Travel infuses Cleveland couple

The couple first fell in love with travel while attending graduate school in Switzerland in 1953 and have since visited 125 countries on the map.Hubbell, who served as the senior pastor at Cleveland's First Baptist Church from 1962-1980, began taking his wife around the world thanks to his background in psychology and counseling."Through the International Mission Board, I was sent to provide professional help to the missionaries located in different countries," said Hubbell. "We've had so many amazing experiences living on five of the seven continents because of my assignments."

The Hubbells lived this exciting lifestyle for about 10 years before settling back in Cleveland — but the globetrotting never ends."Since 2002 onward we have been tackling our travel bucket list," he said. "We've had a long list of countries and places to visit for a while now."Their most recent journey was one of their fondest — a two-week excursion in early November through the Hudson Bay arctic region of Canada."We were moving along real slow in our tundra-mobile and this giant polar bear came right up and stuck his head through the open window," he said. "I will never forget it."

One of Hubbell's favorite travel elements is developing a special connection with local wildlife; from close encounters with artic polar bears, walking among gorillas in Rwanda, sighting giant sea turtles in the Galapagos Islands, seeing a pride of lions in Africa or being chased by a family of baboons.With all the incredible voyages, the Hubbells remain proud of their Bolivar County ties and enjoy sharing their stories with locals.

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