{"id":17276,"date":"2024-04-08T10:34:52","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T14:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=17276"},"modified":"2024-04-08T10:34:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T14:34:52","slug":"94-year-old-ohio-grandmother-sets-out-to-visit-all-7-continents-with-her-grandsons-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2024\/04\/94-year-old-ohio-grandmother-sets-out-to-visit-all-7-continents-with-her-grandsons-help.html","title":{"rendered":"94-Year-Old Ohio Grandmother Sets Out to Visit All 7 Continents With Her Grandson’s Help"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"joy<\/a>
@grandmajoysroadtrip\/Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A 94-year-old explorer who made headlines last year for being the oldest person to visit all 63\u00a0U.S. National Parks\u00a0just returned from Chile and the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands on her newest quest: to conquer all seven continents. Joy Ryan of Duncan Falls, Ohio, told Fox News Digital in an interview, “When you get to a certain age, everybody starts saying, ‘Oh, you can’t do that. You’re too old to do that kind of thing.’ Just tell them to jump in the river and be positive. Give it a try. If you don’t try the next day, you’ll regret it.”<\/p>\n

So that’s what she did \u2014 beginning at age 85.\u00a0 Ryan lived for nearly her entire life in Duncan Falls, 68 of those years in the same house. She worked at the deli in her local grocery store, sold Avon products for a while, ran a gift shop with her late husband, Bob, and enjoyed the\u00a0company of her grandchildren. Brad Ryan told Fox News Digital, “My very first memory as a human being was on a lake shore when I was about two-and-a-half years old with seagulls circling. Grandma tossed some breadcrumbs down, and the seagulls landed in front of me. That was my introduction to joy \u2014 to the magic of life.”<\/p>\n

Brad Ryan said his grandmother was always willing to get into a stream with him, catching frogs and crayfish. However, as he grew up, time, divorce, and distance kept them apart for almost 10 years. As a 30-something adventure-loving veterinarian who travels and speaks on topics such as GI parasites, Brad Ryan had\u00a0seen a lot of the world\u00a0and decided it was time to revisit his roots. As the two began to reconnect, Ryan said that his grandmother casually mentioned that she had never seen a mountain \u2014 and she wished she had.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Grandma Joy\u2019s Road Trip \u2014 Brad and Joy Ryan (@grandmajoysroadtrip)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n