San Francisco – Our day in pictures

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph
City Hall, San Francisco

City Hall, San Francisco

Painted Ladies

Painted Ladies

Continue reading →

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Back in my old stomping grounds – San Francisco

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Saturday night – San Francisco

Arriving in San Francisco

Arriving in San Francisco

We did not get on the road from Los Angeles as early as we had hoped, so it was just after 5:00 when we checked into our small B&B.  I chose The Inn at Union Square for the location.  It sits only a couple of doors down from the main square and around the corner from the St Francis Hotel.

In the 1970’s I worked for the now defunct Western Airlines.  Some of you may remember the old commercials with the bird sitting on the tail of the airplane.  But for you youngsters, at one time they were a good regional airline that primarily serviced the western part of the USA including Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico.  After I left them, they merged with Delta Airlines and ceased to exist.  (I would like to assume that my leaving had nothing to do with their demise). Continue reading →

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Picture of the day ~ Waving in the breeze

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph
Waving in the breeze

Waving in the breeze

Today we are driving from the Los Angeles area to San Francisco for a long weekend.

The main purpose for this trip is to get our visas for the trip to India in March. I wanted to simply send our passports in the mail, but according to the internet it is taking longer than normal to get the visas processed and passports returned.

With us leaving for a trip to Turkey on the 11th of February I did not want to risk not having the passports back in time.

We have an appointment with BLS International for 9:00 Monday morning. There is conflicting information online regarding how quickly they will process our request. On one page it says for walk-ins there before 10:30, we can get the passport back the same day. On another page it says it will be processed in 3-5 business days.

We are also planning on checking out the Hop-on Hop-off bus to do some sightseeing in SF.

On another note, I went to the doctor today to complete my travel vaccine series. One more item to cross off the list!

Gratitude Moment: Having the freedom to make choices is the greatest gift.

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Bryce Canyon National Park and Mossy Cave, Utah

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

After a wonderful day hiking in Zion National Park, we set out the next morning to explore once again.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Having been described as a forest made of stone, Bryce is a landscape that has to be seen to be appreciated.  The large rock pillars are called hoodoos.  Ranging in size from 5-150 feet tall, the largest concentration of them in the world is found in Bryce NP.

Bryce National Park

Bryce Point

Continue reading →

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Zion and Bryce National Parks and Panguitch Utah

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Zion and Bryce National Parks are close enough to combine together into one get-a-way. In May of 2006 we surprised two of our closest friends with a trip there. Flying into St. George, Utah and renting a car we checked out Kolob Canyon on our way to our lodging.

Kolob Canyon

Kolob Canyon

Panguitch, Utah

Panguitch Inn Anglers Farmhouse

Panguitch Anglers Inn Farmhouse

Tim and I had won our stay in at Panguitch Anglers Inn at a charity auction.  Conveniently located between the two parks,  this made a perfect home base for several nights while we explored both National Parks and the surrounding area. Continue reading →

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I hit my goal of 50 countries – setting new goals!

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

I had set a goal for my blog that by the end of 2013 I would have visitors from 50 countries. Well I made it by December 31st with one to spare. Today I am at 52 countries. I think I would like to set a goal of reaching people in 100 countries by the end of this year.

Here is a list of the countries and the number of visits from each: Continue reading →

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Yellowstone National Park (part 2)

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

DSC_0298

Yesterday I published Part 1 about my favorite place in the USA – Yellowstone National Park. In case you missed it and would like to check out the pictures you can see them by clicking here.

The roads through Yellowstone NP are in two big circles.  We stayed in three different parts of the park over our 10 day stay:

The Lake Hotel, located on the northern shore of Yellowstone Lake
Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, just inside the northern border of the park
Old Faithful Inn (a National Historic Monument), in the southwestern part of the park right next to Old Faithful Geyser. Continue reading →

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My favorite place in the USA – Yellowstone National Park (part 1)

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

In the early 1990’s Tim and I spent two months driving a small Previa van around the USA. We found that this country has some of the most natural beauty and diversity of any of the countries we have explored. From “sea to shining sea” we made a huge loop. Starting in Los Angeles, across the Southern states to Florida. We then headed north up the coast all the way to Maine in time to witness the spectacular fall foliage and include a visit to Niagara Falls.

Cutting across Eastern Canada, we later dropped back down to the US to pass through Chicago and stopped to visit family in central Illinois. By that time we were running short on time and anxious to get home to finally get our brand new business started and off the ground. That meant we by-passed the northern and northwestern states.

Years later, as a surprise for me, Tim planned a 10 day trip to Yellowstone National Park to help fill in some of the ground we had missed. In September 2006 we flew into Cody, Wyoming and rented a car. Ever since that time there, I have considered Yellowstone my favorite place in the USA, and possibly on this planet for pure natural beauty.

As an avid amateur photographer I was in heaven.

The scenery – larger than life animals, erupting geysers, multi-colored pools, geographic wonders, waterfalls, lakes, meadows, and fall colors all combined to perfection.  Here is just a sample of what we saw:

IMG_0688

Continue reading →

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Viking River Cruise Yaroslavl Russia 2007

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

We are in the final countdown to take off for Turkey on February 11th. I will be writing up our day-to-day activities similar to what I did in Thailand as long as we have adequate internet service. In the meantime, I am looking back at some of our past trips to help pass the time.

In July 2007 Tim and I took a Viking River Cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Russia. Yaroslavl was just one of the stops along the route. Being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, I thought it might be a good one to share with you.

Yaroslavl, Russia

Church of St. Elijah the Prophet, Yaroslavl, Russia

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Saying our goodbyes to 2013

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

2013 was such a year of change and transition for our family.  We started the year with the loss of my mother to Alzheimer’s and cancer in January and then ended on an equally sad note of Tim’s father passing away in December from Parkinson’s Disease and a different version of cancer.

The loss of a parent changes you.  It brings your own mortality into question.  You look at your life, dreams, goals, relationships, accomplishments, health, happiness and spirituality through different eyes.  You ask more questions of yourself, and search deeper for meaning.

Our biggest dream was to have the freedom to travel the world for as long as we wished, take amazing pictures and share our journey with whomever wished to follow along.  We decided to move forward and are about to launch our dreams into realities.

We sold our family home in June where we had lived for almost 20 years and raised our son.  After sorting through our “things” and either selling them, giving them away, donating or throwing most things out we put a few items in storage and temporarily moved into our tiny mountain cabin.

Tim decided to retire and is in the final stages of turning the business we grew together for the past 22 years over to our son, Dane.

We managed to fit in a couple of wonderful road trips, including returning to Oregon, visiting several State and National Parks and a week at Mammoth with dear friends.  We also flew to Illinois several times to be with family and are grateful we were able to do so.

November was a magical trip to Thailand.  I fell in love with the beautiful Thai people, their warmth and smiles.  I wrote about our daily adventures.  In case you have not read them, here is a link to our Thailand write-ups that you can click to take a look if you are interested.

The month of December is a blur.  We flew back to Illinois to be with family during the final days of my father-in-laws life.  After the funeral we returned home Christmas Eve to a somber Christmas.  I was thankful to have time with my sister, brother-in-law, nephew, his girlfriend and her family, but the sadness, lack of sleep, jetlag and stress took a toll and both Tim and I came down with a nasty bug.

New Years came and went with little fanfare as we took time to heal – our emotions, our health, our spirits.

We are looking forward to all that 2014 has to offer:  New adventures, new countries to visit, people to meet, pictures to take and lessons to learn.  I’m excited for all the known and unknown that lies ahead.  I just updated the “about” page to include some recently booked trips that I will be blogging about soon.

My wish for you is that 2014 brings you vibrant health, abundant happiness, a zest for living, and that your wildest dreams come true!

I’ve decided to end each post this year with something I am grateful for.

GRATITUDE MOMENT – Today I am grateful for the thoughtfulness of family.  While Tim and I were coughing, blowing our noses and feeling miserable, my family took care of us, cooking, cleaning up, grocery shopping, entertained themselves and allowed us time to heal.  You are loved beyond words.

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