Americas 250th is the ultimate victory lap and I saw optimism everywhere on my cross-country road trip

In my nearly 30 years co-hosting Fox & Friends, I’ve met countless great Americans from sea to shining sea.About 10 years ago we launched Breakfast with Friends, where we traveled the country meeting people in diners — the beating heart of any town.People sit at the counter, watch what’s happening on TV, and it sparks a conversation.It’s great.But it’s been with my road trip across the country for the past few months that I learned what this country’s 250th anniversary really means to Americans — civilians and service members alike.

It feels like the ultimate victory lap, like, “Hey, we made it to 250.” For the 2,400-mile journey for Fox & Friends’ “For All America” RV Trip, I traveled from Tulsa, Okla., to Baxter Springs, Kan., and wrapped the tour of Route 66 in Springfield, Mo.Touring the country with this unbelievably awesome RV, it’s like rediscovering America.It’s appropriately called the “Freedom Traveler” and it’s like a $170,000 vacation on wheels. I’ve met political leaders and city residents vying for the chance to win the fully outfitted motorhome.

But most of them really just come out to talk.They reminisce and reflect, but also look ahead.

 Growing up in Iowa, adventure meant being a boy scout and camping in tents with my friends.I never dreamed of having an RV.

If we had an RV, we could have gone any place.The country is like a road trip itself — there are inevitably a couple of bumps, some twists and turns, but it’s always thrilling when you reach places you couldn’t imagine.The best part about crisscrossing the country for our RV trip, is the excitement for this national moment.There’s so much news right now — a lot of it good, a lot of it bad.But running up to the 4th of July, I hear a lot of people talk about America for a change.I’ll ask, “What is it about America that makes you proud to be an American?”The number one answer is freedom.

Freedom in every sense.People say, “We c...