Sight-seeing

I was telling someone recently that I was a Red Sox fan and I got the typical look from someone who isn't.  Poor thing!  People who love any other team just don't know what they are missing.  That got me to thinking about how my love for one and only sports team came about.

The first  professional  baseball game I ever saw--maybe the first professional game of any sport, was at Fenway Park.  Spoiled, I know.  What a great introduction to America's pastime.  (Although, I went with an Irish friend and had to explain the play and strategy the entire time.)  I've been hooked ever since.  Hooked my son--sons.  I'm not sure about Lucy, but I think so.

I've been a lot of cool places and seen many awe-inspiring things.  So today,  I decided to make a list.  15 places I've been and 10 I still need to see.  I can dream, right?

1.  The Berlin Wall
Do you call it that even if you aren't right in Berlin?  I saw it out in the country.  It was a fence with barbed wire and raked dirt on either side.  There was a wooden tower we could climb up on.  My parents and I were the only people there.  There was a farmhouse about 100 yards from the fence.  We talked about how awful it would be to live so close and have to look at that reminder everyday that you were that close to freedom, but couldn't have it.  There was a soda can on the tower and I kicked it by accident and the guards came running with their rifles pointed at me.  I'll never forget that feeling.

2.   Niagra Falls
I don't ever think I will get over the shock that they fall into Canada instead of into the U.S.  With my literalness of map reading skills, it seems impossible.  Canada is above New York.

3.  Arlington National Cemetery and Monuments
I love cemeteries so this was overwhelming for me.  My friend Robyn and I decided we could walk to the cemetery from quite a ways away.  We we glad to have a rest as we watched the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier.  We were there the weekend that the Vietnam Memorial opened.  Watching the familiy members find their loved one's name on the wall was more impressive than the wall itself. 

4.  Holland
The whole small country, from the cheese market in Alkmaar to the china painting in Delft.  From the scenery in Maastricht to the windmills at Kinderdicht.  I loved my summer in Holland.

4.  Valley Forge
Not only are the green rolling hills in that  part of Pennsylvania gorgeous, but Valley Forge is one of those places where you can feel the hallowedness of the place you are standing.  It's the feeling there--the feeling of freedom.

5. Versailles Palace
Many things in France are inspiring:  Notre Dame, the Louvre, etc.  My favorite place was Versailles.  I remember a particular painting on the wall.  I remember the chariot race tracks--on the roof.  I remember the impeccably pruned gardens and statuary.  I remember the bike ride in the countryside around it with my dad.

6.  Autumn Leaves in New England
No matter how many times a person hears how beautiful they are or sees pictures,  there's no way to imagine what autumn leaves are like in New Hampshire.  They are 3-4 times as big as anywhere else I've ever been.  Driving down a country lane and having them all over the road is so peaceful as is watching them drift slowly from the branches down to the ground.

7.  Victoria Harbor Hong Kong
The skyline of all skylines reflected on the "fragrant harbor" which is the translation for Hong Kong.  I especially loved looking at it from the deck of the Star Ferry crossing to the Kowloon side.

9.  Give Kids the World
I can't count how many times I choked up during our week there, thinking about a man who dedicated his life to making a safe and happy place for kids with life-threatening illnesses.  It's not on the list of most people who go to Orlando and isn't open to the public, but serves families who need some time to truly relax.  There's an ice cream shop that's even open for breakfast.  It's all free and everyone there is smiling.  It rivals Disney as the happiest place on earth.

10.  The bombed federal building in Oklahoma City
Some things you see leave impressions for all the wrong reasons.  We passed through OK on our move to New Hampshire just a few days after the bombing.  We didn't know how close we were to the building.   We thought all the boarded up buildings were just a bad part of town,  then we realized.  It was horrible.  I took a photo out the car window with a billboard that said "God bless Oklahoma City in the foreground and the crumbling mess in the background.  We went back years later to see the memorial with the lighted chairs representing all the lives lost.

11.   The view from the crown of the Statue of Liberty
I hear people can't climb that high anymore.  I don't know if that's true, but it was great.  It was also good to learn the history.  The idea that one country would give that kind of gift to another is probably a thing of the past.

12.  Crater Lake
You can't top nature.  The beauty God gave the earth is better than anything man could ever do.  The clear blue water sitting in the bowl formed by a volcano is worth the trip.  Some form of camping definitely has to make my list.  This one was pretty close to  perfect.  Keith reading Harry Potter to us on the deck of a patio boat is a highlight.

13. The Sacred Grove
Each time I read the account of Joseph Smith's first vision I can see the location because I have visited it.  It's beautiful, but not at all what I expected.  I don't know why.  It was simple.  I guess that's fitting.   Palmyra isn't on many vacation must-see lists, but it makes my 15.

14.   17 Mile Drive

Driving the coastline between Monterey and Carmel California is bliss.  The cypress trees that dot the shore aren't found anywhere else in the world except the place they are named after.  The rocky coast and the waves are breathtaking.

15.    Fenway
That's what started the list-making process.  I love the Red Sox.

Honorable Mentions
Graceland
Grand Canyon
The Freedom Trail in Boston
The Alamo
Lantau Island Hong Kong
The Champs Elysee in Paris
Maine
The Golden Gate Bridge
Yosemite National Park

The 10 places I haven't visited yet are:

1.    Seattle with the space needle and Pike's Market
2.    "The Heads"  Mount Rushmore
3.    Phnom Penh
4.    The Emerald Isle of Ireland
5.    The jazz clubs and cemeteries of New Orleans
6.    China's great wall
7.    Gettysburg
8.    Venice, Milan, and Rome Italy
9.    Savannah, Georgia in all it's southern charm
10.  Pyramids in Egypt--but I don't think I could feel safe in that part of the world now.