From moonlit dreams to cross-country adventures, every photograph tells a story of possibility.
JoAnn Ryan’s July challenge in the Globetrotter digital publication, inspired me to peruse my photo collection to tell a travel story through pictures.
Space has always fascinated me. I’m an original Trekkie, an avid fan of the series from 1966-1969. The idea of travelling through space to seek out new life and new civilizations was mind-blowing.
On the 20th July 1969, our family gathered, transfixed in front of the TV, watching Neil Armstrong take his giant step for mankind! The most momentous travel photography ever to be seen!
My dad had recently returned from Vietnam and we had been transferred to England for his last assignment in the Air Force. We had just flown halfway around the world to live in a new country, and now Neil was stepping on the moon! Suddenly, anything seemed possible.
Since then, I have periodically looked at the moon in awe, still mesmerized by the idea of space travel. One of my favourite flight photos is a picture I took in July of 2012 on a trip from Tacoma, Washington to London, England.
The photo below was taken shortly after take-off from Sea-Tac Airport, just outside of Seattle, Washington. I think this is Mt Rainier. I was mesmerized by the realization that we were above the clouds and could see the top of the mountain through them; a completely new perspective.
Yes, as an Air Force brat, I travelled a lot, but even as an adult, the wonder of flight and the possibilities of interplanetary travel, continue to inspire me as to the possibilities of life.
The Dawn of New Beginnings
Every sunrise is the dawn of a new day.
After the passing of our mother in 2023, we gathered as a family at Donner Lake in Truckee, California. In that majestic mountain setting, we spent the evening telling stories about our parents and counting our blessings for the closeness of our family relationships nurtured by our parents.
My sister, Rebecca, and I set our alarm to welcome the new day before sunrise. We arose with excitement, made our coffee, and strolled along the docks, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the sun. As it peeked from behind the trees, we were in awe of the beauty of the moment, and the possibilities it offered.
Our great-great-grandfather had emigrated from Scotland as a child and ended up on this very lake, owning a prominent lakeshore hotel here between 1868 and 1872.
As we watched the lake awaken under the rising sun, we felt an ancestral connection and pondered his life on the lake, and the sunrises he experienced. Now here we were, his great-great-granddaughters, drinking our coffee, overlooking the same lake, pondering all the new beginnings that had transpired in the last 160 years. It gave us goosebumps.
The next morning, my sister, brother-in-law, and I bid farewell to Rebecca and off we drove to traverse the country, approximately 3,000 miles, for the third time in two months!
Halfway across the country, we had one of our most uncharacteristic over-nights of our travel escapades that year. All the hotels along our route were fully booked, so finally, around midnight or so, we stopped at a Love’s truck stop in Sydney, Nebraska. Safely tucked in between the semi-trucks, we covered the windows with blankets, rolled up our coats for pillows, and got a few hours of sleep before hitting the road a few hours later.
We arose to a much different sunrise than Donner Lake, but equally as meaningful. This area is along an open stretch of highway, running through the Heartland of the country.
The day began as a wide-open canvas beckoning its creator to inspire us. While a truck stop is not our usual travel accommodation, we couldn’t wake to the splendour of that sunrise and not feel the power of the open road and the adventures that awaited us.
Counting Our Blessings
As beautiful and majestic as the sunrises are, sunsets close our day with thoughts of gratitude. Two of my recent sunset photos are from my trip last year to the UK and Ireland. Rebecca and I just earned our post-graduate degree from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.
To celebrate our achievement we decided to attend graduation on the 5th November in Glasgow!
Six weeks of planning, then, voila, we met in Atlanta, Georgia to begin our dream vacation. She arrived before me, so made her way to greet me as I disembarked. Then off we strode to find sustenance and head towards the international terminal.
I’d always wanted to fly Virgin Atlantic! This photo ignited the realization that we were on the cusp of our dreams. We laid the trials and tribulations of the past to rest and were about to soar to new heights.
As the sun set over our departure, we were filled with excitement, reminiscing about the journey of the last ten years, working, caring for mom, my cross-country move, finishing our degrees, and now our dream trip to Scotland and Ireland. We felt so blessed.
After landing in London, we traversed the country to Scotland by train, via a stop for Halloween in the medieval town of York. The next day we continued our train adventure to Glasgow after a brief stopover in Edinburgh.
The catalyst for this trip was our graduation which was taking place in the Gothic building, Barony Hall. It was originally an 18th century cathedral which after falling into disrepair, was reconstructed in 1889. What a fitting ceremonial building, especially for our group of genealogy graduates.
As the sun set over Glasgow, it marked the close of a rollercoaster decade. We looked at our graduation gowns and pondered the big events planned for tomorrow. We were overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for our accomplishments and our celebratory trip. How fortunate we are.
After graduation, we ventured to Inverness, the gateway to the Highlands. We were hoping to catch a view of the Aurora Borealis, my quest for decades. As luck would have it, the sky was overcast. As we walked along the River Ness by our AirBnB, we peered through the clouds for any colourful visuals. It was supposed to be a great night to see their magnificence!
Although we never observed the full exhibition, spying the faint colours haloing the moon, we counted our blessings that we were there and toyed with the idea that it was just above us. We felt their presence dancing behind the clouds. Truly a moment of gratitude!
Space – The Final Frontier
As the world is returning to space and surging into the unknown, I am still awestruck by the concept of how small our planet is in the vastness of space. From the latest Artemis space flights we’ve again seen photos of earth from above.
We are one people, earthlings, and for the moment, have one home!
The moon over my backyard is the same one every other human sees across the globe! It’s the same moon Neil Armstrong stepped onto 57 years ago. It’s the same moon which represents the threshold of further expansion.
Perhaps we will some day boldly go where no man has gone before. I hope it will not be at the expense of our world and our global family.
Published in Globetrotters digital Publication