American Samoa is in the national news thanks to an adventurous 93-year-old grandmother, Joy Ryan, and her grandson, Brad Ryan.
Mrs. Ryan is now the oldest person to visit all 63 US National Parks after arriving in the territory this past on Monday on a 10-day visit, which completes a journey they started 7 years ago to tour all national parks.
For their last excursion, the duo left their small hometown of Duncan Falls, Ohio, at 3:00 AM on Saturday, May 13.
Brad told Good Morning America, “We took a two day break in Oahu before boarding our final flight to Pago Pago, on Monday.
“Reaching our 63rd and final U.S. National Park is bittersweet, with an emphasis on the ‘sweet.’”
In his celebratory post, Brad offers the perfect words to sum up this most epic of American adventures with his “Grandma Joy.”
“Grandma Joy made history today as the oldest living person to visit every U.S. National Park! What more can I say? It was the greatest privilege of my life to be in the driver’s seat for Grandma Joy’s Road Trip,” the proud grandson begins.
“We defied erroneous assumptions about the limitations of aging. We defied financial and logistical constraints. We even defied a pandemic. And you might have noticed that I accidentally made Grandma Joy the superstar I always knew her to be,” he lauds.
“We have so much to share with you from the National Park of American Samoa. But today we are soaking up every ounce of joy coming our way from around the world. Your love and support was the fuel that got us to the finish line. We love you all.”
CBS said the traveling pair plans to spend 10 days in American Samoa soaking in the incredible sights. They’ve already watched flying foxes, or giant fruit bats, immense cliffsides and some of the most gorgeous ocean shores on our planet.
