Girl trip anyone? My friends' trip was not born of grade school, high school, or university reunions. These women, authors in common, a nurse practitioner, photographer, and retreat coordinator met in our mountain community about eight years ago. Their husbands or partner fostered their interests at home while these adventure-seeking dames explored Peru. Harsh mountain winters motivated other friends to rent a condo in Naples from their friends who took advantage of the real estate bust and upgraded their home. Joining them for our regularly scheduled Friday lunch with ten others, one friend laughingly admitted, "We did not miss you at all. We had the best time in Hawaii for my birthday - the children surprised us with birthday decorations for our cruise cabin. We had the best winter. Turkey, more travel to my aunt's 95th birthday, then Hawaii." How fortunate for this couple (she traveled to Turkey with her sisters).
"Live fully" is the signature with which a favorite relative closes her correspondence. That can translate to knowing when it is time to sell the house and enjoy a retirement community. With those with smaller pockets that might mean selling the one-bedroom condo on two floors and moving to a one-floor ranch within her price range and delight in a two-car garage to make winters more manageable. Another with wanderlust and a fixed income lives with high cost of energy bills, caregiving, and maintaining a home that remains on the market in another state. An arm-chair traveler for now. Romance was intimated by another answering a personal ad for a mountain gal. Advice? Don't sell the house.
What travel experience is on your bucket list, have you recently enjoyed, or remains in your memory?
No comments:
Post a Comment