Happy New Year

Happy New Year to one and all. It's hard to believe that 2006 is coming to an end. It has been a good year. I started the year with a group to Cuba in April, went on to Nicaragua (to visit my daughter, Erin Cox, who was working with a midwife in Esteli, Nicaragua), then to Alaska in June, Russia and the Baltic countries in August, Southern Africa in September and ended the year in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, in October and November for the annual polar bear
migration. I enjoyed every trip, but the animal trips are still my favorite.

When I meet people at social events I always hear, "I bet you've been everywhere." Not by a long shot. I have traveled considerably, but we live in a big world and there is so much to see.

At the millennium I made a "wish list," places I wanted to visit in the coming years. I am happy to say that since 2000, I have visited all but two of the places on my original "wish list." I traveled from Beijing, China, to St. Petersburg, Russia, aboard the Trans-Siberian Railroad; I climbed the Great Wall of China and visited Emperor Xin's great army of terra cotta warriors; I cruised down the Amazon; I walked among the penguins on the Antarctic peninsula; I swam with the sea lions and saw blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos Islands; I went on safari in Southern Africa; visited Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park; and went to India to see the Taj Mahal.

The beaches of Normandy and the great pyramids in Egypt are still high on my list of places I want to visit, and both are on my original "wish list." I have tentatively planned a trip to Normandy for October 2007 along with a barge trip in Burgundy and a few days
in Paris.

For many years I have wanted to visit the Normandy beaches along with the towns of Caen, Mont-Saint-Michel and Honfleur. My daughter, Heather Cox, studied in Caen which is in northwestern Normandy, only six miles from the English Channel.

Heather has vivid memories of the towering cliffs and will never forget the sea of white crosses (and stars) that mark the graves of thousands of soldiers that gave their lives in the Battle of Normandy during World War II.

Sadly, Egypt still seems a long way off. Even though I have planned trips for friends to both Egypt and Jordan this past year, and they tell me they felt perfectly safe wherever they went, I'm a bit skeptical to take a group due to the unstable political situation in the Middle East.

Every year I add new places to my list. In February 2007 I am going to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. The trip actually begins in Hong Kong for Chinese New Year (the year of the boar). Though I have been to Hong Kong before, it's a fun city to visit and I have always
wanted to stay at the famous Peninsula Hotel.

At the Bonnes Meres luncheon in December, I sat next to Cheryl Evans and discovered she took the same trip last February. She raved about the trip and is still talking about the incredible scenery, the wonderful people and the fabulous shopping.

A cruise to the Russian Far East, added to my "wish list" in 2003, is now becoming a reality in July 2007. I'm really excited because the trip starts and ends in Anchorage, Alaska. It will be nice not having to fly halfway around the world to start a trip. We'll cruise north across the Bering Sea, stopping to explore remote villages, discover some fascinating geology and, best of all, see a myriad of wildlife including orca and bowhead whales, porpoises, polar bears, fur seals,
sea lions and countless number of sea birds.

In the past 30 years I have traveled extensively, but when I take out my world map, I marvel at all the places I have yet to visit.

Bhutan: Every time I pick up a travel magazine I'm reading about Bhutan. It took me a while to find it on the map; it's north of India and south of Tibet.

From everything I read it has fantastic Buddhist temples, medieval castles and may be one of the last untouched corners of the world (for now).

I have visited very few countries in Eastern Europe and have added Hungary, Romania, Transylvania and Poland to my list of "must see" places.

Dracula's castle holds a special fascination along with the cities of Bucharest and Budapest.

I still have to see all the Scandinavian countries. Marjorie Handel and I did travel to Copenhagen this past July, prior to our trip to Russia, but I have never been to Finland or Norway and I'm told the Norwegian fjords offer some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

South America: Argentina and Brazil are on my list. I will be going back to Antarctica in January 2008 and I am hoping to go to Brazil and Argentina prior to the cruise. I'm told Buenos Aires (Argentina) is fabulous along with Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

And I can't leave out Israel - Heather would disown me. Even though I was in Israel many years ago, I would love to go back. Regardless of your heritage, the entire country and especially the city of Jerusalem, offers something for everyone and, according to Heather, is safer than Los Angeles.

The possibilities for travel are endless. My suggestion is to take out a world map, let your imagination wander and your own "wish list."

Have a happy and healthy 2007 and happy traveling!