Trips

We spent a month hopping between Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. We did some snorkeling, less hiking, and spent a lot of time at the beach. The islands were beautiful, temperatures were in the 80s, and a constant breeze kept things comfortable.

29 days in Sydney, Hobart, Melbourne, the red centre, and Cairns. Cities, coastline, beaches, rainforest, desert. Sightseeing, hiking, snorkeling, tours. Part of a trip that included New Zealand.

24 days of snorkeling and hanging out at the beach on Caye Caulker, Tobacco Caye, and Placencia, with a little hiking and wildlife thrown in at the zoo and the rainforest. One big surprise: the food! We expected lots of rice and beans. It was so much more than that.

We may have found our ideal Costa Rica itinerary: wildlife viewing (this time at  Monteverde again) sandwiched in between beach time. And we have two candidates for go-to beach destinations in this hemisphere: Cahuita and Samara. We also hit Montezuma again along with Playa Grande and Arenal for some hot springs.

Two weeks of Costa Rican highlights: the cloud forests near Santa Elena, rainforests in Manuel Antonio and Drake Bay, and the beaches and restaurants near Ojochal on the southern Pacific coast.

Two weeks in Costa Rica including our second trip to Drake Bay (to visit Corcovado National Park that we missed on our first trip) along with the laid-back beach towns of Montezuma and Brasilito.

Three weeks covering the highlights of Salisbury, Bath, Oxford, the Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon, Chester, Fort William, Plockton, Edinburgh, York, and London.

Road trip! A couple weeks at the beach in Florida turned into a long weekend thanks to COVID-19, followed by a trip home via the Blue Ridge Parkway with overnights in Maggie Valley, Floyd, and Front Royal.

What was originally supposed to be a trip to three national parks ended up being just a road trip to Glacier, since the Canadian border was closed due to COVID-19. But we hit some interesting spots on the way there and the way back.

Two weeks island hopping from Naxos toThira (Santorini) to Crete, with stops in Athens at each end. Antiquities, beaches, great food, and a couple of amazing hikes.

Greece is open! This was my fifth trip to Greece — it's my favorite place to travel! — and our second trip together. We spent a month island hopping among the beautiful beaches, charming villages, and ancient sites of Lindos, Rhodes Town, Amorgos, Milos, Folegandros, and Santorini. With some hiking and delicious Greek food!

Two weeks in Hawaii primarily spent on Maui and Kauai with a day of sightseeing on Oahu at the end of the trip.

Two weeks in Hawaii divided equally between the Big Island of Hawaii and Kauai. On Hawaii we hit the South Kona Coast, Volcanes National Park, and Kailua-Kona. On Kauai we spent time on both the north shore and the south shore.

A two-week trailer camping trip to Door County, Wisconsin and Tawas Point State Park on the Michigan shore of Lake Huron, two places sometimes dubbed "the Cape Cod of the Midwest." (Our take: Door County, maybe.) Plus Cheboygan State Park.

Two weeks trailer camping on the shore of Lake Michigan at Wilderness and Ludington State Parks and near the shore at Interlochen and Young State Park near Charlevoix. This is a beautiful part of the state of Michigan and camping is a great way to experience it.

Two weeks trailer camping at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan's upper peninsula, and at Petoskey and Sleeping Bear along Lake Michigan.

We combined the Natchez Trace Parkway, a road trip we’ve been wanting to do, with a couple of weeks of beach time along the Gulf of Mexico. We stopped at Franklin, Florence, Tupelo, Jackson, and Natchez on the Trace, and we split our gulf time between Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

15 days of Lord of the Rings sights on the north island in Auckland and Wellington, and natural wonders on the south island at Nelson, Dunedin, and Te Anau. Part of a trip that included Australia.

Two weeks of walking, castles, and heritage trains in North Wales (Conwy, Porthmadog, Caernarfon, and Llandudno) followed by another week of walking in Ambleside and Keswick in the Lake District. We hit Carlisle and Skipton on the way to London for a week of cultural pursuits.

Two weeks island hopping around Puerto Rico, including the outer islands of Culebra and Vieques, Old San Juan and Isla Verde in the San Juan area, and a road trip around the island to Guanica and back to see some more of Puerto Rico.

This trip was all about architecture and it did not disappoint. So many beautiful castles and cathedrals in Barcelona, Madrid (with day trips to Toledo and Segovia), Seville (with a day trip to Cádiz), Córdoba, and Granada. And of course lots of tapas!

Our goal was simply to go someplace warmer for part of the winter so we could enjoy being outdoors. We had excellent hiking at Canyon and Big Bend and enjoyed exploring Austin and San Antonio. Port Aransas had great birdwatching. And we hit Hot Springs on the way home.

Two weeks of national parks (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands) and other natural wonders like Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon followed by a couple of days of hedonism in Las Vegas.

Two weeks island hopping the US and British Virgin Islands of St Croix, St John, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke in the spring following hurricanes Irma and Maria. Snorkeling, hiking, and hitting the beach.

Two weeks hiking and sightseeing in the Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain National Parks, and Dinosaur National Monument.

Yosemite National Park was a bucket list item that includes hiking, so we wanted to do it sooner than later. Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks are nearby, as is Mono Lake so we visited those too. And we hit Santa Fe, Sedona, Death Valley and Salt Lake City on the way there and back, to break up the long drives.