2 . By the time Joy Ryan, a US grandma, turned 85, she had never seen the ocean or mountains. For Joy, trips to the local fishing area with her husband were about the farthest place she had ever gone, even if she loved watching the Travel Channel.

But one day Joy’s grandson, Brad Ryan, discovered that he and his grandma had a common interest in their love for traveling, when they began to visit the American great outdoors together.

Brad said, “When I learned my grandma had never seen the great wildernesses of America—deserts, mountains and oceans, I thought there was something I needed to do.” It was after taking his grandma out of Ohio on a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that he came up with the idea of visiting all the 63 US national parks with her to create inspiring memories.

Going to all the 63 US National Parks is a huge achievement even for a much younger adventurer (冒险家). Brad said his grandmother’s physical strength (体力) grew with their trips. For example, his grandma went water rafting (漂流) at 91, with class three rapids and when walking at the New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia, she broke the record by almost a decade!

It wasn’t always like this, however. Joy was so wobbly (不稳的) on her first trip, challenged by her balance. A group of college students clapped their hands when she reached the top of a path they were following.

Joy broke her age limitation (限制) and at the age of 93, she made history as the oldest living person to visit every US National Park. Joy believes it’s the mix of hopefulness, willpower, and the good health that gives her strength.

3 . National Parks in Utah

Zion National Park

It’s perfect for scenic drives and outdoor adventures. One of the park highlights is the Zion Canyons, which offers different hiking (远足) opportunities. Late spring or early fall is the best time to visit Zion National Park, since most facilities are open during this time. However, if you don’t mind cold weather, visit during the late fall and winter.

Bryce Canyon National Park

It’s home to the greatest number of hoodoos (石林) on earth, which are one of the natural wonders of the world. You can see most of Bryce Canyon’s highlights in one day by taking the scenic drive and making stops at various views. Most people visit the park between May and September since the weather is warmer.

Canyonlands National Park

Although it’s the 23rd largest National Park in the US, Canyonlands is the largest out of the four national parks in Utah. The best time of the year to visit is when the weather is pleasant in the spring and fall. The park has four main parts: The Maze, Island in the Sky, The Needles, and Horseshoe Canyon. If you plan to visit every part, you can go on a boat tour to explore it.

Arches National Park

Known as a red-rock wonderland, Arches National Park is popular for its stone arches (石拱).The park has over 2,000 stone arches, with Landscape Arch the largest. The park is busiest from March through October. However, the spring and fall temperatures are the most comfortable. So, the best time to visit is April, May, September and October.

4 . North West Ireland has the best theatres in the country. It offers you a warm Irish welcome with music, art, fun and life at an enjoyable pace.

Colmans Music Centre

The Colmans Music Centre is a visitor centre with a difference. It contains a comprehensive exhibition area about the history of traditional Irish music via audio visual presentation and touch screen. It has a lovely 120-seat theatre in which a varied programme is presented. A music archive (曲库) is available and tea or coffee is served on site.

The Dock Arts Centre

The Dock is housed in the beautiful 19th-century former Courthouse Building. It houses a 100+ seat performance space, three art galleries, and artist studios. The centre offers something for everyone, from performances and exhibitions, to classes and workshops.

The Corn Mill Theatre

The tradition of drama in Carrigallen goes back to the second last century. The present group was founded in 1963 as “The Community Players” and there has been no break in activity since that time. In 1998 the company won the Esso All-Ireland Drama Finals with Billy Roche’s play Belfry directed by Killian McGuinness.

The Glens Centre

The Glens Centre is a wonderfully unique venue (地点). It has a performance space with seating for 140 people. It has superb technical facilities. The Glens also houses recording facilities and self board and accommodation for visiting performers. The centre hosts a wide ranging programme including the best of contemporary, world, trad, folk and jazz music as well as a feast of theatre, readings, children’s events and world cinema.

5 . Luggage-free travel, boarding queues and self-flying planes will be common for travelers in 20 years' time. You'll even be able to go on a holiday without leaving your sofa. The bold predictions have been made by futurologist and author Ray Hammond, who is based in the UK.

According to Hammond’s predictions published in the Future Travel Report by Allianz Insurance, it's likely that tourists will be flying to and from the moon regularly by 2040. What's more, passports could disappear, as airports move more and more into the land of facial pattern recognition systems at check-in gates. Computer systems that can scan your face and check you into your flight will be standard in 20 years, the report notes.

When you board your flight, after checking in with your smiling dial, don’t expect to be greeted by the pilot. Hammond bets that planes will be flying themselves in 2040. No pilots and no supervision. It'll play well for the special routes of plane travel-extra-long flights, which have raised concerns about the aircraft staffs tiredness. Are you nervous at the thought of a plane under its own control? You'll be calmer by the time you step aboard Hammond says. Well already be used to self-driving cars.

When you do arrive at your destination and check into your hotel, there won’t be a porter carrying your heavy suitcase to your room. By 2040, we'll have the ability to send our clothing measurements to our hotel ahead of our arrival, where they'll have a 3D printer ready to print out our clothing. And when we check out, our clothes will be shipping off for recycling.

Virtual reality will be so advanced within 20 years that it'll allow us to experience other countries and destinations without stepping foot outside our door. The report says, “Multi-sensory virtual reality technology will allow armchair travel planners to ‘step into’ virtual hotel rooms, explore museums or walk into restaurants.” However, it won’t kill the real-life tourism industry-instead, it's expected to give it an even bigger improvement.