Capital ideas

I don't know if you've been keeping up with The Capitol Dome Project - I'd be kind of shocked if you were, especially since the three people who would read this and might care have probably already seen most of the pictures on Facebook - but we're up to six and we're still a month shy of one year, with a number of additional capitals looming on the horizon (as I'm looking to hit at least eight and possibly as many as ten during a two and a half week visit to the Northeast at the end of August). Being a massive dork, I'm of course already quite excited about getting nearly a third of the way through the list, and it's gotten me thinking seriously about the best way to get to each capital. It's listmaking time!

Alabama
Southwest, my airline of choice these days (in spite of their relatively insufferable open seating policy), has nonstop flights from Chicago to Birmingham. From there it's about 90 miles south on I-65 to Montgomery.

Alaska
This will be one of the toughest ones, as I'm sure you could guess. There's really only one way to get into Juneau, and that's by air - and there aren't exactly direct flights from Chicago. Orbitz says that Alaska Airlines will fly you there with just a single stop in Anchorage, which isn't bad (and all on Boeing 737s, assuaging my fear of having to take a prop plane into Juneau itself). Of course, that'll run you like 800 bucks.

Arizona
Done. (Southwest flies directly into Phoenix.)

Arkansas
Southwest has nonstop flights from Chicago to Little Rock.

California
Most Southwest flights to Sacramento seem to require a stopover, but they still get you there quickly enough.

Colorado
Southwest has a lot of nonstop flights from Chicago to Denver.

Connecticut
Finally we get to one that isn't just planes. Flying to Hartford is an option - Southwest has nonstops - but this one is likely to be visited on my trip east. The only real question is whether it's going to be feasible to visit it on the way from DC to Boston - something like a seven-hour drive in the best-case scenario. Hartford is in the latter half of the drive, meaning we'd have to leave DC pretty early in the morning, perhaps 8 am, to get there at a reasonable time to tour the capitol (and even then, that leaves very little time to see/do anything else; I don't know about most people who do this sort of thing but I find it a little lame to just be in and out, although that is what happened with Trenton for the most part). The other option is to get to Boston first and then go back to Hartford (an 80-mile drive or so) on one of the days up there. This seems sort of ridiculous since we have to drive through Hartford to get to Boston... but I don't know what to tell you.

Delaware
Not only can you really not fly to Dover, it's not even that easy to drive there - the capital is located in the middle of a state that only has interstate highways in its northernmost piece. Fortunately, Dover is a quick 100-mile drive from DC (mostly on US 301). I expect this will get a visit in August.

Florida
Tallahassee is surprisingly hard to get to, but you do have to consider its driving distance from Florida's four main cities - 164 miles from Jacksonville, 243 miles from Tampa, 260 miles from Orlando, and 480 miles from Miami. Southwest does fly to Jacksonville, but 164 miles is a lot when you've already had to fly in somewhere (though not a deal-breaker), and they just added service to Panama City. Google Maps lists the drive from ECP to Tallahassee as a "mere" 128 miles.

Georgia
Flying right into Atlanta is the obvious way to go given the size of Atlanta's airport, though unfortunately Southwest does not fly there. Pretty much everyone else does, of course.

Hawaii
Obviously flying into Honolulu is the only choice. It's cheaper than flying to Juneau, at least. This will likely be one of the last ones I reach unless we decide to go to Hawaii on our honeymoon.

Idaho
Southwest flies into Boise, though not nonstop from Chicago.

Illinois
Done. (I-55 south is the only reasonable course of action from Chicago.)

Indiana
While Southwest does fly to Indianapolis - and for just 59 bucks one way! - it's ridiculous for me to fly into a city that I can drive to in under four hours, especially given the additional cost of either car rental or cabs. Most of the drive is a straight shot down I-65, which is pretty simple.

Iowa
A bit of a challenge. Driving seems obvious, but Des Moines is somewhere between five and six hours away by car, right on the edge of what I would consider acceptable for a single road trip. You can fly there... on a commuter jet... for 300 bucks. I think I'll drive, thanks, but ironically, given the length of the trip and the general lack of other things to do there (no offense, Des Moines), this will probably not get checked off the list anytime soon even though it's just one state over.

Kansas
Topeka is a little more than an hour west of Kansas City on I-70, and Southwest flies nonstop to Kansas City for dirt cheap.

Kentucky
According to Google Maps, it's actually only 8 miles further from Chicago to Frankfort than from Chicago to Des Moines. However, it's extremely easy and inexpensive to fly into Louisville, and a quick hour-long drive east on (mostly) I-64 from Louisville to Frankfort.

Louisiana
Southwest flies nonstop to New Orleans, and it's about 90 minutes west on I-10 from there to Baton Rouge.

Maine
Another one that is a little trickier than it might sound. I'm hoping to make the drive up while based in the Boston area during my August trip, but at more than three hours each way, we'll have to see if it can be squeezed in. Should I need to do it later, Southwest does fly nonstop to Manchester, NH, but it's still more than two and a half hours from there.

Maryland
The easiest one left and my vote for "capital I'm most likely to visit next." It's less than an hour from my parents' house in the DC suburbs to Annapolis, and I'm sure I'll make the trip while I'm out there in August.

Massachusetts
The second easiest one left as I'm all but certain to be in the Boston area on the same trip. Southwest also now flies into Logan should I somehow miss it.

Michigan
Lansing is about four hours from Chicago east on I-94 and then north on I-69. That's probably over the limit of what could reasonably be done in one day. (My mom and I made it to Springfield - almost 3.5 hours away - and back in one day, but it was a long day.) Which isn't to say that's a real problem - anything drivable that can be done in two days should really be fine.

Minnesota
While a fairly straight shot on I-90 and I-94, St. Paul is just too far at 7.5 hours for me to consider driving it these days. Fortunately, Southwest flies there cheaply and often.

Mississippi
Surprisingly, or not, Southwest flies nonstop to Jackson.

Missouri
Another one that's a little harder than you might think. Southwest flies into both Kansas City and St. Louis, but Jefferson City is in the middle of the state, nearly equidistant from the two. St. Louis is about 30 miles closer, leaving a drive of about 2.5 hours, mostly on I-70. It's a little silly because were I going to St. Louis itself I would drive 99 times out of 100, but the extra 2.5 hours makes it too much for a single road trip.

Montana
When I was drawing up the preliminary version of this list, this was the first one that stopped me cold. Hard as Alaska is, at least you can fly right into Juneau on a Boeing 737. But Helena? Well, you can fly in directly (from Denver) on a Canadair jet (for 500+ bucks). The flight plan is a bit less complicated (though no less expensive) if you fly into Missoula, but that leaves a two-hour drive to Helena. The closest other "major" Montana city to Helena is Butte, a mere 75 minutes down I-15, but you're still flying a regional jet in there and it's still nearly 400 bucks. Best bet is probably going to be (eventually) to bite the bullet and just fly in directly. This will almost assuredly be one of the last five.

Nebraska
Much easier. Southwest nonstop to Omaha, then about an hour west on I-80 to Lincoln.

Nevada
Done. (Southwest into Reno, then south to Carson City on US 395. Just make sure it's not icy.)

New Hampshire
I'll probably make it up to Concord from the Boston area in August (about 90 minutes, mostly on I-93), but should I somehow not, it's Southwest to Manchester and then about a 30-minute drive up I-93 to Concord.

New Jersey
Done. (I drove down from near NYC on I-287 and US 206, but Southwest flies into Philly and it's less than an hour from there to Trenton on I-95.)

New Mexico
Surprisingly simple. Southwest flies into Albuquerque (even a couple of nonstops), and from there it's a little over an hour north on I-25 to Santa Fe.

New York
Southwest does fly direct to Albany, but I'm anticipating fitting this in on the trip east in August. On I-90 it should be three hours or less from the Boston area.

North Carolina
Done. (Southwest flies nonstop to Raleigh-Durham.)

North Dakota
Along with its southern cousin, easily one of the hardest. Bismarck is a tiny capital in the middle of a wide state with the only "major" cities on the edges. Say you take a regional jet to Fargo - even with a straight shot down I-94 ahead of you, it's still three and a half hours to Bismarck. Amazingly, United Express actually offers nonstop regional jet service from O'Hare to Bismarck, though like most flights of that nature it'll cost you an arm and a leg. The other option, of course, is a serious road trip, but I do mean serious - Bismarck is 835 miles from Chicago, twice as far as St. Paul, meaning you're looking at well over a day of solid driving (nearly all of it on I-94) just to get there. If I somehow had some time off - maybe a free summer month during grad school? - a long road trip would be an option, but for the most part it's just not happening. Along with South Dakota, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii, I'm guessing you're looking at the last five (barring some serendipitous reason for me to be in any of them).

Ohio
Southwest flies nonstop to Columbus cheaply and often.

Oklahoma
Southwest flies to Oklahoma City, although not nonstop from Chicago.

Oregon
Southwest has few nonstops to Portland, and by their standards, getting there from Chicago ain't cheap. But they do go there. Once in Portland, it's a quick jaunt south on I-5 to Salem, less than 50 miles away.

Pennsylvania
One option is to fly into Philadelphia and head about two hours west on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. However, I'm hoping this will be one of the capitals I visit in August. It's only about two and a quarter hours from DC heading north (mostly on I-83, once you pick it up north of Baltimore). The other option would be hitting it on the way down from upstate New York, via I-81.

Rhode Island
Southwest flies directly into Providence, but I'm anticipating this will be an easy one to hit while I'm in the Boston area; it's only about an hour south on I-95.

South Carolina
Another one that's a little harder than it seems, mostly due to its general lack of major cities. Columbia has its own airport, but as with other smaller cities, it's regional jet service and you're going to pay out the nose. The cheaper option (at least from a flight standpoint) is to fly into Charlotte - Southwest doesn't go there, but most airlines do. From there it's about two hours south on I-77 to Columbia.

South Dakota
Pretty much the same deal as North Dakota, and possibly worse. You want to try and road-trip it to Pierre? 13.5 hours, nearly all of it on I-90 west from Chicago. You want to fly? Enjoy flying in from Minneapolis on a prop plane. Alternately, you can fly into Rapid City or Sioux Falls, but it's still a three-hour drive from the former and four hours from the latter. The good news, since there has to be some, is that by regional jet standards it's both fairly easy and comparatively inexpensive to get from Chicago to Rapid City (nonstop and for under 300 bucks). Still, this is sure to be one of the last few.

Tennessee
Southwest flies nonstop to Nashville from Chicago.

Texas
Southwest has nonstop flights to Austin from Chicago.

Utah
Southwest has nonstop flights to Salt Lake City from Chicago.

Vermont
Another one that's a little harder than it might seem. There's really only one good way into Montpelier from the Boston area - I-89 (mostly), and that still takes almost 3.5 hours. I-89 is also pretty much the only good way out, meaning it's nearly impossible to hit Montpelier on the way to somewhere else. Should I miss it on my August trip due to that, there is regional jet service into Burlington, 45 minutes northwest of Montpelier on I-89, but if it comes to that you're likely looking at one of the last dozen or so.

Virginia
Done. (We flew into Richmond on US Air, because we had to. You can also do what my mom did and drive two hours and change from DC on I-95 south. If you're looking to do this yourself, Southwest flies into DC and Norfolk, both around a two-hour drive from Richmond.)

Washington
Southwest flies into SeaTac, although from Chicago it's one of their most expensive flights. From there it's an hour and change south on I-5 to Olympia.

West Virginia
Also one of the most difficult states east of the Mississippi. As with Maine and South Carolina, matters are complicated by the lack of any big city. There's regional jet service to Charleston, but the usual caveats apply. Driving from another large city is no easier, however. From DC it's six hours or so due to the Appalachians necessitating a wide route on either the north or south if you hope to stick to the interstates. (270 N, 70 W, 68 W and 79 S on the northern route, or 66 W, 81 S, and 64 W on the southern route.) Other major cities are slight improvements but hardly ideal - it's four hours from Pittsburgh or three hours or so from Columbus. Both of them are easily and cheaply reachable via Southwest, but even three hours is pushing it for me when it comes after a flight. Nevertheless, the Columbus idea sounds like the safest bet. It's also a safe bet that this is one of the last ten or so.

Wisconsin
After the various northeastern states, this is the most likely next one unless school-related travels take me to another. It's a simple three-hour drive to Madison up I-90, closer to Chicago than Springfield even is.

Wyoming
Actually easier than you'd think, owing to Cheyenne's location in the far southeastern corner of its state. It's less than a two-hour drive from Denver, itself (as noted earlier) easily reachable via Southwest. Regional jet service to Cheyenne exists, but at less than two hours from Denver, why bother?

Six down, 44 to go. Ten more puts me at about a third; 19 more is halfway. Here's my guess (not in chronological order) at the likeliest next nineteen:

Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Indiana
Iowa
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
New Hampshire
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
Wisconsin

Some of these are slam dunks. Some are just total guesses. Whatever.