About

What do four longtime friends residing at lovely and quiet Elger Bay on Camano Island, a common love for food, a quest to explore new places, and a desire to kick Parkinson’s Disease in the teeth all have in common?  That would be Camanoescape, the Wagnerson’s Travel Adventures.

“Just sit right down and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip….that started from this tropic port, aboard this…..”  Ahhh forget it!  This is not about Gilligan’s Island and the adventures of the Skipper, the professor, Mary Ann, Ginger or Gilligan…(though some might accuse me of being Gilligan).  Actually, this blog is the tale of four friends who have known each other for more than 40 years.  As they were raising their children (who are now grown), they would talk about one day traveling to Italy….starting in the north and eating their way south.  That seemed so distant and improbable back then, the demands of everyday life seeming to swallow up that particular dream.  Well, the day of that long talked about trip actually arrived in May 2013.  We spent 31 days in Italy and could not have loved our experience more.  This blog began as a record of that journey.  We hope you enjoyed reading of our adventures as much as we did living them.

Wow, what an adventure to Italy we had!  Then, one year after the four of us returned from that dream trip to Italy, we became restless to travel again.  This time, we set our sights on Ireland and Northern Ireland….and as our friend Katherine from near Belfast tells us, two very distinct countries.  So, off we went in October 2014 to Ireland with our adventure caps strapped firmly to our heads.  We met fantastic people, saw extraordinary beauty, and sheep….lots and lots of sheep.

In May 2015, we continued our travels by venturing to the big Island of Hawaii.  That was a trip that was best characterized by the word “Amazing!”  Such beauty and so many new experiences, including snorkeling on a daily basis among the bright and vividly beautiful tropical fish.  That experience propelled us to want to join Doug in his scuba diving for our next extended adventure.

May 2016 found the Wagnersons setting off for a month and a half return to Italy and a new adventure into Greece.  Hoping to join Doug in his bucket list item of scuba diving in Greece, Lynda and Dale took scuba lessons and became open water certified divers before leaving for Europe.  Our second swing through Italy and our first time through Greece, bluntly reminded us that life is indeed precious and life is good.  We were reminded that life is not to be taken for granted as no one is guaranteed tomorrow.  Seize the day!

Both Camanoescape couples celebrate their wedding anniversaries in June and one couple marked their 40th wedding anniversary in June 2017.  To celebrate these milestones, the Wagnersons decided to take a short anniversary vacation/cruise/adventure to Alaska beginning in June 2017.  A great trip was had and much learning was accomplished.  The takeaways from that trip?  The Wagnersons are not in love with the notion of “cruising” with 3000 of our closest “friends”; Homer Alaska is beautiful and is sorta like our lovely Pacific Northwest homes in Elger Bay on steroids; Alaska grizzlies are very intriguing creatures; and it’s more fun to set off on our own rather than with an organized tour!

As we continue to age (or mature) and that insidious Parkinson’s disease continues its relentless creep into our lives, the four of us decided that there is no time like the present to experience the most wonderful places in Italy again for perhaps one more time.  As mid-April 2018 approaches for this next trip, we now turn our blog focus on that soon to be here adventure.

The blog posts are shown in the order of the most recent first.