How It Is Done

Travel is our passion.  I recall meeting sweet, young Stan in the summer of 1974.  He entertained me by telling me about his adventures in other countries while he served in the US Navy.  In our early days together we dreamed of visiting those and other places together someday.  Family, finishing our education, and work came first, however.   Throughout our years together, when we’d have a chance to reconnect soulfully and dream again, we always continued talking about our longing to see other parts of the world.

Now in our last strong and healthy years, we are fulfilling our dream.  Are we spending our children’s inheritance?  Everyone says, do it, just spend it!!!  But I think we are managing not to drain it.  How?

We made a tough decision to free ourselves from obligations.  Except for one vehicle, we rid ourselves of all property.  We have no house, no mortgage, no property tax, no homeowners insurance, utility costs, and best of all, no maintenance and upkeep.  I cannot express the kind of liberation we feel! 

What we ordinarily might spend living in our home, we now spend in our travels.  And do we love it!!  Granted, we don’t live as if each week is a once-a-year vacation in which most people feel compelled to spend nights in luxurious hotels with three pools or doormen in top hats and tails, and we don’t feel the need to visit top restaurants every day.  Here’s a question:  who would want to do that day after day, month after month anyway?  This is our life.  We live pretty much as we did before we took this plunge.  We go and do freely.  We don’t let costs keep us from doing anything we choose to do.  Paragliding or taking a balloon ride over pyramids, for example, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and well worth any cost..  If it occurs to us to make an unplanned visit to an extra island or two on a sailboat, we do it.  We treat ourselves to special outings at exclusive must-do restaurants and roof-top bars when we choose to, but often we are equally as happy with lunch at a nice restaurant or even at a small neighborhood family-run café and just have a salad at home in the evening.

Our stays in most locations are usually at least a week in duration and often several weeks or months, so we typically use Airbnb or other vacation-by-owner rental sites to find our next temporary home.  Accommodations found on Airbnb usually cost less and they are much more roomy and comfortable than hotels and expensive resorts.  We always make sure the place we choose has excellent reviews, is near to public transportation, and has a full kitchen, laundry facilities, WIFI, and air conditioning if the weather demands it.  The best part of this type of rental is that we get to live like locals, shop locally, and sometimes meet neighbors, not just other tourists.  It is a great way to learn about the culture of other people in the world.  Speaking of public transportation, we take advantage of the great bus, metro, tram, and train systems we find abroad.  But much of that depends on the location.  Usually one of the first things we do when we arrive at a new location is buy a transit card.  This makes catching the bus, tram, or subway easy-peasy.  Did we use public transportation in Southeast Asia or Egypt?  No, that’s not feasible there, but modern, clean, and efficient transportation systems exist all over Europe, South America, and in big cities all over the world.  Phone and online apps make it easy to find out best ways to travel from place to place around the world. A couple of good ones?  Rome2Rio is perfect when traveling from city to city or country to country  It provides all the options available like plane, train, combo plane and train, bus, or car and estimated costs and travel time.  Moovit and Google Maps are the best for getting around a city and its surrounding area.  A far cry from MapQuest and paper maps available when we first started traveling internationally, these new clever apps tell users every detail of getting from your doorstep to the next one across the city, or across the globe.  And they follow you every step of the way.

When making flight arrangements, we save time and money by checking flights available on Cheapoair.com.  We state where our departure airport, our destination and when we wan to go.  Cheapoair.com does the rest giving us every airline serving our route in order of departure time and the cost.  We don’t have to guess which airline will serve us best or which has the best pricing; it’s all there.

We use one credit card only but have a back-up on hand just in case.  We use a card that charges no foreign transaction fees and gives us double and triple points on travel and meals.  Those points can be used on any airline.  Cha-ching!  Now here’s something that give us a special boost.  Our daughter is a flight attendant.  As her parents, we are eligible to reduced fare flight benefits.  We take advantage of that great privilege as often as we can but must fly “stand-by” status.  For some that might be worrisome, but we have flown stand-by for so long that is no longer a significant challenge.

We are sometimes asked, “How do you manage long flights?”  We have no key to that mystery.  We fly so much that first class seats are simply out of the question.  Long trips in the cheap-seats are pure misery for us.  Occasionally we get seats in the emergency exit rows.  This gives us extra leg room but huge responsibilities for the flight.   We also bring simple but sweet or savory gifts/treats for the entire flight crew.  A Tootsie Roll Pop goes along way with a pilot who seldom gets any thanks or recognition.

 After some friendly chats with the crew, we do our best to get comfy (which is next to impossible), and snooze in and out of consciousness while watching movie after movie on the tiny screen in front of us.  It is nothing less than torture but somehow once at the new destination, we rest a bit and then are on our way. We try to conform the new time zone as quickly as possible which may mean staying up extra late or going to bed extra early. After having made so many international trips, however, Stan and I are almost immune to jet lag.  We are simply happy to be there!

One of the first things we do in a new location is visit the Tourist Information Center.  The really good ones are typically located in the center of town.  The representatives usually speak a little English, provide the best maps, and the very best information on public transportation, best places to see and often mention out of the way places the online sites and tour guides don’t promote.

Travel, especially in our style, is not for everyone.  We know that.  Some folks simply love the comfort of home and nearby family and friends.  I understand that.  We treasure our family and friends too and wish we all could live very close to one another.  Even if our family lived in close proximity to one another, I’m not sure how often we’d see each other.  Experience tells me that nearness does not necessarily mean more frequent visits.   We stay in touch with our girls and Tessa, just as we did when we still lived at home – thanks to in-person visits we make when we are home every six months and to great Internet and WFI technology. WhatsApp and FaceTime apps are pure jewels. People all over the world use WhatsApp. I don’t know why this app has not caught on in the USA. Calls, even international calls, on these apps are completely free and only require Internet for accessing them!  Our girls occasionally make trips to visit us abroad as well.  That’s always a treat!

No one must travel the world to find fulfillment in life.  Simply hosting a diner party for new and old friends, planting a spring garden, meeting with high school friends for burgers once a month or standing lakeside. skimming stones with a spouse or grandchild can be transforming and super fulfilling.  If living at home is your happy place, make it very happy. 

If travel is your dream, don’t just dream.  Even a single trip or occasional trips can be exhilarating, even life-changing–the sights are amazing, history comes to life, the adventures are thrilling, and the people you meet are gifts from God.  We people living around the globe have much more in common than one might ever guess.  For Stan and me, travel has made the world more familiar, seem smaller, and a little less scary.  With a little imagination, travel is doable for almost everyone.   Figuring it out and making trips happen is icing on the cake, a big part of the fun!