a little traveling music....
HUH?What's up with that? has talked to well over 80 retirees in the past four months. We've discussed commonalities, differences, likes and dislikes, previous occupations, desires, goals, regrets, and even a few dreams. The only two subjects we won't get into begin with an R and P.
Among the conclusions unscientifically reached, all but a few of my guests were in unison about one subject and that's checking out places they've never seen.
Going places sounds good to me!
My wife and I want to travel before we're not able to do it.
We'd like to see as many sites as our budget allows.
Those are just a few of the comments I've heard. Many more of them are variations of the same themes, but almost everyone wants to hit the road or see how friendly the skies can be in 2020.
A 2017 poll contradicts one completed five years previously that concluded older people travel more than any age group. The latest survey by Expedia Media Solutions, Expedia's advertising agency, shows millennials, not older people travel the most of all age groups, 35 days per year.
But, since Expedia did the survey, I have to think their poll reflects online bookings only and that's not how many 60 year olds and above commit to their journey. Also, the study probably neglected a major category of travel...those who travel by car.
Regardless, HUH? What's up with that? is going to look at two people who travel way more than most of us and far more than the average millennial. And, in addition to booking online, they use a variety of means to plan, coordinate, and execute their numerous trips.
Meet Jim and Connie.
Jim was in the army in the Adjutant General Corps from 1968-1972. He was stationed in Naples, Italy for three years during which time he served partly as a NATO courier delivering materials to Athens, Istanbul, and Izmir. Partly for security reasons, his main mode of transportation was an Italian luxury ship.
After the drop at the port of call, he was usually free for a day or so to see local sights like the Acropolis, Santa Sophia, and Ephesus. During the three years in Naples, Jim was able to vacation in Austria, France, Spain, Germany, and Portugal. While on base, he also studied Italian at the University of Maryland. Jim said, By the end of my service, travel was deeply embedded in me.
Connie's love of travel happened by more traditional means. As a young girl, the travel bug bit when she hit the road with her grandmother and drove from Fort Wayne, Indiana to California along the iconic Route 66. HUH? didn't ask her if she saw two guys heading west in a blue Corvette.
Years later, these two got together and they see first-hand all the sights and places they've not seen previously as well as a few countries Jim visited while in the service.
Connie and Jim's first trip out of the United States was to Vancouver, British Columbia and Victoria Island. Since Jim had gone on many fishing trips to Canadian wilderness areas, he was mildly surprised to find British Columbia was a thriving cosmopolitan province.
Their initial overseas venture was to Costa Rica in Central America. After they had returned home, the two agreed that San Jose and the Nicoya Peninsula were memorable. Jim and Connie stayed a few days in Tamarindo on the Pacific coast on the edges of the jungle where they awoke each morning to the sounds of monkeys and tropical birds.
One thing I wanted to know is if Jim and Connie had ever lost their way or just couldn't figure out where they were or how they managed to get there.
Ray Bradbury, author of the space travel classic, The Martian Chronicles, once wrote, Half of the fun of travel is the aesthetic of lostness. I doubt there was much fun in this sequence of events as relayed to me by the couple.
One night while in Central America, Jim was driving home from dinner and couldn't figure out how to return to their room. They got lost on a very dark, lonely, and isolated jungle road with no other cars on the road. As they continued to drive, they came across wire barriers strung across the road that had Voodoo shrunken heads hanging from the wire. Jim said, It was an immediate galvanic skin response. Our hair stood on end as we backed out of the dead-end dirt pathway and turned around heading the other direction! Connie added, We were lucky to find our way back to the B&B.
Since that first excursion, Jim and Connie have visited Ireland, England, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Connie does almost all the planning. She spends months laying out the logistics, mapping, contacting hotels and B&B owners, reading books, and talking to tour guides. She says one of the best tools is Google maps which puts her on the ground in real time for the entire trip.
Right now, she's working on a trip the two will take this spring to the Netherlands and Belgium. After a three week stay and returning to home base, Connie will begin planning a tour of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
On the horizon lies Asia, especially Japan.
Potentially, one of the biggest obstacles with world-wide travel appears to be a language barrier. Jim says, Not really. But, the biggest problems we faced were in the Slavic countries, namely Russia and Hungary. He went on to say in most European countries, the people they engaged spoke English, though natives appreciate the effort visitors make to speak the local language as it's considered a sign of respect.
What about regional slang?
Ah, said Jim. That's another story. Sometimes, the biggest challenges were in England and Ireland just because of their reliance on slang. Jim told the story of the time he was sitting in a bar in Dublin having his morning coffee when local customers would come in and say, What's the Crack? The actual spelling is :craic and translated means, What's the latest news or gossip?
When I asked the couple if there was ever a time they felt threatened or unsafe while overseas, they cited the false hijacking alarm at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam and the Yellow Vest demonstrations in Paris. Be alert, said Jim. Plan What if...
Interestingly, the two have never experienced anti-American sentiments of any kind including their time spent in Russia.
Of all the places they've seen, Narva, Estonia on the border with Russia was Jim and Connie's favorite site. We looked across the river to Ivanograd with its imposing castle, Jim said. Connie told me about a Russian couple they met there who were spending a holiday on the Russian border visiting Estonia. The husband has a brother who is an astrophysicist teaching at the University of California at Irvine. Small world.
Besides all of their overseas ventures, Jim and Connie have driven across America four times. Jim considers Grand Canyon and Boston to be highlights from those excursions. Also, they both agreed, the drive from Boston to Quebec City through New Hampshire and Vermont were exceptional for their beauty. Their return trip was from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island through Maine and back to Boston.
Well, after spending considerable time with these two globetrotters, I'm ready to pack my bags. But, wait a minute. Did Jim really say his main mode of transportation while in the service was an Italian Luxury ship? HUH? What's up with that?
HUH?What's up with that? has talked to well over 80 retirees in the past four months. We've discussed commonalities, differences, likes and dislikes, previous occupations, desires, goals, regrets, and even a few dreams. The only two subjects we won't get into begin with an R and P.
Among the conclusions unscientifically reached, all but a few of my guests were in unison about one subject and that's checking out places they've never seen.
Going places sounds good to me!
My wife and I want to travel before we're not able to do it.
We'd like to see as many sites as our budget allows.
Those are just a few of the comments I've heard. Many more of them are variations of the same themes, but almost everyone wants to hit the road or see how friendly the skies can be in 2020.
A 2017 poll contradicts one completed five years previously that concluded older people travel more than any age group. The latest survey by Expedia Media Solutions, Expedia's advertising agency, shows millennials, not older people travel the most of all age groups, 35 days per year.
But, since Expedia did the survey, I have to think their poll reflects online bookings only and that's not how many 60 year olds and above commit to their journey. Also, the study probably neglected a major category of travel...those who travel by car.
Regardless, HUH? What's up with that? is going to look at two people who travel way more than most of us and far more than the average millennial. And, in addition to booking online, they use a variety of means to plan, coordinate, and execute their numerous trips.
Meet Jim and Connie.
Jim was in the army in the Adjutant General Corps from 1968-1972. He was stationed in Naples, Italy for three years during which time he served partly as a NATO courier delivering materials to Athens, Istanbul, and Izmir. Partly for security reasons, his main mode of transportation was an Italian luxury ship.
After the drop at the port of call, he was usually free for a day or so to see local sights like the Acropolis, Santa Sophia, and Ephesus. During the three years in Naples, Jim was able to vacation in Austria, France, Spain, Germany, and Portugal. While on base, he also studied Italian at the University of Maryland. Jim said, By the end of my service, travel was deeply embedded in me.
Connie's love of travel happened by more traditional means. As a young girl, the travel bug bit when she hit the road with her grandmother and drove from Fort Wayne, Indiana to California along the iconic Route 66. HUH? didn't ask her if she saw two guys heading west in a blue Corvette.
Years later, these two got together and they see first-hand all the sights and places they've not seen previously as well as a few countries Jim visited while in the service.
Connie and Jim's first trip out of the United States was to Vancouver, British Columbia and Victoria Island. Since Jim had gone on many fishing trips to Canadian wilderness areas, he was mildly surprised to find British Columbia was a thriving cosmopolitan province.
Their initial overseas venture was to Costa Rica in Central America. After they had returned home, the two agreed that San Jose and the Nicoya Peninsula were memorable. Jim and Connie stayed a few days in Tamarindo on the Pacific coast on the edges of the jungle where they awoke each morning to the sounds of monkeys and tropical birds.
One thing I wanted to know is if Jim and Connie had ever lost their way or just couldn't figure out where they were or how they managed to get there.
Ray Bradbury, author of the space travel classic, The Martian Chronicles, once wrote, Half of the fun of travel is the aesthetic of lostness. I doubt there was much fun in this sequence of events as relayed to me by the couple.
One night while in Central America, Jim was driving home from dinner and couldn't figure out how to return to their room. They got lost on a very dark, lonely, and isolated jungle road with no other cars on the road. As they continued to drive, they came across wire barriers strung across the road that had Voodoo shrunken heads hanging from the wire. Jim said, It was an immediate galvanic skin response. Our hair stood on end as we backed out of the dead-end dirt pathway and turned around heading the other direction! Connie added, We were lucky to find our way back to the B&B.
Since that first excursion, Jim and Connie have visited Ireland, England, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Connie does almost all the planning. She spends months laying out the logistics, mapping, contacting hotels and B&B owners, reading books, and talking to tour guides. She says one of the best tools is Google maps which puts her on the ground in real time for the entire trip.
Right now, she's working on a trip the two will take this spring to the Netherlands and Belgium. After a three week stay and returning to home base, Connie will begin planning a tour of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
On the horizon lies Asia, especially Japan.
Potentially, one of the biggest obstacles with world-wide travel appears to be a language barrier. Jim says, Not really. But, the biggest problems we faced were in the Slavic countries, namely Russia and Hungary. He went on to say in most European countries, the people they engaged spoke English, though natives appreciate the effort visitors make to speak the local language as it's considered a sign of respect.
What about regional slang?
Ah, said Jim. That's another story. Sometimes, the biggest challenges were in England and Ireland just because of their reliance on slang. Jim told the story of the time he was sitting in a bar in Dublin having his morning coffee when local customers would come in and say, What's the Crack? The actual spelling is :craic and translated means, What's the latest news or gossip?
When I asked the couple if there was ever a time they felt threatened or unsafe while overseas, they cited the false hijacking alarm at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam and the Yellow Vest demonstrations in Paris. Be alert, said Jim. Plan What if...
Interestingly, the two have never experienced anti-American sentiments of any kind including their time spent in Russia.
Of all the places they've seen, Narva, Estonia on the border with Russia was Jim and Connie's favorite site. We looked across the river to Ivanograd with its imposing castle, Jim said. Connie told me about a Russian couple they met there who were spending a holiday on the Russian border visiting Estonia. The husband has a brother who is an astrophysicist teaching at the University of California at Irvine. Small world.
Besides all of their overseas ventures, Jim and Connie have driven across America four times. Jim considers Grand Canyon and Boston to be highlights from those excursions. Also, they both agreed, the drive from Boston to Quebec City through New Hampshire and Vermont were exceptional for their beauty. Their return trip was from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island through Maine and back to Boston.
Well, after spending considerable time with these two globetrotters, I'm ready to pack my bags. But, wait a minute. Did Jim really say his main mode of transportation while in the service was an Italian Luxury ship? HUH? What's up with that?
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