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Ten Memorable Places I’ve Visited

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Happy Tuesday, y’all! This week, Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl has made this week’s topic a freebie, but with a twist. How did she twist a freebie? Because this week isn’t a book-related freebie. It’s a chance for our readers to get to know a bit more about us. I’ve decided to share ten memorable places I’ve visited.

The Ten Most Memorable Places I've Visited

I honestly thought writing a non-bookish list would be easy. Oh, how wrong I was! I even struggled writing this list. Why? Because what I consider memorable, others may not. And honestly, most of them aren’t anything fancy, as I’ve never been out of North America.

I’m going to list these places in the order I remember visiting them. Some have more locked-in memories than others. Now, let’s see ten memorable places I’ve visited.

Okefenokee Swamp Park, Waycross, GA

I remember visiting this park as a child. How could I not, when the park was filled with alligators? All but one gator in the park was living. Another great memory I have is going for a boat ride through the swamp searching for gators in the water. The tour guide was funny, often joking about what to do if snakes fell in the boat.

The Everglades, Florida

When I was a kid, my grandparents lived in South Florida most of the year, and we would visit them. On one of those trips, we went for an airboat ride in the Everglades. Something was amazing about riding a boat across both water and land. We did manage to spot a few alligators, but not as many as we had seen years prior in Georgia.

Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC

I think almost every kid in a four-hour radius of Washington, DC, has visited one part or another of the Smithsonian Institute. Twenty-two assorted venues comprise the Smithsonian Institute. In 7th grade, I had a day-long field trip to the Zoo, the Natural History Museum, and the Air and Space Museum. Then, when my oldest daughter was a year old, a group of friends visited the zoo. And then a few years later, when my youngest was four, we visited the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum. A couple of years later, we went back to both museums.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Keystone, SD

When I was in university, my sister moved to South Dakota. We went out to visit her for her son’s first birthday. While there, we went on a road trip around the state. The day we visited Mount Rushmore, it was a gray, overcast day. But the park was still crowded and somewhat intimidating. My favorite memory is actually from a stop we made after we left. There were many lookout points along the roads around the park. The one we stopped at had a magnificent view of George Washington. We were at the same height as his face. And due to the weather, there was moisture running down his face, making it look as though he was crying.

Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming

We made a side trip from South Dakota to Wyoming and visited Devils Tower. The monument is a natural wonder; many believe it’s the core of a dormant volcano. But it is also considered sacred to the Indigenous people of the area. While walking around the base of the tower, my mom and I found ourselves alone. The breeze had stopped, the birds stopped singing, and even the insects stopped making any noise. We looked over to the tower, as we both thought we had seen movement around some of the rocks. We spotted something in a hole in the rocks, yet when we tried to see it through the camera, there was nothing there. Shortly after that, we heard a child’s laughter and everything was back to normal-the breeze began to blow, the birds were singing, and the insects were buzzing. We looked at each other and knew we had seen something special, though no one else in our group did.

Goat Island, Niagara Falls, NY

The view of Niagara Falls is the best from the Canadian side. But if you want to get up close and personal with the falls, you need to visit the New York side. Goat Island is the piece of land that separates Bridal Veil Falls and Horsehoe Falls. So, if you’ve seen images of Niagara Falls, you’ve seen Goat Island. Terrapin Point reaches right out to Horseshoe Falls, and you will get wet before you even get close to the water.

Goat Island is full of paved walking trails. And the best ones take you to the end of the Island, away from the Falls. It is such a quiet and peaceful walk. There’s also a pedestrian bridge out to the Three Sisters Islands. There are areas around the Islands where the Niagara River, which flows into Niagara Falls, is so calm that you can step in safely.

Hersheypark, Hershey, PA

As a kid, I traveled up and down I-81 a lot, as it connected us to our family in New York after we moved to Virginia. I always asked, ok, begged my parents to take us to Hersheypark. I was always told no, as we didn’t have the time or money. Yes, I was always sad, and promised myself I would go someday. Several years ago, my parents and husband were discussing vacation ideas. He mentioned Hersheypark, and after some research, they agreed. It turns out that it’s about halfway between us and them.

Milton S. Hershey created Hersheypark as a place for his employees to relax and spend time with their families. Over the years, the park has grown into one of the top amusement parks in the US. The park has been around for over 115 years! The park, and the whole city, smells so sweet. Then again, Hershey, PA, is called the Sweetest Place on Earth for a reason! Why? Because it’s the home of Hershey chocolate.

Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON

The Rogers Centre may seem like a strange place to add to this list. But it’s the only place I’ve seen a Major League Baseball game. It’s the home of the Toronto Blue Jays, and it’s become a place I’ve visited a few times over my years in Canada. It is also an iconic part of the Toronto skyline. When you search for images of the skyline, you’ll see the CN Tower, which used to be the tallest structure on the lakefront. To the left of the tower is the Rogers Centre.

My most recent visit was in April 2025. I enjoyed a solo date to an early-season baseball game. And irony of ironies, it’s the only game I’ve been to where they won. LOL!

Thousand Islands National Park, Mallorytown, ON

The Thousand Islands have been in the background of my life. My family has been in the Thousand Islands area of New York forever. The trip to the Canadian National Park took place during the pandemic, when crossing the border was difficult, and I sought a familiar destination. My daughter enjoyed walking around the park looking for spiders and reptiles. I enjoyed the sound of the water and the view of the islands.

Alaska

I’m not naming a specific place in Alaska, because the parts of the state I visited were beautiful and all were memorable. d I hope to return in the future, to share the sights and sounds with my kids and husband.

That’s ten memorable places I’ve visited. Have you visited any of these places? What are some memorable places you’ve visited?

The Ten Most Memorable Places I've Visited

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34 thoughts on “Ten Memorable Places I’ve Visited”

  3. Great post! I’ve not been to any of these places, but for some reason for close to a decade now, I’ve been really wanting to visit Alaska. Not sure why but I hope that I can tick that off my bucket list some day, lol.

  5. I’ve been to Mt Rushmore and Devil’s Tower before and I definitely preferred the latter. When I was there I even got to watch a group climbing up to the top. They looked so tiny!

  6. Great places Pam. My husband and I took our kids all over the US and Canada when they were young and saw many of these places. I have not been to Hershey or the Okefenokee Swamp Park, but enjoyed all the others. I want to go back to Mount Rushmore as it was under repair when we were there and had scaffolding all around.

  7. I think if I was a kid and the tour guide told us about snakes dropping in the boat, I’d be terrified! In my area there’s a snake called a cottonmouth, and whenever I went into the woods around our swamp my dad would tell me to watch out for them.

  8. Very nice list. When I was younger my parents took us to Hershey Park. That was fun. I live in Florida but haven’t been to the Everglades yet. Hopefully I’ll get there.

  11. I have also loved my visits to Alaska! Such a lovely and fascinating place. I’ve seen Niagara Falls from the Canadian side, and loved it. And while I’ve been to the Smithsonian, it was many years ago now. I want to go back.

  14. I visited Mount Rushmore when I was a teenager. It’s been years now so I don’t remember what or if I liked anything specific but it’s nice just knowing I did visit. 🙂 Thanks so much for the visit to my list today.

  15. Loved your list and reading about your memories. I’ve been to Alaska and the Smithsonian, and you mentioned a few other places on my list when I visit the USA again. I think my favourite travel memory in that part of the world is the Bryce Canyon. I really felt like I was on another planet.

  19. Love that you’ve been to so many different places and have such good memories of them! I’ve been meaning to see Niagara Falls since I’m on the Canada side, but it’s still a long ways from where I am and will take some planning to get there. One day! Hopefully really soon!

    Haze
    https://thebookhaze.com/

  21. You and I were thinking along the same line this week. I need to do more visiting in the US southern states and in Canada. As a person living on the West Coast we do visit BC quite often, however.

  24. I’ve been to Niagara Falls and to Alaska on a cruise. My husband, daughter, and I will be visiting Louisiana in October and they both want to go on a bayou boat ride and look for gators. Yikes! That sounds terrifying to me. I’m trying to talk them out of it…LOL

    Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!

    Susan
    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

  28. This is such a fantastic list of places that were the most memorable for you. I didn’t get around the US nearly as much as you, and so many of these are trips I would love to take. Hopefully I’ll be able to drive cross-country some day and visit even some of these sights.

    The Smithsonian was a highlight of my family trip to Washington DC as a kid, and I also loved going into Manhattan to the Museum of Natural History whenever I could. When we’d drive down south, I’d always want to stop at South of the Border, between NC and SC. Sadly, my parents said no every time and if I want to see it, I’ll have to take myself. But something tells me it won’t be the same is it was in the 80s.

    1. I have vague memories of stopping at South of the Border as a kid. The signs along the highway are the best part. I’ve heard it’s still there, but it is not the same as it was when we were kids.

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