Q&A meme answer Jan 30

[cairistiona]

January 30:shirebound What's the most beautiful place you've ever traveled to, and what place would be at the top of your "to be visited" list if you could win a free trip to anywhere?

Oh boy, hard to pin down the most beautful, because I've been fortunate to visit some truly wondrous spots, and each has its own unique beauty that's not diminished by another's. Some of the best places:

- Estes Park, Colorado. I've been there many times in my life and the rugged, majestic Rocky Mountains always take my breath away and stir my heart. Nighttime in the mountains is a revelation: you feel you can reach up and snatch a star from the sky.

- the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The utter silence of that place fills me with... something I can't really put my finger on. There's a feeling of vastness and grandeur and ancient things that speak to something deep in my soul. It's a view that demands silence, I think, and so I usually find myself vastly irritated by the hordes of chattering, oblivious tourists that clog the place.

- the beaches along the east coast of Florida. I love the wildness of the Atlantic Ocean, the cries of the seabirds, the waving of sea oats. It amazes me to look to the far eastern horizon and imagine that the next land I'd reach if I set sail straight across is Morocco.

Looking over that list, there's one thing missing: anything man-made. I've seen some beautiful cities and historic places, including the Great Wall, but they don't move me like nature does.

That said... a free trip to anywhere would have to be to the British Isles. :) That's my ancestral homeland and I've always wanted to walk along its lands. Second choice would be to Hawaii. Because Hawaii. :D

Comments

[shirebound]

Nighttime in the mountains is a revelation: you feel you can reach up and snatch a star from the sky.

Ohhhh, I long for that so much. It's hard to find a truly dark place in my neck of the woods.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

I have some light pollution even out in the boonies where I live, because there's a somewhat large metro area only about 10 miles south. But the northern half of the sky is usually dark enough that the stars glimmer like jewels on black velvet, especially in the winter when the atmosphere is dryer and more clear. So pretty.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

Estes Park is where my cousin grew up in the summers. My family went to Aspen for the music, hers went to Estes because it was closer to Denver and easier to get to for a quick day-trip if necessary. It's a beautiful place, as are the other locations you listed.

-Erulisse (one L)

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

I've been to Colorado many times in my youth and after I was married. The region never disappoints.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

I remember when I was in the Sierra-Nevada mountains, 7500 feet elevation. My family and I would sit outside around a fire and look up at those stars. SO amazing. So close and big and splendid.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

The clear air, the elevation... it all came as a revelation to me the first time we saw the night sky out West.

[imbecamiel.livejournal.com]

Mmm. There is just something very different about the way nature affects you than the way that even the most impressive manmade places do.

And man, I'm with you on the frustration of noisy people at places where you just want to sit quietly and soak in the awe of the place. One of the reasons why I've so much appreciated traveling at the times of really low tourism. You might not get the ideal weather all the time... but it's amazing to have national parks virtually to ourselves.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Mmm. There is just something very different about the way nature affects you than the way that even the most impressive manmade places do.

It really does. My sister and daughter, however, are more of the "okay, seen a bird, seen a hill, yep, that's a canyon... now where's the nearest mall?" *eye roll*


One of the reasons why I've so much appreciated traveling at the times of really low tourism. You might not get the ideal weather all the time... but it's amazing to have national parks virtually to ourselves.

So very true! I know once I was out of the house (I'm the youngest), my parents did their traveling in the fall, when school was in and all the parks were drained of noisy families and tourists. Plus, the aspens were afire. :) Hubby and I have gone on one trip during the school year, to Florida for our anniversay, and it was blissfully uncrowded. But it was a major pain to arrange for Dink's transport to and from school and all that, even when my dad was alive. Now that he's gone, I don't have my back-up chaffeur/chaperone, so school-year trips will have to wait.