Places that left you amazed

The Canadian praire in Alberta. No ambiant light means you can see the stars from horizon to horizon and the Northern Lights were just a wounder. The Canadian Rockies were pretty special to.

The Falklands. So rugged and isolated with large areas with no sign of human life. And stunning wildlife. Seeing wild penguins was somthing special.

Rome. Nuff said.

Chichen Itza in Mexico. These buildings were built without using the 'wheel'. Just a lot of human labor. Some of the joints in the stones are thinner than a piece of paper. When I was there about 20 years ago we were allowed to climb the great pyramid. It was very impressive to experience the size of the pyramid by standing on the top. Climbing the buildings is no longer allowed.

The Gothic cathedrals of Europe. 

The creativity and ingenuity of humans never fails to impress me. 

Never been outside the country except for getting married in 1991 on the beach in Kawaii.

Six years ago we did rent a 28' RV for 6 weeks and drove across the top of the U.S. stopping to see friends, relatives and great sites(parks and monuments). Came down through Oregon and California stopping at a few places including NAS Leemoore to see my brother who was the PAO of the base. GREAT up close tour of the base. Got to meet and shake hands with a few of the flight crew of the Enterprise who were coming in, refueling and going back up. Came back through the south basicly doing the friends, relatives, parks and monuments. Stopped to see an old, old friend in Colorado Springs that I hadn't seen in about 30 years. He was an egress specialist on F-4s in Nam. He's sent me a lot of pics and info on MB Mk 7 Ejection seats for the F-4 I was working on. He took us to a few monuments and air bases.

Had a fantastic time on and off the road. We are now talking about doing it again. I'm making a list of all the guys that I have their adresses and planning to stop for a meet and greet if they are available at that time (and I can find them). 

This is one beautiful country and I hope to see much more of it before I go to the great workbench in the sky.

Jim 

Stay Safe.

PS - When we returned the Rv, they said that we drove it further than anyone else that ever rented one from them. Plus, there wasn't a mark on it and hadn't had a bit of trouble with it the whole trip. They also said that if we wanted to but it let them know and they would give us a great deal. 

Hmmm;    Let's see;

 The Big Hole in the Ground ! I think they call it the Grand Canyon.

    The Eiffel Tower;

   The Pyramids at Giza; 

    Chichen Itsa;

   The Great Barrier Reef;

   The Arizona( Still Bleeding ):

   The Sunrise and Sunset in the Pacific while the Bow Wave slices effortlessly it seems,   through the Reflective Blue of the Water, and the Phosphoresence within etching a     trail  behind the Ship;

    My First Wife's Emerald Green eyes, and My second Wife's Ice Blue ones;

    The First time My Newborn Son looked at me;

Bryce Canyon in Utah

Crater Lake in Oregon

Guam, only because I was suprised it didn't sink with all the hardware parked on it when I passed through in '73.

U.S. National Parks:

Yellowstone

Arches

Black Canyon

Grand Canyon

Smokey Mountains

Rocky Mountains

and

Colorado National Monument

Garden of the Gods (Colorado)

Royal Gorge (Colorado)

Tallgrass Prairie (Oklahoma)

and

The Alamo

Battleship Texas

Taj Mahal

Yosemite Valley

Kalalau Valley

dubrovnic

For me,Machu Picchu,one of the very few places that exceeded expectations.

The National Science Museum in Ueno, Tokyo.  That was the first time I saw reconstructed dinosaur skeletons.  I gasped in awe just standing next to them, thinking it amazing how such large creatures once existed.  For a moment, I actually felt like a 5 year old again.  The model displays of various ecosystems were mesmerizing.

The Tempozan Aquarium in Osaka.  There was a very large whale shark in the main tank, along with somersaulting manta rays.  And the Crabs from Mars on the bottom floor were pretty cool too.

The Tokyo Maritime Museum.  It is shaped like an ocean liner, with row upon row of model ships of all descriptions inside, with a 1/50 Yamato battleship as a centerpiece.  RC ship jousting can be had on the roof, and there used to be a real Kawanishi Emily flying boat outside.  There was a Jim diving suit at the museum entrance, and I was able to buy a 1/20 resin kit of it in Osaka during the same trip.

A rice paddy near my relative’s house.  One morning my sister and I walked our cousin to school, and decided to go through the rice paddy on the way back to the house.  It was early morning and there was a low fog shrouding the water.  It was so eerily quiet and serene, almost magical.

Camping out on the North Shore of Oahu.  I had never seen the night sky without light pollution.  When I looked up, I said “WOW - it looks just like Star Wars!”