“There were people screaming by the capitol building. Everywhere.”
YouTuber Joey Kinsley, who goes by the name “Sir Yacht” online, is telling The Independent about an odyssey he undertook in which he visited all 50 US state capitals in just 30 days, driving around 500 miles a day (though he had to fly to Hawaii and Alaska, of course).
The travel and food influencer, who describes himself as a “professional dumb**s”, has previously “eaten only potato chips for 48 hours”, run a marathon “without training” and swum in all five Great Lakes in one day.
But the state capital adventure was his “toughest ever challenge”, one that physically and mentally “cooked” him.
The month-long “speed run” gave Joey, from Cleveland, Ohio, a fascinating snapshot of America, with eye-opening experiences coming thick and fast.
But not all of them were ones he’d care to repeat.
In that category were visits to state capitals he suggests visitors should avoid.
One is Olympia, Washington state, where he encountered the screaming.
Joey continues: “The screaming was very weird. The locals weren’t mean, necessarily. But they were scary.
“Unfortunately, Olympia was kind of sketchy.”
Albany, the state capital of New York, also underwhelmed.
Joey explains: “With Albany, New York, I found very little to say positively about that place. Now, I’m sure the suburbs are great. I’m sure the people are great. But I couldn’t leave faster.”
He adds: “A lot of the capitals are just a little rundown.”
Luckily for Joey, there were plenty of places that he enjoyed.
He reveals: “I went through Montana, Oregon, Washington and other parts of California I hadn’t been to. And it’s just so beautiful out there.
“The air is so fresh. I went through the plains of America, like North Dakota, and other places, and it’s a little terrifying, but worth it when you get to go to these really beautiful, lush areas.
“And it was the first time I’d ever been to Hawaii. And it was awesome. Really cool.”
Joey also picks out some places as having particularly friendly locals.
He reveals: “Madison, Wisconsin — super, super friendly. Little Rock, Arkansas — really friendly. Helena, Montana — very, very friendly.”
Joey discovered that locals in places that don’t get much limelight loved the attention.
He explains: “What I discovered is that people love representation. If you’re in a place that’s underrepresented or not talked about, the locals will ask, ‘Why are you here?’ When I told them I’m visiting all 50 of the US state capitals they wanted to hear more about the journey and they got really excited. They want to show you the cool spots and the cool history.”
If Joey repeated the trip, would he do it differently?
He replies: “If I were to do it again, it would probably be broken up, so that I could enjoy the areas more, learn more about it. I essentially did a speed run of the United States.
“I thought I would hit a wall about halfway through the tip. But I hit a wall on the second day.
“It was just the amount of driving. After the second day I was like, ‘Holy cow, I’m staring down the barrel of a gun. I have 28 more days after this and I’m already exhausted.'”
However, despite the fatigue, Joey says it was a “really cool thing to do”.
He says: “Talking to people from every walk of life, meeting people on the open road… it was a really cool thing to do. And I’m eager to do something like that again.”
For more from Joey, aka Sir Yacht, visit tiktok.com/@siryacht; instagram.com/SirYacht; and youtube.com/@siryacht. Joey partnered NAMI Ohio (National Alliance on Mental Illness) to raise over $10,000 for mental health. Visit www.nami.org to donate.
