Trips of the visit-every-state variety are hardly unusual.  Turns out that it’s possible to hitchhike to every state capital in just 50 days, or visit every state in a week’s vacation.  My challenge has a few extra twists.

First, all of the legs are done by car (except for Hawaii).  Flying to Alaska, or limiting oneself to the Lower 48 seems to be more common.

Second, all 10 of the Canadian provinces are included in the challenge.  How many Americans can even locate all 10 on a map, let alone say they’ve visited them?

Third, “visit” consists of more than a touch-and-go for me.  “To have visited” means, for me, “to have played hockey in.”

That last point adds the most severe complication.  It constrains vehicle choice.  It adds more equipment to haul and worry about.  It has the potential to make the car take on the distinct “smell of hockey.” But the most severe constraints are ones of routing and scheduling.

Not every city in North America is like Blaine, Minnesota, where there are at least 10 indoor sheets of ice within a couple miles of each other.  Certain rinks are open only in the winter.  Even where there are indoor rinks open year round, multiple users compete for the ice times.  Hockey and figure skating don’t mix.

For me, playing hockey means playing hockey as a goalie.  On ice.  Against and with other players.  So chalk that up as one more constraint.

It’s a logistical nightmare to find rinks and coordinate schedules.  Open hockey?  Sub for a beer-league game?  Impromptu ice rental?  Outdoor ice game against random Canadians?  Routing for minimal downtime?

Uff-dah.  More challenging than a 2-0 breakaway.