Favorite trips

I have been very fortunate to have married a man who loved to travel so we have had many memorable vacations.  The first family vacation with all the family, children and grandchildren would be a trip to Estes Park, Colorado.  I loved being together in that big cabin, playing games and taking hikes together.  However it did not end well for me since I fell on the stairs and broke 2 bones in my ankle!   
I'll let that one go and talk about our National Geographic trip to the Galapagoes Islands.  The entire family was to go but Amy came down with Covid so that branch had to stay home.  I especially loved that trip because it was self contained in that when we motored in zodiacs to an island we were the only people there surrounded by beautiful, relatively untouched beaches, nature and animals specific to each island.  The zodiac rides were an adventure.  Sometimes we would stop short of the beach and have to slide over the craft side into the water and wade to the beach, other times we would pull up to a rock formation and need to climb out on to the uneven, wet rocks.  Those landings were not my favorite!  Of the animals we communed with each day I have to say that the sea lions were my favorite.  They were not afraid of us so carried on as normal when we landed.  I was surprised to see how affectionate they were to each other, usually sunning themselves on the beach in groups, intermingled like pretzels, heads on each other, tails lounging on a close neighbor.  During one expedition we just missed witnessing the birth of a baby sea lion but arrived minutes afterwards so we did experience the mother/child bonding.  Sometimes when we arrived on a beach to snorkel the sea lions would abandon their siesta and join us in the water, swimming all around us.  I should mention here that the requirement was for us to stay 6 feet away from all animals, but what could we do when they were joining us in the water and obviously enjoying our company!  Other animals were fun to watch, eg. iguanas, penguins, birds, water turtles and giant land turtles but the sea lions had the most personality and brought smiles to our faces every day.  The Galapagos vacation is the one that stands out in my memory as the best and sharing it with family who love the outdoors made it even more special.

Comments

  1. AdminJanuary 27, 2025 at 11:06 AM

    That sounds amazing and as great as the pictures were there's no substitute for hearing the stories that go with them. I will say that the order of these two trips seems problematic - someone with a double leg break on one trip seems like someone for whom leaping over the sides of boats onto wet rocks would be a real problem, but glad you braved it and sounds like it was absolutely worth it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. NixonJanuary 27, 2025 at 11:52 AM

    That's sounds really fun. I wish we could've come but I also enjoyed our cruise from Italy.

    ReplyDelete

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