Yellowstone 2021
The Payoff
In late September 2021 Kathy and I traveled west ultimately to visit Yellowstone National Park. We traveled for a little over a week ( barely enough time). We visited 9 states, 3 National Parks (actually we entered a fourth one), and 3 national monuments. Here’s a sprinkling:
Moab 2020
In late May 2020, Kathy and I decided to road trip to Moab Utah and enjoy the spring weather there. This was the height of the initial phases of the Pandemic, and we didn’t know what to expect, but it turned out to be a great trip. We took my pickup truck and although it was a long 1500 mile drive, it was fairly pleasant. We stopped late the first night in Denver on a cold night to an empty Marriott.
Southern Rwanda
Southern Rwanda and the Kings Village - The day after we arrived in Rwanda we traveled south through the countryside to see the way the people live. It’s very lush and green and mountainous, and the people live in small villages and farm the land around them by hand. We saw so many happy faces - kids going to school in uniforms - folks riding bikes up and down the mountains - people hauling water. After a few hours we went to a national history museum and visited the ancient king’s village - which included reproductions of the King’s hut and his first “palace”
The hillsides were covered with terraced farmland - most of the people seemed to work in the fields.
Kigali
Our home base for the trip would be the Serena Hotel in Kigali, the capital city in Rwanda. Rwanda is a tiny landlocked country in Eastern Africa. It is surrounded by much larger countries: Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Tanzania, and huge lake Victoria. We didn’t know what to expect - we knew Rwanda was the home of a terrible genocide in 1994 where almost 1 million people were killed in a terrible 6 weeks of violence.
Akagera National Park
We left Laure in Kigali to work and the rest of us went to Akagera in hopes of seeing what an African safari is all about. It was a long drive from the city, but we passed through many colorful villages along the way.
Africation 2016
Africation 2016 - In 2015, my sister Laure was working in Africa and talked about a trip she took to see the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. She said that she, Nick and Alex were going to go back there at spring break the next year so they could see them.
Ever since seeing the 1988 movie Gorillas in the Mist I wanted to see the mountain gorillas. So on the spot we decided to go with them. We called the adventure “Africation”. It turned out to be an epic trip of adventure and discovery. We learned about people and places and the terrible not so long ago history of the Rwandan genocide and how the country recovered from it.
And you can’t go to Africa without a safari, so we extended to another week in Tanzania - visiting one of the wonders of the world, Ngorogoro crater, and topping it all off with a few days in Serengeti National Park.
There are several pages of pictures:
Yellowstone by Air 2011
Yellowstone 2011
Lots of pictures below - please be patient loading
Our Flying “road trip”
So our son Drew was finishing his first year of college at Indiana University and he decided to spend the summer with my brother Chris in Seattle Washington, rather than coming home.
Chicago 2008
We went to Chicago for a long weekend at spring break in April 2008. We stayed at the Hyatt in downtown and had a really nice view from our window:
Philadelphia and Niagara 2007
On the banks of the Shenandoa River
Washington and New York
In August of 2001 we took a family vacation to visit Aunt Laure, Uncle Ulrich and Cousin Alex in D.C.. In Washington we went to Mount Vernon, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (where they make paper money, among other things) and the falls of the Potomac. One highlight of the trip was a two day trip to New York City where we stayed at the Marriott Hotel next to the World Trade Center. The trip included a trip to the American History Museum, Central Park, Times Square and the Statue of Liberty. The weather was beautiful, and we topped it off with a trip to the top of the World Trade Center - The date was 8-18-01, just three weeks before the terrorist attacks.
Two Days Aboard USS Enterprise
The chance of a lifetime: two days aboard the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Kings Island 2000
On 7-2-00 we went to King’s Island
with Cousin Alex, Aunt Laure, Grandma Judy and Grandpa Art. We had lots of fun.
Lindsey and Audrey getting ready for the day:
Vancouver 2018
It was a beautiful place to work and visit, and I had a great time, and met some really nice folks. In August, Kathy and the kids came out and we toured and hiked around the area. Here are some pictures:
Here’s the shipyard I worked in, I took this picture from a helicopter ride I took down to Vancouver Island. I worked most of the year in the gray office building below, which was brand new and really nice. The “Big Blue” crane in the background is actually quite large, and prominent in the North Vancouver skyline. In front of it is one of the Coast Guard Vessels under construction.
Tucson Dude Ranch
Photos of our trip to Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson Arizona in July 2008
Tanque Verde Ranch is guest “dude ranch” located about 15 minutes outside of Tucson, Arizona in desert at the foot of the Rincon Mountains. We went for 6 days in July 2008 and had a great time. Tucson is hot in the summer, and surprisingly it was very rainy at the beginning of our stay, however, the place is absolutely stunning and the ranch is one of the best.
Jacksonville 2001
On the weekend of February 17th, 2001 we all went down to Jacksonville, Florida for a long weekend to attend the wedding of one of Kathy’s hometown friends. We had a hotel on the beach, and although it was cold and somewhat windy, we had a good time.
Hawaii 2006
Hawaii
We went to Hawaii in January 2006 to see the whales, relax and have fun. We stayed at the Marriott Wailea on Maui, which was great.
One night we went to a Luau: