93-Year-Old Grandma Visits All 63 U.S. National Parks With Her Grandson
Malorie Thompson
Traveling is something many people dream of. Personally, one of my goals is to visit all 63 national parks in the United States. I've hit a good chunk of them already, but still have a ways to go!
Visiting the National Parks is a fairly standard bucket list item, and one grandma-grandson duo just accomplished it.
Brad Ryan and Joy Ryan started out on a quest to visit every national park together after Brad discovered that then 85-year-old Joy had never seen the beach or mountains. She lived in Ohio and would travel to a fishing hole with her late husband, but that was the extent of her adventures.
With some planning and prompting from Brad, the two set out to visit national parks and see the country and they started documenting their journey on Instagram, @grandmajoysroadtrip.
According to CBS News, Brad said of Grandma Joy, "I think we're two peas in a pod when it comes to just our desire for travel, adventure, connection."
Speaking with CBS News, Joy said that she credits her optimism and good luck with health with her ability to keep up with Brad and travel at her age.
She said, "I thank the Lord every morning for giving me another day. And it's your choice whether you're going to have a grumpy day or a sunny day. So, smile at everybody, and let everybody know you're having a whale of a time."
Over the years, Brad and Joy traveled all over the United States. At 93-years-old, Joy visited her 63rd and final stop on the epic tour, the National Park of American Samoa.
While Joy has accomplished quite a lot in her life and met her travel goals, she doesn't have plans of slowing down anytime soon.
In fact, they shared on Instagram that they're planning to travel to Kenya next!
