Introduction

I was 28 years old and had never been on a plane—or even been to an airport. My first time on a plane was a business trip, one night to EDS in Dallas, TX. I don't remember much about the trip, but I do remember having a great time looking out the window during the flight.

I thought I would be flying everywhere and then, stuff happens—and things change. My third time on a plane was in 1980. I was flying to England to deliver a training class in Dorchester. For some reason, when we landed, I was terrified. I couldn't get out of the terminal. I just sat there. Finally, I had to leave because they were closing the gate.

I was OK after that. Someone met me and drove me around the rest of the time. But, after that, whenever I traveled (which was 80% of the job), I managed to get someone to meet me at the airport and drive me around.

I managed this way for almost three years. I traveled only for business and only saw whatever sights someone would drive me to see. But I always took my camera.

Eventually, I had a trip to Seattle and I had to rent a car and drive myself. I had been traveling too long and was too old to tell anyone I was too scared to go. So I went.

I got lost, of course. But, strangely, I didn't fall off the earth or stay lost forever. I eventually found my way to the hotel. On the weekend, I ventured 'out on my own' and the result was the photos of Snoqualmie Falls. (See them in the gallery.)

I was so happy that, at lunch on Monday, I told someone in the Seattle office something like, "I drove to Snoqualmie Falls all by myself!"

My next stop was Phoenix, AZ. The business meeting was cancelled and I found myself with a 'free' Friday. Thursday night, I was sitting in the restaurant thinking of getting an earlier flight home on Friday morning. There was a poster in the restaurant of the Grand Canyon.

It reminded me of when I was in the fifth grade and, for a geography class assignement, we had to send for brochures about national parks from different states. (There was no Google.) I thought of those brochures from Arizona and remembered wanting to see the Grand Canyon.

Instead of getting an early flight home, I changed it to a Sunday night flight, rented a car, and Friday morning, drove to the Grand Canyon, stopping for lunch in Sedona. (Yes, all by myself!)

Since then, I have been to the Grand Canyon six times and would go back again in a heartbeat. The gallery has the photos and paintings from those visits.

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'Been there' list

Places I've been, and lived. The gallery has pictures from some of them.

• Asheville, NC (Blue Ridge Mountains)
• Australia (Sidney and Melbourne)
• Cape Canaveral, FL (Kennedy Space Center)
• Chicago, IL
• Costa Rica
• England (London, Dorchester)
• Grand Canyon and Sedona
• Hawaii (Maui and Honolulu)
• Houston, TX (Johnson Space Center)
• Kuwait City, Kuwait
• Niagra Falls, NY
• Orlando, FL (Disney World)
• Philadelphia, PA
• Pittsburgh, PA
• San Francisco, CA
• Snoqualmie Falls, WA
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Vienna, Austria
• Washington, D.C.
• Western PA (Falling Water, Ohiopyle)

There were other places I've been, worked or lived, that don't have pictures or stories—yet.

• Amsterdam, Neth.
• Anchorage, AK
• Atlanta, GA
• Baltimore, MD
• Banff, ALB, CAN
• Birmingham, England
• Boston, MA
• Brussels, Belgium
• Calgary, ALB, CAN
• Canton, OH (Pro Football Hall of Fame)
• Cary, NC
• Cherry Hill, NJ
• Cleveland, OH
• Columbus, GA
• Columbus, OH
• Dallas, TX
• Denver, CO
• Detroit, MI
• Galveston, TX
• Hannover, GER
• Indianapolis, IN
• Kansas City, Mo
• Las Vegas, NV
• Los Angeles, CA
• Louisville, KY
• Minneapolis, MN
• Montreal, QUE, CAN
• New York, NY
• Myrtle Beach, SC
• Mystic, CT
• Omaha, NB
• Ottawa, CAN
• Richmond, VA
• Sacramento, CA
• San Antonio, TX
• San Diego, CA
• Toronto, QUE, CAN
• Tucson, AZ
• Utica, NY

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'Someday' list

Places I want to see 'someday.' I want to visit as many U.S. National Parks as possible and I'd like to see as many of the 'wonders of the world' and as many museums as I can, too, especially:

• Yellowstone
• Yosemite
• Bryce Canyon
• Petrified Forest
• Denali
• Jasper, CAN
• Japan
• China (Great Wall)
• France (Monet's Garden)
• Paris (Louvre)
• Italy (Florence)
• Rome (Sistine Chapel)
• Mexico
• Mayan Temples
• Machu Picchu
• Caribbean Sea/Virgin Islands

If I ever get brave enough (or if peace happens to break out in the region, to travel to the Middle East, I would like to see the Holy Lands and the Pyramids.

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