I actually like to read other's travel experiences just to get a feel for what I thought may be a place to see only to find out that it is more hype than what I'd hoped for. I enjoy absorbing the cultures but the world is getting smaller and every place seems so similar (or am I just getting used to what I had romantically thought was so different). I don't care for crowded touristy places unless it's something really worth visiting (like the Sistine Chapel or Pompeii). Mostly it's people, foods, their stories, history, architecture, and scenery that make travel fun!
For 2007 my recent trips did include crowds. I let Eric talk me into a trip to Las Vegas in March, it was well worth it. And in June 2007, a trip to New York City with my friend Janet!
My most recent foreign trip was to Chile in November 2006. What a beautiful country, I was very impressed with the sweetness of the people, the scenery, and clean subway system and interesting architecture in Santiago. We will forever be grateful to our host and his gracious family for sharing this time and their vacation home in Frutilar with us. I got a good taste of the Chilean life with wine tours, seaside tours, country and city road trips.
On a political note: Please do not support the poaching and sale of Chilean Sea Bass - it is an endangered species.
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Like many people, I enjoy exploring new places. In 2006, most trips were local but fun such as Los Angeles, Sausalito and San Francisco. For summer of 2005, it was a trip to lovely southern Oregon for a family reunion and lovely Crater Lake with my mother and sister. I've traveled through 14 countries just in 2002 alone, of course that was an extraordinary year. There are a few more trails we've crossed since then - Ballooning and wine tasting in Sonoma and Napa in early Spring, relaxing in Mendocino in time for the Botanical Gardens to show off the Rhododendrums in bloom, fun in the sun on Maui with friends, hiking in the summers and skiing in the winters.
Eric and I enjoyed a relaxing trip through Sonoma and Napa Valleys in April 2004. This trip was worth noting in a slide show with it's own page.
Who knows what adventures there will be next?
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Eric and I took an anniversary get away to Mazatlan, Mexico. A city with a beauty of it's own when you find a place away from the touristy crowds. I recommend looking for a place as far north as you can--the views and beauty are worth it and the shrimp are large and tasty. This place has the longest beaches I've ever seen and more vendors than you can say "no gracias" to!
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In 2002, we took a trip to Europe - this page has a
narrative and slide
show of our tour.
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Like the Pacific Northwest? This was a wonderful trip! If you are ever in the Tahoe area and need to rent a house, (and my friends do not just rent to anyone), this is a cozy favorite hide away. http://www.home.earthlink.net/~reinnes
