I've been out for a bit and am back. To answer your question, that is easy:

Diego Garcia, BIOT. 1998. 6 weeks of paradise. It was a military TDY (temporary duty assignment). LOVED IT. Oh yeah, when they say use your 29 SPF sun tan lotion, they aren't playing around. Only 7 degrees below the equator and it is quite hot. Aruba, Jamaica...whatever...the Beach Boys obviously never went to DG.

awesome! he enjoyed your conversations

Our favorite vacation was in Nashua last week where we met Dale and some other remarkable people. :-)
We had hoped to meet you too?

What a beautiful picture!

Minnie Puck! I have had many wonderful adventures. However, nothing compares to your night in the volcano!,,
I went down in the Ubehebe crator in Death Valley, but with much difficulty, came up the sane day.

Too many to choose from, like the global circumnavigation in 1977, or the jaunt through Australia in 2007, or the European tour of 2014 through England, Germany, Netherlands, France, Switzerland. Our best-documented trip was in 2009 through the fabulous American Southwest that several others here have also referenced. See my lengthy tweeted diary here: www.gamepuzzles.com/ipptrip09.htm -- lots of photos.

For me it would be a toss up between two different vacations.

First one was Hawaii in 1985. I was in the service and stationed there. My parents had claimed they were going to come visit all throughout my enlistment. Oddly enough when I was in HI instead of Korea in winter, or Okinawa in summer, they decided that was where they should come visit. Not only that, they brought along my grandparents as well. Saw the sights, and were awed by the beauty of the islands outside of Honolulu. A wonderful vacation all around. The last vacation my grandparents were able to take unfortunately, so bittersweet in some ways.

The second was Vegas in 2000. Wife and kids on that one. Flew out of NH through a snowstorm to land in NV with no snow in sight :) What we did was in the morning one of us picked something to do or see, in the afternoon someone else got to pick. We did that every day we were there, so that everyone got to pick stuff they wanted to do or see. The kids talked about that one for years. Everyone enjoyed it.

P.S. Took the long tour of the dam, well worth it. A very impressive piece of engineering and construction, especially since it was the 30s.

my draft number was 10, but I was already in rotc
and receiving fed dollars for some school expenses.
may your future lottery numbers be luckier!!! -- j
.

I just wish that I could post some of the photos here,
without bordering on the "ignore" category! -- j
.

I've read some of his writings about his time in Hawai'i and enjoyed them. In part, it's what made me want to explore the rest of the island while we were there. We went to the little towns and met some locals. Many of them set up fruit stands in their front yards. Lots of people trying to find a way to make ends meet.

db made me go so many times I spent the last two trips in the car reading with my terriers lol

Me too. Hiked down into it. Even found a tooth from one of the bits they used trying to find the remains of the meteor.

which email? I'll PM you

Thanks for being there when needed, john.
I missed that party thanks to a lucky draft lottery number. Its the only good lottery number I have had.

wow. sounds like a blast of visual wonder

Oh WoW! . I spent six months in Thailand, one night!
from Nov 72 to june 73 with Curtis LeMay's Silly Air
Circus. -- j
.

She was out of town until yesterday. I emailed her phone number to you. Did I manage to type it incorrectly ?

wife K and I went on a cruise in 09 from Vancouver
to Juneau to Ketchikan, to Skagway, back to
Vancouver and then by bus to Penticton, B.C. and
then to Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Butte,
Montana and Salt Lake City. . then we rented
an HHR and drove to Napa, SF, Carmel and
Monterey, to Yosemite and back to Salt Lake.
she had never seen any of these spots and
I had seen some -- bucket list for both of us!
film at eleven. . That Was A Trip!!! -- j
.

I have looked for her everyday. to no avail :(

That Is One Gorgeous Photo, Kaila!!! -- j
.

To give credit where credit is due, much of the pleasure and excitement came from my companion(s) and the people I met on the journey.

BTW, my companion in Europe was the person I mentioned in a recent email to you, kh.

I'm going on vacation with YOU

thanks for the links drive

I can't choose one place or experience as a favorite. The company or lack of company (travel freedom) has a big effect on the experience, too.
The best experiences for me:

- Six weeks exploring Western Europe by train
highlighted by
-La Boheme at Vienna State Opera,
-wine tasting in Beaune (Marché aux Vins touristy but fun cave experience that led to an all night dinner with couples from Canada and Australia- we were all dying to speak English for a change) and Reims (Champagne),
-catching a midnight train in Dijon (like a scene from a movie, racing the moving train to the end of the platform and barely jumping on board)
-eating fresh baked goods every morning and fresh produce for lunch on the go in Paris
- finding the leather goods market in Firenze Italy at the perfect time to replace my companion's lost gloves
- in Dijon Museum seeing a 18th century painting of a merchant with a striking resemblance to me. Not remarkable, you say? My companion had told me on the flight from the US that it would happen.
- searching for and finding a unique coat of arms in Bellinzona
- soaring arches and dome architecture
- Michelangelo's David and Pieta
- Venice
- Lake Thun
- biggest disappointment, the Hanna and Barbera quality of the Sistine Chapel ceiling


- A year seeing Australia by car (part camping, part visiting new friends, some resorts) highlighted by: wine tasting in Hunter, Yarra, Bendigo, Pyrenees, Barossa, Clare, and McLaren Vale regions. Too many glorious experiences to detail. Australia is an amazing place with most welcoming people.

- A month traveling Thailand (including a populist political uprising)

- Five months experiencing Honduras (considering relocation there)

- Diving the Barrier Reef (and coming face to face with a 600 lb Grouper while solo snorkeling a wreck)

- Wine tasting (and buying) trip in Napa and Sonoma, staying at winery guest houses

That is great. Have you read Mark Twain's account of being in that volcano?

awesome! what an adventure