Thursday Thirteen #7

13 Places I Want To See Someday 1. Yosemite National Park. Yeah. What can I say? I've seen the pics, but I want to see it with my own eyes. I learned from visiting Yellowstone, that the pics just can't capture it. I want to see and smell it. 2. Glacier/Waterton International Peace Park. An old timer I worked with years ago at Delta Airlines in Atlanta went here with his wife and told me all about it. You could tell he had trouble trying to describe it, which made it sound even better than if he could have. Said ya gotta see the Canadian side (Waterton) too. I've always wanted to go ever since then. 3. Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. I've always been a sucker for the whole Wright brother's story. I've never wanted to be a pilot myself, but their determination and dedication to excellence is still inspiring to me. Interesting note: Delta Airlines used to fly Lockheed L-1011 aircraft and they used to tell you when you flew one that the plane's passenger cabin was long enough for the Wright brother's first documented flight. No big deal, but that was an interesting juxtaposition, to be on a jet at 500mph that was longer than the Bro's first flight. 4. The United Kingdom. This would be my fantasy overseas trip. I'd like to do at least a couple of weeks in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales. That's a couple of weeks in EACH. Oh, and Republic of Ireland too. 5. Four Corners Area of the U.S.. When I was in grade school, in the Weekly Reader one week, they had a picture of a kid standing on the corner where the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah intersect. He was standing, literally, in four states at once. I've wanted to go stand on that spot since that time. As an adult, I would like to see the other sights in the area like Anasazi ruins and stuff, too. 6. Bicycle Tour Across the U.S.. This sounds odd to many, but thousands of people have done it over the years. The Adventure Cycling Association has maps with much detail for routes that are friendly to bicyclists, and many thousands of miles mapped out. I want to do the original Transamerica Route, or the Northern Tier Route, to cover parts of the U.S. that I have never seen. It takes most people two or three months to cross the country like this. 7. Bicycle tour from Alaska down along the Pacific Coast.. I love to read bicycle touring stories, and have a good collection of books myself, as well as having read everything the Brevard County Library has. Many more adventurous types actually ride their bicycles from Alaska, usually Anchorage, all the way to Tierra Del Fuego at the tip of South America. I'm too chicken for that, but would combine the Northern part with a trip down the Pacific Coast, down into Baha. The only thing that scares me, is that I've heard that people in Northern California shoot conservatives on sight, so I might not do this one. ;) 8. Israel. I mean, really, what Christian doesn't want to tour around Israel? Just to go and see some of the places I've read about in the Bible over and over, most of my life would be ultra cool. And since I'm over there, I'd love to see Petra, but I don't even know if Jordan lets infidels like myself in to see it. Why Petra? Six words. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. 9. Bar Harbor, Maine. Don C. (my Dad) was a really quiet man. Once upon a time, we were watching TV together and whatever we were watching, showed Bar Harbor, Maine. I remarked that I had never heard of it (my Louisiana schoolin' again) but that it looked beautiful. Don C. started talking about how it truly is beautiful; that he had spent a brief time there while in the U.S. Navy in the 1950's. I was pole-axed (stunned). Don C. had been literally around the world a couple of times on the destroyer he was a gunner's mate on, but rarely talked about the things he saw. His opening up like that, however briefly, was like getting to see the Aurora Borealis or Australis. Rare. I would kill to have more of his stories. And I've always wanted to go to Bar Harbor, just because Daddy said it was gorgeous. 10. Washington, D.C. Hey, I'm an American! I want to go see all the stuff. Smithsonian, Memorials, the works. I'd like to see the Declaration of Independence. That is, if Nicholas Cage doesn't steal it again. 11. Machu Picchu, lost city in the Andes. Sainted Mother was a big believer in getting the special books offered from time to time by Readers Digest. One of the best she ever bought, and the one I read in repeatedly, was a book called Strange Stories, Amazing Facts. It was like a one volume encyclopedia on man's discoveries throughout history. That's the first time I heard of Machu Picchu, and the story of it really captured my imagination. (I ended up finding that same book a few years ago in a used book store, WITH book jacket.) It's still a favorite book of mine after all these years, and I still want to go to see Machu Picchu. 12. Angkor Wat, Cambodia. I first learned of Angkor Wat in the Strange Stories, Amazing Facts book I talked about above. The book had a picture of the area all grown over with jungle, and then an after pic of the area after cleaning the jungle off the temples. I still want to go to see it, but like Israel and Jordan, political unrest may squelch any real hope of going. But it's nice to think about. 13. Grand Canyon. The Brady Bunch, a fictional TV family got to go, but I never have. Man, thats just wrong. I sure want to though. Who doesn't? The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! 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