It All Began.....

From the time I was very young I heard about relatives who had traveled to exotic places around the world.  A trip on the Queen Mary by a great Aunt. An uncle who had worked in Peru in the copper mines.  Relatives attending the World's Fair in Chicago.  My parent's visit to the Statue of Liberty.  And the list goes on.  But it made an impact.  My parents took me traveling from the time I was very young.  While it wasn't world travel....yet.....it was fun to visit new places and see new things.  And, I started taking pictures!  My first out-of-country travel was to Mexicali, Mexico when I was probably 8 or 9.  A fairly inauspicious start to what would become a life's passion.  While growing up we spent many vacations traveling throughout California, Nevada, Montana and Utah.

After completing my 2nd year of teaching, I took my first cruise:  a trip on the SS Lurline to Hawaii.  I was hooked forever!  This was followed by more trips to the Islands and into Canada.  My state visits began to increase:  Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona and more.

My first trip to another continent was to Europe.  Six weeks and 12 countries opened a whole new world to me that whet my appetite to continue these wonderful experiences.  History came alive for me!  I took hundreds of photos, tried different kinds of food, used my Spanish and limited French to navigate new languages and soaked up the culture of these wonderful countries.  I knew, in my heart, that this would be the beginning of a lifetime of travel to foreign and sometimes exotic countries.  To date I have traveled to all 7 continents, 76 countries and 42 states.  And there is much of the world still to be seen and explored.