Archive for the ‘Adventures’ Category

Ecuador! Amazon Rainforest & Galapagos

Thursday, December 8th, 2016
Flamingos

Flamingos

What a great experience! From touring Spanish colonial architecture, the farmland of indigenous people and Inca ruins — to hiking in the Andes and bird watching in the jungle — to snorkeling and hiking in the Galapagos — we reaped the rich diversity of an Ecuador vacation in November 2016. And it’s so easy there: the same electrical outlets and the same money, US dollars.

These are the photo albums that tell the story of our visit.

Dan’s 50th Class Reunion and Gorge Hiking

Sunday, August 7th, 2016

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Here are photos from the week-long trip we took to Le Roy and upstate New York in July of 2016:

  1. of 3: Reunion Weekend, New York
  2. of 3: Kiddy Demolition Derby!
  3. of 3: Gorgeous Gorges of the Finger Lakes

Bike Touring in Italy, Fortresses in Croatia!

Sunday, June 26th, 2016

Here are our travel photos from this wonderful vacation we took in May and June of 2016:

1 of 6: Puglia People and Places
2 of 6: Bicycling Puglia
3 of 6: R&R in Polignano a Mare and Bari, Italy
4 of 6: Two Days in Dubrovnik 
5 of 6: Croatian Coast from a Bus Window
6 of 6: Stupendous Split

Travel to South America Through Photos

Thursday, April 23rd, 2015
Dan and Liz on Glacier Gray

Dan and Liz on Glacier Gray

Dan and I took two weeks to trek and hike near the ice fields and granite towers in the Andes of Chile and Argentina’s Patagonia National Park. Our final week was warming up on the beaches of Uruguay near Montevideo and Punta Este. It was very difficult to select the best of over 1200 photos between the two of us, but here are four password-free albums we hope you’ll enjoy.

Slideshow mode is hidden in the drop down arrow at top right of the initial view. Click Slideshow to read our travel story in photo captions.

Patagonia Trekking
Glacier Grey
Trekking Argentina’s Patagonia
Uruguay and Buenos Aires

Our Excellent Active New Zealand Adventure

Sunday, September 29th, 2013

To celebrate our 30th anniversary, Dan and I decided it would be cool to take a summer ski vacation, so we scheduled a visit to New Zealand from August 13 through September 5, 2013. Per Dan’s well-planned but flexible itinerary, we followed the ski trip with sight seeing, hiking and wine tasting on the South Island, and a brief stay in Auckland.

As you’ll see from the albums (a combination of our best photos), New Zealand is a gorgeous country, especially for outdoorsy, adventurous types.

  • The montage link shows the whole album on a scrollable page in Google+.

Downhill Skate Adventure in the Eastern Sierra

Saturday, August 10th, 2013
WARNING TO DECENT PEOPLE! Read no further. This piece is not for you. There are f-bombs all over this piece ‘coz that’s the way I f-bombin’ talk. [And retelling such an adventure almost requires it to capture the intensity of feelings! — Liz]

 by George Merkert

I was psyched when I read Scott Peer’s mail asking whether I wanted to head up to the Eastern Sierra for a little skate with him and a couple of his other downhill skater pals.

All I could think was, “Hell yes. I’ll skate it for sure.”

Why Get Rolling at Camp Rollerblade?

Sunday, June 10th, 2012

Why do I believe  Zephyr Adventures’  Camp Rollerblade on Hilton Head Island, SC is the best possible way for novices and advanced beginners to gain confidence and inline skating skills?

The rink

For starters, we have full access to the Bristol Sports Arena with its smooth surface, morning shade and bench seating. Whether it’s an astounding breakthrough or a taste of future grace, this rink is where everybody makes progress on the basics as well as more advanced moves for the duration of camp.

Desiree coaches Wini; Sheba, Mike and Rick get a jump on skating skills

Inca Cities: Machu Picchu and Cusco

Sunday, November 7th, 2010
This is the third of three posts describing a trip for which I was the US representative from Zephyr Adventures, which runs their Royal Inca Trail Trekking adventure with local experts from Apumayo.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

(See related password free photo albums on Picasa.)

The overnight downpour had me worried, but fortunately, we awoke to high clouds for our Machu Picchu visit. We beat the crowd by leaving on the 6am bus, and as we paused to explore all the important places in the ruins, Santiago did a wonderful job of educating us about its significance, both historically and astrologically.
Santiago knew that the 400 reservations to climb Wayna Picchu were sold out, but Pam was eager to go with me, so he approached the entrance gate and said we’d  lost our tickets. The guy believed him, of course (two middle aged blond women!). To our gratification, the stone path was not slippery and there was no crowd.

The Royal Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

Saturday, November 6th, 2010
This is the second of three posts describing a trip for which I was the US representative from Zephyr Adventures, which runs their Royal Inca Trail Trekking adventure with local experts from Apumayo.

Trekking Day 1

(See related password free photo albums on Picasa.)
Cactus blooms in the Peruvian highlands

Though I saw this section in 2008, hiking the first leg of the Classic Inca trail was even more impressive with sunshine to highlight the views of the ruins, the Urubamba River valley, the mountains, and up close, the blossoms of a Peruvian highland springtime.

Peru – Training for Trekking

Friday, November 5th, 2010
This is the first of three posts describing a trip for which I was the US representative from Zephyr Adventures, which runs their Royal Inca Trail Trekking adventure with local experts from Apumayo.