50 Capitols by 50: Roca family completes yearslong quest just in time for America 250

For Matt and Kathy Honke, visiting state capitol buildings while traveling started out as a compromise.

"We have our own little interests. I'm a big football fan, so I've done football stadiums with all these trips. She likes zoos, so we've hit a bunch of zoos in all the places that we've gone," Matt said. "Capitols are the thing that we share together."

When coming back from a trip to Hawaii, Kathy suggested they visit all 50 state capitols before the two Roca residents turn 50. 

"We've got this book that's all torn up now and old, but it's got 49 stamps or stickers in it," Matt said before the couple and their son, Alex, embarked on fulfilling their quest. "Kathy's 49, a couple months older than me, and we'll hit our 50th this summer." 

The last on the list? Virginia. Plus, the nation's capitol. 

Matt said it will be "oddly emotional" to check off the last capitol in their book, during America 250 nonetheless, which he said was a "happy coincidence." 

"Once we get the last stamp, it's done, there's nothing else to do. For years we kept checking off and checking off. It's just gonna be weird to get that last one done," Matt said. 

What started as a quest to visit 50 by 50, later evolved into a way to get out of town during the Fourth of July with 13-year-old Alex. 

"He's on the autism spectrum and he just cannot stand fireworks. Once he was old enough to start coming along with us, we brought him with us, and we do them all over the Fourth of July," Matt said. "He's gotten to see a lot of this, and he's really appreciated it as well." 

Along the way, Matt and Kathy and later Alex, have collected a number of unforgettable stories.  

While visiting West Virginia's capitol in Charleston, Matt said they nearly crashed a funeral for a dignitary of the Mountain State. 

"They had this gigantic funeral going for him in this auditorium next to the capitol. We were just walking around the capitol grounds and a cop came up to us and said 'you guys got to get out of here. We're going to have all these people coming out of the auditorium,'" Matt said. "We ran into moments like that." 

In Wisconsin, the pair found themselves on the roof of the Capitol during their trip to watch the Huskers play their first Big Ten Conference football game against the Wisconsin Badgers in 2011. 

"I'm not sure if we were supposed to do this, but there was a door that we opened and stairs that went up. We walked up to the top of the roof," Matt said, noting that they could see both Lake Mendota and Lake Monona as well as the entirety of State Street. "I'm guessing that was not where the public was supposed to go."

Kathy said that trip was extra memorable because she had misplaced Matt's wallet at Camp Randall Stadium.

"I walked down to the concession stand during the game with Matt's wallet, walked back with drinks, but not Matt's wallet," Kathy said. "There was some guy who came up to me saying, "Hey, you left this at the concession stand.'"

Kathy said that guy holds a special place in her heart because if she would have lost Matt's wallet, it would not have been as good of a trip.

In Vermont, Matt said they ran into the governor's communications director on their way in and got invited to see the governor's office. 

"He let Alex sit in the governor's chair," Matt said. "That chair was made from wood from a boat in Boston Harbor. It was the only thing that was made from the wood from that boat." 

The Vermont governor's chair, known as the Constitution Chair, was carved from timbers salvaged from the U.S.S. Constitution, and presented to the state in 1858, according to the Vermont Legislature website. 

The U.S.S. Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. During the War of 1812, Constitution captured five British warships and earned its nickname "Old Ironsides." The ship also served as a training ship during the American Civil War.

To document their adventures, the Honkes have a laminated map on the wall of their living room. They add stickers of the capital cities, zoos and football stadiums after every trip. The map also includes all the major roadways they have driven on. 

"I look at the map of some of our trips and they are kind of all over the place. Not everyone wants to travel the way we do, but it works for us," Matt said. 

While it's hard to pick a definitive favorite, Kathy said she really liked the openness of Hawaii's capitol. 

"It's a square one with an atrium in the middle. I thought that was really unique, plus it was the beginning of this whole escapade," she said.

For Matt, one of his favorites is Ohio's statehouse because it has a museum in the basement.

With all their travels, Matt said they've grown to appreciate the Nebraska state Capitol all the more.

"I will always say this about Nebraska's Capitol, it's so great to go out and see all these wonderful capitols all across the country, but the beauty of it, and the attention to detail, the architecture behind it, I think it really just stands the test of time," Matt said. "I wouldn't put any above Nebraska's."