Lens Artists Photo Challenge #320 – Looking Back

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Sophia has challenged us to “Look back at things you love(d) in your life, things that have happened, places you visited that you’d like to experience again. Anything, really, as long as it’s part of your treasured memories.” I had fun going through boxes of old photos for this challenge. I found too many to include so I decided to focus on some “firsts” from my travels.

I inherited the travel bug from my father. He was a career U.S. Air Force officer whose job required moving quite often. Every summer we spent our summer vacations traveling to visit grandparents in two different states.

My first big trip that didn’t revolve around visiting grandparents was in the summer of 1959 when I was eight years old. As we traveled from the East Coast to California we passed through many different landscapes and explored several National Parks. Here I am with my Mom and my brothers at Yellowstone Lake.

My first big trip with my husband and children was when the kids were 13 and 9. We saw many fantastic places as we traveled to and from the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. A hike on the Bright Angel Trail was the highlight of our Grand Canyon adventure.

I was 16 years old the first time I flew in an airplane. We flew from New York to Rome on our way to My Dad’s next assignment at a small base near Brindisi, Italy. We traveled to many places around Europe during the two years Dad was stationed there. This image is of the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

Wandering Dawgs took our first RV trip in 2006 in our brand new fifth wheel. We found beauty every where we went as we traveled west to explore many of the western National Parks.

Our first trip to Alaska was by RV in 2013. We traveled from Georgia to Alaska and back, spending almost two months wandering in the Last Frontier.

Our first ocean cruise was in 2022 when we sailed to 9 different islands in the Caribbean. This image is of a beach in the U.S Virgin Islands.

Wandering Dawgs are not done wandering yet!

Many thanks to our host Sophia for the challenge Lens-Artists #320 – Looking Back

25 thoughts on “Lens Artists Photo Challenge #320 – Looking Back”

  4. Such a fun post Beth – wandering dawgs indeed!! What a great trip down memory lane you took – and thanks for bringing us along. My first flight was to Paris when I was a junior in college. I definitely caught the travel bug which I’ve enjoyed from then on! Thanks so much for sharing your travels with us.

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    1. Thanks Tina! The hardest part of this challenge was limiting the number of photos to include and deciding which one for each “first”. The photos from my childhood were digitized from my Dad’s slides. I was a junior in high school when we flew to Rome. I could do an entire post about each one of these “firsts”.

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  6. Thanks for sharing your memories with us. I think you traveled by RV at a great time. I wouldn’t want to be starting RV life these days. Things have really changed out there.

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    1. Nora, I’m glad you enjoyed my memories. Yes, the Georgia to Alaska trip was really the trip of a lifetime. We loved Alaska so much we returned there on a cruise. I’d go back in a heart beat if it wasn’t so far from home.

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    1. Sofia, many thanks. That first photo of me with my brothers was digitized from one of my Dad’s slides. I’m not sure where it was taken. I hope to keep wandering as long as I am able! Thanks for this awesome challenge!

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  12. How fun to reminisce about all your travels. Travel is wonderful and the sweet part is when you get home.
    I loved seeing all your memories!
    Don’t stop Wandering my friend!

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