Globetrotting Adventurers: Traylor and Diana

We recently had the pleasure to chat with an adventurous couple, Traylor and Diana. They are celebrating their 52nd wedding anniversary in August this year and after we heard their anniversary tradition, we just had to find out more. Traylor was kind enough to chat with us and share their wonderful story below.

You have a pretty unique tradition to mark your anniversary. Can you tell us more about that?

We were celebrating our 45^th anniversary in Traverse City, MI, near Lake Michigan of the Great Lakes, and passed a sign on the Leelanau Peninsula that read 45^th Parallel North. It was then that we embraced the tradition, to seek the latitude on the globe matching the number of years we've been married, find an alluring place on that latitude, and travel there. And we continue with it today. This has enriched our travel experiences by leading us to places we had not previously considered visiting. Our recent anniversary travels include 50^th - Seine-Maritime, France and 51^st - Bruges, Belgium.

We will celebrate our 52^nd anniversary in August and picked County Kerry as our destination. The 52^nd parallel passes through the northern contour of the Ring of Kerry…. At our wedding we exchanged rings, like couples at most weddings. So, we thought it would be fitting to try out a different ring--the Ring of Kerry.

You chose an Irish harp as a gift to mark your anniversary. What drew you to the Irish symbol?

I choose the harp because it and the shamrock are perhaps the most recognizable symbols of Ireland. Although the harp pendant is advertised on your website as "men's," I think it is equally alluring as a woman's pendant.

Nearly 52 years married is impressive - Do you have any words of advice for couples?

Hah! Respect each other's individuality, but make sure you share some common interests. It's the common interests that provide the bonding glue for a lasting marriage. Travel and food / wine are both at the top of our list. We are both now retired, and are living in the northwest corner of North Carolina. We operate a vacation rental and love meeting and getting to know our guests.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Traylor and Diana on their upcoming anniversary from all of us here at My Irish Jeweler. We were inspired by their story, and we are so grateful they shared it. We wish them the best of luck and many happy adventures together to come.