Originally because of a goal set by their mother, seniors Cecilia and Lily Roy have traveled to all 50 states.

“We would go on month or month-and-a-half long road trips. The first one we went through was the east coast,” Lily said. “Then we went down south through South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and wrapped around Louisiana.”

Through this specific trip down the east coast, Lily visited South Carolina, one of her favorite states.

“I love South Carolina because my grandparents lived in Hilton Head. We used to live down there in the summer and it was so fun. Being on the beach and living on the island was amazing. It has a special place in my heart,” Lily said.

After visiting the east coast, the Roys visited the western half of the United States.

“We went up to Washington state, through Yellowstone, then Montana, the Dakotas and Wyoming. Then we wrapped around because we missed a few states. We did like three big trips and then got it all done,” Lily said.

Lily also saw her other favorite state during their western trip.

“The coolest state was probably California because it’s so diverse. In one part we are in the forest and there’s mountains everywhere, but then we can visit our cousins in the city. Also, the national parks are so cool. I went to Yosemite and the Redwoods and that was really cool,” Lily said. 

While Lily’s favorite states were on the mainland, Cecilia’s favorite state is across the continent.

“My favorite state is Alaska because I went there during the summer solstice. It was 24 hours of sunlight and we got to walk around at four in the morning and it was completely light out,” Cecilia said. “It was really amazing.”

While she loved the solstice, her favorite part of Alaska was in Seward.

“We stayed in a couple of towns [in Alaska], but my favorite was Seward. It was in between two mountains and it was a port town. There was a glacier and we saw Humpback whales and Orca whales,” Cecilia said. “The sea life and hiking there were really awesome.”