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Some places I've been and events experienced

by Duane K. McCullough

In no particular order, these are some places I've been and events experienced.

I've swam with beautiful Blue Tangs and pretty Parrot fish on the coral reefs near Key Largo in the Florida Keys,

I've seen the marine iguanas and touched tortoises on San Cristobol and Santa Curz Islands in the Galapagos Islands,

I've walked with my wife near the strange standing stones of both Stonehendge in England and Auray France,

I've flown over the wonderful white marl sands of western Andros and snorkeled the offshore reefs of Eleuthera in the Bahamas,

I've landed offshore Governor's Harbor in Eleuthera aboard a Pan-American seaplane with my mother & older brother
and have seen Cape Sable Florida from the air in a Cessna 150.

I've felt the cool summer sea breeze and the warm surf with my wife along Flamenco Beach on Culebra Island near Puerto Rico,

I've played among young yucca cactus and caught horny toad lizards in the dusty desert near Roswell New Mexico,

I've experienced extreme 45 degrees below zero in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
and 105 degrees near Columbia South Carolina,

I've eaten California cantaloupe in San Francisco and hot hamburgers at a Ray Burger restaurant in Guayaquil Equador,

I've crossed the Pacific Ocean with my family westbound aboard a large passenger ship
and eastbound aloft in a Constellation passenger plane,

I've been around lovely Lake Towada with my family in a 55' Buick near Misawa Air Force Base in northern Japan,

I've taken pretty pictures of the pointed Pitons of St. Lucia with my wife
and have walked with her in the wonderful waterfall parks of Dominica,

I've explored a frozen swamp with my older brother in the wild winter woods near Newburg New York,

I've been atop the Empire State Building with my family and saw the Statue Of Liberty site in the distance
near the mouth of the Hudson River,

I've gathered large 4-leaf clovers in the field and scattered milkweed seeds in the wind at Chanute Air Force Base near Rantol Illinois,

I've collected brown quartz and pink roserock crystals in New Mexico's Pacos Valley
and gathered river rocks at a waterfall site near Balsam Grove North Carolina,

I've wondered among the sea oats and sandy shores of Hilton Island in South Carolina
and have eaten steamed clams on the beach near Jupiter Inlet Florida,

I've sailed aboard a 62' catamaran with friends from St. Martin to Lisbon Creek of Southern Andros in the Bahamas,

I've listened to Bob Marley at 45 thousand feet in a Lear Jet while flying over the Turks and Caicos Islands,

I've sailed over the Puerto Rico Trench with friends at night with the song "Ode to Joy" playing on my Walkman while watching a full moon,

I've walked among the Indian ruins of Mesa Verde National Park in southern Colorado with my family
and discovered petrified log rocks within the Painted Desert of eastern Arizona,

I've driven around Lake Windermere with my wife in late spring and have seen the sheep
within the green valleys of the Lake District in England,

I've seen the bright purple and red fire sponges on the mangrove roots in the clear saltwater creeks of upper Florida Bay,

I've collected cute cuttlefish bones with my wife along the rocky rose granite shores of northern Brittany in France,

I've been to the caves of Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, Linville Caverns North Carolina and Wookey Hole in England,

I've seen the black velvet paintings in the streets of Juarez Mexico with my family
and have walked the sand dunes of White Sands National Monument in New Mexico,

I've flown with our family from Key West to Orlando Florida aboard a DC-3
whereupon we had to land in Ft. Myers on the return trip due to engine failure,

I've flown aboard a DC-9 cargo flight with my flight instructor from Miami to Merida Mexico and back for a load of cucumbers,

I've climbed the ancient stairways of Tulum temples with my wife and rode horses with her along a Yucatan beach,

I've experienced the powerful winds of Hurricane Andrew with my father & brother
and the aftermath the storm caused when I lived in southern Florida,

I've survived a serious thunderstorm just south of Cuba while flying in a small plane with friends from Miami to Montego Bay Jamaica,

I've flown solo over Biscayne Bay Florida in a Cherokee 140 airplane and have sailed my 37' Chesapeake built sailboat
many times in Largo Sound offshore Key Largo,

I've drank beer in the Elbow Room bar in Ft. Lauderdale and eaten seafood at Joe's Stonecrabs on Miami Beach,

I've been with my family looking for Christmas trees in the mountain snow near Ruidosa New Mexico,

I've eaten fried chicken at Daniel Boone's restaurant in Boone North Carolina and Blue crab claws in downtown Annapolis Maryland,

I've driven my '66 Triumph Spitfire sports car the full length of both the old Seven Mile
and the old Bahia Honda bridges in the Florida Keys,

I've seen the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City Arizona and the Clifton Suspension Bridge
over the Avon River in Bristol England,

I've worn a flowered lei at the airport in Honolulu Hawaii and have taken pictures of pretty flowers
at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville North Carolina,

I've seen spectacular sunsets from the south rim of the Grand Canyon Arizona
and touched the canyon walls of Zion National Park in Utah,

I've walked the streets of Gatlinburg Tennessee with my wife in the Fall and the castle grounds of San Marcos
near St. Augustine Florida in the Spring,

I've piloted a B-52 simulator with my older brother and father at Walker Air Force Base near Roswell New Mexico,

I've hiked with my younger brother along the waterfalls of Gorges State Park in Western North Carolina
and have sailed with him aboard his Stiletto Catamaran offshore Islamorada Florida.

I've scuba dived to a hundred feet with my older brother at night on the Eagle shipwreck off of Islamorada
and explored Florida Bay with his wife & daughters aboard their power Glacer-Bay catamaran.


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