"Life goes on, I can't wait!" GracesTrips's Profile

And, all I want is this

Hello and thanks for stopping by! I have been on VT going on 8 years now and I enjoy every aspect this site has to offer from obtaining travel information, to helping others with travel info, making friends (see VTers I have met) and providing a photo album for my family/friends that is accessible "virtually" at any time.

I've had a most interesting life thus far and an incredible journey. "Life is Good" is what the wonderful man in my life always tells me. But yet, as good as life can be, life is also too short. It is my hope, that in my lifetime, I can see the world.

I live about 20 minutes east of Los Angeles but consider SoCal (Southern California) my home. Any given weekend, I'm in Huntington Beach, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Big Bear, who knows! I'm definitely not a stay at home kind of person. I'm always on the go and always wondering where are we going next.

Me in my VT shirt at the Nedile Lodge

We try to take a trip outside of the United States each year. This past year we brought my 24 year old daughter along. So, we chose to go to South Africa. It was just an amazing experience! My favorite part was visiting the Welgevonden Game Reserve. The Nedile Lodge where we stayed is located inside the reserve exposed to all the wildlife. You felt like you were living amongst nature. Well, very nice accomodations amongst nature, I should add. I posted my pics on my Johannesburg travel page as it is about 4 hours north from there. There are many reserves you can go to in South Africa. We chose this one because of the private game reserve would not be overrun with people and the accomodations were tremendous.

My boyfriend & I on south side of Table Mountain

We also visited Cape Town on this trip. It is very much a metropolitan city with some quaint towns here and there like Kalk Bay, Simons Town and Hout Bay. We stayed in Kalk Bay for four days. It seem like an ideal place for the three of us. My daughter would do some shopping while we went wine tasting.

View at Thelema Mountain Vineyards in Stellenbosch

There are lots and lots of wineries in Stellenbosch and even going into Franschhoek. The lanscape is sooo beautiful. The mountains are so impressive. We also drove through a very nice shopping area in Franschhoek with lots of restaurants.

Penguins on the beach in Simons Town

Penguins on the beach in their natural element is so great to see. They seem to be very much at home here in Simons Town.

We did have a bit of rain one day and decided it might be best to see the Two Oceans Aquarium. What a surprise! It was a wonderful aquarium with so much sea life. It was a great way to be indoors.

Predator Tank at the Two Oceans Aquarium

We also went to Miami and Seattle this past year!

For 2013, our travel pages are still shaping up but looks like we will visit Germany again to see my boyfriend's family and then on to Prague, Zurich or Vienna. It's sooo exciting! We also have a quick trip to San Francisco in the summer. A business trip for my boyfriend but a shopping excursion for me! I just wish I had more vacation time from work.

So, if I were to build a wish list, it would start off like this (not necessarily in this order)...

Tahiti
Figi
Singapore
England
Australia
India
Brazil (hopefully in 2016 for summer Olympics)
Switzerland
Carribean
Costa Rica
Peru
Japan (again)
New Zealand
Scotland

I know I can add a lot more!