Sohier Park is situated on a peninsula known as Cape Neddick in Maine.  It is the best place to view the tiny island of Nubble, which is only about 50 yards from the mainland.

Perched atop the rocky island, the Nubble Lighthouse keeps watch over the southern Maine coastline. It is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world because of its natural beauty.  It is exemplified whether it be stormy skies as the waves crash on the rocky shores below or the peace and beauty of the calm sunrise and sunset waters.

It is here on these rocky shores that share a little bit of Dave; a place where I could hear Dave say, “Hey, I’d like to be lighthouse keeper.  That would be cool.”  There was never a dull moment with Dave.

The lovely gardens and museum of Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo, Northern Italy was built in the late-seventeenth century.  The villa spans 17 acres and displays an amazing array of roses, azaleas, citrus trees, hydrangeas, tropical plants and a large variety of trees.  Everywhere you walk along its many paths, you see natural and manicured beauty.

We chose to sprinkle Dave’s ashes in the coloful flowering rock garden. A variety of blooming plants are rotated throughout the spring, summer, and fall so that the rock garden is in full-color splendor for the entire growing season.

And, to top it off, we cannot forget the stunning panoramic view of Lake Como.

Another special place for Dave.

In the northern portion of the Scottish highlands lies the largest area of fresh water in Great Britain.  It is the source of many mysterious sightings of the mystical monster, Nessie.

While we didn’t see Nessie ourselves, it was certainly an experience to explore the lake with mountains rising in the distance; the largest being Meall Fuar Mhonaidh.

The area is steeped in history.  Urquhart Castle sits on the shore of Loch Ness and was a prominent part of Scotland’s fight for freedom.  It is the only castle in the Highlands to hold out against the English; oh the stories those walls could tell.

Although Loch Ness didn’t have the breathtaking views or the colorful flowers we have so often seen in our travels, it was beautiful in its own way.  The combination of fantasy, mystery, and history would certainly have been the attraction for Dave.

And, to be in the same lake as Nessie would make Dave smile.

The Ring of Brodgar is stone circle on Mainland, the largest Orkney Island in the Highlands of Scotland.  The circle consists of 21 standing stones that are over 5000 years old; older than Stonehenge or the Great Pyramids and so large that Stonehenge could fit inside the Ring.

There are many theories as to how the area was used, but it is believed these stones, as well as others on the island, were part of a huge ceremonial complex of standing stones and buildings.

While this background information is interesting, I chose this spot for Dave’s ashes because everything about this island would have intrigued Dave; its mysterious history, its beautiful surroundings and the savage wind that reminds you of the fury of Mother Nature on one hand and her beauty on the other.

I sprinkled Dave’s ashes in the heather growing outside the Ring overlooking the Loch of Harray.  The North and Norwegian Seas surround the island.

This was an amazing place for Dave, but the entire trip through the Highlands was amazing.  There were so many perfect beautiful possibilities for his ashes.

The point of my posts is to show how I am “Remembering Dave” wherever I travel.  From Loch Lomond to the Orkney Islands, you can be sure I was remembering Dave all along the way. He would have loved Scotland; especially the remoteness of the Highlands.

There is a little bit of Dave in some of the most magnificent places in Scotland.

Botallack is a small village in western Cornwall, near Lands End. 

As the fierce wind along the Atlantic coast buffeted us, we approached the cliffs. We wandered along the tops of the cliffs and couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the angry waves crashing below.  The fury of the wind fueling the waves was quite an experience; one Dave would have loved.

But as we walked away, we couldn’t help but notice the calm that was just a short distance from the cliffs; different, but just as lovely.

I guess it is quite symbolic of life itself.  You make it through the tempests of life to reach the calm on the other side hopefully learning from both.

Another beautiful place for Dave.

Port Isaac is a charming little fishing village in Cornwall on the Atlantic coast.  The prosperity of the village in the 18th and 19th centuries focused mainly on fishing and coastal freight. Nowadays, there is a significant tourist presence during the summer due to its popularity for filming movies and television shows.

We visited in the fall when it looked simply like a scenic sleepy village.  I tried to imagine living is such a place.  You certainly must be in shape; everything seems to be uphill.

As we walked (uphill) through the village center and along the coast, the beauty of the area was so calming.  The seagulls soared above the blue water and came to rest on the cliffs while cows leisurely grazed nearby on vibrant green grass.

It was here that I sprinkled Dave’s ashes; a quaint picturesque Cornish harbor.

We encountered so many breathtaking views during our trip west several years ago. So many, that I was able to pick and choose the most amazing places to sprinkle Dave’s ashes.  It seemed like every bend in the road or mountain to climb brought about magnificent views that I defined as “Dave worthy.”

The Yellowstone Grand Canyon is such a place.  It is the first large canyon on the Yellowstone River downstream from the Yellowstone Falls. The 24-mile canyon was created by river erosion. The fir trees tenuously cling to many areas of the canyon.  The area is stark, yet beautiful.

As I tossed Dave’s ashes over the side, a small gust of wind blew a bit toward us.  It seemed like the opportune time to introduce Dave to Fred.

We smiled at that thought as we said good-bye to another special place for Dave.

As soon as we arrived in Waterton, I immediately knew this was another special place for Dave.  The view of the crystal-clear lake with the surrounding mountains was picture-perfect.

Waterton Lake National Park is known as one of the most beautiful destinations in the Canadian Rockies.  The rolling hills of Alberta meet the mountains along the Montana border to provide breathtaking, unspoiled forests and lakes.

It is considered the wildflower capital of Canada. There are also groves of aspen, poplar, and spruce, along with prairie grasslands, and is home to many wild animals from sheep to grizzlies who all enjoy the crystal clear glacier-fed lakes.

I am happy that a little bit of Dave is in so many beautiful places, but how I wish he could have visited them in person.

Growing up in New Jersey, my idea of a “soaring mountain” was the Catskills or the Adirondacks.  Banff National Park in Canada surely changed my mind about the definition of “soaring.”  With its jagged and sharply pointed rocky peaks, The Rocky Mountains in Alberta soar high into the sky.  Gouged out from the ice fields are glacial rivers and lakes.

Lake Louise is one of those magnificent turquoise lakes.  The glacial dust reflects light creating the striking turquoise water.  The Victoria glacier and the majestic mountains blanketed with pine trees surround the lake providing a view that is awe-inspiring.

With hiking trails all around the lake–some easy and some for the young and energetic–I knew this was another perfect place for Dave.

The weather wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t lessen the joy I felt leaving a little bit of Dave in such a special place.

It has been 15 years since I received that heartbreaking phone call that Dave had died in the canyons of Utah.  The feelings of overwhelming grief, unbridled anger, and helplessness will stay with me always.  There was nothing I could do.  Nothing.  We were just a small family in River Vale, NJ.  What effect would we have? I thought that perhaps we could tell the world Dave’s real story and then others would understand our outrage. So when the Associated Press ran Dave’s story and it appeared all around the world, we finally felt like we were heard and Dave was vindicated.  The little family from River Vale just needed the truth to be told.

Once I felt Dave’s story was accurately portrayed, I needed a way to continually remember him in a special way.  This is how this website came to be and how the Remembering Dave blog shows all the places I have sprinkled his ashes; places he wanted to travel and places where he would’ve loved to travel.

 

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We traveled to Niagara Falls on July 17, 2018:

The Canadian Horseshoe Falls is the largest of the three falls and is located at the end of the Niagara Gorge.  It has been the proverbial honeymoon destination because of its spectacular beauty and dramatic crashing waters; the most powerful fall in all of North America.  The nightly fireworks and the illumination of the falls further create a magical experience.

An especially touching moment for me was while we were resting before going out to dinner.  I suddenly felt an inexplicable urge to look out the window.  At that moment, there was a beautiful rainbow over the falls.  It only lasted a minute or so, but long enough for my mystical July 17^th moment.

Whether it was the first anniversary of your passing or the fifteenth anniversary, I always ask the sad question, “What if?”