This "tradition" started through no plan of my own; my first international birthday was concurrent with the LCU Choir's trip to Australia. It was scheduled for May 9-22 which meant I was aboard a Qantas flight over the Pacific for this birthday. Nonetheless, I figured I could celebrate the trip as my birthday, especially with the fun Mother's Day tea we had with our host family, as I have often shared my birthday with Mother's Day.
The following year, my college friend Tonya and I decided to take a post college graduation trip to Prince Edward Island, Canada, the setting of one of our favorite book/movie series: Anne of Green Gables. With graduation in early May, the trip easily overlapped May 10th. A great trip overall to one of our northern neighbors smallest provinces, on my actual birthday I was treated to a great seafood dinner (courtesy of Tonya) and a birthday cake (courtesy of our inn hosts).
A few years in the working world had me actually working on my birthday day, but the past few I have been able to escape to some other world destinations:
2009: Disney's EPCOT
Okay, not actual an international destination, but anyone who's visited the World Showcase could easily be fooled into thinking they had been transported to these eleven countries. A highlight included a family dinner at the Biergarten Restaurant, with my parents as well as both my mother's siblings and their spouses.
Food and atmosphere not too different from the Hofbrauhaus in Munchen, Germany. See Disney duplicates well!
2010: Costa Rica
Along with other adventures on this beautiful Central American country, this birthday found me high above the trees and clouds. Mom and I went ziplining through the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Incredible!
2011: Peru and the Inca Trail
This year, I added a new continent with the birthday travel – South America – on a trip to Peru with Jacinda and Evan to hike the Inca Trail. From the food to the people we met and the experiences, it was an incredible trip. Topped off by one of the most interesting and beautiful places I’ve ever seen – Machu Picchu. Lots of pictures and stories to share (that's my excuse for taking so long), so they will be on the next couple of posts.
