Wish You Were Here
ICELAND: Hayward resident Joan Fosdick, left, and Novato resident Renee Fosdick Portillo took a spring trip to Iceland that included stops in Reykjavik, a boat excursion to see the northern lights and a trek to the broad, powerful Skogafoss waterfall on the south coast. “Dress appropriately and be ready to get wet,” Joan says. “Iceland is very expensive, but very beautiful with great food and lovely people.”
TRAVEL TIPS: “Temperatures were in the 20s and 30s, so bring your warmest clothes and snow boots. Charming gift shops, Icelandic fashion and sweater shops, and cute coffee and bakeries abound (on) the shopping street of Laugavegur in downtown Reykjavik.”
MEXICO: Saratoga residents Joyce Kelley and Vic Cesena traveled to Puerto Vallarta recently on a trip that included a visit to a filming location for the 1964 movie “The Night of the Iguana,” which starred Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr and Richard Burton.
TRAVEL TIPS: “Wear comfortable shoes as there are many streets paved with cobblestones,” Joyce says. “We recommend a walking food tour of downtown Puerto Vallarta and, if you are interested in art, Galleria Dante.”
ARIZONA: Matt Kettmann — a “fifth generation San Jose-an,” he says, now a Santa Barbara resident — and his family, Joanna, Mason and Madeline, did a road trip from California to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and back, with a stop at the Grand Canyon.
TRAVEL TIPS: “After exploring the South Rim for a couple hours, where our kids enjoyed getting their junior ranger badges, we stayed at The Grand Hotel at the Grand Canyon in Tusayan, about 10 minutes outside of the park. The bar was hopping at night, making up for overwhelmed servers, and the breakfast buffet was the best we had on our whole trip.”
Share your travels with us! Send your vacation selfies to jburrell@bayareanewsgroup.com. Be sure to tell us who’s who, where they’re from and where you are — and include a couple of travel tips to help fellow readers globe-trot, too.