A New Way to Share
IMO, Facebook has become toxic. What started as a way to keep in touch with family and friends has become a labyrinth of passive aggressive behaviors and downright ugliness from people I used to admire and now question their authenticity and genuineness.
If you've made it this far, you've made the choice to see what else is "out there" and you are welcome to this little space. We have had so many wonderful trips and this is a way to share a little bit of travel with everyone. I am "late to the travel party", but have come to love and appreciate the time spent among other people and cultures. It has widened my view of who "we" are. Feel free to join us on our journeys!
August 2018 - Detroit Michigan
Starting off our ventures with a trip to Michigan to visit with friends, Mike and Karen. Throw in a little side trip to the Henry Ford Museum, a cruise in the Dream Mile and call it a wrap!
2018 - Viking West Indies Cruise
This was the first cruise that we took together.
- Days 1 and 2: We flew into Puerto Rico, where we explored Old San Juan and Fort San Cristobal. The next day, we explored part of the rain forest on horseback.
- Day 3: We arrived in Tortola, where we had a driving land tour, visiting a farm on the side of a mountain and a distillery.
- Day 4: St. Kitts and Nevis. We explored the little town and then took a train ride through the countryside, visiting beautiful gardens
- Day 5: Castries, St. Lucia. We took an aerial tram through the rain forest and then explored the port town.
- Day 6: Bridgetown, Barbados. This town is often called "Little England" for it's British influence. We were able to explore Harrison's Cave. The caves were first mentioned in historical documents in 1795, and were rediscovered in the early 1970s by Jack Peeples. They were developed by the government as part of a tram tour, and opened to the public in 1981.
- Day 7: Roseau, Dominica. As most of the other islands, still recovering from Hurricane Maria in 2017. Such devastation, but still so much beauty. We were able to visit a native tribe and were entertained by a skit and basket weaving skills.
- Day 8: St. John's Antigua and Barbuda. We were able to take a helicopter tour of Montserrat - viewing the damage caused by volcanic eruption on the 1990's.
- Day 9: Philipsburg, Sint Maarten. Beautiful little town - still showing the effects of Hurricane Maria.
- Day 10: St. Thomas (Charlotte Amalie), US Virgin Islands. Fun Day on the water and beach.
- Day 11: Back to San Juan and home.
Thanksgiving with Family in New Jersey
Christmas with Family in Myrtle Beach
2019 - Viking Tulips and Windmills Cruise
Day 1: The day before we left for Amsterdam, we received a phone call telling us our ship had been hit by a barge .... we spent an extra day in Amsterdam and then boarded a brand new ship, with brand new crew! After arriving in Amsterdam and resting up a bit, we explored the city on our own.
Day 2: Amsterdam - definitely a city of bicycles and few cars. Young children were out on their smaller bikes or on bike carriers. The city was full of parks, as well. We took a canals tour in a glass topped boat, learning about the architecture and history of the city.
Day 3: Hoorn, The Netherlands.
Day 4: Arnhem, The Netherlands. Here, we learned about the battle of Arnhem and visited a cemetery. WWII Operation Market. The movie 'A Bridge too Far' was based on this. We were able to visit an open air museum as well - seeing and learning about Dutch life over the past 200 years.
Day 5: Kinderdijk, The Netherlands. We docked and visited old Windmills and newer windmills and learned about the history of the windmill and the reclamation of land from the sea. The Kinderdijk Windmills
Day 6: Antwerp, Belgium. We spent the morning exploring the historic quarter and saw the largest church in Belgium - the Cathedral of Our Lady completed in 1521. One of its spires stands 404 feet high. Nearby was the medieval Het Steen castle, built after the Viking incursions as the city’s first stone fortress.
Day 9: Keukenhof Gardens, Amsterdam. This was the most beautiful part of the trip. Field upon field of tulips and flowers of most every variety. Truly one of the most beautiful places in the world!
2019 - ASPPA Conference National Harbor, Baltimore
3 days of "hanging out" and exploring Washington, DC with new friends while George attended the ASPPA Conference at National Harbor Conference Center.
ASPPA Conference - Washington, DC
2019 San Francisco and Hawaii
Pre Hawaii and Post Conference, George had a business trip to San Francisco and we were able to also spend time with David and Cory. Win/Win!
2020 Coronacations
When the pandemic of 2020 hit, our travel life like many others, came to an abrupt halt. Vacations became trips to the grocery store every couple of weeks. Luckily, summer came and outside work filled in a huge gap, along with many long rides on the 4-wheelers. However, once we became accustomed to masks and sanitizer, we decided to venture out every Friday for Coronacations - exploring life within a day's drive. Each Friday, we would pack a lunch and head out for some "undiscovered" treasure. It's amazing how many "touristy" spots you never visit in your home state!
PA Grand Canyon - Wellsboro
Lake Tobias - Halifax
Bill's Old Bike Barn - Bloomsburg
Penn Cave State College - Centre Hall
National Canal Museum - Easton
Elk Country - Benzette
Eagles Mere - Eagles Mere
Steamtown - Scranton
Bushkill Falls - Bushkill
Piper Cub Museum - Lock Haven
National Civil War Museum - Harrisburg
Clyde Peelings Reptile Land - Allenwood
Soaring Museum - Elmira, NY
Johnstown Flood and 911 Memorial
2021 - Montana/Wyoming
A fun trip, taken with Morgan and Hannah. We were able to hike parts of Yellowstone National Park, whitewater rafting on the Gallatin River horseback riding and biking through the Grand Tetons into Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Beautiful scenery - lots of wildlife and lots of laughs. "Do you want to take your tortillas with you?"
2021 Viking Paris to Zurich
- Paris, France. Two day - mostly on our own in Paris. We arrived early in the morning and set out to explore the city in the rain. Used our old standby - the Big Red Bus to get an overview of the city - Arc de Triompe, Eifle Tower, determining what areas we wanted to return to the next day. We were soaked, even with our "deluxe plastic raingear" and opted for an early dinner and then an early night. Palace at Versaille was spectacular. You can read all you want about people such as Marie Antionette, but walking where they have walked will leave you speechless. The Louvre was beautiful - we did not tour the museum - too many other things to see. Montmarte, Moulin Rouge,
- Reims, France & Trier, Germany Notre Dame in Reims, Luxemborg American Cemetery and Memorial, vineyards,
- Trier & Bernkastel, Germany. We were lucky to be able to have dinner with Jim and Joann Pericles, friends I met through Milton Hershey, who are currently living in Germany. We were able to meet them for dinner and then wander through the tiny town of Bernkastel, which was lovely.
- Cochem, Germany Traveling down the Moselle River, we saw many vineyards and many castles - we were able to visit Cochem Castle, which sat atop a hill overlooking the Moselle.
- Koblenz, Germany Mainz, Germany Speyer, Germany, Strasbourg, France. The Cathedral of Notredam, Strasbourg was another impressive church.
- Zürich & Basel, Switzerland. We docked in Basel and were bussed to Grindlewald and took a train into the mountains. It was raining at the bottom of the mountain and snowing on the top. Just beautiful. Zurich is Switzerland's largest city and financial center. We took a cruise on Lake Zurich and saw the Lindt Chocolate Factory on the shore.
2021 - Viking Panama Canal
- Cozumel, Mexico ATV Trip Chicilero
- Belize City, Belize Cave float
- Roatán, Honduras Monkeys climbing on us in Gumbalimba .....
- Puerto Limón, Costa Rica Two toed sloth siting!
- Colón, Panama Ferry ride from the middle of Panama Canal to Pacific Ocean
- Sailing on Viking Ship from Atlantic Ocean to middle of Panama Canal and return
- Montego Bay, Jamaica Rose Hall
2022 Viking Empires of the Mediterranean
Great trip with Helen and Joan - George's sisters.
- Venice, Italy. We were able to drive to Paterson, NJ and pick up Helen, then on to Newark, where we sat on the tarmac during a storm for about an hour. Joan was flying from Oklahoma so we were not able to meet up with her until we reached the ship. We flew into Venice and boarded the Viking Sea. Not much going on this day - mostly arrival and then being bussed to one terminal to identify our luggage and then to the ship. While we were in port, we were surrounded by jellyfish! It was quite the site!
- Koper, Slovenia. We were able to visit with a local family, enjoying a delightful, intimate meal and learning more about the food and culture of Slovenia. Before and following our meal, we were afforded a bus tour of the area. Wonderful hosts and beautiful scenery.
- Zadar, Croatia. Our ship docked by accoustical tube steps, which played music as the tides changed. Zadar was once an island, surrounded by a deep moat. We were able to visit Krka National Park, which was beautiful. The park has the second highest density of lavender in Europe. We then did a walking tour of Old Town Zadar. One thing Europe has plenty of, is cobblestone pathways! LOL. It is sobering for me to walk on stones that have been walked on by people for centuries! The evening concluded with a Greek Orthodox Easter celebration. Fireworks at midnight everywhere and a small service in the theater.
- Dubrovnik, Croatia. We enjoyed our time in Dubrovnik, which is where many scenes from Game of Thrones are filmed. The fountain, as you enter town, you can still drink from - was built in the 15th century. Cats wandered in and around shops. Some with collars, most without. We were also able to visit Port of Cavtat, Croatia.
- Kotor, Montenegro.
- Corfu, Greece. Spent the day on the medieval streets with a walking tour. We passed by venetian walls constructed in 1420 en route to the Cathedral of St. Tryphon, built in 1166. The mismatched towers were the result of an earthquake and a budget too small to rebuild properly. Included on this tour is a visit to the Maritime Museum, which documents Kotor’s heritage.
- Olympia, Greece. Visited Ancient Olympia - where the Olympic Torch is lit.
- Santorini (Thíra), Greece As far as I'm concerned - this is one of the most beautiful places on earth. The blue and white of the buildings are just stunning.
- Athens, Greece. Big Blue Bus tour to "get the lay of the land".
- Athens, Greece
2022 Rocky Mountaineer
- Seattle - We were able to start this trip with a visit to David and Cory, seeing the Chilhuly Exhibit and exploring the Space Needle. Instead of taking the train, which we had planned, we took a bus to Vancouver instead, because the train was not running. All in all, it was not a bad trip! Got to Vancouver early afternoon and explored a bit.
- Vancouver - Victoria. We took a ferry ride to Victoria and visited Butchart Gardens - they were fabulous! We were not able to spend nearly enough time there - you could explore for an entire day! Our trip back to Vancouver was by sea plane - what a cool experience!
- The following morning, we boarded the Rocky Mountaineer for the beginning of our journey east! We were fortunate enough to be seated in front of a couple, where he had retired from the railroad and was able to answer many questions and point out several details along the way, that would have been missed otherwise it was fun listening to him reminisce about his younger days and working the line. The train accommodations were wonderful and the service was first class. There were about 60 passengers sharing an open dome car and dining car. We had brunch and late lunch and the food was excellent. We disembarked around 5pm, which became the norm, and headed for our first hotel - Sun Peaks Grand. It was a beautiful resort area, but because we arrived so late and left so early the next morning, we were unable to do much exploring.
- Back on the train the next morning and another day of beautiful scenery. End of the train route in Jasper, where we spent a day at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. Older, but nice accommodations and a beautiful area to explore. We took a wildlife spotting trip and saw elk, bear, and assorted smaller wildlife. Took the shuttle into the town of Jasper and wandered the streets - enjoyed our first Beaver Tail and delicious ice cream from Jasper Grandma's Place - the Bobcat Scat was delicious!
- The next day, on our way to Lake Louise, we toured the Columbia Ice Fields. The Ice Fields were spectacular, but sad to see how they have begun to really recede the past few years.
- We spent two days at Fairmont Lake Louise. What a spectacular place! The lake was beautiful. George commented how the glacier had receded since the last time he was there. The lake provided water for the town. He hiked up to the Lake Agnes TeaHouse - I was content to stay behind!
- Our last "port of call" was Banff. We stayed at the Fairmont - Banff Springs Hotel. Perfect ending to the trip. We took the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulfur Mountain and the views were indescribable. We did a mini tour of the hotel and were able to see the "hidden room behind the bookcase", as well as the stairwell where some have seen the "ghost bride" ... we were not so fortunate. Can't forget the canoe trip, where a black bear swam right in front of the bow of the canoe. Definitely a first, there! While waiting to leave for Calgary and the airport the next morning, we were treated to a bagpiper serenade.
- Arriving in Newark too late to want to drive home, we decided to spend the night and visit Ellis Island the next day. A sombering experience, to be sure. Every American should visit at some point in their life. From there, to the Statue of Liberty and then home.
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