Barbara Peck

Barbara is a lifelong cat lover. When asked to take a volunteer vacation on assignment for Travel + Leisure, Barbara chose an Earthwatch trip to help an Idaho biologist track radio-collared mountain lions. They slept in tents (once, under the stars), and one morning they tracked and tranquilized a young mountain lion so they could replace its outgrown collar. Barbara still remembers the delicious outdoorsy smell of its fur.

The year Barbara and her husband moved to New York, a friend asked if they’d march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Would they? After costume fittings at the Herald Square store, they arrived before sunrise. Barbara marched in a group at the head of the parade, carrying the Macy’s banner. Her husband was even luckier—he was with the Big Apple float, along the Mets, fresh from winning the World Series. The crowds went crazy.