The Aurora Borealis ...

When I retire (my but that feels good to say) ... traveling will be ratcheted up a notch at our house. There are those among you who would say ... but you're already traveling at the speed of sound. And it is true ... the travel gods, and a couple of understanding bosses, have looked kindly on me so that I could spend time with Rob in England (months at a time for 2 special trips) and a semester at the University of Alabama (also a treasured memory). But ... next year there will be more in-depth trips, including Vermont, Texas, the coast of Maine ... and the Rhine River's Christmas markets. 

But if none of those trips come to fruition ... I will have two travel memories to treasure always. 

The first was racing across the frozen tundra near North Pole, Alaska (at Christmas ... of course) for the perfect vantage point to catch the Northern Lights cascading around us. Rob had wanted to see the Northern Lights all of his life ... and I had learned from him how unlikely it was that we would ever experience it. But experience it we did ... and it was mystical ... 

The second was driving to the standing stones in England ... better known as Stonehenge ... on All Hallow's Eve. As we stood outside the circle of stones, with the wind blowing through my hair, I could nearly see those who celebrated there thousands of years ago. 

Both of these memories are made more remarkable in that they were in the company of our children ... Nathan (and Kristen) "arranged" the Aurora Borealis for us during one of the Christmases spent at North Pole. And Becky, as much of an Anglophile as her mom, stood next to me on our visit to Stonehenge.  Nearly a decade later, we returned with my mom, Becky and her husband Brian to England  ... and enjoyed Stonehenge again ... but nothing can replace the memory of being there on an All Hallow's Eve. 

But not all travel memories require journeys of a thousand miles. Sometimes traveling to a friend's house for a cup of tea is all that is required ... so what are your best travel moments?