The husband and I are making plans to travel. A while ago, I had been thinking about how our lifestyle was changing, that we were not getting any younger, and that we should be making the most out of life. Somehow in all this thinking, I came up with a goal to visit the other 49 states in the next five or so years. At some point in my life, I have been to about half of the states but for many of them, it was more than 40 years ago and I was just passing through. Happily, the husband did not poo-poo the idea and so the planning began.
This is an exciting new frontier for us to explore because although we have done some traveling together, I wouldn’t say that we have done a lot of traveling. I suppose “some but not a lot” is all relative as in we have relatives who have done a lot more traveling to varied and exotic locales than we have but we are not novices at navigating the complexities of air travel and making hotel reservations. We haven’t not traveled due to any phobias or physical limitations or general lack of interest but nonetheless, there have only been a few trips in the last 25 or so years that were taken purely for enjoyment and that did not coincide with a business trip or family affair.
The husband frequently traveled for his job so long-distance traveling for relaxation was not high on his list for downtime. The two of us have had getaway weekends in Las Vegas and other destinations within a few hours drive. There were several summers where we would take the kids for a one-week stay in a beachfront rental unit in a seaside community that is about a 90-minute drive from our home and there have been more than a few trips to the east coast to visit with family or attend a milestone event.
With our nearly empty nest, we are finding it much easier to make travel plans when there are only two schedules to coordinate instead of four. When the kids were younger it seemed difficult to coordinate schedules where we could get away either with them or without them. Between business trips, sleep-away camp, and plans with friends, someone was not available. We had thought to take a family trip this past summer, but between the kids’ other plans, my mother-in-law’s temporary health set-back, and the mid-August start of the Fall semester for our daughter, there was not one week out of twelve where our schedules aligned so a family trip did not happen. Fine, whatever.
Without the limitations of our children’s schedules, the husband and I have found planning a trip a much simpler endeavor and we leave shortly for our maiden voyage. We are starting slow. The first of the states we will visit are Arizona and Nevada, both of which we have been to before hence the ‘starting slow’. The husband and I have talked about moving away from Southern California when we retire (still several years off) so we are using this trip to explore a few options. Plans for more trips are in the making as there are two family events on the east coast next year (one in the spring and one in the fall) that we will use as springboards for trips to nearby states.
What will it be like, out on the open road with a limited pre-determined wardrobe and nine days of 24/7 with the husband? I will keep you posted.
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