to the
~ Beehive ~

Here's the buzz ... A bee's interdependence with plants makes them an excellent example of a type of symbiosis, an association that is beneficial to both parties. So our interdependence with each other is a symbiotic relationship that benefits each one of us.

Okay, okay ... in reality there's a little voyeur in all of us, so just scroll down to have a peek into someone else's thoughts!

Jump in here whenever you'd like to participate!

Vacations

Make a list of all the States in the U.S. and all the Countries that you have visited.

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?

Who would you take with you on that vacation?

Where are you planning to vacation this year?

George

Make a list of all the States in the U.S. and all the Countries that you have visited.

USA
Rhode Island Utah New York
Georgia Tennessee Pennsylvania
Alabama Kentucky Maryland
Mississippi Indiana North Carolina
Texas Ohio Florida
Virginia West Virginia Massachusetts
Washington, D.C. (not a state, but hey it's in the US)

Abroad
Italy
Bahamas

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
our honeymoon to Italy. We went to Rome, Florence and Assisi. We visited all the famous sites (St. Peter's Basilica, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, the Duomo, etc.) my beautiful wife, Janet! :)

If you could visit anyplace in the world, where would you go?
hmmm...it's a toss up between Scotland & Italy.

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
my wife of course and family would be nice to see some of the world together. It's a great experience to see things in real life that you've always seen in pics.

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
we are not sure yet...but we are planning!

Snooks

Make a list of all the States in the U.S. and all the Countries that you have visited.
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland,
Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Texas,
California, Washington DC

England, Scotland, France, Spain, Switzerland

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
My most memorable vacation was the trip to Yosemite National Park with
Jonathan and Jason. There were forest fires burning at the time. We
had to stay overnight in the valley because of that, and in the morning
all the cars leaving the park had to form a convoy. On the way out we
could see fires burning on the hills on both sides of the road, and a
rock rolled down and hit the car.

If you could visit anyplace in the world, where would you go?
If I could go any place in the world, I would go to England. I want to
see every cathedral, every ruin even if it's just a pile of stones, and
go back to that magical place, Old Sarum.

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
I don't know that I'd take anyone with me. But who knows whom I might
meet in my travels?

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
You know where I'm planning to vacation this year!

Yes, I do ... can't wait ;-)

Lucy

Make a list of all the States in the US and all the Countries that you have visited.
Not that many, but here goes:
California
Virginia
North Carolina

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
My most memorable one was Myrtle beach, SC...after graduating high school (1982)....I had 3 of my friends from school with me, and to be honest, I don't really remember a whole lot...lol. Thats why it was memorable...we did have our car towed off and didn't know it. So we were without a ride for a few days...lol......wild week....uh!

If you could visit anyplace in the world, where would you go?
France.....from the pic's I have seen.....i would LOVE to be there right now!!

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
If I took anyone, it would be my precious daughter Erica.

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
I haven't decided yet, maybe Redding, California.
maybe France......(Bonnie?) lol

Come on girl :-)

    Peggy Jo  

Make a list of all the States in the US and all the Countries that you have visited.
NC,Sc,Ga,Tn,Va, Wva,Ky,Kansas,Ok,Fl,Maine,Pa,Ms. OK,NY,Missouri,Maryland, DC and Canada

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
An all expense paid vacation to Montreal, Canada. My husband Jack and several people I worked with at Sterchi Bros. Stores. I won the trip thru a contest. Great time. Took several scenic tours. Canada is beautiful and so clean.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?
If I go anyplace it would be Africa. I would want to see all the wild life and go into the jungles.

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
I would take my husband with me.

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
Our vacation this year will be to Holden Beach, NC. We go there several times during the year. We get a house right on the beach and it is great. We will take several week end trips thoughout the year to spur of the moment places.

Jonathan

Make a list of all the States in the US and all the Countries that you have visited.
States: All of them except Hawaii
Countries: Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Belize, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, France, England, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Israel, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, India, Thailand, China (Mainland and Taiwan), The Philippines and Japan. I've gotten to see a bunch of places from the air, like Cuba, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Viet Nam and Bahrain.

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
My trips with Bonnie are my best ones. The adventure of traveling and exploring is one of my favorite things and I am very lucky that Bonnie feels the same way. We really connect when we are traveling and exploring together. She always was the "adventurous" one ;) One of our best trips, for me was our honeymoon in Amsterdam. We took a canal boat tour, had our pictures drawn on the Leidesplein and ate canoli in the rain on somebody's stoop. We had a little teeny tiny hotel room with the shower one story up. What a great memory among many others. I'm glad it was such a good memory for you honey considering we ate calzones instead of canoli <lol!>

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?
I would still like to go to Ireland and to Skara in Sweden to see where my ancestor lived and of course, I would want Bonnie and the kids there. I would like to go back to the Outer Banks of North Carolina again too.

Who would you take with you on that vacation? see above?

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
Our next vacation will be Normandy this April. We will see Utah beach where Bonnie's dad landed during WWII. We will also go to Mt Saint Michel and spend a night there and watch the tide come in.

Robin

Make a list of all the States in the US and all the Countries that you have visited.
GA, Fla, Mississippi, Indiana, Michigan, Louisiana, NC... I passed thru quite a few as well on the way to these!
Canada, Aruba, Bermuda, Mexico, Southern & Western Caribbean Islands (all this was in my "former life" as I like to call it LOL!!)

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
My favorite has to be on a pharmacy convention trip to New Orleans, LA. The word here is FOOD! And lots of it! I love the beignets at Cafe du Monde and red beans and rice. Breakfast at Brennan's was great with bananas foster as the main event. Shopping here is great and all the history. Looking out at the grand Mississippi River from the deck of a riverboat is the best. I was there when Tom Cruise made that movie "Interview with a Vampire", and there were reported sightings (though I never saw him--DARN!) I got to see Emeril's first restaurant (though I did not know who he was at the time!) I would love to go back someday.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?
I would love to visit the Napa Valley out in California--don't know if I will ever get there...I would also love to go back to the Cayman Islands--it is beautiful there...

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
Who would I take with me??? Well... Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Matthew McConaughey all come to mind! LOL!!!

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
don't know if I will be able to take a vacation this year--circumstances have not allowed me to do so for over 4 years now--I am WAY overdue!!

Bonnie

Make a list of all the States in the US and all the Countries that you have visited.
VT, NH, MA, RI, NY, CT, PA, DC, VA, WVA, NC, SC, GA, AL, FL, MS, TN, KY, OH, MI, IL, AR, LA, MO, IA, MN, ND, SD, NE ... never out west!

Canada, Belize, France, England, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Bahamas

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
I think my most memorable one would be when I came to France for the first time. It was our first wedding anniversary and we visited several places in France by train. When we got to Carcassonne, we went to a monastery and talked to a priest who agreed to "bless" our union in a special ceremony. One lady rushed around to bring flowers from the main sanctuary into the chapel for the ceremony and as we left, all the parishioners wished us well. It was extra-special to me since I had hoped for a special marriage fit for soulmates, but because of practical reasons, we were married at the courthouse in an informal civil ceremony. I bought rings for Jonathan and me for our anniversary that say in French "Por Toujours" ... "For Always" in Old French. We exchanged them during the ceremony in France and still wear them today almost 12 years later. Ahhhhh.... Also memorable during that vacation was when 3-year-old Jason fell off a bench in Collioure and we had to rush him to the doctor's office for stitches in his head. Fantasy meets reality.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?
At this moment, I think St. Petersburg. The Russian Federation still holds a lot of mystery for me. Second choice would be Scotland and Ireland (you can combine those into one vacation!)

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
Well, I was thinking Jonathan but since Robin mentioned Tom Cruise ... hmmm ;-)

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
To the US to meet little Ethan and to the Normandy D-Day beaches and Mont St. Michel.

David and Marsha

Make a list of all the States in the U.S. and all the Countries that you have visited.
David - NC, SC, VA, TN, GA, FL, NV, MS, AL, MO, NY, NJ, DC, MD, KY, KS, MA, WV
Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Cuba, and lots of ocean and small islands since I'm in the navy.
Marsha - NC, SC, VA, TN, GA, FL, NV, MD, NY, NJ, CT, MA, NH, IN, OH, TX, LA, AZ, KY, PA, DC.
Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and England.

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
Las Vegas. Marsha and I were married there. We had family and friends with us and we had the best time. Everyone should visit Vegas. We don't even gamble and we still had a great time. It is so amazing. Lots of eye candy.

If you could visit anyplace in the world, where would you go?
Marsha - Rome, Ireland
David - Germany, Ireland

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
Each other

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
Germany

Sandy

Make a list of all the States in the U.S. and all the Countries that you have visited.
South Carolina
Georgia
Florida
Virginia
New Jersey
New York
Maryland
Mexico
Tennessee
Washington DC

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
Went on cruise with hubby, Russell, to Mexico for 5 days. Lots of fun.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?
If I could visit anywhere I would love to go to Ireland and take my husband.

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
my husband.

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
Not sure about vacation this year...still talking about it.
Update: Sandy won't get a vacation this year since she starts a new job the end of this month in a center working with special-needs kids. We're going to keep our fingers crossed that you will get a special "time out" at least this year, Sandy ;-)

Vicki and Chuck

Make a list of all the States in the U.S. and all the Countries that you have visited.
It would be easier to tell you the states I have not
visited: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Ohio,
Michigan

Chuck has been to Barbados. I have not been out of the
country.

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
Chuck says Hawaii and I guess I agree with him
although I was a bit disappointed. Too many
tourists-80% of the people there are tourists.It was
our 25th anniversary and it was the first time I ever
flew in a plane. My second choice would be our trip
west to California. We loved Yosemite. The kids were
with us on that trip.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?
Probably Israel.

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
Chuck

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
Not sure, maybe Cade's Cove.

Ellen Jo

Make a list of all the States in the U.S. and all the Countries that you have visited.
All except Maine, Delaware, New Hampshire, Washington State, New Mexico, Idaho.

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
Memphis. A lot of sightseeing with Bud and the Steelmans.
That was sure a lot of fun for us too.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?
Switzerland. I love the Swiss Alps.

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
Well, since Tom Cruise has been taken, probably you, Bonnie, since you always seem to have the wine!!!!!
Yes, and I might share too!

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
I haven't made plans for one yet.
Well, I have the PERFECT idea <G>

Debbie

Make a list of all the States in the U.S. and all the Countries that you have visited.
US -- Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Texas, Ohio, Wyoming, Colorado, California, Arizona, Kentucky, Vermont, Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Virginia, Washington DC, New Jersey, Missouri, Oklahoma, Michigan, Illinois, Nevada. There may be more but I can't remember...

Other Countries -- Canada, Caribbean, Puerto Rico, France, England, Austria

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
London with Bonnie. We did the whole city in about two days!
And it SNOWED! I think about that vacation every year when I put up the Christmas tree ... remember we both bought King's crown Christmas ornaments at the museum gift shop? GREAT memories.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?
Egypt

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
My non-existent husband/boyfriend

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
No plans yet -- hope I get one!

Marlene

Make a list of all the States in the U.S. and all the Countries that you have visited.
PA, FL, OR, WA, UT, CA, NV, Idaho, WY, Montana, Missouri, TN, KY, GA, SC, NC, VA, WV, NY, NH, Hawaii, Colorado, NM, Arizona, TX, Louisiana, MS, ALabama, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, ND, SD, KS, OK, Arkansas,Michigan,Ohio, Alaska, Wash DC, Delaware, MD, Illinois, Maine, NJ, Canada, Mexico, Oman, Saudi Arabia, France, Spain, Germany, Panama, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, San Blas Islands, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Netherland Antilles, Virgin Islands, Monaco, and undisclosed location in South America in military-would have to cut your head off and put it in a safe.

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
I suppose my trip across the USA over several months and by myself-I just traveled and let myself be! Also my trip to Austria with my friend Cathy-we laughed our butts off.
Now, THAT'S a vacation I could sure use!

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?
If the trip is a freebie then I would go to Iceland as I do not think I will be ever be able to afford that on my own. If I can go more local, San Francisco is my favorite city.

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
My Morgan!!! Or a good friend since Morgan cannot fly!
me, me, pick me!

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
Florida to see my Calif friends who are moving there.

Joanna

Make a list of all the States in the U.S. and all the Countries that you have visited.
Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, Virginia, Missouri, New York, California

Abroad: Canada, Ecuador, Jamaica, France

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
My most memorable vacation was when Danny and I went to Ecuador. We were still in college and it was my first big trip. We stayed with a friend of ours , Jennifer's, family. We ate traditional Ecuadorian food, and visited amazing places. We stayed in a cabin in the jungle did some hiking to a waterfall. We saw a bull on the trail and he was stomping like he wanted to charge us! We visited "Mitad del Mundo", the "Middle of the World" where we stood on the equator! We saw cathedrals, an active volcano (that people still live on!). The day was the richest blue I've ever seen and the night sky had so many stars that I could barely find the brightest ones that make the most recognizable constellations! (do I hear your astronomy studies peeking through?)

We also went to the biggest dance club (discoteca) that we had ever seen...we learned how to do the salsa there. We watched American movies with Spanish subtitles and also had our first experience at getting around solely on the spanish language. Probably the most memorable thing for me was that we got freaked out by the ghost that lives in the house we were staying in! Never had I ever believed in such a thing until that crazy experience.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?
Venice, Italy. It is romantic, beautiful, and unique. (Yes, I am a hopeless romantic)

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
My husband! What a wonderful place to visit with someone you love so dearly.

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
California to visit Danny's family and France hopefully
Sorry, word not recognized ;-)

Charlotte

Make a list of all the States in the U.S. and all the Countries that you have visited.
I have visited most of the states in the continental United States, except the ones bordering Canada. I have not visited Hawaii and Alaska.
And the ONLY country I have visited is the good ol' USA.

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?
For me, there have been MANY memorable vacations, but one I can think of is when Joe and I went to visit my dad, when he was still alive. It was in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We visited Pikes Peak (absolutely awesome), the Garden of the Gods (very unique), and the Air Force Academy.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?
Well, there are MANY places I would like to go to, since I have not been out of this country. First, would be to ISRAEL, to visit where Jesus lived. Second, would be to England, Ireland, Germany and Spain where my ancestry is from. I would also like to go to Hawaii and Alaska. Is that enough?? :-)
Charlotte, I'm thinking we all should take a group tour of Ireland ... it seems to be a popular desination ... what do you all think? <g>

Who would you take with you on that vacation?
Joe, of course, and whoever else would like to go.

Where are you planning to vacation this year?
We are planning a trip to California for a family reunion, so our family there can meet little Ethan.

Christine

Make a list of all the States in the U.S. and all the Countries that you have visited.

Alaska, Hawaii, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, (DC too :)).
Hmmm has she visited all 50 states? If not, where has she missed?

Australia (born and raised), New Zealand, Malaysia, Canada, USA (moved here twice from Australia, lived here a total of 20 years (in Massachusetts, now living in Georgia), Mexico, England, Scotland, Netherlands (lived there for 2 years), Belgium, Luxembourg, Andorra, France, Spain, Italy, Vatican City, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Monaco, Greece (and Islands), Turkey (and the Black Sea), Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Africa. Thinking off the top of my head don't know if I've missed mentioning a country. Oh yes...29 years ago, there was a nightmare of a stop in Tehran at the airport where our plane stopped for refueling. The pilot informed us that we would need to wait in the terminal with all of our belongings, we would be searched and our passports would be checked. We were told not to smile, or talk, and that we wouldn't be allowed to use a bathroom. If we stepped out of line we could be shot (yep, that's right!). The plane stopped out on the tarmac where we were visited by armed airport security, they walked though the cabin for a preliminary check. Then we were told to disembark the plane onto a transportation caravan and taken to the terminal (I felt like a chicken on my way to the slaughter house). The rooftop of the terminal was lined with soldiers holding rifles and machine guns, also at ground level soldiers stood about with guns in hand watching our every move. Our bodies were patted down by same sex personal, passports and belongings' were checked. I had never been so scared in all my life, No English was spoken, directions were given to us by pointed fingers, you could hear a pin drop it was so quiet in the terminal, summer, no air conditioning in the terminal, and with sweat running down our faces, we had to remain standing still until we were beckoned to leave the terminal. Once airborne, and waiting in long cues for the lavatories, passengers expressed their fears over the refueling stopover.

Tell us about your most memorable vacation… Where did you go? What did you do? Who was with you?

I can't say that I've had one "most" memorable vacation as every vacation had it's own highlights and unique experiences...from a camel ride in central Australia, skiing on top of the Jungfrau in Switzerland, memorable vacations/travels from when I lived in Europe, landing on Glaziers in small planes on Mt. Cook, New Zealand (I have a story I could tell about what happened towards the end of this flight and after landing on a lake...I don't want to gross you out, it's quite a memory for me), and Mt. McKinley, Alaska. During our flight down from Mt. McKinley we looked out the window of the plane and saw two grizzlies standing up on their hind legs and fighting. Driving up beyond the Arctic Circle camping under skies where the sun made a little circle above us, and although misquotes ate us alive :) we vowed to return and go all the way up to Prudhoe Bay someday. A whale watch in a fishing boat off the eastern most point of Nova Scotia, exhilarating! A couple of trips to the Bay of Fundy National Park, with walks down along the shore amongst unique shoreline formations, called flowerpots, and watching the world's highest tides. Our last trip there we walked out onto rocks off the shoreline with our dog, enjoying the views, taking photos, fooling around, then, by crikey, we noticed that the water was lapping up on to the bottom of our shoes...the tide was coming in fast, we scampered off the rocks, another minute or two and we would have been surrounded by water. We were the only fools left on the shore line at this time and we had a long way to run before reaching the staircase which lead to the top of the cliff, I have photos of the water approaching us (yes, the family ran on, and I stopped to take photos, endangered my life for the family album :)). We also enjoyed watching the tidal bore coming up the river into Mocton, neat!
Also a couple of trips exploring Arcadia National Park, ME, riding bikes on the old carriage roads through the woods and around Eagle Lake, canoeing on the lakes, and fishing (where we were attacked by black flies), hiking over the trails and rocky shoreline...awesome, beauty!
We've enjoyed many biking outings, all were great, but my family agrees one stands out above the rest...in Kennicott, in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park & Preserve, Alaska, a 10 hour adventure on mountain bikes, following an old rocky wagon road, up hill in grizzly wilderness, up to the Historical Kennicott Copper Mine. Exploring the mine then biking high above Root Glazier with too-die-for-views, while fording streams and cycling a very stony trail. Before deciding to turn back we enjoyed a walk on Root Glazier. The return ride went a lot quicker as we took a detour away from the wagon road and chose a down hill dirt road all the way to the bottom...we flew like the wind...yahoo...and I was most thankful that we all made it to the bottom without injuries, and only one flat tire, an awesome, awesome, day indeed, ending with a big grizzly outside our cabin that (daylight) night!
Speaking of grizzlies we saw our share of them...and witnessed a once in a life time event while traveling along the Alaska highway in the Yukon Territory...a small moose darted out from some woods beside the road. Excitedly, as my family looked out the window, and my husband applied the breaks, I grabbed our video camera. Then all of a sudden mother moose darts out after her little one, I started filming this before the car came to a full stop. Then I jumped out of the car with video camera in hand. Just as I rounded the front of the car to the drivers side we got the shock of our lives to see a huge grizzly in hot pursuit after the moose....W O W....a National Geographic episode right in front of us. At this time we were the only spectators. After the grizzly came charging out of the woods my family screamed at me to get back in the car. No siree, I had a birds eye view and I was not about to move. I continued filming, zoomed in, as the little moose jumped into a rather large lake, followed close behind by mother moose, YES, with a BIG splash, the grizzly dove in. It was obvious that the grizzly was after the little moose (their favourite cuisine). With mother moose pushing her little one along, stood her ground a couple of times trying to intimidate the grizzly, we were amazed at how fast the moose could swim. The grizzly followed close behind as the moose did circles around the middle of the lake. The grizzly got real close a few times, we screamed out when we thought the little moose was going to be a goner. As we watched, our hearts were racing. I continued filming, as cars pulled up one, by one, wanting to know what was going on. Before we knew it there were cars lined up all over the highway . A road crew/highway truck came along and told us all that we were making an illegal stop and had to move along as there wasn't enough room for traffic flow, nobody moved!!! I told the guy that I had been filming for 20 minutes already and wasn't about to leave until I captured a happy ending of the moose escaping. The moose and grizzly were noticeably tiring, although the moose were way ahead in the lead. The moose swam to shore and ran into the woods out of sight, and everyone cheered :). Satisfied that it was a happy ending and saying so out aloud, I continued filming as the grizzly was barely able to stay a float and eventually also made it ashore where the moose exited the lake. Then the road crew said, "it's not over, the grizzly will keep following the moose knowing that the mother moose will bed down her little one to rest at some point, and then the grizzly will have his prize." Well, if that didn't upset me to hear that!!!
As I mentioned I have other stories...one night in Valdez I found out what I'm made of, after a black bear encounter at our camp site while I was cooking chilli. I scared the dickens out of the bear AND my family :), another story...another time.
A hard to beat camping experience ever was one we had by Lake Kluane, Kluane Nat'l Park Reserve, Yukon. While we camped alone by lakes edge in grizzly country, in a huge shore side campsite, with bonfire ablaze, red sockeye salmon camp dinner, surrounded by the snow covered Kluane mountain range, with sun reflecting off the mountains and reflecting over the perfectly calm, glassy waters of the lake, we were spellbound by an awesome sunset. It was indeed perfection at it's best! We will return to Lake Kluane!
In my younger years I traveled around on organized bus tours (I started traveling at age 18). One trip was a 3 + week camping trip through Australia...On a hot summer night we were lead by a ranger on a walking tour close by the banks of a crocodile infested river..shining our flash lights upon dozens of crocodile eyes lined up along the banks. That same night swimming nearby in a palm tree edged fresh water lagoon under the stars. Latter during the night while sleeping under the stars in sleeping bags, water buffalo wandered through our campsite, we all ran for cover some people dived under the back of the tour bus :). It was a vacation I'll never forget, we climbed Ayers Rock/Uluru (I had to be rescued from the top), slept once again under the stars near Ayers Rock listening to the Dingoes howling through the night, experienced the wilderness beauty of Kakadu National Park, NT, boat tour to an Island off the coast of Darwin, toured Mt. Isa miles, Qld, (wearing a hard hat), visited the underground Opal town of Cooper Pedy, SA (worth checking out via the net, if you're interested, photos of underground homes/living). Much to tell of my Australian travels (my home land).
My family (husband and three children) enjoyed the summer of 1997 in Australia. A special trip, because it was the first time my Australian family had seen us as a family of five. We had last lived in Australia almost 11 years prior to that, as a family of 4. Our first child was born in the US, the second in Australia, the third in the US. I generally make solo trips back home. During that summer, we rented a car and traveled up and down the east zigzagging between the outback and the coast. We visited Undara Lava Tubes, Queensland (longest and largest lava tube system in the world) The founder of The Australian Geographic Society, said:...The Lava tubes are one of the great wonders of our planet, that once channelled molten lava, and which are now big enough to drive a road train through, and long enough to bring them to the attention of scientists around the world. Many scientists find it odd that such a fascinating geological formation has come under intense study only in the past two decades...it shows that remote Australia still harbours secrets for future generations to reveal. (check out web sites under Undara Lava Tubes, Queensland, for info and photos...unique place!). Little commentary there :). We also visited, Cape Tribulation National Park, where the rainforest meets the sea along a stretch of sandy beaches and rocky headlands, beautiful! Daintree National Park where many animals such as Bennett's tree kangaroo are unique to the area and they share the rainforest with the cassowary, the Cairns birdwing butterfly, the giant atlas moth, and more than 35,000 species of orchid!...in the Daintree forest, board-like, stabilizing buttress roots anchor tall trunks in the shallow soil. The North Queensland wet tropics are wildly and spectacularly beautiful. We were fortunate to see the shy platypus in a secluded billabong while walking through a rainforest, what excitement that was :). A full day big boat tour was enjoyed around the Whitsunday Island Group (Great Barrier Reef), with a stopover on Daydream Island, Hamilton Island, and gorgeous Whitsunday Island...where the boat anchored a long way off shore and you had a choice of swimming ashore and back, or a dinghy ride. As I stood on the boat watching my son (9 years of age) and husband swimming back to the boat from the shore (the only fools to brave the swim), I feared my son would drown or they would succumb a shark attack (my husband always says that I have to find something to worry about). My son tiring as he got close, was cheered on by all the tourists on board the boat, finally with a roaring cheer from the tourists and helping hands pulling the "boys" up onto the boat, the "boys" stood exhausted and said, "that was great!"...I captured it all on video. My son was so proud of himself! During our 1997 Aussie trip we also visited many National Parks (our passion). One morning en-route on our travels in New South Wales, we called ahead to the Warrumbungle National Park, as we were interested in staying in one of their two cabins. Fortunately, a Ranger informed us that both cabins were still available, but, we would need to pick up the keys from the Rangers office in Coonabarabran, 33 kilometres west of the park (if we made it there in time before the office closed). After a full day of driving/exploring, north, towards Coonabarabran, we arrived at the Rangers office right on closing time...whew! The Ranger told us that we were the only visitors to the park at that time and would be totally alone overnight in the 21,543 hectare park. Cool! After driving through the park up to a high point, and spotting unique wildlife along the way, we watched a beautiful sunset over the Warrumbungle Range before settling into our cabin. Stepping out onto the stone front door steps in the morning we were greeted by kangaroos, what an awesome experience for our kids. While entertained by the roos, I enjoyed taking lots of photos of kids w/roos :). These roos were obviously used to breakfast hand outs from visitors staying in the cabins. We must have been a disappointment to the roos as we didn't feed them, we never feed wildlife. We had a great time at Warrumbungle, and further up the Newell Highway at Mt. Kaputar National Park...great memories, great trip!
I've been blessed with many wonderful travel adventures around the world...ALL most memorable to me!

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?

ALL around Scandinavia. Caribbean, Ireland (almost went there once), Tahiti, Bora-Bora, Fraser Island - Australia, and an outback camping adventure up and down the West of Australia...also a Transcontinental train trip on the Indian Pacific across the Nullarbor Plain, southern Australia. Lots more National Parks yet to explore (crossing them off one by one in our National Park Pass Books). Would also like to return to many places I've already been too, especially National Parks.

Who would you take with you on that vacation?

My family of course, I'd go it alone if I had too, or with anyone who would like to finance the travels...any offers?

Where are you planning to vacation this year?

Only trips planned out/confirmed so far, from April, are:... a camping weekend on Hunting Island, S.C. the weekend before I head out on a 5 week vacation in Europe:... Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France. Twenty seven year reunion/staying with friends in the Netherlands. Traveling between countries on the fast trains, and all around Switzerland on trains, buses, trams, and steam boats, will see many areas new to me...staying in a chalet with friends in the Appenzell area for "Alpaufzug"...the farmers take the cattle to the alpine pastures, dressed in traditional costumes and carrying huge cow bells, they will take a trail passing by our chalet...should be interesting. One morning we are going to hike for one hour, then take a cable car to the top of a mountain (behind the mountain where we will be staying) and eat breakfast in a restaurant with views over the Alps. I'm looking forward to all the mountain hiking, and cycling, I'll be doing. I'll also be traveling with my Swiss friends, by train, to the south of Switzerland and staying in the Italian Mountain Region of Switzerland (way excited about that!). Love Switzerland! Also looking forward to the day of travel from Zurich - Aix-En-Provence (TGV train trip), part of the leg of that trip will be from Zurich - Geneva. I've always wanted to see the countryside between Zurich - Geneva.

Then...always save the best for last...get ready Steelmans to throw prawns, and burgers, on the barbie (great tucker), and have a tinny or 2,...two Dinkum Aussie's heading your way soon,...we'll have a rippa of a time...and that's fairdinkum mates!

Translation: Steelmans, stock up on shrimp and beer 'cause me and Kylie don't want any of that stinkin' foie gras and Pastis <haha> ;-)

Thanks so much everyone! Stand by for a new questionnaire coming your way soon!

click here to e-mail me your answers or I'll keep begging!