I’ve heard a lot about the Finger Lakes region of New York over the years but other than a visit with my family to Watkins Glen as a child I’ve not visited the area. I thought it would be an excellent start to my year of travel and October would be perfect weather. When I looked for a place to stay, searching on “Finger Lakes” in Booking and AirBNB and VRBO, almost too many options came up. It’s a large…
Travel Insurance – Yes you need it! My daughter and I have been traveling internationally since 1997 when we went to Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore. My friend, Kelly, and I took our first trip together in 2005, attending Oktoberfest in Munich. I didn’t purchase travel insurance until 2009 when I got sick and thought I want to be covered for my trip to China … just in case. Kelly and I used our insurance that trip for a different reason, a death in…
I may not be lost, but I do have some financial and legal issues, while I “wander”. For several years, I’ve been planning on selling my house and staying mobile for a while after retirement. I want to just enjoy traveling and exploring new places. I also don’t know where I want to end up. Many people I know have plans to retire to a specific place. I don’t, not yet. I may decide I don’t want to “settle down”. For…
I went to New Orleans after visiting Savannah just to see the National World War II Museum. Yes, seriously. I even checked Mardi Gras dates before booking because I did NOT want to be there during that season. Those crowds? No thanks. I have been wanting to see the WWII Museum for years. I purchased a brick for my Dad, a US Marine Corps veteran of WWII, years ago but have never seen it. I have visited New Orleans previously,…
I decided months ago there was no reason for me to stay in Illinois all winter. It’s cold, windy and grey for weeks at a time. Quite a depressing place to spend the winter, so I started thinking about a long term stay… somewhere. Somewhere warmer. I’ve only spent half a day in Savannah, on a side trip from Hilton Head years ago. I wanted to see more. And staying long term in a city sounded exciting and a great…
I had a 13+ hour drive to Savannah. I could probably have driven straight through but looked at various options for stops en route. I have an old friend from the Army living in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. I arranged dates and times with her for Saturday night then realized how close she was to Mammoth Cave. I was here as a kid with my family but literally decades ago and I wanted to visit again. I had planned on stopping for…
We arrived in Nice on Monday afternoon and spent Monday and Tuesday in the city before taking a train to Monaco for the day on Wednesday morning. A number of sites recommend taking the #82 bus for the beautiful views but the train only takes 20 minutes and the Nice train station was close and convenient. We caught the 0821 train and were in Monaco before 0900. Leaving the train station, it took us a few minutes to get oriented. I had printed some…
I’ve visited Paris twice, once when I was living in West Germany in the 80s and my daughter and I visited London and Paris for about two weeks in 2001. We flew into London and took the Eurostar to Paris. We visited Versailles for a day, but I’ve not been to any other part of France until this trip. After deciding to visit Cinque Terre, Kelly and I discussed “where else?” There was talk of some time in Tuscany or other…
I’ve been to Italy several times. My daughter and I spent a week in Florence and Venice in the late 90s. We returned in 2001 for a week in Rome. Rome needs more time, there is so much to see in this amazing, ancient city. I definitely hope to visit again. I did returned to Venice a few years ago with my friend, Kelly. We visited at the end of a trip to Croatia and Slovenia in 2014. We stayed in Venice for 3 nights before flying home…
I was thinking about and planning for my retirement for months. Well, planning for years, of course, like you should when it comes to saving and investing. But ever since attending my friend Judy’s retirement reception last October I was counting the days, too. So March 28th, 2019, I walked out the door at work for the last time, and went to my own retirement reception. I had a great night with lots of friends I’ve made in the past…