Your greatest / happiest experiences in life

[SEAK]

Trekking in Nepal with my wife and kiddos.
Hiking through a twisty Utah Slot Canyon.
Tent time waiting out storms while Dall Sheep hunting with my son.
Alpine naps in the sun atop a mountain here in AK.
Having a Sloth attend my daughters 5th birthday in Costa Rica and having it slowly try and grab the birthday cake. 
Outdoor pond hockey with family and friends.

[LongtimeLurker]

- Great food you ate
   Bacon wrapped shrimp stuffed with cheese and jalapenos. Can't eat it all the time or Id be a 400lb diabetic, but damn its delicious.

- Beautiful place you visited
   Took a trip up the NE coast through Canada and New England. Growing up in the west, I never realized how different and how beautiful that area is.

- Events in life; child birth, marriage etc
   Birth of my first child was an awe inspiring experience, but I don't think it categorizes as one of the happiest moments of my life. Don't get me wrong, I love my children and they have provided me countless happy memories, but the actual moment of birth was not one of them.

   Instead, I would say my honeymoon. Its a cliche, but a week in the Caribbean on a less visited island after months of grueling projects at work(for us both) and the stress of planning your own wedding was incredible. Sitting on a beach on a tropical island without a soul to be seen other than your new wife. I've never been more relaxed.

- A career related high; a promo you waited for long
   Being able to turn down a good job because there was a better offer. After struggling for years early in my career to just make ends meet, realizing I was in high demand was... life changing.   

- A girl / boy you loved accepting your proposal or admitting they are falling for you
   Never had the cupid moment where I just knew. It was more of a slow burn until one day it was obvious we were destined for a long life together.

- Moments after tremendous hard work; a long run, a long project at work or life
   Always a great, natural high when admiring something you worked hard on. Best feeling in the world.

[jehovasfitness23]

Traveling to National Parks.
- Tetons, Big Bend, Acadia, Yellowstone, Zion, Arches, Bryce, Rocky Mountain, Natural Bridges, White Sands, NP in Iceland, and some smaller lesser great NP's

Spending time with my dogs and wife. /

[SimpleCycle]

Trekking in Nepal with my wife and kiddos.
Hiking through a twisty Utah Slot Canyon.
Tent time waiting out storms while Dall Sheep hunting with my son.
Alpine naps in the sun atop a mountain here in AK.
Having a Sloth attend my daughters 5th birthday in Costa Rica and having it slowly try and grab the birthday cake. 
Outdoor pond hockey with family and friends.

How old were your kids when you did this?  We're trying to gauge when "real hiking" vacations will be back in the rotation.

[SEAK]

Trekking in Nepal with my wife and kiddos.
Hiking through a twisty Utah Slot Canyon.
Tent time waiting out storms while Dall Sheep hunting with my son.
Alpine naps in the sun atop a mountain here in AK.
Having a Sloth attend my daughters 5th birthday in Costa Rica and having it slowly try and grab the birthday cake. 
Outdoor pond hockey with family and friends.

How old were your kids when you did this?  We're trying to gauge when "real hiking" vacations will be back in the rotation.

We took the kiddos to Southern UT for day hiking vacations, canoeing Green River, and mountain biking four different times when they were 4-9 years old. Backpacked the 33 Mile-Chilkoot Trail when they were 7 and 9. Nine day trek in Nepal when they were 9 and 11 (which was absolutely epic). 55 mile canoe trip down the Yukon River at ages 9 and 11.

[SimpleCycle]

Trekking in Nepal with my wife and kiddos.
Hiking through a twisty Utah Slot Canyon.
Tent time waiting out storms while Dall Sheep hunting with my son.
Alpine naps in the sun atop a mountain here in AK.
Having a Sloth attend my daughters 5th birthday in Costa Rica and having it slowly try and grab the birthday cake. 
Outdoor pond hockey with family and friends.

How old were your kids when you did this?  We're trying to gauge when "real hiking" vacations will be back in the rotation.

We took the kiddos to Southern UT for day hiking vacations, canoeing Green River, and mountain biking four different times when they were 4-9 years old. Backpacked the 33 Mile-Chilkoot Trail when they were 7 and 9. Nine day trek in Nepal when they were 9 and 11 (which was absolutely epic). 55 mile canoe trip down the Yukon River at ages 9 and 11.

Awesome, thank you for answering.  We took them on a 5 mile (round trip) backpacking trip this past summer.  They had just turned 3 and 5, they did great, but it was a pretty small endeavor.  We go "hiking" most weekends, but it's midwestern hiking and we'd love to tackle slightly more rugged terrain when we can travel again.

[dignam]

In 2009, visiting Costa Rica with my friend and his then gf.  One of my goals of the trip was to actually use the 5 years of Spanish I studied in school (plus some studying on my own).  I'll never forget this tiny little motel we stayed at, probably 4-6 units total.  We were the only people staying that weekend due to us visiting in the off season.  The owner was a wonderful middle aged woman who basically hung out with us when we weren't out seeing things.  She'd make us breakfast while we hung out and chatted.  Granted my friend's gf was fluent in Spanish and was able to keep the conversation flowing with the owner, I was able to follow along and contribute here and there.  I remember the owner saying several times in Spanish that I was shy, but with a smile and twinkle in her eye.  For some reason I cherish the calmer moments with the locals more than the sights of that trip.  I also learned some local slang that is just hilarious to me; they call speeds bumps, "dead people" (los muertos).  She kept telling us to drive over the dead people on our way to a certain area.  Trying to figure out what she meant by that was a comedy.

I visited again in 2017 and hope to visit again soon.

[twe]

What a great post idea!

Highlight of my life: Meeting and marrying my wife, which led to the continued highlight of my two children with the moment of their births unforgettable. Seeing their birth was watching a miracle happen in real time. 
Food highlight: Eating dinner with my wife in the Eiffel Tower, watching the lights come out in the city as the sun set. Close second-street food in Thailand where the vendors in a small town refused to take my money because I was a guest in their country.
Nature: I saw the sun set twice in ten minutes, and both were gorgeous but completely different sunsets. (Jet flying South to North, from climbed from level at 5,000 feet to 25,000 feet). Close second-scuba diving in Guam. It was like Finding Nemo in real life.
Career: I have been asked to promote and re-enlist Marines who were not serving under me. For context, you can ask anyone to promote or re-enlist you, but 99.9% of the time it defaults to your current hierarchy.

[Sailor Sam]

Docking a ship.

Teaching someone else to dock a ship, and seeing the moment it clicks.

Having a dog as my buddy.

Laying on my wife’s shoulder, listening to her breathe.

[Sailor Sam]

Career: I have been asked to promote and re-enlist Marines who were not serving under me.

That’s when you know you’ve done it! Those must have been great moments.

[bmjohnson35]

1. The initial year or so with my future wife.

2. Weekends off-road motorcycling with my father during my high school years.

3. I wrote a paper on West Minster Abbey when I was in grade school, so it was really cool seeing it in person as an adult during two week trip to the UK.

4. Cavern diving in the Yucatan Peninsula.

5.  Several hikes with my spouse - Especially once near Mount Rainier and several hikes around western NC / Eastern TN.

6.  The day I was released to hang glide solo and later, the first time I stayed up for over an hour.

7.  My first time skydiving.

8.  The first time beach hopping northern coast of Trinidad.

9. My first time night diving.

10.  My first track day event.

11. One day we spent in Saint John VI, snorkeling and hanging out at the beach.

12.  Our first cruise.

13.  Wine tasting along the finger lakes in upstate NY.

14.  Hiking Watkins Glenn State Park.

15. Various moments of hanging with grandkids over the years.

16. Mentoring fellow associates during my last few years of employment. 

17. Various road trips with my spouse in Miata around the mountains of SE US.

18. One day spent in a retirement village on the west coast of Italy during a 2 week road trip around Italy.

19. Two week motorcycle road trip with my dad, tracing the the origins of the "Blues" along the Mississippi and later some time in the mountains of NC.

20. Various fishing trips with my uncle over the years.

21. When I graduated college.  It didn't really feel like much of an accomplishment personally, but my dad was on cloud nine.  His happiness and pride in that moment was priceless.

I could probably go on & on.  This exercise has reminded how fortunate I have been.

[Alternatepriorities]

Docking a ship.

Ooh, good one! I have two great memories of ship docking - once when I did a tricky approach, and another time when I was alongside and watched a frigate wave off tugs and execute a maneuver that was pure artistry.

I’m picturing something like this?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W9JffvTfVLs

[totoro]

Sitting in the sun making button necklaces for family at my grandparents when I was about three.  Ever since then, moments when the afternoon sun streams in a window and I have time to feel and appreciate it and my life.

[twe]

Career: I have been asked to promote and re-enlist Marines who were not serving under me.

That’s when you know you’ve done it! Those must have been great moments.

@Sailor Sam -Yes, they were.

[DizzyDaisies]

Well of course the births of my children.

But also, being at Yankee stadium to see Aaron Boone’s 2003 ALCS home run to beat the Red Sox. It was amazing to be a part of a crowd that was full of that much joy. It was wild!

[snic]

Hearing Ensemble Organum sing the Gradual of Eleanor of Brittany in a huge stone cathedral in San Francisco. The music is indescribably haunting and beautiful.

Memorizing the lyrics to Josh Ritter's song "Lantern" to recite at a wedding. The more I practiced the words, the more I felt their meaning. Memorizing poetry is something I plan to do more of when I retire (hopefully early).

Sipping a glass of wine with my wife on the patio outside our AirBnB on a warm evening in Tuscany, watching the sun set over a beautiful walled medieval town while the chapel bell tolled across the peaceful countryside. Then, when it was dark, going out for a simple pizza made in a local restaurant's wood-fired oven. Why does pizza taste so good in Italy?

Spooning food into my baby daughter's mouth and being suddenly struck with the realization that there was nothing - absolutely nothing - I would rather be doing. (This after years of my wife's and my indecision about whether we wanted kids.)

16 years later, the same daughter getting into an Ivy League college.

A date night dinner that turned into a celebration after I received some very good work-related news. I met up with my wife in a restaurant in the city where she worked at the time. It was cold and wet, and I stepped in a puddle on my way there. My socks were sopping wet when I arrived. I grumbled to my wife about it, and she said "oh, I have an extra pair of socks in my bag!" Turns out she had stepped into one too many puddles herself, so she always came to work prepared. So I had warm feet, great news to share, a beautiful and amazing wife to share it with, excellent food, and excellent wine. The happiness just seemed to flow that night and we laughed and laughed all throughout dinner - even the waitstaff got caught up in it, comping us drinks to help celebrate.