All photos courtesy of Art and Mary Wood.
Now that Art and Mary Wood have returned from Antarctica, the Plant City Observer’s “It’s Read Everywhere” contest name is a little more accurate. Thanks to the Woods, the Observer has now been read on every continent in the world.
That wasn’t the Woods’ ultimate goal, of course, but it was a nice milestone to hit while the Plant City couple made good on its wish to hit as many “bucket list” travel destinations as possible.
The bulk of the Woods’ travel came in 2017, when they acted on a National Geographic Expeditions travel package that took them around the globe by private jet in one continuous shot. They started in Orlando and flew to 13 locations including Peru, Easter Island, Australia, Tibet and Morocco before returning to Florida.
“It had all of the places, a great many of them, that were on my bucket list,” Art Wood said. “It was easier to roll it up into one long, continuous trip than to make five separate trips.”
That included visiting well-known landmarks such as the Taj Mahal, Macchu Picchu and the Easter Island statues. Art Wood’s favorite experience was in Lhasa, Tibet, where the couple stood in awe of the area’s beautiful mountain landscapes and history. Mary Wood enjoyed seeing Petra and its ancient, carved-out buildings. The most breathtaking experience, Art Wood said, was flying over Easter Island in a figure-eight pattern from 1,500 feet.
“Everybody could look down from every window and get a good look at the island,” he said. “A commercial airline couldn’t do that.”
Because the Woods had already visited Europe several years earlier, that trip meant the Observer had been taken to six of seven continents.
Not long after visiting the Galapagos Islands — and posing for an It’s Read Everywhere photo with one of the island’s famous tortoises — the travel bug bit the Woods again and they decided to check another item off of Art Wood’s list: Antarctica.
They traveled to Ushuaia, Argentina in February and visited the city’s “end of the world” area at the southernmost tip of the country. Then the Woods cruised to Antarctica and learned they weren’t alone in their desire to pose for a photo with a community newspaper.
“Somebody in Antarctica told us they were doing the same thing for their hometown paper,” he said.
The Woods plan to travel more later in the year. Their sights are mainly set on the Swiss Alps, which they plan to tour by train, but that won’t be their last stop. They may end up in Salt Lake City for Christmas to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, or perhaps they’ll see the Boston Pops Fourth of July celebration.
“We’ve still got a few places,” Art Wood said.