by Wendy
Looks and Leaps blog launched in January 2015. In honor of the anniversary, I am sharing just a few of my favorite posts from our family over the past five years, in no particular order, covering a wide range of travel destinations and topics. This has been a fun archive to create and has hopefully provided a little inspiration or entertainment along the way.
Thank you to all writers and all readers! Continue reading
by Wendy
Let’s rewind to late May/early June and the first vacation of the season: the always anticipated family trip to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. We’ve written about this locale previously – I particularly love Dad’s post on HHI, Jack’s wine pairing, and of course the shared recollections of a beach house getaway. I can’t top any of that, but have a few more details to cover on the topic of food (of course), as well as a stopover in Savannah, Georgia. Continue reading
by Joe
A trip to the world of Disney, in this case Walt Disney World, brings you into a one of a kind adventure and experience like no other. There are many places where you can travel that will certainly change your daily routine and your feeling of place. The mountains can do that. The beach can do that. A cruise can do that. But nothing changes your sense of place, your daily routine grind, and your happy spot like one of the Disney Parks. I’m a grandparent who enjoys these parks a lot and I can only imagine how wonderful it must be for children of age (those old enough to recall the experience later). Continue reading
by Cindy
Disney is a magical place, but sharing it with your Grandchildren, well, that
makes it super magical!!! Continue reading
by Wendy
January is the anniversary of the Looks and Leaps blog project. Thanks go to family members who write and edit posts, and to readers (who are probably for the most part these same family members). Thanks to everyone who has offered a kind word of encouragement on or offline.
I read that fruit and flowers are traditional presents for the fourth anniversary, so I’ve pulled together photos on this theme from previous years of travel. Many of these were taken by family members, who I also thank for their superior photography skills. The top one depicts flowers outside a pub in London, where I wish we could gather to toast travel stories and travel with family and another year of both. Continue reading
by Wendy
Your sisters are always up for drinks over evening card or Scrabble games
Your parents can easily out-hike you, any day of the week
Your niece and nephew think of the funniest Would You Rather questions on a car trip
There is a great variety of snacks and everyone is willing to share
There is always quality coffee around Continue reading
During our family trip out West, Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort was home base. This 4,000 acre ranch next to Zion National Park is about a 90 minute drive from St. George airport and 3 hour drive from Las Vegas. So yes, it is remote, but that’s part of the beauty. We stayed in a cabin, though there are many different lodging options, including camping, glamping or even Conestoga Wagon! This is a special place. Here are some of our favorite things about the ranch. Continue reading
by Joe
There is no place on earth, let alone the USA, that looks and feels like Southern Utah. It’s extremely hot and dry in summer and cold and snowy in the winter. But the warm breezes in the summer and cooler mornings keeps everything in balance for an enjoyable summer experience. The sky during the day ranges from turquoise to navy blue and as black as coal at night which allows the stars to pop like top grade diamonds. The green trees against the dark blue skies and red rocks paints a picture like no other place. The dryness of the warm mid-day breezes and the cool ones in the evening wrap around you and embrace you. It’s almost spiritual in nature and in this vast piece of nature you can see, smell, and feel the wonder of the west as so many have before us. But it is at times, stark. It is dry and the land in many places dies of thirst. It is rocky and at times desolate. It can be brutally hot in the summer and I wondered how did so many people, for thousands of years, come to inhabit and thrive in this land. But humans have lived in this area for over 10,000 years. Even if you look back only a couple of hundred years ago, how did they do it? Continue reading
by Cindy
In 2009, my husband Joe and I did a trip to Utah to visit five National Parks: Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion. We also visited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on that trip. We were blown away by what we saw and have talked about that trip a lot!
Well, our children were listening and decided they would like to see that part of the country for themselves. So when it was time to discuss the summer vacation, the yearly beach trip was changed to a Utah trip. The grandchildren were older now and ready for this great adventure. Nine of us visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Zion. Six of us visited Bryce.
I never thought I would have the opportunity to visit that area again, much less with my children and grandchildren. It was equally amazing seeing it again for myself and now through the eyes of my children and grandchildren. We did some wonderful hikes together. I hope their memories of these awesome places will stay in their minds and hearts as it has mine.
UTAH ROCKS!
by Wendy
During the past six months, I traveled to Utah four times. Once for skiing, twice for work, and most recently for an epic vacation with my husband Jack, parents Cindy and Joe, sister April, nephew J, sister Sunny, brother-in-law Jimmy, and niece MJ. Continue reading