What makes a trip a favorite? I think it's some combination of the experience, memories, location, and emotions you take home.
There are five trips I consider my best of all time (as of 2021): our honeymoon, Colorado Springs, Central America, GRABAAWR; and Mission Point.
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| Guess what day this is? 1/26/1985 (Chris Scholl) |
Honeymoon After spending the wedding night at a Bed & Breakfast in Adel, Iowa in the home where Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller grew up, we attended church in the morning then drove to Kansas City.
The Ice Skating National Championships were in town and as part of the city's celebration there were horse-drawn carriage rides in the city's famous Fountain Square. We enjoyed the ride under the hanging Christmas lights then ate at a steak house. We toured the city zoo, which is when I discovered my bride didn't like exhibits with free-flying birds.
It was a wonderful way to begin life together, we had a great time then went home to our apartment over Mickey's department store on the Osceola square.
Colorado Springs Half-way through my career selling insurance and placing investments with clients for Aid Association for Lutherans (now Thrivent Financial) I earned a trip to a sales conference. It was my third. Conferences feature inspirational speakers, free time to enjoy the sights or relax by the pool, and we also heard about our products.
The Colorado Springs conference was at the Broadmoor Hotel, our room had view of Pike's Peak. Our whole family went and the boys were old enough to look after themselves for short periods of time. Mark and I took the train to the top of Pikes Peak and saw sunshine, the city of Colorado Springs below us, and then snow on top of the mountain.
It was one of the best family trips ever.
Central America While working at KELO-TV, I was chosen to go with a Governor's delegation to Panama and Honduras for a story on the exercises of the state's National Guard.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience starting with the 13 hour flight from Ellsworth Air Base to Panama City on a C-130. We stayed in a nice hotel downtown with open hallways. It's the first place I had sushi (I figured it couldn't get fresher than eating it between two oceans).
On day three we flew into Tegucigalpa, Honduras where young men were stationed by planes on the tarmac holding what looked like M-16 rifles.
The hotel in Honduras provided a stark look at the chasm between rich and poor. While the hotel was high-end with its own casino, out the window on an opposite hill were shanties in a slum.
It was unforgettable and a terrific professional experience.
GRABAAWR It's an acronym which stands for GReat Annual Bicycle Adventure Along the Wisconsin River. It's a 500-mile ride over seven days which started in Eagle River, Wisconsin where we rode north to the headwaters of the river and ended in Prairie du Chien where it emptied into the Mississippi.
I did the ride three times and it was marvelous. We averaged 80 miles a day (100 on the first day of the ride) staying in communities along the river. Most of the 800 riders camped at the high school, either in tents on a practice field or in sleeping bags resting on air mattresses inside the gym. I slept in the gym with 400 of my closest friends.
We were up early every morning and on the road before six. I usually made it to the destination by 2 and after showering took a shuttle bus into town to watch a movie since the school's weren't air conditioned. We climbed hills and chowed down on homemade food offered by church groups along the trip. I made several good friends (like Ed) and enjoyed all there was in the great outdoors.
It was the kind of trip I always dreamed of taking.
Mission Point As we began traveling around the Great Lakes to photograph lighthouses it became a goal of ours to live and work in a lighthouse.
We did that in Mission Point north of Traverse City, Michigan. It was fun running the lighthouse for a week and experiencing the lighthouse in different kinds of weather and at different times of day.
The night I climbed into the lantern room and turned off my flashlight I looked to the heavens where I saw more than a thousand stars revealed in a quiet and majestic way the glory of God's creation.
We enjoyed it together, laughed our way through the less fun aspects of the job, and checked it off our bucket list.
There have been plenty of memorable trips and interesting adventures through the years. The most excellent adventure might be life itself.
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