Since the last post about the benefits of travel, I’ve been wondering why wanderlust smites some but not others. Can we trace its development in ourselves and thereby better understand our particular uniqueness?
Tag Archives: travel
Wanderlust Energizes Later Life
Wanderlust: those of us who have it always keep a corner of our minds dedicated to the next horizon, the next town, an exotic land. Travel intoxicates us and fires our imaginations; but not all of us like to wander.
Ireland’s Landscapes: a Retirement Interlude
Gallery
This gallery contains 24 photos.
Ireland’s green landscapes have earned it the title, Emerald Isle. That one name hides the variety of green and its juxtapositions with the varying colors of the Atlantic, the greys of rock formations and stone castles, and the colors of … Continue reading
Danger: Motorcycling in the Coal Country of Virginia at Age 70
Young couple on a bike
The road was sharply crowned, narrow and steep, and suddenly the Gold Wing starting misfiring, the light panel on the dashboard flashed wildly and then the engine just quit. The motorcycle stopped in the middle of the lane, and I was stuck, really stuck. The bike weighs about 1,000 pounds, and at 70 years old, I could not push it around to get it headed downhill. Continue reading
Outer Places: Eastern Kentucky
“Take my picture, please, please, take my picture,” said the pretty blond teenager. She was with two friends, a girl and boy, and the threesome was headed into Walmart near Pineville, Kentucky. The two girls stood near one another, and the boy, wearing a baseball cap, jeans, and a light jacket over his lanky frame, drifted a few feet away. I asked him if he wanted to be in the picture, but he said no.
I took two pictures, then she wanted to see them.
“Oh, my eyes are so blue. You have a really good camera,” she said as she continued to look at herself. Continue reading
Cruising to the Bahamas: Photo Gallery
Gallery
This gallery contains 30 photos.
Yesterday I described a cruise to the Bahamas. Today you can view some photos that show the experience. When this blog post loads in your browser, click on the first photo and you will enter a gallery where you can … Continue reading
Cruising to the Bahamas
Cruising
Barbara and I parked our car and took a shuttle to the Miami docks where the Norwegian Sky, a small cruise ship awaited us. We were anxious. This was our first cruise and first time to the Bahamas. We were facing security, and I just remembered I had a Swiss army knife in my pocket.
We got through security (they let me keep the knife), and we headed up the gangway to see our room and explore the ship. We had booked a two-day, three-night cruise with one day at the Great Stirrup Cay, a small island owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines, and one day in Nassau. We sailed at night. Continue reading
The Secret Lives of Old Men
“Gee,” I yelled in the wind, and Hickory, my lead sled dog, guided the team to the right across the lake and northward toward the mountains. We entered the forest and began the ascent, steep switchbacks, dogs pulling hard. “Easy, Easy,” I said as we approached a left turn with a steep drop at the right side of the trail. We were hundreds of miles into the snow and silence of Alaska. Continue reading
What You Should Know about Vermont Versus Georgia
Lake Champlain region offers memorable sunsets
Everyone says that travel is educational, so Barbara and I began to think about what we learned on our winter trip to Vermont. As it turns out, we think we learned things that can help other retirees.
Here’s what we learned: Continue reading
Breaking Away in Retirement
Later Living submitted a byline to the Athens Banner-Herald that was published online and in print this morning. The piece offers readers five paths to breaking away in retirement.
Before retirement, most of us live in established routines. We rise early and head to work, where we perform familiar tasks; we come home to our families, have dinner, enjoy the evening, and go to bed. One day grows into the next.
Such patterned living is built on years of small adjustments to the demands of school, then work, family and community. It started in kindergarten — showing up, following instructions, adopting goals and meeting expectations. By the time of retirement, most of us live with a sort of automated proficiency.
At retirement, we chuck the job, but without a deliberate effort to break the routine, ingrained living patterns remain; retirement slides along with new responsibilities gradually filling the time spent at work. There is nothing wrong with that pattern, but it may amount to a missed opportunity.
Read more at Online Athens.