Many times over the years, I have reminisced about the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and, of course, the gelato. When movies or TV shows reminded me of that summer 58 years ago, I knew that coin toss meant I was destined to retur
My daughter, a college professor, shared her plans to see the city for the first time over Thanksgiving break; she had friends who had moved there recently. I, of course, took that as a sign and invited myself along.
I arrived a few days earlier, giving me a much-needed refresher on the city’s layout and its incredible history. I hopped on a tour bus that encouraged such “hopping” and circled around, listening to the detailed descriptions and trying my best to take photos. However, the bus was never able to stop adjacent to the famous sites, and the crowded sidewalks were intimidating enough to make me stay put on the bus.
Thankfully, my daughter’s friend was a gifted navigator, and a few days later, I was finally able to see those famed monuments up close.
While the weather was iffy—one day beautiful, the next stormy—the food was always fantastic.
I made the decision to attend a pickleball camp in a moment when I was deeply grieving the loss of my dog. It was just the two of us for fourteen years and my heart was broken. I needed to escape.
Pickleball has been good to me the last few years as it is fun, social and good exercise. I play with a regular group who have become fast friends. But the sadness was overwhelming and affecting my physical well-being. I needed to escape.
I found a camp online that had good reviews and the site was a direct and non-stop flight from San Diego to Atlanta. Nevermind that it would be in late September where summer was still stifling. There was availability so I immediately booked the flight, the hotel, and transportation between the airport, the hotel and the courts.
Two days before departure as I packed for the heat, I gathered all my bookings and confirmed them. Much to my surprise the online camp program now listed the venue at a country club about 40 miles away. I frantically called the camp phone line and emailed them more than once. No one got back to me. I then decided to email the club and ask if they had it on their schedule. Lucky for me the tennis pro immediately confirmed that it was now in Duluth, GA. I panicked, I swore, I jumped around a bit. Lucky for me I had booked a refundable rate at the hotel. I don’t always do that and have lost money in the past. I checked and I still had 5 hours to get my points back, Whew!
Transportation was now a concern as I’ve heard about the traffic in Atlanta and as someone in her late 70’s I don’t like to drive in places I’m not familiar with or in heavy freeway conjestion. Uber to the rescue? I bought a $3 Marta pass and went to the end of the line. From there I paid $37 for a ride to one of those freeway hotels without a restaurant. After a quick check-in I hiked to the nearest gas station to buy water and other snacks: $10 for a gallon and 2 candy bars! There was a Chili’s within walking distance so that became my go-to when hungry. We were told that we needed to bring our own lunch and water to camp.
The next morning I was up early, ate one of my “protein” bars with the complimentary coffee and ubered to camp…only $11. My luck changed! The other campers were good, delightful, friendly and considerate and the instructor was both funny and exemplary. The next 7 hours went quickly even though my feet were miserable. One of the campers actually went to the Club restaurant for lunch even though it was a private club and told us that he was welcomed. Needless to say, the second day of camp I sat inside the air conditioned Clubhouse and enjoyed a “club sandwich”!
One other camper had the same experience as I did with the site move not being announced. He was not as fortunate to change hotels and had to do the hour+ drive each way both days. I never did hear from the camp director or staff…and if it wasn’t for the expertise and commendable job of the “coach” I would have written a scathing review.
WalletHub is a personal finance website that analyzes and compares various financial products and services, and they also conduct studies and rankings. They recently compared all 50 US states based on many metrics to find the most fun, most scenic, many activities and most affordable. The next four at the top of this list were New York, Ohio, Utah and Louisiana! Montana, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Delaware were at the bottom.
I haven’t lived in Minnesota for over 40 years but I do go back occasionally. I was born there, attended school from kindegarten through college there as well. Luckily I also spent many summers at one of the 10,000 lakes. I left for awhile, once a summer in Europe and another time for a stint in New Mexico. Each time I returned. Life changes had me spend 10 years in North Dakota, then 15 years in CA, a little more than a year in Panama and a similar stint on Whidbey Island, WA and then back to California, which ranks quite a ways behind Minnesota, when it comes to affordable and pleasant road trips.
A friend just back from a visit to the North Shore in MN and multiple State Parks was delighted by how well kept they were. I lived in Wadena, St. Joseph, St. Paul and Rochester. I remember the parks, rest-stops and toilets were all pristine even back then. Not only that but strangers say hello with a smile and are sincere in offers to help when needed!
Pictures featured are from my trip back to MN for my 60th high school reunion. After a few days in Wadena, I went to Lake Melissa near Detroit Lakes and visited sisters who have cottages there. What great fun!
I recently went back to my 60th High School Reunion. I had last attended one 40 years ago. I knew it would be a small group because the kind soul who organized this warned that about 1/3 of the class was deceased. Since I was travelling from afar I was hoping that I would get a chance to see those I had recently reconnected with on Facebook. I sent out this old photo hoping to entice them.
I actually loved High School. I participated in almost every extra-curricular activity because my parent’s allowed me to attend any sactioned event and therefore I got out of babysitting my younger brothers and sisters! I remember lip-syncing my entire time in Choir and having to quit Band when the new teacher actually specialized in the instrument I was pretending to play.
I wish I would have had more time to connect with these old friends…some of them for over 70 years. I tried reminiscing with most of those in attendance even though I mistook a few for someone else. I should have been looking at name tags and maybe even taking a few photos. It’s hard to truly catch up on that many years in a few hours time. I laughed about the time frame from 4PM until 8PM…truly fitting for us “early birds”.
The Reunion Team even put together a few tables with the obituaries of those no longer with our class. We had a lovely dinner, a few hugs and lots of laughter.
Pictured below is me with two of my BFF’s from first grade through twelth!
According to the World Bank, Malawi is the fourth poorest country in the World. It is a small landlocked nation in Africa whose main source of income is agriculture. Unfortunately their number one crop is tobacco and as you might expect there is a dwindling demand for that product. With over half of the population living in poverty they truly do rely on foreign aid and help from people like Madonna. Many of the farms are now producing corn but this is not meeting the basic needs of most of their inhabitants. Education, health services, safe drinking water and basic sanitation are not provided throughout the country. USAID was one of the benefactors helping with the Aids epidemic and financial support to many University students. Needless to say, Malawi has felt the blow of the freeze of aid from the USA.
In spite of their plight Malawians are known to be some of the friendliest people in the world. Today both China and India have seized the opportunity to “help”. China has built roads and other infrastructure, at first believed to be a gift, but now known to be a loan. They have given up their rights for some of their valuable minerals to China. Many emigrants from India have moved to Malawi and have built factories and other industrial buildings.
There are still NGO’s helping out in Malawi. Organizations currently assisting include CARE, The Hunger Project, OXFAM and GoodVision. Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC also works with UNICEF and K.I.N.D. (kids in need of desks).
In addition to their problems Malawi has also taken in thousands of refugees from neighboring Mozambique due to civil unrest and a festering jihadist insurgency. However, they are now in the process of repatriating them.
On my plane trip from Malawi to Johannesburg there were many followers of the Prophet Sheperd Bushiri who left South Africa due to charges of criminal behavior and he is now the richest pastor in Malawi with an estimated worth of $150 million. He promises to save his followers in the next life but hasn’t done much for them now.
While I had an interesting time there and loved talking with the locals, I can’t recommend it as a tourist destination. Lake Malawi is probably the biggest tour attraction and what I saw of it was amazing and the lodge I stayed in while in Lilongwe was wonderful but I not planning a return trip.
I recently read that more and more people are at least thinking about taking that step into a journey on their own. Goggle reported that searches for such travel has increased by over 223% in the last 10 years. What would bring about that joy? As someone who has done as many trips alone as with others I can attest to some of the benefits.
Your interaction with locals is more frequent than if you were with a spouse or friend and you discover that you really are quite capable of handling obstacles on your own. Best of all is that each day is all yours. I’ve had to handle missed flights, lost luggage. dining alone, getting lost and being frightened and yet I survived. It is fun finding commonalities with strangers and I accept their offers of help when needed and am quick to recipricate.
One might consider doing a small group trip with strangers as a way of easing into solo travel. Especially if it’s a tour of a place that you might consider dangerous or difficult to get around on your own. My first such adventure was with a group organized by a woman in England who’s specialty was Africa. Her prices were cheaper than any I had found and she kept her groups relatively small. I signed up for Rwanda, Uganda and the Congo. There were 8 of us including the leader, only one couple and the rest were women like me, none of us knowing anyone else. It was an incredible trip but I quickly learned that I am much more comfortable paying extra for the single supplement. I am older than most such adventurers and I snore. My “mates” were pleasant and welcoming but I could tell I was the last one picked when it came to roommates! I would do another trip with this group or any others as long as I have my own room and hopefully a bathroom!
Since then I’ve done multiple trips on my own, hiring a local guide and driver when I plan on doing more than just a city tour. Another reason for this is that no one is really interested in going to some of the out of the way places that appeal to me! In the last couple of years I’ve travelled solo to Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Bolivia, Malawi, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Senegal, Mauritius, and Paraguay.
Many of these countries nessistated local guides due to safety, cultural or infrastructure concerns. And you can find trusted ones online through companies like Tours by Locals, GetYourGuide or by checking to see if a local tour company will offer a private tour for extra money. I’ve yet to be disappointed with any of my drivers/guides while arranging such tours. Social media is also very helpful. I often check TripAdvisor and read reviews and sometimes even engage in a conversation with someone who has used a guide.
A number of my most memorable journeys have been cruises where I had my own room; didn’t know anyone but made some great friends and managed to visit Antarctica, the Arctic Circle and many of those beautiful Caribbean Islands! Not all cruise liners offer the” no single supplement” charge so check carefully. Both Seabourn and Le Ponant do on some of their more adventurous destinations.
While I like doing the planning, the research and discovery, I also enjoy those times when everything has been planned and all I have to do is get to the starting point. I’m already looking forward to my next cruise which isn’t until 2026 but I’ll be going to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji and I’ll have my own cabin with no single supplement!
It’s easier to visit these countries in the winter time when you live in California. It’s not like you live it everyday so it can be considered a vacation. However, that means you either have to borrow clothes or like me, you’ve saved a bag of clothes for any type of travel.
Cold immersion experiences are a thing now. Because many travelers look for physical health benefits in addition to sight-seeing they are putting on warm clothing and boots with hopes of renewing their minds and bodies!
Exposure to the cold supposedly stimulates the immune system, improves your circulation and boosts your nervous system. So dress wisely, don’t overdo it and head for those exotic winter wonderlands.
Many airlines have recently revisited appropriate attire worn by you if you want to fly with them. You may be denied boarding if your clothing is offensive, smelly or overly revealing! Shoes are mandated as well.
Airlines who enforce these codes are American, Delta, United, Southwest, Hawaiian and Spirit. And some foreign airlines are even more strict like Qatar who find casual wear not suitable for business class.
I pretty much wear the same outfit every time I fly. Especially if it is a long flight or a red-eye. Because my sneakers take up room in my carry-on (I never check luggage), I wear them and match them with a nice pair of active wear pants (I choose not to call them sweatpants for fear of denial), and a coordinating shirt and sweater. I hate to think that I’m going to have to change especially when this outfit matches my suitcase!
I have a friend who has invested in moreno wool travel clothes and I think I will have to save up and do the same. Apparently they are light weight and never smell! And I’m guessing they don’t make any t-shirts that have obscene sayings on them.
I’m planning a trip to Malawi in less than a month and my online inquiry indicated that women should not show their knees or wear trousers. Oh oh, I better look in my old boxes in the closet.
I tried it a few times in my life and while I loved it, I came back home for various reasons. My daughter lived in Hong Kong for almost three years and that was incredible as I was able to visit for a month at a time and visit Asia for much less money. I lived in Switzerland for a summer during college and that certainly whet my appetite for travel. And when I first retired I moved to Panama for about 15 months and lived a good life rather inexpensively. All were great experiences.
I have thought about trying it again especially when things appear to become rather “bumpy” here. I guess I’m leaving the door open.
I have a younger brother who lives half the year in Spain and the other half in Florida. Maybe that’s the solution. Instead of quick trips get to know a second home, culture, friends and food.
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One of my friends from college spends half of the year in Minnesota and the other half in Dharmashala in India. She is a retired journalist and has just started a blog on You Tube sharing her experiences and traveling as an older person. She is funny, amusing and definitely a MN gal. Her husband is Indian who moved to Minnesota years ago. I think you will laugh and love their blog…here is the link: https://youtu.be/1GwJinICzms?si=e3BPrE14LihRG0qD
While I didn’t reach my goal of visiting five new countries this year, I did explore two: Bolivia and Turkmenistan. I also had the joy of revisiting India and Spain and celebrating my 55th college reunion!
My sense of humor may be a bit over the top, but life is good, and I’m looking forward to a wonderful New Year for all of us. Cheers to 2025!
Aging Adventurer 