My travels have taken me to many interesting and beautiful places. I didn't always have a camera, but I have the memories. These are the places and moments I remember most.
Visited 133 Countries and counting ...
Traveled to all 50 states
Visited all US territories - American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Circumnavigated the globe in two weeks - LA - London - Delhi - Dubai - Singapore - LA
Been to 226 of Lonely Planet's top 500 Places to Visit (45%)
Been to 255 of the 422 U.S. National Park Units (60%)
North America
Been to the southernmost point of the USA in Key West
Been to the northern most point of the USA at Point Barrow
Watched the Northern Lights explode in colors for hours above the Arctic Circle
Had the crab buffet at the Grand Aleutian in Unalaska
Went dogsledding on the Arctic Ocean with native Inuit
Watched the sunrise at Lake Louise in Banff
Went fishing with Alaska Natives on the Kuskokwim
Hiked into the Grand Canyon to the Havasupai Reservation
Photographed a wildflower super-bloom in Death Valley
Savored dinner at Paul Prudhomme’s eatery in New Orleans
Watched grizzlies catching salmon on Kodiak Island
Built homes with President Carter on the Cheyenne River Reservation
Attended a native Nalakatuq in Barrow Alaska complete with an Inupiat blanket toss
Attended a sun dance on the Rosebud Sioux reservation
Observed the mountains of pure jade in the Kobuk Valley in Alaska
Flew in a twin-engine Otter over the Aleutian Islands
Saw the caribou in migration at Anaktuvuk Pass in Alaska 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle
Saw the oldest homes in North America at Acoma and Taos Pueblos
Visited Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas
Went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans
Went to baseball games at Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium, etc.
Went to the Rose Garden in the White House as a Point of Light
Observed polar bears in Churchill Manitoba as they waited for the ice to freeze on Hudson Bay
Sailed through fjords of Greenland
Visited the Mayan pyramids in Mexico and Belize
Africa
Went on a safari in the Krueger National Park in South Africa
Hiked to the first basecamp on Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania
Explored South Luangwa National Park in Zambia
Saw Quiver Trees in the Namibian Desert
Traveled across the Atlas Mountains in Morocco
Went to the tip of Africa - Cape of Good Hope
Watched elephants playing in the water on the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe
Went on a water safari on the Chobe River in Botswana
Explored the temples of Luxor in Egypt
Explored the massive sand dunes in the Namibian desert at Sossusvlei
Strolled on the white sand beaches of Zanzibar (the Spice Island)
Enjoyed a tribal dance at a Maasai Village in Tanzania
Looked down from Table Mountain in the city of Cape Town
Crossed through the Sahara Desert in Morocco
Walked into King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings
Saw a shipwreck on the Skeleton Coast of Namibia
Cruised the Nile River for seven days
Went to the old night bazaar in Marrakech
Fell asleep in a Maasai hut listening to the wind whistling through Acacia trees on the savanna at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro
Visited a Himba Village in Namibia
Stayed in the Victoria Falls Hotel, built by the British in 1902 and it still maintains the elegance of the colonial period
Witnessed the migration of 2 million wildebeests and 1 million zebras from the Serengeti into the Maasai Mara
Ate in a replica of Rick's Cafe in Casablanca
Traversed the African Great Rift Valley where it is believed humankind began
Looked for black Rhinos in Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania
Watched a pride of lions hunting in the Okavango Delta in Botswana
Went on a game safari in Etosha National Park in Namibia
Traveled from one end of Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the other end
Visited the ancient fortified village of Ait Ben Haddou in Morocco
Visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in the Cote d'Ivoire
Visited the Great Pyramids of Giza
Asia
Walked on the Great Wall of China
Explored the temples of Angkor Wat
Visited the 3000 Buddhist Temples in Old Bagan Myanmar
Camped in a ger in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia
Trekked with the Hmong to a village in North Vietnam
Saw the Terra Cotta Warriors in the ancient city of Xi’an China
Visited the ancient temples in Kyoto
Marveled at the Taj Mahal at sunrise
Visited the ancient Balinese Hindi temples of Bali
Ate traditional dumplings in Shanghai
Toured the "Pink City" of Jaipur
Meandered the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul looking for bargains
Traveled to the ancient cities of Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent along the Silk Road
Experienced the Forbidden City in Beijing
Sailed through the magnificent Ha Long Bay in Viet Nam
Been to the Virgin Mary’s last home on Mt. Koressos in Turkey
Hiked in Seoraksan National Park in South Korea
Had lunch at the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore
Had dinner with an Uzbeki family in a traditional family compound
Roam through the tangled banyan roots covering the ancient ruins of Ta Prohm in Cambosia
Visited the old Dutch colonies around Jakarta in West Java
Toured the ancient capital of Silla, Gyeongju-si, in South Korea
Visited the “Five Stans” of Central Asia
Spent the afternoon at the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in Brunei
Toured the “Golden Triangle” of India to Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
Wandered down Takeshita Street in Harajuku in Tokyo on a Saturday night
Went to the observation deck in the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur
Visited Wat Phra and That Doi Suthep near Chang Mai Thailand
Stayed at the Hanoi Hilton in Hanoi
Spent an afternoon in Tiananmen Square in Beijing
Toured the Tegalalang Rice Terrace in Bali
Boated through the hundreds of towering limestone escarpments in beautiful Ha Long Bay in Viet Nam
Went to the DMZ between South and North Korea
Traveled across the Mekong River from Thailand into Laos through the Golden Triangle
Watched Mount Fuji disappear into the night in Japan
Camped in the "Singing Sands" Khongoryn Els of Mongolia
Drove across the Karakum "Black Sands" Desert in Tajikistan
Middle East
Ate dates with camel ranchers in the desert outside of Riyadh
Looked at the "Promised Land" from Mount Nebo where Moses viewed it
Went four-wheeling in the Arabian desert outside of Dubai
Explored the ruins of Petra
Bought an oud in the old souq in Doha Qatar
Spent a week at the 7 Star Burj Al Arab in Dubai
Sailed through the "fjords" of Oman at the Musandam Peninsula
Went to the top of the Burj Kalifa Tower in Dubai
Camped in the Wadi Rum desert of Jordan
Watched the sunset over the Dead Sea
Toured the baptismal site of Jesus
Australia and New Zealand
Snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef
Hiked the base of Uluru in Australia
Drove the length of the Great Ocean Road in Australia
Drove into the Australian Outback for an afternoon
Went to a Māori festival in Auckland Harbor
Hiked across the Sydney Harbor Bridge
Visited the Sydney Opera House
Watched the surfers at Gold Coast
Watched the Australian National Rugby Team play the South African team in the Olympic Stadium in Sydney
Hiked through the vineyards of Waiheke Island New Zealand
Europe
Went to the top of the Eiffel Tower
Rode a boat on the Amsterdam Canals
Ate Belgian waffles, fries and chocolates - in the same day in Brussels
Seen the lavender fields in bloom in Provence France
Looked for "Nessie" at Loch Ness in Scotland
Explored the island of Santorini
Gambled at the Monte Carlo casino in Monaco
Cruised beautiful Lake Como in Italy
Visited the Miro and Picasso museums in Barcelona and the Dali Museum in Figueres
Sat on the Spanish Steps in Rome
Visited all of the micro-states of Europe - Malta, Vatican City, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, Liechtenstein
Enjoyed Beatle music in the Cavern Club in Liverpool
Bought copperware from gypsies in Romania
Spent a night in a 16th century castle in France
Attended a play in the West End of London
Walked through Red Square in Moscow
Stood on the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast of Ireland as the sun set over the Atlantic
Ate a traditional Croatian meal in Dubrovnik
Walked under the Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Sky
Walked through fairy tale Bruges Belgium at night
Went to the Christmas Markets in Berlin and Nuremberg
Toured Paul McCartney's and John Lennon’s boyhood homes
Paid homage to WWII GIs at Normandy Beach France
Walked the Old Bridge in Mostar Bosnia
Had High Tea at the Langham Hotel in London
Strolled through the canals in Venice
Hoisted a pint at the Temple Bar in Dublin
Had dinner at the base of the Acropolis in Athens
Stood on the bridge on the 18th hole at St Andrews Scotland
Partied in Pamplona during the Running of the Bulls festival of San Fermín
Drove the Circle Road in Iceland
Watched the sunset at Stonehenge
Explored the Westfjords in Iceland
Hiked in the Swiss Alps to photograph crystal-clear lakes
Visited the grand palaces in St Petersburg Russia
Went to Frankenstein’s castle and Count Dracula’s birthplace
Stayed in one of the hotels Stalin built in Moscow called the "Seven Sisters"
Saw the windmills depicted in Don Quixote
Watched pilgrims finish the Camino de Santiago
Tour the Hill of Crosses in Lithuania
Saw the tulips bloom in Holland in the spring
Stayed in the Presidential suite at the Amsterdam Hilton and visited the John-Yoko suite on the 50th anniversary of the "Bed-in for Peace"
Enjoyed Oktoberfest in Munich in the city’s largest beer garden
Spent a day in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris looking at my favorite period of art
Wandered through the Uffizi in Florence, the Prado in Madrid, the Hermitage in St Petersburg, and the Louvre in Paris.
Visited the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland
Hiked the Faerie Pools in Scotland
Went to the Pueblos Blancas in Southern Spain
Visited the beautiful and picturesque Lake Bled in Slovenia
Hiked through Plitvice National Park in Croatia
Drove through the awe-inspiring Dolomites of Italy
South America
Climbed through the ruins of Machu Picchu
Sailed on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and Peru
Drove through the Pampas of Argentina
Walked the Inca Trail in Peru
Visited Puerto Williams in Chile, the southernmost inhabited town on the planet
Crossed the Beagle Channel from Ushuaia Argentina into Chile's Isla Navarino - close to Cape Horn
Hiked on the cone of Cotopaxi Volcano in Ecuador
Hiked below Mount Fitz Roy in Argentina Patagonia
Visited the 19th century colonial Portuguese barrio in the Colonia del Sacramento
Boated under the Iguazu Falls in Argentina
Walked down Ipanema and Copacabana Beaches in Rio
Went to the summit of Corcovado Mountain to stand at the foot of Christ the Redeemer in Rio
Hiked in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonian Chile
Seen the Atacama Desert in Chile - the driest place in the world
Flew over the Amazon Jungle in Suriname and Guyana
Traversed the Pampas in Argentina
Visited the Las Lajas Sanctuary in Ipiales Columbia
Stood with one foot in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemisphere at Mitad del Mundo in Ecuador
The Islands
Observed a tribal sing-sing at Mount Hagan in central Papua New Guinea
Watched the sunrise from the Haleakala volcano in Maui
Swam with stingrays in the Cayman Islands
Visited Peleliu in the north Pacific, the site of a ferocious WWII battle
Snorkeled the crystal blue waters off the Fijian Island of Kuata
Visited the War in the Pacific Memorial in Saipan
Hiked up WWII’s infamous “Bloody Ridge” on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands
Visited the Kalaupapa leper colony on the island of Molokai
Hiked to the highest mountain in Samoa to visit Robert Louis Stevenson’s home
Snorkeled in Bora Bora and Moorea in French Polynesia
Walked in the volcano crater that created the Island of Tahiti
Hiked to the ancient stone monoliths called Badrulchau on the island of Babeldaob in the Pacific Ocean
Visited the island of Borneo
Drove the "Road to Hana" in Maui
Went stargazing at the top of Mauna Kea in Hawaii
Watched Kilauea in Hawaii erupt
Snorkeled in the crystal-clear waters around the island of Palau
Drove in Queen Elizabeth’s motorcade (by accident) in Grand Cayman
Watch the sunrise behind the Moai on Easter Island
Snorkeled off the coast of Guam
Quarantined in American Samoa during COVID