My Previous Travels

A common question I’m asked is, “What states have you already been to?” I went on several family trips. We never flew, it was always camping for a few days and hit the road again. That’s the better way to go. So let’s see…

1988 – Our family drove to Washington D.C. where we stayed with my Great Aunt Marion. I don’t have many memories. We saw all the D.C. monuments and my brother and I especially loved the Washington Monument. I vaguely remember being at the top and looking out… of course I had to be lifted up to see anything, I was only five. I also remember my great aunt’s neighbor who gave my brother and I a fun box of little toys. The saddest part of the trip is I was in the bath when the fireworks were going off, and everyone else got to see them from the apartment window. Darn. The other random thing I remember is this one car that was broken down, with the hood popped and steam coming out. We had arrived just after a terrible storm and there were branches all over the roads. I was still just a young boy when my great aunt passed away, but her legacy lives on. She was an amazing woman.

1990 – A camping trip out to Yellowstone National Park. Oddly I remember even less of this trip. But there were lots of cool things to see… Mount Rushmore, Devil’s Tower, Wall Drug, and hundreds of elk in Wyoming. I think there was a moose at some point too. And at some point on the trip there were these obnoxious bullfrogs where we were camping. They were so loud it was hard to sleep. My brother and I would get sick of all the site seeing. Oddly enough, especially with my photography, that’s what I love to do now. All my brother and I wanted to do was go to K.O.A. campgrounds and play in the arcade that several of them had.

1993 & 1997 – The family heads to Boston, MA. We took the Canada route which was terrific. Hmmm I’m not remembering much. That’s why these things have to be documented as they happened. Which I’m sure my parents did a great job of. Once again I was only 10 at this point. My uncle had a organ recital just outside of Boston. He works for an amazing company that builds some of the world’s largest pipe organs. We got to tour the factory. Impressive! The second trip was for his wedding. The highlight of the wedding was the chocolate covered strawberries, I think it was the first time I had them. Boston had some great things to see. We took a train into the city and followed the big red line that brings you to all the historical points. But the coolest thing… The Boston Garden. I remember being in a pro shop and seeing an autographed Wayne Gretzky helmet. I think it was $300, bummer. And I still swear by it that I walked by Larry Bird when we were leaving. And the highlight of highlights… going to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. I could write a lot about that, but I’ll save that for another time. It was one of the best times of my childhood.

As my brother and I entered high school the long road trips became short ones, with summer jobs and all. We went to the Mall of America in Minnesota and Wisconsin Dells. But in college my travels picked up even more. -xo