Every journey needs a framework.  Without a framework, a journey is relegated to mere wandering.  The framework can be simple, such as the daily commute too and from work, or it can be complex as Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe was.

The framework around my journey evolved over time.  It started with the idea of a transcontinental journey, coast-to-coast, and then grew from there.  Each step was a logical expansion from the prior.  Don't just cross the continent, go around it.  And so it became the four corners.  Here it stayed for quite sometime.  Then the duration of the trip was given some thought and a period of three months decided upon as a reasonable period of time.  A summer vacation of the duration as those college vacations I never had.  I'd always said, as my friends were touring Europe on their 'Inter rail' passes while I had to return to my sponsoring company work, that one day I would also get to tour.  But in style.  The time has arrived.  So when I compared the time with the distance I ended up with a small daily mileage required - something like 100 miles a day.  Not enough riding.  It was then that Ricky asked the question: "What about the 48 States?"  The 48 States soon became the 48 State Capitols which naturally became the 48 State Capitol Buildings.  I discounted Alaska.  The trail up to Juneau would have added just enough extra mileage to make the whole trip slightly pressured.  I still haven't decided whether I'm going to brave politicianland and go for the Capitol Building in Washington D.C.  Just to make it more interesting I have added one more restriction:  No freeways.

 Chapter 1  - California, Nevada, Oregon
 Chapter 2 - Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana
 Chapter 3 - Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska
 Chapter 4 - Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa
 Chapter 5 - Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia
 Chapter 6 - West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario, New York
 Chapter 7 - New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
 Chapter 8 - Connecticut, New York, Philidelphia, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida
 Chapter 9 - Florida
 Chapter 10 - Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi
 Chapter 11 - Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas
 Chapter 12 - Texas, New Mexico, Arizona
 Chapter 13 - Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California
 Chapter 14 - California

 Epilogue