[pooh]

Mike and I were talking today about two instances we found to be quite interesting in our lives. These two events weren't spectacular, just interesting.
Years ago we used to attend outdoor concerts held at the Wild Animal Park, part of the San Diego Zoo. Don McLean was the guest singer one particular warm summer evening. Concert goers sat on the grass in a rather large area and enjoyed music under the stars. People were listening, talking, having a good time. Then Don started to sing "Vincent." A field filled with old and young people, a few thousand, suddenly went absolutely and I mean ABSOLUTELY silent. I'd never experienced anything quite like that. Don sang, everyone listened and afterwards, the applause was loud and long.

Another time we were in Arizona with my sister and her husband, visiting the Grand Canyon. We stayed in a town just outside of the park and took a train to the park. From the train station we had a short ride on a bus to the canyon itself. People were chatting, laughing, enjoying their bus ride, they'd had a good time on the train and thought it might be a bit of a ride to viewing areas. Suddenly the bus stopped and people were still chatting away. The bus driver then announced is a smiling sort of voice, "Would you like to see what you came out here to see? Take a look to your left." At that point it was like a chorus..all the passengers on the bus said, rather loudly, and in unison, "OOOOOOHHHHHH!!!" It was such an amazing sight, this massive canyon in so many brilliant colors....all one could say was ooooooooohhhhhhhh!

Tell us about any instances you've experienced that are now etched in your memory banks because they were just a tad out of the ordinary.

[The Village Girl]

Josh Groban-Vincent - YouTube

[pooh]

Originally Posted by The Village Girl

Josh Groban-Vincent - YouTube

Thank you VG!

[tainsley]

I had the same experience at The Grand Canyon. What an awesome site!

[pooh]

Originally Posted by tainsley

I had the same experience at The Grand Canyon. What an awesome site!

Awesome indeed!

[angiefox10]

We took a road trip to Maine and while there went to the top of Cadillac Mountain. After we got to the top we decided to walk down the side of the mountain. Understand I've been on mountains before. But this was different. We sat there and looked out and for the first time in my life, I heard..... silence. I didn't realize until that moment that I had NEVER heard silence before. There has always been sound! It was so wonderful. It felt like you were in a vortex. We just sat there for the longest time and listened to it. I've never heard it since.

The other was when we went to Europe. We decided to spend a couple of days in Paris. Weren't planning on it, but figured since we were so close... why not?

I remember walking out of our Hotel room and walking and few short blocks and seeing the Eiffel Tower. It was surreal! I don't know why it hit me like that, but I remember wanting to weep! I thought it was beautiful, and France thought it was ugly, and wanted to tear it down!

Maybe we can buy it and put it up in The Villages... Build a town square around it.

Or not.....

[pooh]

That must have been a wonderful sensation....absolute quiet...and in such a beautiful setting! I'm glad you had that experience...and thank you for sharing it with us.

Glad you had the opportunity to see the Eiffel Tower....I understand the weepy feeling.

The Tower would look great at Lake Sumter Landing, don't you think....

[Bill-n-Brillo]

3 jaw-droppers for us (all via car or motorcycle):

- Approaching Las Vegas from the north (via 93 - talk about a long, lonely drive!) at night. Nothing for many, many miles......then off in the distance, we started to see a glow on the horizon that grew and grew the further we drove. Not that Vegas is some end-all kind of place necessarily but the visual was stunning given the virtually barren terrain we'd been driving across for hours.

- I-70 westbound into CO. Fairly uninvolving ride all the way from OH - we expected something spectacular once we entered CO. Not so. Yes, the terrain was changing gradually, then all of a sudden we could start to see the mountains off in the distance. It really did get spectacular the further west we rode!! The western states with all the mountains are absolutely beautiful.

- The Grand Canyon. It took three different trips there to finally catch it during nice, clear weather. Words can't begin to describe it.

Bill

[mgjim]

I was lucky enough to be stationed in Vicenza Italy several years ago, about an hour west of Venice. The first time my wife and I traveled to Venice, we took the train and arrived during the height of tourist season. Just getting on a water bus to get to Saint Mark's Square was an ordeal. But once we got our first look at the Grand Canal and the hundreds of years of history unfolded in front of us, we were absolutely taken with the city. We tried to get back as often as possible for romantic little day trips. Among many happy memories of traveling through Europe, I'd have to say that Venice was the one place that left me speechless just about every time we visited.

[angiefox10]

Originally Posted by Bill-n-Brillo

3 jaw-droppers for us (all via car or motorcycle):

- Approaching Las Vegas from the north (via 93 - talk about a long, lonely drive!) at night. Nothing for many, many miles......then off in the distance, we started to see a glow on the horizon that grew and grew the further we drove. Not that Vegas is some end-all kind of place necessarily but the visual was stunning given the virtually barren terrain we'd been driving across for hours.

- I-70 westbound into CO. Fairly uninvolving ride all the way from OH - we expected something spectacular once we entered CO. Not so. Yes, the terrain was changing gradually, then all of a sudden we could start to see the mountains off in the distance. It really did get spectacular the further west we rode!! The western states with all the mountains are absolutely beautiful.

- The Grand Canyon. It took three different trips there to finally catch it during nice, clear weather. Words can't begin to describe it.

Bill

I remember that drive into Las Vegas as a child (just a few years ago) coming at it from the West. It was spectacular then! I remember watching it then.....

Originally Posted by mgjim

I was lucky enough to be stationed in Vicenza Italy several years ago, about an hour west of Venice. The first time my wife and I traveled to Venice, we took the train and arrived during the height of tourist season. Just getting on a water bus to get to Saint Mark's Square was an ordeal. But once we got our first look at the Grand Canal and the hundreds of years of history unfolded in front of us, we were absolutely taken with the city. We tried to get back as often as possible for romantic little day trips. Among many happy memories of traveling through Europe, I'd have to say that Venice was the one place that left me speechless just about every time we visited.

I've never been to Italy, but everyone who has talks about the splendor. They tell me it's something you don't just see, but you "feel". Maybe some day I will be able to experience it myself!

[Gerald]

Each day I wake up I add to my memories the wonders of life. Everyday brings new things and beauty. All you need do is open up to the things around you.

[2BNTV]

I remember taking a catamarran boat tour in Hawaii that was geared toward watching the sunset. It was the most beautiful setting as the sky changed many colors before setting, and it looked like the sun was being extunguished by the water. It lasted for a good thirty minutes and it was exquist.

I was on a camping trip in a RV and remember waking up early in the morning and siting outside to see the sun come up. It was very peaceful and I felt a closeness with GOD.

The wonder of GOD"S creation in both instances. It amazes me to see the sun and moon at the same time on some days.

[Graytop]

Rafting on the Colorado River in The Grand Canyon,....I remember looking up at the massive rock surroundings and saying to myself, "I can't believe I'm doing this." It was about 120 degrees down in the canyon that day but the spray from the river would cool you off every now and then.....How does that water stay so cold?

[brostholder]

doing a difficult rock climb in the "gunks" (the shawangunk mountains) in New York, getting to the top and looking out at the countryside hundreds of feet below. I'll never forget that moment.