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| Cozumel: Flying Carpet |
10. Long Caye, Belize:
I went to Belize a couple of years ago with some friends to do some work in an orphanage. Of course since it was Belize, we had to throw a dive trip in there. The place we choose to go was a resort on Long Caye. (Caye is pronounced Key by the way) We were at the only resort on the island where about 20 people were staying or lived. That was the closest I have felt to being on a deserted island. We were the only three guests on the dive boat for much of the trip and had our pick of fantastic, pristine sites and extended bottom time. It was my favorite place for self reflection and discovering a cure for sand flea bites.
9. San Diego, California:
I love San Diego, it's one of the few big cities I would live in. The climate is perfect year round. The downtown is easy to make your way around with great hotels and restaurants that are family friendly as well. Strangely, I like how the airport is in close proximity to all of the attractions and yet doesn't intrude. Sea World is my favorite place there with the San Diego Zoo a close second. My 17 year old daughter remembers being spit on by a walrus when she was two. The beaches are nice, abundant and clean with fun shopping around the perimeters. Of course, scuba dive the kelp beds!
8. Holland America's Private Caribbean Island:
Most large cruise ship lines have a private island or resort located in the Caribbean and more generally in the Bahamas. Holland America's is one of my favorites anywhere. It is small but has powder white sand and crystal clear water. And I do mean clear! The first time I went there, we were doing a dive in about 20 feet of water on a small coral head. An hour and a half later, the divemaster had to come down and make us surface. Holland America has food facilities, shops, and shore excursions like stingrays, parasailing, spa services etc. Kind of your own private Nirvana. I must say I have actually picked certain cruises because they stop there and that's the only way you get to go there.
7. Kailua Kona, Hawaii
I wrote a piece on the Big Island of Hawaii a couple weeks back that is pretty detailed. Enough said that I actually lived there. It's big, it's beautiful, it's in the USA, there's a Costco and Target, the diving is awesome, there is a Mormon temple here, there is enormous diversity, and the Polynesian people are as wonderful as it gets. And that's just the short list of the wonders of Hawaii.
6. Vail, Colorado
I have skied at many resorts and have lived by some of the best in the world. The reason I put Vail is the time I had when I went. I was a senior in high school and I went to stay with my uncle and his family in their condo over New Years. It was awesome to ski with my favorite male "we got into trouble with everything we did" cousin. The pool and the jacuzzi were perfect on a frigid night after the ice show. Fireworks and fondue graced New Year's Eve and I'll always remember it as a highlight of carefree youth. (Except for a 2 hour wait for a gondola, only did that once)
5. Ketchikan, Alaska
I love Alaska. It's kind of funny that a lot of people here in Hawaii have moved there from here and vice verse. I totally get it. Ketchikan is where I have done two of my most favorite adventures. The first was snorkeling. No one would go with me the cowards. Yes, it was cold but I had a six ml suit on and the marine life of the northwest was more than worth it. My biggest fear is that I would be mistaken for a big seal by an orca. The other was a fishing trip out on the bay. After pulling in the lines and crab pots, we headed to a local island and the chef cooked the fresh fish and crabs in a boulibase served with sourdough bread, greens, and a berry cobbler to die for. One word, amazing.
4. The Cayman Islands
I wrote my first travel piece on the Caymans. It is in one word...perfect. Nice resorts, fabulous beach, breathtaking reefs, golf, seclusion or socializing...it doesn't get much better, seriously. It's a bit more expensive and there are hurricanes, but I can't think of any other reason that would keep you away. Strangest story: 17 people in a minivan with six tanks on the floors on a dive trip. Have fun with that one.
3. Lake Powell, Utah
Another throw back to my youth but one of the places that defined me. My family had a boat and waterskiing was a very regular event during the summers. For one magical week, we left the cold lake waters of northern Utah, and went to Lake Powell located on the Colorado river, behind Glen Canyon Dam. My uncle had a houseboat there. (Yup same uncle in Vail...he is a great uncle to have) We would pack the houseboat and tow the speed boats to a secluded canyon to spend the week. Mornings were and early ski on glassy water...as great a feeling a natural high can give. Afternoons was a survival of the fittest on tubes behind the boats. Food, red rocks, warmth and family made those trips some of the greatest of my life.
2. Cannon Beach, Oregon
If I ever leave Hawaii, I'm moving to Cannon Beach next. It is cool and rainy much of the year, but sooo pretty. I love those beaches and the quaint towns not so crowded by tourists and development. My favorite shell shop is there along with the best place ever for chowder, Moe's. We've been there with kids and had fires and marshmallow roasts on the beach. They love the tidepools. Strangest thing there was coming on a baby Great White shark about 4 feet long that had washed up on the shore. I was with my dive buddy and her kids so of course I had to dissect the thing. Much funner than biology class.
1. Cozumel, Mexico
I'm going to write a longer piece on Cozumel in a couple of weeks, but it is my favorite place I have been. It won't be everyones, but if you are a diver and want somewhere cheap, layed back with the clearest water I have ever seen, this is your place. I love the drift diving, the closest to flying I've come and the splendid toadfish lives there. My second favorite dive ever on Paradise site was there. Clear, tons of fish were going nuts, and only four of us in the water...my kind of dive. It is also the place we took my favorite family vacation with the kids too on the 4th of July one year. I'd go back anytime in a heartbeat. Oh, and ya, drink bottled water but definitely eat the food.
This has seriously been fun...talk about memories. I would most definately suggest giving it a try, you will remember you have done far more than you think you have...so have some fun with it!
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