This book records is a record of how I began my travels, what I learned from my trips, as well as recounting the many travel adventures. Adventure travel is not for everyone. A good friend once told me that she doesn’t want to travel because her bed is the most comfortable bed in the world.  I agree that my bed is a very comfortable bed, but the view from this bed is always the same.  It may be a charming view, but it is an unchanging one.  When I travel, the bed is not always comfortable, the shower is not … Continue reading 2. Introduction

Fall, 2026: I started this book almost 15 years ago.  It took a while to get going and in the mean time I went on more trips, and the book expanded.  I decided to make my 80th birthday the hard stop for writing the adventures. But I couldn’t resist adding the trips that I took in 2025 and 2026. I also added some trips that did not meet the first “Special Places” criteria, I later decided to include them, so that there would be a more complete record of my travels. This book is actually three books in one.  Part one is a bit about … Continue reading 1. Preface