds State Park — Cahokia, IL

             Canyon de Chelly* — northwestern New Mexico

             Castillo de San Marcos* — St Augustine, FL

             Colonial National Historical Park* — (Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown) Tidewater Area, VA

             Ellis Island* — New York Harbor, NY

             Fort McHenry National Historic Site* — Baltimore, MD

             Fort Sumter National Historic Site* — Charleston, SC

             Freedom Trail* — Boston, MA

             Gettysburg National Historical Park* — Gettysburg, PA

             Ground Zero* — Lower Manhattan, New York, NY

             Independence National Historical Park* — Philadelphia, PA

             Jefferson National Expansion Memorial & Museum of Westward Expansion* — St Louis, MO

             Junipero Serro Missions* — southern California

             Mesa Verde National Park* — southwestern Colorado

             Monticello* — Charlottesville, VA

             Mount Rushmore National Memorial* — Black Hills, SD

             Mount Vernon* — Alexandria, VA

             National Mall* — Washington, DC

             Oklahoma City National Memorial* — Oklahoma City, OK

             Plimoth Plantation* — Plymouth, MA

             Salem Maritime National Historic Site* — Salem, MA

             Scotts Bluff National Historic Site* — Scotts Bluff, NB

             Slater Mill* — Pawtucket, RI

             Statue of Liberty* — Liberty Island, New York, NY

             Taos Pueblo* — Taos, NM

             USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor* — Near Honolulu, HI

             World War I National Museum & Liberty Memorial* — Kansas City, MO

             Wright Brothers National Memorial* — Kittyhawk, NC

     Total = 30 (Our count — 29 — excellent!).