Dean & Ginny's
excellent adventures...
Atlantic crossing 3/25 · Panama
01/25
Atlantic crossing 11/24 · Hawaii
cruise 10/24 · Canada/Greenland
cruise 8/24 · Midnight Sun
cruise 6/24 · Eclipse 4/24
Viking Carib. 11/23 · Tui
Cruise 10/23 · World 1/23 · SFlorida
5/22 · SW Parks 2/22 · Weber's
12/21 · S.America 1/20
S.America 10/19 · Amazon
3/19 · Hawaii 12/18 ·
Cuba 12/18 · World
Cruise 01/18 · Hawaii 10/17 · Peru-SD
03/17
Med Cruise 03/16 · MD&DC
11/15 · FL Panhandle 09/15
· World Cruise 01/15 · North
US 09/14 · Alaska 05/14
Lilies 02/14 · Carib.
11/13 · Vikings 7/13 · Panama
10/12 · MD & NY 08/12
· World Cruise 01/12 · Texas
04/11 · FL 02/11
Cruise 01/11 · SW
US 12/09 · DC & WV 05/09 · Hawaii
01/09 · Antigua 09/08
New Eng. 05/08 · KeyWest 04/08 ·
Home Tour 03/08 · HI
& MD 11/07 · Keys 10/07 · NW
09/07 · Chihuly 05/07 · SW
Desert 04/07 · The Galápagos 2/07
Wedding 10/06 · Nova
Scotia 08/06 · Sicily&Spain
07/06 · Hawaii 05/06 · South
FL 02/06 · Big Bend 02/06
Bahamas 11/05 · RV
pickup 11/05 · Honduras 09/05 · Diving
04/05 · Snorkel 03/05 · Key
West 12/03 · Guam 09/03
|
In March 2025, we worked on the Viking Jupiter from Buenos Aires to Barcelona
Here's the link to this
relocation cruise.
We went on various tours and saw many wonderful sculptures
along the way. But these two on our Barcelona stop were similar in that
people were encouraged to touch their hands.
The Black Modonna at Montserrat: she and the baby Jesus
are behind plastic, except for one hand that worshipers can touch.
La Serenia, (The mermaid) in Sitges, a seaside town north
of Barcelona, provides high-fives to visitors.
|
In January 2025, we worked on the Viking Mars for back-to-back cruises
from Ft. Lauderdale into the Panama Canal and back. There were three
new ports for us and we had different adventures on those ports we'd
been to in the past.
Here's the link to this
interesting Caribbean trip.
<-- We had the opportunity to go on wildlife tours
by boat. That was different.
|
In November 2024, we worked on a Holland America crossing Atlantic cruise
from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale. I gave 10 presentations.
Here's the link to this
working trip.
We only ended up doing two ports in Spain. In Malaga we
toured the Wine Museum, which ended up with a tasting. -->
|
In October 2024, we worked on a Holland America Circle Hawaii cruise.
This was the first HAL guest lecturer gig since 2020 and we had only
a few days notice.
Here's the link to this
trip into a paradise.
<-- One different adventure on this trip was an immersive
tour of a Japanese coffee farm on the Kona Coast of the Big Island.
Our amazing tour guide was a 3rd generation Japanese woman who had lived
in a farm like this one.
|
In August 2024, we worked on 17-day cruise from Boston to Greenland
and Canada and back on the Emerald Princess ship. This was a guest lecturer
gig, and we had only a few days notice.
The was our first experience on a Princess ship. Here's
the link to this
cool trip in the heat of summer.
Taking in the magnificent view from Signal Hill in
St. John's, Newfoundland/Labrador. -->
|
In June & July 2024, we did back-to-back 15-day "Into the Midnight Sun"
cruises on Viking from Bergen, Norway to London, England and back. This
was a guest lecturer gig, but we had only a couple of weeks notice to
replace someone who had cancelled.
We did manage to see and do a lot in these 30 days and
several of the ports were new for us. Here's the link to this
great adventure.
<--In Bergen, Norway, our first and last port, a small
viking ship replica sailed by our Viking cruise ship looking very much
like the logo for Viking Cruise Lines.

|
We decided to take a camping trip to see the total eclipse of the sun
on April 8th. At first we had planned to go to Texas, but the ten-day
weather forecast didn't look good, so we ended up in a very charming
town, Paducah in western Kentucky. Here's the link to this
short, but interesting trip.
We had our eclipse glasses -->
and were ready for this celestial event.
|
This
Viking cruise assignment was originally to be from San Juan to Manaus,
Brazil, but 9 days before go time, it was changed to a Caribbean-only
cruise because of lack of water in the Amazon River. There were several
new ports for us, so join us on these 2
back-to-back Caribbean cruises.
<-- In Barbados, we saw a bunch of these impressive
frangipani hornworms, also called plumeria caterpillar and the rasta
caterpillar (Pseudosphinx tetrio), which matures into a large,
but plain brownish sphinx moth. The caterpillar feeds on toxic plants
in the dogbane family and its bright coloring is a warning to potential
predators.
Artists working on a mural on the front of a chocolate
shop in Grenada.-->
|
 This
was an interesting cruise assignment from Port
Canaveral to Nova Scotia and back for Marella, a British cruiseline
owned by Tui, a German travel company.
<-- Newport, Rhode Island was a new port for us. We
walked several miles along the cliff walk, which runs beteen the rocky
shoreline and the famous, over-the-top mansions. This was a tunnel to
the next bay.
We saw a lot of red squirrels on our hikes and walks
in New England and in Canada.-->
|
 We
did it again! Our fourth World Cruise with Holland America! There were
more than 20 new ports for us on this cruise, so come
along with us on this fabulous trip.
<-- We love finding and talking to the real people
in the places we travel. This "Rasta Man" was cooking his lunch over
an open fire in a small fishing community in Falmouth, Jamaica.
We spotted a beautiful passionfruit flower growing on
a vine just off the trail in a municipal national park in Panama. -->
|


We spent two weekends with Dori's family in South Florida
and then during the week we stayed at an interesting campground near
Lake Okeechobee, so come
along with us on this short family & camping trip.
Suvi found a flower on the ground and stuck it behind
her ear.
This beautiful rose myrtle was in the Jonathan Dickinson
State park.
|

We were in need of a full-on adventure, so we decided
to head out to some parks in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico that we had
not visited before and to do it in the winter when they were not crowded.
We loved our interactions with the ravens. We started calling them our
spirit guides because they seemed to keep a watch on us as we hiked
along the various trails. This pair in Bryce Canyon was especially attentive.
Dean had worked out an interesting itinerary for our
camping spots out and back, so come
along with us on this winter camping trip.
|

We decided that it was time to visit our grandson Weber
Stibolt who had moved to Columbia, MO to take a job at Beyond Meat,
an up-and-coming company that produces vegan meat-like products. He
had bought a house at on the north side of town a few months before.
We pitched in on some chores around the house.
Dean had worked out an interesting itinerary for our
camping spots on the way up from Florida and back, so come
along with us on this short winter run to MO.
|
  We
received two back-to-back assignments as a guest presenter for South
America. We did the first leg of the HAL World Cruise, which left Ft.
Lauderdale on Jan. 4, 2020 and sailed down the east coast of South America.
We stayed in Montevideo, Uruguay for 20 days in a boutique hotel while
we waited for the HAL Grand South America cruise, which had circled
the continent in a counter-clockwise direction. We boarded it for the
last leg of that cruise back to Florida. So click the link to the first
of our great adventures there.
We encountered South American Marmoset monkeys a few
times on our adventures into the rain forests. >>
<< Sharing photos of some girls who were in Rio
celebrating Carnaval. We had four days in Rio--two on the way down and
two on the way back.
|

We
received an assignment as a presenter for a 17-Day Panama to Chile cruise.
I gave eight presentations and one was totally new. Again, we filled
auditorium several times. Join us on our
trip to western South America from Ft. Lauderdale, FLto Santiago,
Chile.
We did a lot of bird watching and went to some fantastic
fish markets and more. The birds for sale in this Lima, Peru market
were nearly as big as Dean.
We got up close and personal with the amazing sea lions
in San Antonio, the port for Santiago, Chile.
|

We
received a lecturer assignment for a 23-Day Amazon & Caribbean cruise
that went 1000 miles up the Amazon River. I gave ten presentations and
four of them were totally new. It was hard work, but so rewarding, because
several times, there was standing room only in the 534-seat auditorium.
Join us on our
amazing Amazon cruise from Rio de Janeiro to Ft. Lauderdale.
We hiked and boated through the jungles of the Amazon
where we saw an amazing array of plants and animals including this porcupine
and learned that the Portuguese name for this animal translates to spined
pig.
This waterfall was in a rainforest preserve near Rio
de Janeiro.
|

We
received a lecturer assignment for a 17-day holiday cruise from Los
Angeles to Hawaii and back over Christmas and New Year's. We'd already
prepared the ten presentations for our assignment in 2017, so it was
not as much work as last time. We had a wonderful time in the Aloha
State. There's always more to see and experience, so join us on our
Hawaiian holiday cruise.
We visited the famous Rainbow falls and the King Kamehameha
statue, and as always, we learned more about the Hawaiian history and
culture. We never stop learning.
|

We
took advantage of this lecturer assignment for a 10-day cruise to Cuba
and other Caribbean ports. I'd modified my rainforest and coffee presentations
to center more on Cuba and Jamaica and then I created a new presentation
on Cuban and Jamaican crops and farming.
So click this link to see how things turned out on this
fascinating Cuba adventure.
|

This
was our third around-the-world voyage with Holland America. We continue
to be amazed at how much more we know now than back in 2012 when we
started these fantastic adventures. We'd jumped in with two feet with
only 2 one-week cruises and 1 three-day cruise before that first grand
voyage. We've been to a lot of ports since then, but out of the 40 ports
on this voyage, 20 were new for us. The Itinerary skips Europe and goes
around Africa! Third time's a charm, so join us for
this grand adventure.
<< We loved seeing wallabies
in the wild on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
Most of the time in this adventure, we moved a lot faster
than the sloths we spotted at our second port of call, Puerto Limón
in Costa Rica. >>
|
This
was our second assignment as a guest lecturer, but this time we went to
Hawaii sailing from Seattle to Vancouver and then 5 days at sea, 5 days
in Hawaii, and then 5 more sea days back to Vancouver. We needed 10 presentations
for all those sea days. We immersed ourselves into various aspects of
Hawaiian culture. Come sail with us on this working
cruise to Hawaii.
<< Taro was and is an important
Hawaiian crop, so I immersed myself into this stand.
This beautiful star-shaped seed pod belongs to the autograph
tree, which is native to south Florida. >>
|
This
was a different type of cruise for us. Ginny was a cruise lecturer for
the second leg of the 30-day, Holland America Line, Inca Empires Cruise.
We flew to Lima Peru, the halfway point of the cruise, and then we sailed
for 15 days to San Diego. There were 7 sea days during this leg of the
cruise and that's when presentations are given.
It was a lot of work getting destination-oriented presentations ready,
but we had a good time and the presentations were well received.
<< The first presentation was
on coffee since all the countries on this cruise grow coffee. Join us
on this
working cruise...
|
We
loved this 55-day cruise to the Mediterranean and back. We climbed to
and explored many ancient castles and forts, walked old cities, and
we usually found interesting out-of-the-way places far from the madding
crowds. So join us on Ginny
and Dean's excellent Mediterranean adventure.
Whether we were exploring the white villages atop the rim of an old
crater on Santorini or climbing to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar,
we took a lot of great photos.
|

It
had been years since we'd spent Thanksgiving with Dana and his family,
so we made the trek north. We took our bikes and spent some time in
Washington, DC, too. Come with us on this
short holiday excursion.
Dinner at the Weber's (Christa's parents) is self serve
with donations from each branch of the family and included both traditional
and vegan dishes. Weber and Ginny discuss vegetables and food science.
>>
|
We
took a lovely mid-book tour* mini-adventure to Florida's Panhandle.
Kayaking at sunrise was magical, so join us on this cool adventure to
Wakulla
County. (*Ginny's 3rd book, "The Art of Maintaining a Florida
Native Landscape" was published in Aug. 2015 and the
@Flowered shirt book tour included 35 events in 11 weeks!)
|

So come with us on our second
grand world voyage.
One of our best days was Easter in Katakolon, Greece
where we shared food and wine with 2 generous families. >>
|
We
did it again. We took the 2015 World Cruise with Holland America! Only
12 of the scheduled ports were the same as the 2012 cruise and those
were mostly great ports like Sydney, Singapore, and Athens where we
were able to find lots of new things to do and see. Ultimately our route
was changed in several places, but oh what a great trek this was.

|
|
 So
it was September and it was time for a van trip to parts
of the country we'd not experienced before. We worked our way to Chicago
for the first planned stop, then we headed up the eastern coast of Lake
Michigan, on up to the Upper Peninsula, worked our way along the shores
of Lake Superior, finally
over to the headwaters of the Mississippi River before we traveled down
the charming river towns. Join us on this fun
road trip to the north/central US.
<< A charming
Lake Superior lighthouse was one of several we visited.
This is part of the Mississippi that you haven't seen.
Here a beaver dam blocks the mighty river. >>
|
  Ooh,
it was hard to pick out the stars of this 2-week cruise to Alaska. Was
it the eagles, the ravens, the glaciers, the surprisingly good weather
for Alaska this time of year, the amazing wildflowers, or the sea stars
themselves? Probably all of these and more...
We flew
to Seattle and boarded the Amsterdam, the same ship as our world cruise,
so it was like coming home in a way. This was their first trip of the
season, so join us in our country's
largest and most rugged state. As usual, we found our own adventures
and avoided most of our shipmates in the ports.
|
  We
headed out on Valentine's Day to see an exceptional population of trout
lilies in southern Georgia that had been saved from development and
then we continued west to Falling Waters State Park in Florida's Panhandle.
Join us on this short
trek.
<<
Dimpled trout lilies (Erythronium
umbilicatum) were spectacular. There were acres of them in bloom.
Florida's Falling Waters State
Park has Florida's highest waterfall, which falls 70' into a rocky sinkhole.
Plus this is the state's highest park with an elevation of 324'.
>>
|
 We
headed out to the Caribbean on a 21-day cruise starting in November
2013. Many of the ports-of-call would be new for us and the ones that
we'd been to before, we managed to find new ways to enjoy them.
So join us on this eastern
and southern Caribbean adventure.
We found
groups of really, really pink flamingos in the salt flats of Bonaire.
Also note the windswept mangroves.
>>
|
 We
decided to go north for the summer on a Voyage of the Vikings with Holland
America. The average high temperature in the summer for many of our
destinations on this cruise is 55 degrees.
No snorkeling gear was necessary.
We marveled
at the interesting cultures with their unique architecture. We admired
the ingenuity and the generous spirit of the descendants of the Vikings
in these chilly climes. We did cross the Arctic Circle and experienced
some really, really long days of summer. So come along with us on this
summertime cruise, Voyage
of the Vikings!
|
 Since
we went through the Suez Canal on the Grande Voyage
earlier this year, we decided we'd like to go through the other major
shipping canal.
Come with us on our cruise to exotic places to see exotic animals and
vicariously experience our adventures on our 28-day Panama
Canal cruise.
|
  Weber
was heading off to the University of Delaware and invited us to his
going away party. While we were in town we took a tourist's tour of
Annapolis, saw Olivia run her horse through a series of jumps during
her lesson. After the party we headed up to Cayuga Lake in New York
State.
This was a short, but memorable trek, so come
along on this road trip.
|
  A
112-day cruise with Holland America around the world, literally. Who
knew that we'd find a waterfront in Brazil that looked like Amsterdam?
We walked
both Ipanema and Copacabana beaches in Rio--does this mean that we are
now tall and tanned and young and lovely? No. But do join us for this
fantastic World Cruise!
|
  This
tour of the Texas state parks included biking, birding, hiking and the
discovery of the fine craftsmanship done by the Civilian Conservation
Corps in the 1930s. So pack up your picnic and come along for
this month-long Texas road trip. Yee-Haw!
<<
Black swallowtail on a Texas thistle.
An Indian
shaman sculpture at Seminole Canyon >>
|

It had been cold for a while. While here in north Florida, it's not
terrible compared to northern states, we still decided to head south
on a Florida road trip.
We had
a great time exploring The Disney Wilderness Preserve, A Nature Conservancy
property; Lake Kissimmee State Park; Lignumvitae State Park; and our
favorite--Key West. This is a great state with wonderful natural (and
man-made) resources that we never tire of. We're on the road again...
<<
At Lake Kissimmee State Park we reprised our "Dean & Ginny's
Excellent Adventures" shadow.
|
 It
had been more than a year since our last adventure, so it was time...
We drove down to Cape Canaveral on New Year's Day and took a seven-day
cruise to the Bahamas, St. Thomas, and Saint Maarten.
So come and stow away with us aboard the
Norwegian Sun for this freestyle cruise
to the eastern Caribbean Islands. You'll see some parts
of these islands that you haven't seen or noticed before, even if you've
been there numerous times.
|
 We
took the opportunity to drive across the southern tier states during
Ginny's holiday break in her speaking tour to promote her book Sustainable
Gardening for Florida, which has been an adventure of a different
sort.
We knew
the weather would be chilly in December, but we were prepared and really
enjoyed the beauty and the fact that the parks were mostly empty.
Join us for this trip across our great country.
<<
Snow on a Joshua tree in the high
Mojave Desert.
|
 We
drove to Maryland to visit with Dana and his family for a few days the
week before Memorial Day. On Thursday we drove into DC to take
in some of our favorite places and new ones including the striking Air
Force Memorial, (See photo to the right.) which overlooks The Pentagon.
After
our visit we headed out to Sugar Grove, WV. From there we explored
the territory including the nearby Seneca Rocks formation, (see left)
which has attracted rock climbers for years. We didn't come prepared
for a technical climb on the rock face, but we did hike the trail to
the top of the hill.
We packed
a lot into this short adventure.
|

We took a military flight to Hawaii and thought we'd continue on to
Guam or Singapore, but the weather was stormy in Guam and the flights
to Singapore didn't work out, so we decided to spend some more time
exploring the islands and booked a 7-day cruise. Join
us on this great Hawaiian adventure.
We saw
these bluestripe snappers when we went diving off the Kona Coast (western
side) of the Big Island. >>
|

We took a military flight from Melbourne, FL to Antigua. The military
travels there because of its satellite tracking station. Antigua
is located on the northern end of the Lesser Antilles and is more or
less circular island that could fit inside the Washington beltway.
There
are many reminders of its days under British rule: driving on the left
side of the street, Yorkshire pudding on the menu, British-style
phone booths, and tea time at 4pm each day--shown in this photo.

Since
its independence, Antigua has been transforming itself from a sugar
plantation island to a tourist attraction. We noticed quite a
few Brits vacationing here.
We stayed
at The St. James Club, one of many all-inclusive resorts. We rented
a car for our 9-day stay and toured many parts of the island.
Come along on this excellent adventure...
|

Spring in New England beckoned, so we packed
our long pants and windbreakers and headed north the third week of May.
We traveled up the eastern-most route across the Bay Bridge-Tunnel from
Norfolk up to the Delmarva Peninsula, across the Lewes Ferry to Cape
May NJ and then headed up to Massachusetts where we spent time in Scituate
and on Martha's Vineyard. Finally we headed over to West Point
and Ithaca, NY and then down to spend some time with the grandkids in
Maryland. It heated up as we came south--it felt good to put on
some shorts!
|
 We
heard that Key West celebrates its Independence Day for a whole week:
it is The Conch Republic. This was not a long trek, but we packed
a lot into just a few days: A stop in Orlando for a stockholders' meeting,
an afternoon of diving, a parade, some nice meals, and a butterfly conservancy
visit on Key West. · Join us for a vicarious trip
to Key West.
<<
It was a crazy parade!
This
butterfly landed
on Dean's head to lap up some salt. There was a large butterfly
population in this enclosed space. Beautiful! >>
|

While this was not a trek per se, it was an adventure. We were
volunteers for Dori
& Aaron's home tour on March 2, 2008. Their neighborhood
in Lake Worth FL is called Parrot Cove because of the wild parrots that
live there. 11 houses were on display to raise money to buy trees
for the neighborhood.
Parrot
signs greeted the folks on the tour. >>
<< In the back
courtyard there was food and wine. Plus Aaron had artfully placed
a few Bocce balls on the lawn area.
|

Dean found a series of military flights that could take us to Guam.
The last leg of the trip from Hawaii to Guam was full, so spent a week
in Hawaii. Then we surprised the kids (and ourselves) by showing
up for Thanksgiving in Maryland. A "Space-A"
adventure.
<<
We revisited the Audubon Park in Hawaii where a white-rumped shama posed
for us.
The
day after Thanksgiving we went into D.C. to tour some of the monuments.
It was cold and windy. Dean and I froze our butts off because
we'd packed for the tropics. >>
|
 We
find ourselves being drawn to Florida's Keys for diving and ambiance.
Here are some photos from our October adventure.
Sunset
on Mallory Square on Key west is a celebration most every day.
It makes us happy to be a part of it. >>
|
  The
Great Northwest including US and Canada beckoned to us. We left
in August, so we would not miss out on the season for Glacier National
Park (It closed 9/17.) and the best season for orca watching from the
San Juan Islands in western Washington. After those two adventures,
we were on the road through most of September. What a wonderful
trip!
We had
a great time photographing the wildlife. Isn't this prairie dog
that we saw in Glacier National Park cute? We also just loved
all the beaches where we were the only humans. There are many
parts to this adventure, so take it one or two pages at a time, or grab
yourself some "Serious Coffee" and go for the whole adventure
in one sitting. Here's more on this great
adventure.
|

Fairchild Tropical Gardens near Miami hosted a
display of Chihuly glass sculptures.
We made it down to see it just before they took it down in June, the
beginning of hurricane
season. · That seemed like a good idea.
From
the large, imposing configurations like the one one the left to small,
almost organic installations like the one to the right, it was fun to
see how cleverly the glass was integrated into the gardens.
We'd
never been to the garden before, but it's a lovely setting and we were
frequently sidetracked from the glass by interesting displays of tropical
plants. More...
|
When we saw that Arizona and New Mexico had received an unusual amount
of rain this spring, we decided to experience the flowering desert
and further explore this part of the country. We were on the
road for almost three weeks--we packed in a lot of adventures.
|
From
the heat of the desert to the surprisingly snowy passes, this was a
trip of extreme weather. Here's the
link...
|

Oh my gosh--what a trip this was. We saw a program about The
Galápagos on public TV and thought it might be fun. The next
week we were there!
What
an interesting collection of wildlife. · Who even
knew about blue-footed boobies? Fortunately, we resisted the
urge to buy the T-shirt that said, "I love boobies!" Under
the words were two blue feet.
We
drove to Miami and flew into Quito, Ecuador to start this fabulous
adventure: The Galápagos.
|
 We
didn't travel very far for this adventure--only two hours south of
here in Mt. Dora, FL for daughter Dori's marriage to Aaron Storonas.
Very exciting. Wonderful location and it was great to spend
time with family and friends. There are snapshots posted on
the wedding website.
|

Our trip to Nova Scotia started
in Maryland to attend Dori's bridal shower on 8/19. After spending
the weekend there, we headed north. First stop was Brooklyn
Heights, NY to visit with cousin Micki and her husband Tim who've
recently opened a restaurant there. Marblehead and Gloucester
north of Boston, MA were the next stops.
We
toured The Bay of Fundy Coast with its gigantic 50' tides, which
cause reversing waterfalls and huge mud flats in New Brunswick, Canada. Then
we spent a week in Nova Scotia touring the province where we found
the world's smallest drawbridge, moose, fabulous scenery, and roller-coaster
hills.
Instead
of driving all the way back, we took the "Fast Cat" ferry
from Yarmouth to Bar Harbor, ME. We spent two days in Bar Harbor
and fabulous Acadia National Park. We stopped for the Labor
Day weekend in Maryland before heading home. This was a trip
of great scenery and major contrasts. Glad to be home for a
while.
|
Dean
found a military flight from Jacksonville to Sicily: it was
an offer we couldn't refuse... ·
On the way over we overnighted on an Azores Island--part of Portugal.
We spent six adventure-filled days in Sicily, then on the way back
we spent two days in Rota, an old coastal town
in southern Spain. It's not easy to describe this amazing trip
with just a few words or to choose just a few photos to tell the story,
but here we go... Trip to Sicily.
Grisly statue with its missing body parts adorns an
elaborate arch in Catania, a city on Sicily's east coast. >>
<< All alleys
lead to the beach in Rota, Spain.
|
 In
May '06, we hopped a series of military flights
that carried us from JAX to San Diego, on to island of Oahu in Hawaii,
and then back to San Diego again. This was a "Space
A" Adventure.
We
spent three days in San Diego, eight days in Hawaii, and three days
again in San Diego. Plenty of time to have some great adventures. ·
<<
What tropical flower do think this is??
Dean
holds up a palm at "The Del." >>
|
 In
late Feb. 06, we decided to take a trek
to south Florida. We stopped in Lake Worth to visit Dori
and Aaron and took in Art on
The Avenue. Then went to Bahia Honda Key, Key West, and the
Anhinga Trail in The Everglades National Park.
We
went diving twice on this trip: once at Pennekamp State Park on Key
Largo, and later on Looe Key.
|
 In
early Feb. 06 we took off toward
Big Bend National Park in west Texas. · We'd
skipped by it last year when we went through the area with the new
van. We'd decided that we had to go back. We heard
that the birds would be worth seeing at this time of year. ·
We had a great time,
learned lots of interesting tidbits about this part of the country,
and thoroughly enjoyed the fabulous scenery, including the birds.
El Rio Grande provides
a long serpentine oasis between Texas and Mexico.
>>
|

Friday after Thanksgiving we (along with daughter
Dori & her fiancé, Aaron, plus 2,400 other people) boarded The
Majesty of the Seas in Miami for a three-day cruise to the Bahamas.
We
snorkeled at Coco Cay, a small private island, Saturday morning and
dove with about 20 (!) Caribbean Reef Sharks on Sunday morning.
That was exciting... Here are the photos.
Back
in Miami on Monday morning, we drove from the tropics to home.
It was raining and cooler in northern Florida.
|

We ordered a Ford van which was converted to an
RV (a class B motor home) by GTRV in British Columbia. Our trip
to the west coast included a detour to Hawaii, a drive from California
to BC, and then a trek across the country in the van via a mostly
southern route. We had to hurry home for Thanksgiving with Dori
& Aaron, but we'll go back to some of these areas for a more leisurely
trip.
Here
we are enjoying
an Arizona
· sunset and a dinner in our new RV. >>
(More photos of this trek.)
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At the end of August 2005, we drove to Charleston
Air Force Base and took the weekly run to Honduras.
A
great adventure. We'll go back. There's so much more to
see. More of our Honduran adventures
here.
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In April 2005 Ginny and Dean went diving--certified
in January this was the first big trip where the underwater camera
worked well. We started with a 3 dives on the dive boat Narcosis
off Palm Beach and then we drove down to Key Largo and did four dives
in two days in the beautiful coral reefs of Pennekamp State Park,
an underwater park. Seven dives in three days is a lot!
Then we stopped to visit Dori and Aaron on the way back home.
More pictures here.
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Dana Stibolt, swimming with an Anhinga,
a fishing water bird aka The Snake-Bird.
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Over Easter break, Dana, Christa, Weber & Olivia Stibolt
came from Maryland to escape the chilly Maryland weather and
we all went to Rainbow River near the Gulf coast of northern
Florida.
We
rented canoes and paddled 1.5 miles up close the headwaters,
a series of crystal clear springs. Then we jumped in
the water with our snorkel gear and floated back down the
river to the put-in spot, K P Hole. It was an adventure
that could have been titled, "Swimming
With Anhingas."
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In late 2003, Dean and Ginny thought it would be fun to celebrate their
first anniversary (Jan. 2) in Key West. Taking the back roads
and traveling along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, this was a slow
trip south traveling in the minivan.
So join
us for the second big adventure. This time it's New Years in Key
West.
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  The
was the first of our big adventures and what a way to start! We
drove our minivan across to the NW to meet up with Dean's sister Judy
and her family in Oregon.
We stopped
at McChord Air Force Base near Mt. Rainier in Washington after our visit
and hopped on a military flight to Japan and took another one to Guam!! ·
We flew
back via Hawaii and then drove much more quickly across the country
back to Maryland. So here's the Saga of the
Guam adventure
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