Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there rules against engaging with wildlife that all you Galapagos fans quote?

I haven’t been to Galapagos but in Hawaii, the rule is basically you can chase the turtles. If you’re just swimming and a turtle comes up to you, it’s not like you have to run away, but you can’t then follow the turtle when it swims away.
In Yellowstone, you are supposed to keep a certain number of feet from bison. We had a bison walk right by our rental car—within 2 feet—and there was no place we could go as we were stuck in a line of cars (stopped waiting for bison crossing the road). I held my breath and took pictures through the closed window as the bison could have clearly flipped out car with little effort if he had been startled. He was so big!

I guess both of those are on my list —
Snorkeling with turtles and boating along na Palo coast in Hawaii
Stopping for bison crossing in Yellowstone
Dog sledding on glacier in Alaska
Meeting the bark rangers at Denali
A week we stayed on isla Mujeres before there were any real hotels there, in the 90s—just little Mexican family owned hotels and sk American hippies that ran a smoothie and waffles shop

PP here who suggested the sea lions…exactly. This is fine. You don’t have to run away from the animals! In fact, the sea lions would probably think that’s a game and follow you. They are incredibly playful.

I was recently reading a book about the discovery of the Endurance in the Antarctic, and once the Weddell seals came up in the ship when they opened the bay to put out the sonar scanning probes. Some of the preeminent ocean scientists in the world found it magical.

They are curious and delightful creatures. Respect them, use common sense and all is well.

They have big teeth and mouths full of bacteria and bite. They are not cute puppies.

You need to grow a spine. I would hate being so afraid of everything in life. No wonder you haven’t had any adventures, you are scared of your own shadow.

If one bites me I’ll clean it with Hibiclens and take a Z pack. Big deal. I take both when I travel to remote places.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there rules against engaging with wildlife that all you Galapagos fans quote?

I haven’t been to Galapagos but in Hawaii, the rule is basically you can chase the turtles. If you’re just swimming and a turtle comes up to you, it’s not like you have to run away, but you can’t then follow the turtle when it swims away.
In Yellowstone, you are supposed to keep a certain number of feet from bison. We had a bison walk right by our rental car—within 2 feet—and there was no place we could go as we were stuck in a line of cars (stopped waiting for bison crossing the road). I held my breath and took pictures through the closed window as the bison could have clearly flipped out car with little effort if he had been startled. He was so big!

I guess both of those are on my list —
Snorkeling with turtles and boating along na Palo coast in Hawaii
Stopping for bison crossing in Yellowstone
Dog sledding on glacier in Alaska
Meeting the bark rangers at Denali
A week we stayed on isla Mujeres before there were any real hotels there, in the 90s—just little Mexican family owned hotels and sk American hippies that ran a smoothie and waffles shop

PP here who suggested the sea lions…exactly. This is fine. You don’t have to run away from the animals! In fact, the sea lions would probably think that’s a game and follow you. They are incredibly playful.

I was recently reading a book about the discovery of the Endurance in the Antarctic, and once the Weddell seals came up in the ship when they opened the bay to put out the sonar scanning probes. Some of the preeminent ocean scientists in the world found it magical.

They are curious and delightful creatures. Respect them, use common sense and all is well.

I'm guessing you like to put your kid on a bison's back in Yellowstone for that Instagram photo and feed alligators donuts in the Everglades and pick the tulips in Amsterdam.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there rules against engaging with wildlife that all you Galapagos fans quote?

I haven’t been to Galapagos but in Hawaii, the rule is basically you can chase the turtles. If you’re just swimming and a turtle comes up to you, it’s not like you have to run away, but you can’t then follow the turtle when it swims away.
In Yellowstone, you are supposed to keep a certain number of feet from bison. We had a bison walk right by our rental car—within 2 feet—and there was no place we could go as we were stuck in a line of cars (stopped waiting for bison crossing the road). I held my breath and took pictures through the closed window as the bison could have clearly flipped out car with little effort if he had been startled. He was so big!

I guess both of those are on my list —
Snorkeling with turtles and boating along na Palo coast in Hawaii
Stopping for bison crossing in Yellowstone
Dog sledding on glacier in Alaska
Meeting the bark rangers at Denali
A week we stayed on isla Mujeres before there were any real hotels there, in the 90s—just little Mexican family owned hotels and sk American hippies that ran a smoothie and waffles shop

PP here who suggested the sea lions…exactly. This is fine. You don’t have to run away from the animals! In fact, the sea lions would probably think that’s a game and follow you. They are incredibly playful.

I was recently reading a book about the discovery of the Endurance in the Antarctic, and once the Weddell seals came up in the ship when they opened the bay to put out the sonar scanning probes. Some of the preeminent ocean scientists in the world found it magical.

They are curious and delightful creatures. Respect them, use common sense and all is well.

They have big teeth and mouths full of bacteria and bite. They are not cute puppies.

You need to grow a spine. I would hate being so afraid of everything in life. No wonder you haven’t had any adventures, you are scared of your own shadow.

If one bites me I’ll clean it with Hibiclens and take a Z pack. Big deal. I take both when I travel to remote places.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Falconry in Ireland
Jumping off a boat in Hawaii right as a pod of dolphins swam by
Holding and petting sting rays in grand cayman
Getting to Machu Picchu early and watching the fog lift around the llamas

Apparently it’s all about the animals for me!

Weird. Do sting rays actually want to be held and petted by humans?

DP but many rays enjoy humans. I have touched them all over the world diving..they come back for gentle pets. Also sea lions…we were diving and played with the sea lions in the Galapagos. They would swim/somerdault/flip around and then look at you and wait, then let you do something, then zoom around again and come back and wait…so cool. You wait for them to come to you but there is nothing wrong with touching them if they like it.

Manta rays are like the dogs of the sea. If they think you might give them a little treat, they are thrilled to come up and be petted. And they are surprisingly cute—somehow they have real expression on their face. Stingray city in the caymans developed because fisherman would dump their unused chum there … the stingrays gathered for the chum and a tourist attraction was born. The ships give you chunks of fish and the rays eat it out of your hands. It’s pretty cool.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there rules against engaging with wildlife that all you Galapagos fans quote?

I haven’t been to Galapagos but in Hawaii, the rule is basically you can chase the turtles. If you’re just swimming and a turtle comes up to you, it’s not like you have to run away, but you can’t then follow the turtle when it swims away.
In Yellowstone, you are supposed to keep a certain number of feet from bison. We had a bison walk right by our rental car—within 2 feet—and there was no place we could go as we were stuck in a line of cars (stopped waiting for bison crossing the road). I held my breath and took pictures through the closed window as the bison could have clearly flipped out car with little effort if he had been startled. He was so big!

I guess both of those are on my list —
Snorkeling with turtles and boating along na Palo coast in Hawaii
Stopping for bison crossing in Yellowstone
Dog sledding on glacier in Alaska
Meeting the bark rangers at Denali
A week we stayed on isla Mujeres before there were any real hotels there, in the 90s—just little Mexican family owned hotels and sk American hippies that ran a smoothie and waffles shop

PP here who suggested the sea lions…exactly. This is fine. You don’t have to run away from the animals! In fact, the sea lions would probably think that’s a game and follow you. They are incredibly playful.

I was recently reading a book about the discovery of the Endurance in the Antarctic, and once the Weddell seals came up in the ship when they opened the bay to put out the sonar scanning probes. Some of the preeminent ocean scientists in the world found it magical.

They are curious and delightful creatures. Respect them, use common sense and all is well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there rules against engaging with wildlife that all you Galapagos fans quote?

I haven’t been to Galapagos but in Hawaii, the rule is basically you can chase the turtles. If you’re just swimming and a turtle comes up to you, it’s not like you have to run away, but you can’t then follow the turtle when it swims away.
In Yellowstone, you are supposed to keep a certain number of feet from bison. We had a bison walk right by our rental car—within 2 feet—and there was no place we could go as we were stuck in a line of cars (stopped waiting for bison crossing the road). I held my breath and took pictures through the closed window as the bison could have clearly flipped out car with little effort if he had been startled. He was so big!

I guess both of those are on my list —
Snorkeling with turtles and boating along na Palo coast in Hawaii
Stopping for bison crossing in Yellowstone
Dog sledding on glacier in Alaska
Meeting the bark rangers at Denali
A week we stayed on isla Mujeres before there were any real hotels there, in the 90s—just little Mexican family owned hotels and sk American hippies that ran a smoothie and waffles shop

PP here who suggested the sea lions…exactly. This is fine. You don’t have to run away from the animals! In fact, the sea lions would probably think that’s a game and follow you. They are incredibly playful.

I was recently reading a book about the discovery of the Endurance in the Antarctic, and once the Weddell seals came up in the ship when they opened the bay to put out the sonar scanning probes. Some of the preeminent ocean scientists in the world found it magical.

They are curious and delightful creatures. Respect them, use common sense and all is well.

They have big teeth and mouths full of bacteria and bite. They are not cute puppies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there rules against engaging with wildlife that all you Galapagos fans quote?

I haven’t been to Galapagos but in Hawaii, the rule is basically you can chase the turtles. If you’re just swimming and a turtle comes up to you, it’s not like you have to run away, but you can’t then follow the turtle when it swims away.
In Yellowstone, you are supposed to keep a certain number of feet from bison. We had a bison walk right by our rental car—within 2 feet—and there was no place we could go as we were stuck in a line of cars (stopped waiting for bison crossing the road). I held my breath and took pictures through the closed window as the bison could have clearly flipped out car with little effort if he had been startled. He was so big!

I guess both of those are on my list —
Snorkeling with turtles and boating along na Palo coast in Hawaii
Stopping for bison crossing in Yellowstone
Dog sledding on glacier in Alaska
Meeting the bark rangers at Denali
A week we stayed on isla Mujeres before there were any real hotels there, in the 90s—just little Mexican family owned hotels and sk American hippies that ran a smoothie and waffles shop

PP here who suggested the sea lions…exactly. This is fine. You don’t have to run away from the animals! In fact, the sea lions would probably think that’s a game and follow you. They are incredibly playful.

I was recently reading a book about the discovery of the Endurance in the Antarctic, and once the Weddell seals came up in the ship when they opened the bay to put out the sonar scanning probes. Some of the preeminent ocean scientists in the world found it magical.

They are curious and delightful creatures. Respect them, use common sense and all is well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:home exchange in Paris living like a Parisian for a month

Ngongorogoro crater in Tanzania- incredible wildlife

overnight safari in Malawi where there were elephants crashing around our tent at night; also driving around the entire country of Malawi

southern Spain. Alhambra etc

staying with locals in a minority area of China in the foothills of the Himalayas

kayaking the Bioluminescent bay in Puerto

swimming with sea turtles off St Croix

staying with a host family in Japan

renting a cabin on a lake next to a volcano in southern Chile

eating in big cities of Asia esp Bangkok, Shanghai, Beijing, Kathmandu, and HONG KONG

plane ride from Culebra to Vieques PR

camping out on the Great Wall of China with a group of friends

Sheesh…”best things” turns into a laundry list(s) of humble brags. Maybe this is satire…hard for me to detect online, but “living like a Parisian for a month,” makes this post suspect. If you are humble bragging g about cosplaying a Parisian, well that along with a lot of this is too much.

Anonymous wrote:-moonshine tasting in Gatlinburg
-Dukes of Hazard dinner theater also in Gatlinburg
-double fisting Thrasher’s fries on OC boardwalk
-renting a French chateau for a whole summer

Anonymous wrote:home exchange in Paris living like a Parisian for a month

Ngongorogoro crater in Tanzania- incredible wildlife

overnight safari in Malawi where there were elephants crashing around our tent at night; also driving around the entire country of Malawi

southern Spain. Alhambra etc

staying with locals in a minority area of China in the foothills of the Himalayas

kayaking the Bioluminescent bay in Puerto

swimming with sea turtles off St Croix

staying with a host family in Japan

renting a cabin on a lake next to a volcano in southern Chile

eating in big cities of Asia esp Bangkok, Shanghai, Beijing, Kathmandu, and HONG KONG

plane ride from Culebra to Vieques PR

camping out on the Great Wall of China with a group of friends

Anonymous wrote:We’ve done a few big ticket things but honestly, for my family it was a glass bottom kayak tour in Myrtle Beach. The weather was perfect, the guide was the right mix of interesting and funny, the fish cooperated beautifully by showing up in droves under our glass bottoms, and my kids were all old enough to handle it on their own without needing any support from us. I look back at that trip, and especially that tour, as the moment when I realized we were really taking family vacations and not just trips where we parented in new locations. And my kids definitely feel the same way, we were recently talking about our next travel adventure, and they all mentioned that kayak tour as a favorite.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there rules against engaging with wildlife that all you Galapagos fans quote?

I haven’t been to Galapagos but in Hawaii, the rule is basically you can chase the turtles. If you’re just swimming and a turtle comes up to you, it’s not like you have to run away, but you can’t then follow the turtle when it swims away.
In Yellowstone, you are supposed to keep a certain number of feet from bison. We had a bison walk right by our rental car—within 2 feet—and there was no place we could go as we were stuck in a line of cars (stopped waiting for bison crossing the road). I held my breath and took pictures through the closed window as the bison could have clearly flipped out car with little effort if he had been startled. He was so big!

I guess both of those are on my list —
Snorkeling with turtles and boating along na Palo coast in Hawaii
Stopping for bison crossing in Yellowstone
Dog sledding on glacier in Alaska
Meeting the bark rangers at Denali
A week we stayed on isla Mujeres before there were any real hotels there, in the 90s—just little Mexican family owned hotels and sk American hippies that ran a smoothie and waffles shop