A travel experience is more than the facts of the journey–it is also a life teaching moment and life altering as well. It is an enjoyment in time and of space that leaves a lasting impression on the soul.

First, some fun facts of our ten and a half month “vacation.”
+We traveled enough miles to go around the globe three times.
+We visited sixteen countries–from Austria to the United Kingdom/Gibraltar.
+We visited eighteen states in the United States–from Arizona to Washington.
+We spent the most time in Florence, Italy.
+We revisited Barcelona three separate times.
+We traveled on every mechanical mode of transportation (save the space shuttle) available.
+We took two transAtlantic cruises, one Rhine River cruise, and one Mediterranean cruise for six weeks on the water.
+We drove every inch of the U.S. west coast Highway 1 from Southern California to near the border of Canada. (In Oregon, the number changed to 101.)
+We saw all nine of our siblings.
+We experienced the heights of the Alps and the lows of the Krakow salt mines.
+We lodged in 73 hotels, 3 apartments, 5 resorts, 3 cruise ship staterooms and one sibling’s home.

Next, the lasting impressions:
+Having family and friends at home who pray for you and support you is the solid foundation that allows you to savor your adventure.
+God’s creation and the creations of humanity fostered by God are awesome and inspirational and leave images in the mind and soul that photography, while important, cannot duplicate.
+Experiencing is more fulfilling than traveling.
+Having friends join you on a journey is rewarding. Thank you, Carolyn, Randy, Melisa, Ken, Paula, Allen and Rhonda and our grandchildren, Mikayla, Miranda, Aurora and Micah for enriching our lives with your presence.
+Tomball’s sister city relationship with Telgte, Germany, is valuable. Blessings to our Tomball and Telgte friends.
+Revel in the unexpected, such as when you need a stopover for a night and pick a place of which you have never heard and find a gem that few discover–Bacharach, Germany, for instance. Or, when you cannot find your tour up a mountain and end up driving instead, such as at the Rock of Gibraltar.
+When you venture beyond your comfort zone, impactful memories are created. Such as walking into a darkened village late, late in the evening with not a soul awake, looking for your hotel, such as at Monterosa, Italy, in the remote Cinque Terre village.
+People everywhere are the same.
+It is good to come home.

God bless you all, and thanks be to God for His blessings in our lives throughout this journey. WEG