Go There at Least Once

Two years ago my daughter finally started listening to me, a rarity right, after 40-plus years of me bending her ear. She was living to work instead of living life. So now, she has grabbed me it tow as her travel buddy.

She started planning trips of places she wanted to see and the top of her list was San Francisco, not because it is a cool place to visit, because it is, but because of The Rock. Not really the prison itself but the history around it, as she is a huge history buff. So the traveling bug has hit and off we go.

If you have never been to San Francisco, you should go at least one time. My favorite part was Pier 39 with the shops, a merry-go-round, and the of course the famous seals.

In November, we headed to Las Vegas to see a show and to shop. Yeah, for me that is a city of one-and-done. I am not a gambler so once you see the sights, its done, but I did love the sphere, although we could not get very close. This was the view from our room. It is not just a picture but a video that constantly changed. My favorite while there was an ocean scene with whales. It was amazing. This picture is from the map of the earth.

Between San Francisco and Las Vegas, I took a side trip to go see my youngest child and his family down in Nashville, Tennessee. If you get down that way I highly recommend the Nashville Zoo. Not the zoo itself, which was fun, but you need to visit Dinosaur Land. They have over 25 life-sized dinosaur robots in their supposed vegetation. So, along beautiful paths of actual vegetation are these different dinosaurs peeking out at you and growling – and again they are life-size…

In Early December we went to Michigan to a place where people like me who love Christmas must go at least once, Frankenmuth. And during the Christmas season, it is thrown up with Christmas. The shops, the horse drawn carriages, and the Silent Night Chapel are all a must-see.

Last week my daughter and I finally got to see New York City. For a small-town girl, it was amazing. I was also amazed at the kindness of the people. Because I knew we would be walking a bunch, I took my cane to help stabilize me in crowds. (Still not willing yet to have knee replacement surgery.) Several times people went out of their way to make sure I could get where I was going. It is nice to know that kindness IS even in the big city. Some think New Yorkers can be mean, but we did not see that. What we did see I will share here once I get through the 280 pictures I took. New York City is definitely a place you should visit at least once but we are already planning on a second trip – a trip just to see the amazing churches built from the 1800s and on. For now, I leave you with a teaser, New York from the air at Sunset.