Yano at Ten on Tuesday
has asked us to list Ten Memorable Vacation Moments:
- When I was growing up we lived in Phoenix, Arizona. I loved traveling north to Flagstaff for picnics. My brothers and sister and I enjoyed trying to notice when the flora changed from cacti to evergreens. We never could tell, exactly; the changes were that gradual.
- The first time I saw the giant redwood trees and sequoias in California as a child was memorable. Our own children enjoy our drives through The Avenue of the Giants now.
- My first time going to Disneyland at the age of 12 was a memorable vacation as well. I only wished that the lines to the rides weren’t so long.
- When I was a freshman in high school, our marching band was invited to perform at – Disneyland! Afterwards came free rides. Yay!
- We love Inverness, California, where my in-laws live. We have visited there many times, and it still remains a favorite vacation destination.
- Our favorite way to travel to California from Washington is down Hwy. 101, along the Washington and Oregon coasts. We enjoy “camping” in a yurt (think: hybrid tent/cabin) on the Oregon coast. This is cheaper than a motel room, and much nicer (fresh air, beach access, shower facilities, outdoor barbecue pit cooking, etc.).
- I loved seeing Zion and Bryce National Parks (just over the Arizona border in Utah) as a child.
- Driving over the Canadian Rockies, from Washington to Alberta, was a wonderful experience, for the aqua rivers, peak after majestic peak, and all the wildlife, such as mountain goats strolling across the road.
- My first time going sailing, on our honeymoon, was memorable for romance, but also for pain. I hadn’t realized how sunburned a person can get out on the water, and I did get very uncomfortably red.
- I started with Arizona, and will end with it. Someday I hope our children will have the opportunity to appreciate the stark beauty of the desert. I particularly remember visits to the Grand Canyon, to the Painted Desert, Sunset Crater, Meteor Crater, Hoover Dam (all that WATER enchanted this desert child), and the Petrified Forest.
