From the deserts of Southern California to the forests of Alaska, the U. S. possesses a diversity (多样性) of nature. For most of her life, Joy Ryan never saw the scenery beyond her home state of Ohio. Then, when she was in her mid-eighties, her grandson Brad Ryan decided to take her on a journey to all of the U. S. National Parks, which took eight years to complete. At the age of 93, Grandma Joy has finally seen all 63 parks, ending her journey in the National Park of American Samoa.

“When I learned she had never seen the great wildernesses of America-deserts, mountains, oceans, I decided to intervene (干预) in some way,” Brad says. This idea inspired their first trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. However, once they were on the road, Brad realized that they could visit more parks that were nearby. Over the years, they managed to see all of the famous sights at Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, the Redwoods, and so on. But Brad values the time spent with his grandmother just as much as the amazing places they were able to visit.

Despite Grandma Joy’s older age, she was able to hike mountains. Brad regards her love for life as the key to her good health. She is grateful for each new day and is always excited for the next journey. Finally, their long journey across the U.S. came to an end with American Samoa.

“I am thankful every morning for giving me another day,” Grandma Joy shares. “And you’re your choice whether you’re going to have a rainy day or a sunny day. So, smile at everybody, and let everybody know you’re having a whale of a time.” While her tour of the U. S. has come to a close, she and her grandson are not done traveling. Next up, they have their sights set on Kenya.

Frank looked at us and said, “My Dad was a fisherman. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled like the ocean. He would wear his old canvas(帆布), foul-weather coat and his overalls(围裙). No matter how much my Mother washed them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish.”

His voice dropped a bit. “When the weather was bad he would drive me to school. He had an old truck which was older than he was. You could hear it coming for blocks(街区). As he drove toward the school, I would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here, I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!”

He paused and then went on, “I remember the day I decided I was too old for a goodbye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, he had his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and said, ‘No, Dad. I’m too old for a goodbye kiss. I'm too old for any kind of kiss.”

“My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked out the windshield (挡风玻璃). ‘You're right,’he said. ‘You are a big boy....a man. I won't kiss you anymore.”

Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his eyes, as he spoke.“It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back. It was a day when most of the fleet(捕鱼船队) stayed in, but not Dad. He had a big family to feed. They found his boat adrift with its nets half in and half out. He must have gotten into a gale (狂风) and was trying to save the nets and the floats.”