Travels

I have not had the time to update my travel webpages as often in recent years, but that doesn’t mean I stopped traveling. Amazingly I’ve had at least one fairly major trip each year for over a decade! I have reorganized into a list of travels, linking them where I can to what details I have available. Not everything is online but with this list you can still see where I’ve been and when. The travels before I got my digital camera in January 2002 are photo prints in various albums or boxes still yet to be scanned, so those might never actually get online unless I find myself with a LOT of free time on my hands…free time? What’s that? As what happens with a lot of my website, I keep busy living my life instead of spending the time afterwards documenting what I’ve done… 😉

Estonia & USSR
Summer 1990
Al McNeil’s farewell UCDavis choir tour with Chico State, UCBerkeley, and the Estonian Chamber Orchestra and Singers
Helsinki, Tallinn Estonia, Leningrad, Moscow

Yosemite
September 1993
Camping & hiking in Yosemite

New York City
May 1995
Singing the Verdi Requiem in Carnegie Hall with the Sacramento Symphony Chorus

New Orleans & Caribbean
October 1995
My first cruise with world-traveler Grandma
stuck at sea in Hurricane Roxanne, beautiful New Orleans

England & Paris
February 1996
Trip with Louie to visit Andrew & Jeff working in the UK
EuroDisney, Champs Elysees (the infamous chocolate mousse!), Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle, more London, Stonehenge, Avebury

Travels Around California
Fall 1996
Beauty and the Beast in LA, Disneyland, Yosemite, Golden Gate Bridge, Winchester Mystery House, Napa Wine Train

Driving to Seattle
July 1997
Visiting relatives, death of the Neon, Astoria Oregon, Seattle, Victoria BC, San Francisco day trip for Phantom of the Opera

Travels in the United Kingdom
July to December 1997
I lived in Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK, for half a year.
Didcot, Oxford, Blenheim Palace, White Horse, Wittenham and Dorchester, Thurlby, Portsmouth, Shows, Wales, Stratford-upon-Avon, Scotland, Warwick Castle

Weekend in Paris
November 1997
Gargoyles at the top of Notre Dame, Musee d’Orsay, Louvre, Tour Eiffel, Champs Elysees (the infamous chocolate mousse revisited!)

Travels in California, Nevada and Arizona
Summer 1998
Alcatraz, Muir Woods, Las Vegas, Star Trek Experience, Grand Canyon

New England & Montreal
Fall 1998
Visiting a friend-of-a-friend in Albany, New York, saw the New England fall color at Lake Placid, sightseeing in Boston & Montreal

Travels Around England
March 1999
Lincoln, York, Kent, Leeds Castle, Seven Sisters cliffs, Bath, Stonehenge, Woodhenge, London sunny in March, Victoria & Albert Museum, Dorchester Hotel for high tea

ACDA Los Angeles
March 2000
The Choral Project auditioned as soon as they were eligible and were invited to perform at the ACDA Western Region conference

Mexico & Costa Rica
Summer 2001
The Choral Project’s first international tour to Mexico City, Puebla, Oaxaca & Costa Rica

Disneyland
New Years 2002
Last-minute trip with Jeff O. to Disneyland just for New Years PLUS the first Haunted Mansion Holiday!

Las Vegas
January 2002
Company annual kickoff event, Rain in the Desert club, Star Trek Experience

Washington DC
October 2002
The Choral Project’s National Cathedral performance for California State Day

Travels Around California
September 2003
Monterey, Disneyland, Alcatraz, Yosemite, Hearst Castle, Big Sur

Disneyland
November 2003
Haunted Mansion Holiday

UK Tour
Summer 2004
The Choral Project’s second international tour, traveling around the UK, including Choir of the World competition in Llangollen, Wales

Disneyland
November 2004
Haunted Mansion Holiday

Christmas in Seattle
December 2004
Visiting family at Grandma’s house

Cornwall
New Years 2005
Hiking on the Cornish coast in Perranporth & St Ives

California
February 2005
Hiking in the Cupertino hills, Alcatraz, San Francisco, Yosemite, Santa Cruz Boomeria pipe organ

Yosemite
July 2005
Day trip for hiking & photo frenzy

Scotland to London
September 2005
Edinburgh, Torridon, Beinn Alligin, Ben Nevis, Loch Ness, London including Ewan McGregor in Guys & Dolls

NANOG/ARIN conferences in Los Angeles
October 2005
My company hosted private parties at club Mood on the Sunset Strip and at Hard Rock Cafe Universal Citywalk

Squaw Valley
January 2006
Company annual kickoff event in pubs or in snow, having fun while working, as usual 😉

Caribbean Cruise
March 2006
Internet peering conference on a cruise ship!
Ocho Rios Jamaica, climbing Dunns River Falls, Grand Cayman swimming with sting rays

Disneyland
April 2006
To make up for lack of Haunted Mansion Holiday, Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary

Travels in Germany, UK & Ireland
Fall 2006
Oktoberfest in Munich, driving around Southern Germany, Bath, Avebury, Ireland, London

Las Vegas
Jan/Feb 2007
Company annual kickoff event, plus staying afterwards for fun with highschool friend Amanda
Mandalay Bay, THEhotel, MIX at THEhotel, private party at House of Blues, private party at Rum Jungle, Blue Man Group, Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill (Spagos) at MGM Grand, Star Trek Experience, Borg 4D, Red Rock Canyon

California International Choral Competition
Summer 2007
Short choir tour with The Choral Project to San Luis Obispo to compete in the first-ever California International Choral Competition.
Even though we came away with 3 awards, it was more camaraderie than cutthroat competition, so we made international friends with other singers from Uganda & the Basque region of Spain.

Summer in Scandinavia
August 2007
Visiting Teje for her wedding reception in Skara, Sweden, so I finally visited my ancestral homeland!
Oslo, Trondheim, Hurtigruten cruise, Bergen, Norway in a Nutshell, Stockholm, Visby Gotland for the Medieval Festival, Skara, Sarpsborg, Frederikstad

Christmas in Seattle
December 2007
Traveling in my parents’ new RV up to visit family at Grandma’s house north of Seattle. Even a rare White Christmas!

Cruise to the Bahamas
January 2008
Company annual kickoff event, this time on the Majesty of the Seas
Miami, South Beach, Mango’s, Nassau, Bahamas, Coco Cay, Key West

Disneyland
April 2008
Accompanying highschool choir Pinewood Singers to compete at the Disneyland Heritage Festival

Alaska
September 2008
Cruise with Grandma from Seattle to Alaska on the Celebrity Infinity
Sitka, sea otters, bald eagles, seals, whales, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, sled dog puppies & wild ride, Ketchikan, Alaskan Queen paddle wheel cruise, Victoria BC, Butchart Gardens

Adventures in Australia
April 2010
Visiting college friend Amy while she was down under in a PhD program at Murdoch University
Kardinya, Cottesloe, Fremantle, Perth, Margaret River wineries, Melbourne, Yarra Valley wineries, hot air balloon ride, Healesville Animal Sanctuary, Mallacoota, Tasman Sea coast, petting kangaroos on the beach, Jervis Bay, Blue Mountains, Sydney

Gaelic Getaway
September 2010
Cyd kept me company while I sang with the Vocal Art Ensemble of Davis on their Irish Melody Tour. Cyd & I covered almost the entire Emerald Isle before hopping over to Doncaster, Yorkshire, to visit Janet & Chris.

Road Trip with Grandma
July 2011
A short road trip with Grandma from Seattle through Snoqualmie, Roslyn, Yakima, Selah, Toppenish, Maryhill, Bend to see my uncle Monte and his family, Timberline Lodge at Mt Hood, and Skamania Lodge on the Columbia River Gorge, with an extra bonus that my Peterson cousins were able to visit before I left!

Wizarding World & Disney World
March 2012
I met Jules in Orlando for 5 days of Disney World & Epcot plus 2 days of Universal with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Road Trip with Grandma
August 2012
In seven days I drove Grandma Clouston 1289 miles round trip from Seattle to Salem, Bend, Crater Lake, Klamath Falls, Pacific City, Astoria, and back!

Disneyland
November 2012
Quick weekend trip with Melanie to see Haunted Mansion Holiday again!

Shannon’s California Tour
June 2013
(still trying to get this updated!)

August with Grandma
August 2013
Hanging around the Seattle area and seeing the Ellensburg Rodeo

Christmas in Seattle
December 2013
(still trying to get this updated!)

Las Vegas
January 2014
Another visit with Amanda and meeting William Shatner after seeing Shatner’s World!

Hawaiian Islands Cruise
August 2014
Grandma wanted to go to Hawaii again before her 100th birthday, so we celebrated in the summer with a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands, outrunning two hurricanes on our way!

A Hundred Years of Helen in Seattle
November 2014
Quick trip to Seattle for Grandma’s big 100th birthday party!

Orlando 2015 – Universal’s Wizarding World & Diagon Alley
May 2015
A quick long weekend to see the Wizarding Workd & Diagon Alley. Yes the interactive wands are VERY cool!

Canada 2015 – Touring the Canadian Rockies with Grandma
July 2015
Grandma booked us a bus tour with 5-star hotels around the gorgeous Canadian Rockies. I can’t believe all the lakes & rivers are teal & aqua from the glacier melt!

Brazil 2015 – Rio de Janeiro
August 2015
A work trip had a bonus of a hotel on Copacabana Beach, plus finally meeting longtime online friend Simone!

Grandma’s 101st Birthday in Seattle
November 2015
Several days of parties celebrating Grandma’s 101st birthday, including a new computer and a custom cake from Britta Blvd!

Quick Visit with Grandma in Seattle
March 2016
Grandma had a few rough weeks healthwise, so I took a quick last-minute flight to cheer her up in rehab…

Barcelona & Beyond: A Castle Road Trip of Spain
June 2016
Driving around Spain with Glen, seeing 26 castles in 10 days, staying overnight in 9 of them!

Bainbridge Island & Poulsbo with Grandma
July 2016
I visited Grandma for just a couple days this time, including Bainbridge Island and Poulsbo…

Grandma’s 102nd Birthday in Seattle
November 2016
Grandma enjoyed her 102nd birthday party, and Glen & I enjoyed some downtown Seattle…

Thanksgiving in San Antonio
November 2016
Glen introduced me to his sister & some of his brothers while enjoying the sights of San Antonio…

Christmas with Grandma in Seattle
December 2016
Glen spent Christmas with my family in Seattle with Grandma…

Adventures in Asia
Feb-March 2017
Glen & I took an East Asia cruise with Ruth & George, plus we hit Disneyland Hong Kong and Disneyland Shanghai before & after!

…and where will Britta go next?