Travel Is Like A Box of Chocolates. You Never Know What You Are Going to Get, but It Is All Good


2018 Year-In-Review

 Last year was a year of amazing places and amazing people. I thank God for the wonderful world He created. Travel for me is like air. I don’t just like it. I need it and have needed it since I was 4 years old when I packed my suitcase and told my parents thank you but I am leaving now to travel the world. I never knew what, when, or how but I knew I wanted to see it all. I still have so much to see but each year we are making great progress. My husband also loves to travel and have new experiences as does my sister (through love not blood). Both co-author this blog with me.

We have found that the world is an extremely complex, extremely large place with never-ending opportunities to learn. We have learned that watching on TV and listening to what others tell you about the world is misleading. There are many great and wonderful countries in this world and many great and wonderful people. We may have different cultures but as human beings, we are all more alike than we are different. We recommend that everyone see the world for themselves. Travel really is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get, but it is all good (to quote a line from the movie Forest Gump).

We traveled to many places in 2018. Some were places we visited previously and some were brand new to us: Cancun (Secrets Capri); New York City; Smooth Jazz Cruise (Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize, and Coco Cay); Las Vegas, NV and Arizona (Grand Canyon); Caribbean Cruise (Aruba, St. Thomas, Curacao, St. Kitts); Detroit, MI; Lisbon, Mangualde, and Mesquitela Portugal; Rome and Venice, Italy; Myrtle Beach, SC; New Orleans, LA; and Coeur D’Alene Idaho. We met amazing people, spent time with family and friends, and had time together as a couple. We learned knew things, saw new things, and were blessed to continue our quest to see the world.

We have written separate blogs about the majority of the places we visited. We have given our thoughts on international travel and domestic travel. We think both are necessary to have a balanced appreciation of the beauty of both America and the world. We have given my thoughts about cruising vs. staying in all-inclusive resorts.  Our humble opinion is again that balance is best. We like both cruising and staying in all-inclusive resorts but we like to use cruises as scouting trips for places to which we would like to return because cruises are typically very short stays where you do not have time to really see a country and understand its culture. We discussed some of my favorite cities to visit, New York City being one of my absolute favorites and Lisbon is now added to that list. It was very nice to see Coeur d’Alene, Idaho as I had never been. It is a beautiful part of the country. We were also glad to visit New Orleans again as we had not been in years. The food is amazing there. The Smooth Jazz Cruise was our entertainment favorite for 2018. The trip to Portugal and Italy was the travel highlight of the year. The history, the culture, the food, and the people were life-changing. We saw everything from The Vatican to the Colosseum, to the Grand Canal to the Stagecoach Museum. AMAZING!


This year, we have been to Jamaica and have trips planned to Egypt, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, India, California, Florida, back to Jamaica, Myrtle Beach, and more to schedule. We look forward to seeing more of the world and checking off some bucket list items such as seeing the pyramids, staying at the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, and visiting the Taj Mahal. As we titled one of our blogs, TRAVEL, YOUR MONEY WILL RETURN, YOUR TIME WILL NOT. Have a blessed 2019. Live, Love, and Travel!!

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