Another year of beautiful travels and trips has ended, and it is time to get busy finding new adventures and making new travel memories. I thought I’d spend a few minutes here remembering travel adventures from 2022 and the fun times we experienced.
More adventures in and near Oklahoma City
This year began with us making another trip back to Oklahoma City after our three-month stay earlier. We enjoyed visiting many restaurants, museums, and attractions in the Oklahoma City area.
Myriad Gardens
I had no idea there were so many fine attractions within such close reach. We finally had an opportunity to visit the beautiful Myriad Gardens, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Culture Center, and a piece of the famous Route 66 in the Arcadia area, to name a few. Great family attractions are everywhere in this area.
RV misadventures on the Texas coast
Our next (sketchy) plan was to spend a few days at Magnolia Beach boondocking in our RV on the beach. However, we decided to keep driving once we got there because our onboard generator would annoy others on the beach. What an exciting but enjoyable trip this turned out to be.
Out and about on the e-bikes
After we left Magnolia Beach, we had a near-catastrophe when a few small deer ran in front of the RV in the dark as we drove down the narrow highway. Unfortunately, we hit one deer, but Steve managed to control the RV and keep us on the road.
Damage to RV from deer
We drove to Goose Island State Park in the charming coastal town of Rockport, Texas. We spent much of our time riding our e-bikes, taking in the scenery. We had a great campsite on the water for a few days and then moved to the Park’s other section in the trees.
What a great visit to Fredericksburg
Before the end of January, we found ourselves at the Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park Campground just outside this lovely German tourist town. We visited museums, wandered the fantastic shops, and enjoyed great food and drink. We finally saw the National Museum of the Pacific War.
Sights in Fredericksburg
What to see in the Texas Hill Country
After our Fredericksburg visit, we wandered through the hill country. We visited the quirky Cartoon Saloon, enjoyed beer and music at Luckenbach, sampled wines at the 290 Wine Castle at Chateau de Chasse, and climbed the amazing Enchanted Rock.
Enchanted Rock
We also spent some time near Glen Rose, which we returned to several times this last year. Steve and I enjoy the small-town atmosphere and friendly people.
Dinosaur tracks!
Cruising is different now, but still the same.
In February, we jumped on the opportunity to take a short four-day Caribbean cruise out of Galveston. Oh, how we had missed cruising! We had a fabulous time! As you know, a few things have changed more than once about how cruise lines operate post-Covid, and now we all accept Covid as part of life.
We enjoy our RV journeys but are always ready for a cruise, too!
Back to Oklahoma again
History is everywhere in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, and I had wanted to visit the museums there for some time. There are tons of Native American historical sights to see and learn about in this area.
This adventure started with a flat tire on the RV before we had even driven 20 miles, and then once we reached the Fun Town RV Park at WinStar Casino, just inside the Oklahoma State Line, we had a snow weather delay!
Cruising from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona
Fort Lauderdale in one day
I’m back to cruising again! This incredible adventure was a 14-day cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona. We spent one day and one night in Fort Lauderdale and did our best to make the most of our brief stay by touring three homes and museums.
Bonnet House Museum and Gardens
I believe the Bonnet House Museum and Gardens is our favorite of the three, although we enjoyed each one very much. The other two museums we visited were the Stranahan House Museum and History Museum, as well as the Pioneer Museum and Schoolhouse Museum.
Not exactly a perfect cruise
Steve and I had many challenges with this cruise, from hotel reservation hiccups to my tripping in our cruise ship cabin, which resulted in a painful faceplant. We set about proving Murphy’s Law is confirmed at the beginning.
I was well taken care of in the ship’s infirmary, and my knee was not smashed!
Canary Islands to Barcelona
Our fantastic cruise began with eight glorious sea days. Our first port stop was a full day at beautiful La Palma, Canary Islands, and then a full day at Tenerife, the largest Canary Islands. Both days were magical and unique. We would love to return to the Canary Islands for an extended stay.
Covid on a cruise ship
I received a positive COVID-19 result after our Canary Island port stops. We were quarantined in our cabin and missed the two ports: Valencia and Ibiza, darn it! I was not sick and did not test positive the next day. Steve never tested positive. We remained in our cabin until we reached Barcelona.
We finally made it to Barcelona.
The highlights of our time in Barcelona were our day tours to Tarragona, Sitges, Girona, Pals, and Calella de Palafrugell – all chockfull of history, mystery, and beauty. Back in Barcelona, we walked miles and miles; it was a great few days here.
La Sagrada Familia Cathedral
Why do we keep returning to Ireland?
We flew from Barcelona to Dublin, Ireland, rented a car, and spent the next two weeks exploring our favorite place. We visited castles, standing stones, cemeteries, museums, monasteries, and ruins and met the last Leprechaun Whisperer in Ireland! Steve and I saw old friends and made new ones.
Just one example of the fantastic ruins we encountered in Ireland
When we remember travel adventures from 2022, our Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona cruise and added Ireland excursion are some of our best memories.
Our most wonderfully memorable cruise yet
We took a few months off before heading out on this next wonderful cruise. We dearly love our RV travels, but – oh, those cruises!
Our 23-day cruise on the Carnival Splendor began in Seattle, Washington. It meandered its way to the Hawaiian Islands, past the International Dateline, the Equator, Fiji, and Hawaii before ending in the magnificent harbor of Sydney, Australia. What a magical experience from start to finish!
I was over the moon delighted to visit Fiji. Just as we would like to return to the Canary Islands for an extended stay, we feel the same about Fiji and, most certainly, the Hawaiian Islands!
This was our second trip to Australia, the first to Sydney. It was great to have this small taste of New South Wales. Of course, we could spend a year here and not see, learn, and do everything there is to do.
Hawaii is beautiful!
We are so blessed
This is an abbreviated version of our 2022 travels. Steve and I are so fortunate to have had each one of these opportunities to travel and see bits and pieces of the beautiful world we call home.
We plan to continue enjoying the fantastic travel adventures in the New Year and would love for all of you to continue reading our travel stories. If you have any travel destination ideas that you would like to share with us, we would be delighted to hear them.
