Thankful Me

  The view from a car driving along Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys: the road disappears on the horizon, and water is on both sides of the road My husband recently re-retired, and we are front-loading travel. My #AtoZChallenge posts this year will explore our adventures--some pre-retirement, some post. Today's location: the [Florida] Keys. Driving the Florida Keys was something I had wanted to do since childhood. I don't remember exactly where I first heard about the Overseas Highway--perhaps in a Childcraft Encyclopedia or in the Weekly Reader--but the idea of a highway going over water intrigued me. I was curious if the actual experience would match with my mental image. The answer was, yes, at least for the span of the Seven Mile Bridge. The highway goes through the keys (islands) as well, so that part of the drive seems like any other road on land.  We started our trip down the keys with a snorkeling trip off of Key Largo with Silent World Dive Center . I would defin...

A sign on a brick wall marks the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park My husband recently re-retired, and we are front-loading travel. My #AtoZChallenge posts this year will explore our adventures—some pre-retirement, some post. Today’s location: Joshua Tree National Park. Because we lived for years in a place where Joshua trees grew, literally in our backyard, I didn’t feel the need to explore Joshua Tree National Park. In the same way my reticence to Death Valley National Park gave way to interest, Joshua Tree National Park proved to exceed expectations. Joshua trees dot the sandy landscape as the sun sets in the distance If you aren’t familiar with Joshua trees, the best description I know is that they look like something out of a Dr. Suess book, as if little yucca plants were growing from the ends of thick contorted branches of a single-trunked tree. Of course, with Joshua trees being in the park’s name, they are a highlight of this national park, but a different plant there reall...

  The Trevi Fountain at nighttime My husband recently re-retired, and we are front-loading travel. My #AtoZChallenge posts this year will explore our adventures--some pre-retirement, some post. Today's location: Italy! Italy is beautiful, whether you are up north near Lake Como, riding a gondola in Venice, visiting the bustling Naples, touring the ancient ruins in Rome, or enjoying the stunning Amalfi Coast. For the purpose of this post, I'll share photos from our most recent visit (2023), which was centered in Rome.  One thing that is so amazing to me in Rome is that ruins are everywhere! We stumbled across this ancient theater on our way somewhere else. If something like this were in the United States, it would be a major attraction; in Rome, it is just one of many buildings. There was no admission fee, and although we could not go inside, we were free to wander around the grassy setting.  The Theatre of Marcellus is on the left, the columnar remains of the Temple of Ap...

  The brick Mark Twain Diner and the Mississippi River in the background My husband recently re-retired, and we are front-loading travel. My #AtoZChallenge posts this year will explore our adventures--some pre-retirement, some post. Today's location: Hannibal, Missouri. Hannibal's big claim to fame is that Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, grew up in the town. Several of the places mentioned in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn can be visited in Hannibal, making the books come to life.  Mark Twain's boyhood home has been made into a museum. Of course, the rooms hold many displays of artifacts from Samuel Clemens' life, including this sweet photo of two adults whose caption reads: "Laura Hawkins Frazer, my first sweetheart. I was 7 & she was 5." A photo of Samuel Clemens with Laura Hawkins Frazer, the person who inspired the character of Becky Thatcher One of the most charming aspects of it is the white painted fence that sur...

  The Gateway Arch towers over the trees in the foreground My husband recently re-retired, and we are front-loading travel. My #AtoZChallenge posts this year will explore our adventures--some pre-retirement, some post. Today's location: Gateway Arch National Park. When I think of national parks, I most often envision vast areas of wilderness. Gateway Arch National Park is smack dab in St. Louis, Missouri--hardly a wilderness. The main feature of the park isn't a natural wonder, but rather a man-made monument. Not only is it an engineering marvel, though, it also stands as a symbol of the westward movement that shaped the nation.  The visitor's center houses a wonderful museum that documents various pioneer movements, as well as the history of the arch itself.  This exhibit houses an 1840 edition of The Book of Mormon, as well as replica gold coins This sign talks about the history of skyscrapers While the museum is definitely top-notch, one of the main draws of the Gatewa...

  The view of Port Stanley from the water. Christ Church Cathedral stands as the tallest building. My husband recently re-retired, and we are front-loading travel. My #AtoZChallenge posts this year will explore our adventures--some pre-retirement, some post. Today's location: Falkland Islands. I'm old enough to remember the war in the Falklands, but being able to learn more about it while on the island made it really come to life to me. The population of the Falkland Islands is only around 3500 people. (The sheep and penguin population is higher that that, I think.) The islanders overwhelmingly favor their designation as a British Overseas Territory. To wake up one morning to foreign troops taking over their little island must have been quite a shock! With British help, the war was over relatively soon, but 74 days of occupation had to have felt much longer at the time.  There is an excellent museum in Stanley (the Falkland Islands only town) that is a must-see. A short film g...

A yellow and red tulip pops up out of the ground It's been a few weeks since I've written a Ten Things of Thankful post, but as always, my lack of participation does not indicate a lack of gratitude. Let me try to catch up a bit: 1. I'm thankful for my grandchildren, who were able to come and stay with us during their spring break. We had so much fun! We had our own early Easter celebration by dyeing eggs and having an Easter egg hunt. We read stories--so many stories--together. We played games. We visited John's parents. We cooked and baked. We visited indoor playgrounds. We worshipped together. We attended a church social. I loved hearing the kids playing on the piano and trumpet. I'm probably forgetting things, but trust me, we had a full, busy, fun week! Youngest granddaughter shows off the blue princess dress up costume 2. I'm thankful for adventure. On our way to pick up the grandchildren, John and I stopped at Death Valley National Park. On the way home a...

  The sun rises on the horizon at the glamping campground at Everglades National Park My husband recently re-retired, and we are front-loading travel. My #AtoZChallenge posts this year will explore our adventures--some pre-retirement, some post. Today's location: Everglades National Park. I think I was expecting the everglades to be a vast, dark swampland, with tall trees dripping with hanging moss, but that isn't what I found. As you can see from the photo at the top of this post, Everglades National Park has vast areas of low-growing grasses and shrubs. Yes, there is water--lots of shallow water--but the swamplands are not dark and scary, but rather filled with sunshine and lots of water birds and other critters.  To be honest, Everglades National Park is one of the largest national parks, and we did not explore all of the over 1.5 million acres, so perhaps there is a dark, scary swamp, but that wasn't our experience. We chose to stay in a glamping tent. It had a comforta...