There is no hesitation when you ask Daniel, Lisa and Natalie Ambrose where they would like to go for their next family vacation.
Daniel wants to revisit Italy, Lisa picks the lower five national parks in Alaska and Natalie votes for White Sands National Park in New Mexico.
While their vacations are sometimes determined by their desire, other times, it's Google that makes the decision.
"We follow a bunch of travel sites, loyalty programs and Google flight alerts," said Lisa. "Sometimes it's the place that picks where we will go next based on the deal."
Lisa and Daniel traveled both to both domestic and international destinations before Natalie was born. Almost immediately, Natalie began to join her parents on vacations.
"Natalie was five weeks old when we drove ten hours to the Outer Banks on vacation," said Lisa. "Her first flight was 4.5 hours to explore Zion National Park when she was 13 months old."
A Quest for National Parks
Exploring national parks is more than a family tradition... it is a quest.
"We have been to 20 of the 63 national parks so far," said Lisa. "There is so much beauty in the United States and we take it for granted."
Among their favorites for the natural beauty and unique features are Olympic National Park for "the different terrain of beach and rainforest," and Arches National Park in Utah for the "amazing structures."
Ready for a fun travel fact?
The Ambroses have never taken a family vacation to a Disney theme park.
But, they spent their honeymoon in the 50th state, Hawaii and have traveled to the 49th state, Alaska, two times.
"We cruised there twice have and took an RV north to visit Talkeetna and Denali," said Lisa. "We would like to go back because there are seven other national parks in Alaska to explore."
One vacation that was memorable, if not a little ambitious, was visiting four countries in seven days.
"I admit I lost my head," laughs Lisa. "Natalie took over making sure we made our connections on various train and plane schedules."
Daniel and Lisa agree these situations, while stressful in the moment, are opportunities to build confidence and learn coping skills.
"Natalie has gained so many problem solving skills because of travel," said Daniel. "That trip took place before she lived away from home at college and she was prepared for that experience."
Natalie's Academic and Professional Journey
Natalie graduated the University of Vermont with honors and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
She was a presidential and honors scholar who started her time at UVM as a D1 cheerleader for the Catamounts. She then traded pom-poms for a lab coat and became a research assistant in the Vermont Conversation Lab where she developed her interest in conducting research about palliative care. She co-authored multiple studies that have been published in academic journals and presented her research at conferences.
Natalie embraces the saying "Talking about death won't kill you" in her work. She credits her mentor Dr. Elise Tarbi for everything she has learned and the passion she has for nursing and research. Natalie also won an undergraduate research award for her thesis on prognostic communication in telehealth visits between cancer patients and healthcare providers.
"My grandfather Dr. Francis Ambrose, was a medical doctor and my grandmother, Shirley Ambrose, was a nurse," said Natalie. "Her grandmother Marian Ciolino, was a medical assistant, too. It must be in the genes."
Natalie is a nurse in the neurology-oncology department at Englewood Health. She had offers from Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Duke but chose to bring her skills and passion for nursing back to New Jersey.
"It is an honor to help my patients," said Natalie. "It is rewarding to help people when they are in a vulnerable place in their lives."
While in high school, Natalie, along with members of her Girl Scout troop, took care of the medical personnel staff during the pandemic.
"We made about 700 headbands to help medical staff feel more comfortable when they were wearing masks," explains Natalie. "We donated the masks to Valley Hospital, St Joseph's University Medical Center and Christian Health."
Natalie graduated Indian Hills High School where she was enrolled in the specialized honors University Program in Science, Medicine, and Research.
In addition to being a cheerleader, Natalie was head of stage and tech for the Indian Hills Theater Company (IHTC).
"My love of theater goes back to the Wicked play at Washington School," said Natalie. "I was also part of the backstage crew at Eisenhower Middle School."
Natalie says her favorite Broadway play is Hamilton and she also loved Anastasia.
"My mom and I enjoy going to Broadway shows and like to travel together," said Natalie.
The destinations of their mother-daughter trips include Barcelona, the Netherlands and earlier this year, Ireland.
Community Involvement and Family Values
Spending time together also included Lisa and Daniel volunteering at school events. Lisa also served as a Girl Scout leader for 6-years as well as serving as the president of the Indian Hills High School PTSO. She also served on the Russell Farms Community Park Advisory Committee and volunteered with the Wyckoff Education Foundation to raise funds for the Pulis Ave fields.
Daniel coached soccer for Natalie's Wyckoff Recreation team and announced a few Wyckoff Raiders football games when Natalie was a cheerleader.
"Daniel and I both value education and giving back to the community," said Lisa.
Daniel is a graduate of Wayne Valley High School. He earned a degree in English from William Paterson University.
After a stint in technology sales, Daniel has spent the last 23-years as an educator.
He has taught English at Passaic County Technical Institute for 18-years and for 5-years has been a student success coordinator.
For 9-years, Daniel was an instructor at the Passaic County Jail helping the population achieve their GED.
"I currently teach English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for the Adult Learning program at Passaic Community College," said Daniel.
Lisa's Career in Communications
Lisa was also raised in Passaic County and graduated Clifton High School.
While in high school, Lisa was the youngest reporter in the sports department of the Herald News newspaper.
Her interest in communications and writing took her to William Paterson University where she majored in communication with a focus on radio and television. She was a news anchor and producer for WPC-TV, which broadcasted live on cable to the campus' surrounding towns.
"I had the opportunity to work for CNN at their Atlanta headquarters after graduation but decided I didn't want to have a 24/7 work experience," said Lisa.
Instead, she worked at William Paterson University in the Teacher Education Department working with the student teacher program.
Lisa returned to the the classroom earning a Master's Degree in Media Studies with an emphasis on Leadership and Group Communications.
She is currently the Director of Communications and Public Relations at Ramapo College.
"I spent 25 years working on campuses and I have a passion for working in higher education," said Lisa. "My job allows me to be a storyteller and help raise visibility of the college."
She also teaches a leadership course to new undergraduates as part of the First-Year Seminar program at Ramapo College.
How Daniel and Lisa Met
As lifelong learners, you may guess that Daniel and Lisa met at a school or bookstore but you failed with that answer.
The couple met at The Hop in Parsippany.
"I was the bartender and Lisa was a waitress," said Daniel. "The staff would hang out together after hours and I got to know her as a friend."
While it was fun hanging out with a bunch of people, Daniel decided to "hop" on an opportunity to ask Lisa to a movie, a psychological thriller.
"It was 1992 and we went to see Single White Female," laughed Daniel. "I don't know why we picked that movie."
After the movie, Daniel suggested another stop.
"I knew about a cool place to grab a drink, The Barn," said Daniel. "Who knew at that time we would eventually move to Wyckoff."
Someone who did know something about the future was Lisa's mom, Marian.
After a handful of dates, Lisa brought Daniel home to meet her mother.
"Lisa had gone back into the house after I got into the car," said Daniel. "She got back in the car and said her mom told her we were going to get married. I just laughed."
As the saying goes, children should always trust their mom's instincts.
Daniel and Lisa have been together for 33-years and celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in May.
Hobbies and Looking Ahead
When not researching and planning their next vacation, Lisa is focused on brain health and enjoys playing all the New York Times games including the crosswords, sudoku and Wordle. She also loves the LinkedIn games.
Lisa has also taken-up gardening and just planted her first winter garden.
Daniel loves puzzles too as well as reading and playing video games.
"I am a big fan of the Wyckoff Public Library," said Daniel.
Natalie enjoys taking walks at the Ridgewood Duck Pond and exercising in the gym.
"Many of my high school friends are back locally and it's fun to hang out again," said Natalie.
Wanderlust continues to be their favorite activity.
"Travel teaches you about different cultures and norms," reflects Lisa. "We gain a lot of perspective and appreciation for people."
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