Meet the Couple Who Is Taking a Honeymoon to All 50 States

Laura Begley Bloom
·Editor-in-Chief
Updated
image

Alyssa and Heath Padgett, on the go in their honeymoon RV (Photo: Heath Padgett)

You think your honeymoon to Hawaii was a trip of a lifetime? These type-A Texas newlyweds are taking honeymooning to a new level: a seven-month, 50-state road trip. (They’ll also hit Alaska and Hawaii by plane.)

Alyssa and Heath Padgett got married on May 24, then packed up everything into a 29-foot RV that has taken them on a seven-month expedition across the country, ending on Christmas.

“We wanted to travel and it’s always been on our bucket lists to visit all 50 states,” Alyssa told Yahoo Travel. “We decided to do this now as our honeymoon while we’re young. At 23, you can be a little irresponsible and wild without people judging you too much.”

The couple — who has lived in Texas their whole lives — asked wedding guests to donate to their quest on GoFundMe, then quit their full-time jobs and reached out to the employment marketplace Snagajob.com with an innovative proposal: they would film a documentary that Snagajob is sponsoring and also blog about hourly workers they met along the way. The stories and videos of these people — a yoga instructor in Connecticut, a Wyoming baker — are showcased on Hourly America.

image

A Michigan selfie (Photo: Alyssa Padgett/Twitter)

Every time the couple passes a state line, they stop for a photo. “I squeal and point and make Heath pull over so we can take selfies,” Alyssa tweeted.

Heath is working a differently hourly job in each state to highlight the stories of the amazing people they’ve met throughout the country: “My last job at an Apple Orchard in Vermont,“ Heath wrote on Twitter. "It was beautiful, and I ate 12 apple cider donuts.”

image

Heath Padgett, working on an apple orchard in Vermont (Photo: Heath Padgett/Twitter)

Heath said that when he first told Alyssa that he wanted to work a job in every state, her reaction was: “You want us to work during our honeymoon?!” But now, Heath said, “we both agree that learning to work together and overcome obstacles on the road has proven to be the best foundation for our marriage.” And they’re loving every minute of it.

Let Yahoo Travel inspire you every day. Hang out with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.