A retired boomer who visited all 50 states ranks his top picks and least favorites

11.08.2024 - 10:33 / insider.com

Tom Hatfield, 74, spent the first 60 years of his life living in Louisiana. However, after traveling extensively over the last few years, the retiree has visited all 50 states and is set to visit his last few national parks this year.

Hatfield has been to over 75 countries, and he plans to continue his frequent travels while he's still healthy. The former chemical engineer said hitting all the states and all seven continents has been a point of pride, given he and his wife have found economical ways to travel in their retirement.

Hatfield said they had saved money by grouping national parks within one road trip, cooking most of their meals, rarely paying for accommodations, and avoiding larger cities.

"We'd rather go out and visit the scenery than in big cities, so we tend to stay away from the cities as much as we can," Hatfield said.

Hatfield ranked his top five favorite and least favorite states and national parks.

Hatfield has spent most of his life in Louisiana. He was born in a small town 20 miles north of New Orleans, got a chemical engineering degree at Louisiana State University, and moved to Lake Charles for his job. He worked as a chemical engineer for 43 years and was a manager for the last decade of his career.

Hatfield retired 11 years ago, but he knew he wanted to explore the world after spending nearly all his life in the same state. He and his wife had a large nest egg, and they learned to be frugal on their past trips. They have a mobile home that uses a lot of gas, but they use an app that tells them the cheapest gas stations along their route.

To escape the heat, he and his wife took longer trips during the summer, often to the Western US. They also tried to hit every state, taking shorter trips across the US to knock off the remaining ones. A few years ago, they hit their last two states: North Dakota and New Hampshire.

Hatfield said he and his wife cut costs by cooking most of their meals on their trips and staying in as much as possible.

"When we go on most of our trips, unlike some of our friends, dining is not at the top of the list," Hatfield said. "The state parks or regional parks in Canada don't cost as much, and they usually have some very nice scenery, though sometimes, they're a little bit off the beaten path."

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The couple also went on various international trips, hitting over 75 countries. They took a bus trip through the Bavarian Alps, explored Dubai, took a cruise across the Greek islands, and went on an expedition to Antarctica. They spent two weeks driving across Ireland, took a river cruise from Basel to Amsterdam, and went on a mission trip to Egypt.

Over the last four years, they have concentrated on hitting all national parks. They hit 17