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Alaska - With son, Todd, hiked the forests near Ketchikan; with wife, Terrie, shopped ‘til we dropped in capital, Juneau, and took a helicopter ride onto Mendenhall Glacier; departed from the Skagway train station, chugging over the gold-rush mountain pass on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad; watched the dramatic ice wall carving at mighty Hubbard Glacier. In Anchorage, Convinced a local pilot into a flight through the mountain passes, dipping down to buzz moose in the shallow valleys. Departed from Anchorage via the Alaska Railroad, enjoyed a clear view of Mount McKinley, then walked the tundra of Denali National Park; ate alfresco at a Fairbanks salmon bake and walked beside the Alaskan Pipeline, an engineering marvel. Flew over the Brooks Range to Point Barrow, the northernmost point of the United States, and saw 10-foot whale jaws and polar bear skins displayed by the Inupiat hunters.

Arizona - Played countless rounds of golf in Phoenix and Scottsdale and rode horses into the desert for a campfire breakfast; enjoyed sunrise ballooning from a thousand feet over the desert; took a glider flight that made barrel rolls over Scottsdale; admired the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright’s College at Taliesin West; trail walked along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon; and drove to the remote Navajo Tribal Park at Monument Valley. In Lake Havasu, led a group for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the London Bridge over the Colorado River. Dined in the grand manner at the Wrigley Mansion, gave a travel talk for the St. Louis Cardinals’ management at their winter meetings. Gazed downward at Meteor Crater, took a tea break at the Wigwam Motel on old route 66, and slept the night flanked next to Canyon DeChelly. While maneuvering the national park road, cherished every visual moment in the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert.

California - Along with my wife, was invited by the St. Louis Football Rams on their team charter trip to San Francisco, complete with police escort to Candlestick Park and a press pass on the sidelines during the game. Drove the famous Highway 1, sleeping in Big Sur and Carmel and visiting the hilltop Hearst Castle; with son Aaron, camped in Yosemite Valley, talked with brave climbers about their ascent of El Capitan granite cliff, felt very small next to Yosemite Falls and the great Sequoia Groves, then river rafted north of the park for a great father and son outing; stopped at several of the California Spanish missions; dined in cushy Santa Barbara , toured the glitzy Hollywood studios, escorted a General Electric group of the Century Plaza, then preformed the Heimlich maneuver and saved a life, took the family to meet Mickey Mouse at Disneyland, and in my early years, shook hands with Walt Disney in Fantasyland. As a reward for a profitable year, took my President and friend to Monterey Peninsula for a golf pilgrimage, including the courses of Spanish Bay, Spy Glass and memorable Pebble Beach - finished with Big Sur and a hike to McWay Falls, with a culinary meal overlooking the Pacific at the historic Phoenix Restaurant.

Canada - Strolled the ramparts overlooking the St. Lawrence River in Quebec City, then dined in elegance at the Chateau Frontenac; shot the rapids near Montreal in a jet boat, caught the fall foliage at Mount Tremblant, cruised the Ottawa River in the capital city and watched the changing of the guards on Parliament Hill; viewed Toronto from the CNN Tower and enjoyed live theater; ate Arctic Char and Caribou Stew before boarding tundra buggies to view the polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, then took a bitter cold dog sled ride offering great views of the Northern Lights. In Alberta, road the Rocky Mountaineer Train through the fur trees from Jasper to Vancouver, viewing the Canadian wildlife; took a group on a gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain in Banff to hand feed long-horned sheep and mountain goats, later had high tea at the Banff Springs Hotel; took a stroll through around Chateau Lake Louise, almost froze my buttocks at the Columbia Ice Fields, talked travel with an old friend on a stroll to Athabasca Falls, swam outside in a heated pool at Whistler Resort while skiers slid to a halt just a few feet from the spa; glided by the Empress Hotel in a small float plane, landing in the harbor of Victoria on Vancouver Island, snapped countless pictures of multi-colored flowers at Butchart Gardens; took a cable car up Grouse Mountain, overlooking picturesque Vancouver Harbor, then sailed off north with a large group on an Alaskan cruise; drove the Alcan highway out of Whitehorse on the way to Dawson, saw the Klondike gold fields and played golf at the northernmost course in Canada, then pub crawled all night through the dirt streets at the frontier town of Dawson. Boarded the ‘Maid of the Mist’ with family members for an up-close and personal drenching of Niagara Falls, then spent two nights in Niagara on the Lake during the George Bernard Shaw Festival. Invited senior executives and their spouses for a long weekend in the mountain resort town of Whistler. Then hooked up to a cable, glided over mountain ravines on a Zip Trek ride, bounced over rocky trails with individual ATV’s, played golf at scenic mountain courses and returned home in a private executive jet.

Colorado - As a first time skier, missed the first level of the chairlift and fearfully rode to the top of Loveland Ski Resort, then embarrassingly rode down the other side; played eighteen at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, then dined with the captains of the travel industry, accompanied by a Colorado canyon rainbow. In Denver, sold a 250 person travel program, then drove over Independence Pass in a blinding, hair-raising snow storm; at a local station, flagged down the Durango Silverton narrow-gauge train for a breathtaking ride over the mountains into the old mining town of Silverton, then drove to awesome Mesa Verde National Park.

Connecticut - To celebrate my parent’s 50 th anniversary, my two sisters and I organized a reunion at a white-steepled Congregational Church in Berlin where they were married. Landed in a commuter aircraft which burst into flames, and pulled open the emergency door so all crew and passengers escaped without injury.

Florida - Boarded a catamaran for a full-day excursion from Key West to Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park. Climbed over the pre-civil war fortress that seems to float on water. Was a guest of St. Augustine, the oldest city in America and wrote an article on the Spanish Fortress and the World Golf Hall of Fame. In Clearwater, opened a branch office and won a ten- million-dollar account, including the Coast Guard that patrolled the upper Caribbean, drove the turquoise Florida Keys, barrel rolled a stunt plane in Key West, and sailed off into the sunset with a group of hardware salesmen.

Illinois - In 1970, received a promotion to run my first travel program for Maritz Travel Company at a small Rockton Resort. While checking out their private zoo got too close to a black bear cage and was gashed in the knee, requiring stitches. In Chicago, attended over twenty-five years of incentive travel industry conventions, to broker deals and established lifelong relationships with friends and suppliers from around the world.

Louisiana - In New Orleans, as a young travel director, escorted a 100 person group to the Super Bowl and hawked extra tickets outside the stadium. In a twenty-four hour food frenzy, had breakfast at Brennan’s, lunch at Commander’s Palace, and dinner at Arnaud’s. Invited my entire staff of 40 for a long weekend in New Orleans, sang, ate and drank our way through the French Quarter. Joined three hundred volunteers with the Travelers Conservation Foundation, helping to restore an historic cemetery near the French Quarter and as one of only two brick masons, sealed 12 above-ground tombs.

Maine - In the 707 era, experienced an emergency landing in Bangor with a full charter, cleared customs and treated the passengers to lobster sandwiches; sailed out of Boothbay Harbor in a hand-crafted wooden sailboat through the foggy inlets.

Maryland - In the early years of my life, while my father was a professor at the University of Maryland, at the age of five, walked by General Pershing’s open casket near the capital, many years later buried my father, a retired World War II Lieutenant Colonel, at Arlington National Cemetery, with full military honors complete with 50 honor guards, horse drawn caisson and gun salute.

Massachusetts - Near Boston, watched my nephew graduate in a traditional Harvard University ceremony, then on the peninsula of Cape Cod with my sister, jumped on the belly of a dead whale that had been beached earlier in the day. With loving care, my wife made hand-sewn outfits and the family participated in a renaissance wedding on Martha’s Vineyard.

Missouri - Cruised the Mississippi River in a paddlewheel boat, grain barge, two-person sailboat, elegant yacht and a Tom Sawyer-type raft. In St. Louis, being my home, went from boy to adult, married Terrie and raised three great boys; as a travel agent, won the first government contract for convict travel and ticketed notable characters into Marion Prison, including Teflon Don Gotti, with a one-way ticket! As a young man, cheered for the baseball Cardinals and the football Rams, then later became their travel agent and worked with Mark McGuire to bring his son to St. Louis to watch “Big Mac” hit his 62nd home run. Played in a fantasy camp with outfielders Curt Flood and Lou Brock, and hit a weak grounder pitched off of Bob Gibson. Had lunch with “Stan the Man” Musial and played golf with Football Hall of Famer, Dan Dierdorf. Worked nine years for the world’s largest motivation company, Maritz Travel, having served as travel director, product manager and product director for Europe and Asia. Started my own travel agency in 1979 with one employee…now have forty; joined the local Rotary, then “made up” lunches all over the world; was honored to become a member of the Explorer’s Club and the Travelers Century Club; have taught travel and tourism at local colleges, written articles for the St. Louis Post Dispatch and been a guest on over a hundred television shows. Have taken my wife and three boys around the world on many travel voyages. In Kansas City, after having crossed the walkway of the Kansas City Hyatt watching a pulsating tea dance, the following week the walkway collapsed, killing over one hundred people. To support the Explorers Club - organized a day-journey on the Missouri River to locate a 150 year old river boat.

Nevada - Took countless business groups to Las Vegas, then at a cocktail function high atop the thousand-foot Hemisphere Tower, persuaded men and women to take an impromptu roller coaster ride overlooking the city; took a dip in cold Lake Mead near Hoover Dam. Was responsible for a group in Lake Havasu for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the London Bridge over the Colorado River. Nailed a keynote speech for the 50th anniversary of the Travelers Century Club at the Tropicana Casino.

New Mexico - Sat under a shade tree with an elder of the Taos Pueblo admiring the adobe architecture, then changed to coat and tie for Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro at the open air Santa Fe Opera. As dawn broke over Albuquerque, slowly floated upward at the world’s largest balloon fiesta - accompanied by 600 balloons, drove up and climbed down Acoma Pueblo experiencing Indian culture in a desert mesa setting. Then drove for hours to reach the isolated Chaos Cultural Park - a little-known gem of American landmarks; hiked an hour and a half to a descending trail at Carlsbad Caverns to view the awesome Big Room; Later published an article on Great American Caves. Hiked for two hours over the White Sands National Park and consider it one of the highlights of my travel career.

New York - Escorted shortstop Ozzie Smith and ninety fans to Cooperstown for Baseball Hall of Fame ceremonies, met with Carrier Air Conditioner executives in Syracuse and convinced them to take 800 dealers to Leningrad and Moscow in the height of the communist era, became a TWA reservation agent and lived a year in the Big Apple.

South Dakota - On a one-day blitz, had breakfast in St. Louis, flew to Rapid City, drove through the Badlands and Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monuments, and returned to St. Louis in time to catch the late-night news.

St. Pierre and Miquelon - Was trapped in an Atlantic storm on this French island but found refuge in a horse barn.

Texas - During my army time, was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, as a sentry dog handler and during field training on the open range, was attacked by a Black Angus bull. Many years later flew into Austin in a private Challenger Jet to play golf at an upscale resort; with a ten-gallon hat, rode through hill country to the Y.O. Ranch to see exotic game animals.

Utah - Floated in the Great Salt Lake; hiked Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon; romantically kidnapped my wife for surprise anniversary flight to Salt Lake City and later Snowbird Ski Resort. Drove through the scenic Aspen’s fall foliage, to the summit of Cedar Breaks National Park and was greeted by an early winter blizzard.

Virginia - Under the banner of “Tourism Cares for Tomorrow”, 300 travel agents cleaned the forest around Mt. Vernon for a one-day volunteer event; and in the winter, dressed in black tie and danced with Friends of Mt. Vernon on George Washington’s birthday.

Washington - As a teenager, with my sister drove to the Seattle World’s Fair viewing Mount Rainier from the Space Needle. With an old travel director buddy, drove through the Columbia River Gorge, then spent 8 1/2 hours climbing Mount St. Helen’s.

Wyoming - As a guest journalist, boarded in Denver the Big Boy steam locomotive for a memorable train ride to Cheyenne for Frontier Days Grand Rodeo. Flew to Jackson Hole and sat on saddles at the Cowboy Bar, the following day rode the aerial tram to the top of Teton Mountain and with a pilot strapped behind me, took a tandem paragliding 20 minute flight for a breathtaking view of the Teton Range. Enjoyed a hardy breakfast at Rockefellers’ Jenny Lake Lodge in the Teton National Park; and dinner at Jackson Lake Lodge with its compelling view of lake mountains and wildlife. In Yellowstone National Park, took a camera safari viewing bison, eagles and northern pelicans; and slept in historic Old Faithful while waiting for the world-renowned geyser to blow its top.