Now granted, I didn't miss something as important as say, my wedding, or my son being born, or my bout with chicken pox, or anything of that calibre of importance, but this was definitely one of those defining moments in life, or at least my life.  Darn.

Once we had decided where we were going on our recent trip, I actually had been visualizing this moment in my mind, over and over again.  Now that I missed it, I guess that's the only  "memory" I'll have.  Nowhere as good as the real thing, obviously.

There have been several events in my life that I regret missing.  First was my best friend Scott's bar mitzvah.  We had sort of a "falling out" during our formidable teenage junior high years, and because of that, I missed his big rite of passage.  Fortunately, we were able to resume our nearly lifelong friendship and still remain in touch today (24 years and counting, baybee!).  I also regret missing the opportunity to volunteer at the 1994 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA.  Going through what I call my Selfish, Self-Absorbed Years, I passed up the chance to help when my parents got the chance to do so.

Of course those were all conscious premeditated decisions that were made ahead of time that caused me to miss those important events.   This recent window of missed opportunity was accidental.

As it is, I'm determined not to sleep through the next time I enter a state for the first time.  I may have missed the crossing of the Missouri state line this time around, but I will definitely force myself to stay awake when I pass into Washington, or Oregon, or North Dakota, or South Dakota, or Wisconsin, or Hawaii.