For the context of readers who just started reading (I had a few new followers after the last post), I am counting down my top 50 travel memories in the past 8-9 years. And, we’re also counting towards blog post number 50 (Drum rolls again please :)) The basic idea behind doing this was to make a list of trips/moments or days which were memorable either because I attempted an adventure, or tried to overcome a fear, or had a gala time with friends or introduced me to something that I was oblivious about until that point. In my previous post I re-counted travel memories 41-50. Let’s go through 10 more and count down from 40 through 31!
40. Hiking Pinnacles National Monument – Spring 2012
Hiking is high up there on my “top-things-I-enjoy-doing” list and Pinnacles was memorable because it was a great trip with friends and had a lot of hiking thrills (inclines, steep slopes, sand and rocks, going inside caves, picnic at a nice lake, bird spotting, scorching heat, shaded halts and more!)
39. Washington DC – Summer 2006
I graduated in May of 2006 and I took the Washington DC trip with my family on their first visit here for my graduation. It was hard to pick out just one pick from the gazillion museums and buildings we visited in Washington, but I quite distinctly remember the Lincoln memorial, Washington monument, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
38. A Disneyland Birthday Party at Disneyland, California – Summer 2007
A fun-filled birthday with friends in a fairy land. The parade, the fireworks, the thrill of rides (yes, inspite of all the motion sickness I did enjoy most Disneyland rides) and a great day in all.
37. A snowy day at Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee – Winter 2006
Winter of 2006 marked my first travel outside of greater Los Angeles area. I visited family friends in Atlanta and we went to the Great Smoky Mountains. It was much later that I found out that Smoky is the most visited National Park in Continental US. It was my first White Christmas and I loved every moment of it. Unfortunately I was unable to find photographs from this trip 😦
36. Luau – A Hawaiian Feast at Maui, Hawaii – Thanksgiving 2010
A traditional kalua pig being cooked in an underground oven, tasting poi, hula dancing, Samoan fire dancing – Luau at Maui had all the elements of a Hawaiian party and was a great way to experience the culture of Hawaii.
35. Horse Riding at Santa Barbara, California – Thanksgiving 2007
Back in India, I only sat on horses that were controlled by another rider, so my horse riding experience in Santa Barbara was my first time horse riding alone. I did not master the art, but my cute off-white/brown horse and the scenic trails as we climbed up a mountain made the trip worth it!
34. Sunset at the Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon National Park – Fall 2011
Uncountable hoodoos, watching the colors change with changing rays of sun – Bryce is a wonderland of sorts. If you like nature or if you like colors or if you like the outdoors, Bryce would definitely be on your top destination list.
33. Walking the streets of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico – Thanksgiving 2011
Over 10 stray cats in a block. I guess that would sum it up all for people who are acquainted with me! Walking the streets of Old San Juan will always be stay in my mind. I have a terrible phobia of cats and it required much more than courage for me to walk and enjoy the beauty of Old San Juan. Don’t get me wrong, I loved walking the non-cat-infested streets of Old San Juan. The color of the buildings, the architecture, the whole feel wowed me, but there were a lot of streets which I could not walk or walked with eyes closed and M dragging me to the other block since cats crossed the street left/right and center. I am having goose-bumps as I write this. Gosh! This memory is when fear overcame me 😦
32. Enjoying Aebleskivers at Solvang, California – Thanksgiving 2012
Some Danish pancakes please! Okay, I have to be a geek and put this definition from Wikipedia!
Æbleskiver (Danish meaning apple slices (singular: æbleskive)) are traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere. Somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover, æbleskiver are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover.
We have visited Solvang over 3-4 times and tried a lot of their Danish pastries, but only during our last visit to Solvang, we had a chance of trying aebleskivers. Danish pancakes definitely win over traditional pancakes in my eyes 🙂
31. Biking at Angel Island, San Francisco – Spring 2010
I like to bike and so there has to be a memorable biking day in the top 50 list. A ferry trip from Tiburon to Angel Island and a great day of biking Angel Island catching up with an old friend from college.
Hope you enjoyed the list. Top 30 travel memories to follow soon! Keep reading 🙂
Memoir's Galore 