The other major thing I love is TRAVEL! As a family, we've gone on many summer driving vacations over the years -- exploring the continental United States, visiting and camping in state and national parks and forests along the way. (I love many kinds of outdoor recreation, including hiking, backpacking, skiing, sailing, and SCUBA diving.) Our family has also been fortunate enough to visit to places like London, Edinburgh, Quebec, and Hong Kong. 

An example of the sort of domestic travel we enjoy: at the end of May 2005, we spent three days exploring a small section of northern California. I've always loved oceans and mountains -- perhaps because they're such a change of pace from my usual Midwestern prairie surroundings. Some day we'll concentrate on exploring San Francisco itself -- this time, we drove north from the city along Hwy 1, a route which provided lots of scenic views and long stretches of beach to walk on. 

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In addition to seeing the Pacific, two of my other goals for this particular trip were to walk among giant redwood trees for the first time in my life, and ride in a hot air balloon. We stopped at a couple of state and national parks in search of trees, and were not disappointed. Giant coastal redwoods are awe-inspiring, in the truest sense of the word. I had expected them to be tall, but hadn't anticipated the solemn quiet of a redwood grove. The ground is carpeted in pine needles, and the trunks of the trees are so thick and rough-textured that they soak up sound as if they were acoustical tile. And the noise of wind rustling through the treetops is a long, long way overhead.

As for hot air balloons -- what fun! The motion was smoother than an elevator, and the view was spectacular. The company we rode with, "Above the Wine Country Ballooning," kept us informed about every step of the fascinating process of flying a hot air balloon.  

We watched the crew unload the basket and inflate the balloon envelope (and were invited to assist if we wished) before climbing aboard for our flight. Once we were airborne, our pilot answered questions and regaled us with stories about balloon flights and the history of the sport. When we landed, we watched the deflation of the balloon and helped stow all those yards and yards of material into an amazingly compact bundle for the return drive to our launch point.

In January 2002, we visited our daughter, who was serving in the Peace Corps in Samoa in the South Pacific. That was an amazing trip to a beautiful country, and a wonderful chance to spend time with Miriam and explore the ocean nearby. 

In February 2000, my husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary with a trip for just the two of us -- to Fiji! In addition to relaxing in our island bure (a cozy cottage) and enjoying lots of fantastic food and the company of wonderful people, I spent a lot of time below the surface of the lagoon, exploring the fantastic coral reefs.

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