Back in 1994-95 I traveled for a year with a group called Up With People. I was finished with college, ready for an adventure and time away from the great state of Alaska. After watching a live performance and hearing about the travel and service opportunities I was hooked. I spent a summer fund raising and with a lot of help from my family, was able to pay the necessary tuition.
I traveled with a group of 130 people, ages 18-28, from 26 countries, for 12 months, to 88 cities, in 9 different countries on two continents. We stayed in prearranged host families most of the time but some hosting arrangements were special like Space Camp in Titusville Florida or a hotel by the Mediterranean Sea in Italy. We saw life altering places like the concentration camp of Dachau and tasted fresh tapped maple syrup from the trees in Quebec. We sang for Pope John Paul II on the steps of the Vatican and toured his private Vatican gardens. It was by far one of the most amazing years of my life and I only spoke of a handful of the adventures we had on our journey.
Facebook has allowed our Cast to stay connected and it's a wonderful feeling to know I have those friends all around the world. Today I went to visit one not too far away in Vancouver, BC. She works at the Aquarium and took some time out of her day to visit with us.
The boys have been so excited to go to the Aquarium. We've had it planned for weeks but I've been wanting to go for much longer. Last year they started advertising a new Penguin exhibit and I just knew we had to take Grandma Patty.
Grandma Patty has quite a collection of penguins and it was fun to see the real thing up close at the aquarium.
It's been at least 5 years since we had been to the aquarium so the Scientist didn't remember a thing and everything was new and exciting. He wanted to watch the Beluga show, the Penguin show and the Dolphin show. There was NO MISSING the Dolphin show and he enjoyed it so much despite the incessant drizzle of rain. He had questions after the shows too. It was so much fun to be there with kids who really wanted to see everything.
One of the new attractions was the 4D Salmon movie. We were spritzed in the face with water, our chairs rumbled, the wind blew, bubbles floated around and an eagle tried to grab out backs. What a show! There were 8 of us in the group today. My boys, Grammy, Grandma Patty, my sister in law and our friend Jean. These ladies are so much fun and always in the mood for a field trip.
Years ago when we brought the Professor and the Architect when they were little we would stop for a special lunch at the Fish House. The Professor still remembered it but not the Architect.
After we found our way here and a couple wrong turns getting out of Vancouver we made it back across the border at 6pm. A long day but a very special one.
The boys have been so excited to go to the Aquarium. We've had it planned for weeks but I've been wanting to go for much longer. Last year they started advertising a new Penguin exhibit and I just knew we had to take Grandma Patty.
Years ago when we brought the Professor and the Architect when they were little we would stop for a special lunch at the Fish House. The Professor still remembered it but not the Architect.
