There's never enough time (or money) to travel, but I do it when I can!
I lived in California for three years, and during that time I had the chance to travel all over the state. (There is certainly a lot to see and do there!) Some of the places I visited include
- State parks: I visited Big Basin Redwoods State Park many times, since it was only 45 minutes from my house. Great hiking and a great place to take visitors to see redwood trees up close and personal. I also spent a couple of days at Humboldt Redwoods State Park in Northern California, which also had some great hiking, swimming holes, and camping. (The famous Avenue of the Giants runs through this park.)
- National parks. California has a number of
national parks, all of which are spectacular. Here are the ones I've spent some time in:
- Yosemite National Park. We never made it here when we were actually living in California, which is a shame. But we did make a special trip back to California in the summer of 2005 to spend some time there. Michel has pictures on his website.
- Pinnacles National Monument. One of my favorite hiking spots in California.
- Lassen Volcanic National Park. Michel and I spent a few days here in the summer of 2003. Great hiking and spectacular views (and snow!). Michel has some pictures from this trip on his web site.
- Lava Beds National Monument. This was also part of our camping trip in the summer of 2003. The big attractions at this park are the caves and the petroglyphs. The desert-ish scenery is stunning too. (See the link in the previous bullet for pictures.)
- Sonoma Wine Country. I prefer Sonoma to Napa because it has more of the small-town feel to it (Napa seems too much like a shopping mall). This was a favorite spot for our visitors (and just for us, too!).
- Monterey. The town is great for just walking around, and it's close to the famous 17 Mile Drive. My favorite spot here is the Monterey Bay Aquarium, one of the best aquariums in the country. Michel and I also went whale-watching off the coast of Monterey...it was cold, but definitely worth it!
- Mendocino, a quaint little coastal town that looks like it should be in New England.
- San Diego: I spent a (cold!) weekend in La Jolla, but I did get to spend some time at the beach watching the seals and at the San Diego Zoo.
- And, of course, San Francisco!
I've taken a few trips outside of the US as well. My first trip abroad was to Belize for my honeymoon. Michel and I spent 17 days there, scuba-diving, hiking, and visiting the many Mayan ruins. Other than Michel's bout with Dengue fever, it was a wonderful trip! I've also been to Cairns and Sydney, Australia, and Dominica, a small island in the Eastern Caribbean. Of the three places (Belize, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, and Dominica), Dominica had by far the best diving (and the hiking was pretty spectacular too!)
We've also taken a few trips to Europe together. The first one was in March of 2005. We spent 9 days there, splitting our time between Barcelona and Paris. We took lots of pictures while we were there. Unfortunately, Michel was sick the entire time we were in Paris. We've figured out that every time he plans the big trips, he gets sick, whereas if I plan them, he's fine. So I guess this means I'm the travel planner from now on.
The latest European adventure was to Glasgow, Scotland in June of 2007. I had to present a paper at a conference, and took Michel and Yasmin along for the ride. Of course, we have pictures!