Category: Travel

Posts about my Chapter 5 travel adventures

Plan B: Na Pali coast catamaran snorkeling trip canceled due to rough water, so Joel and I hiked from Shipwreck Beach along the Maha’ulepo Heritage Trail to the Makauwahi Cave. Gorgeous! Followed by snorkeling and daytime turtle viewing at Poipu Beach. Fabulous! After dinner, we saw over two dozen turtles resting on the beach. They avoided the area and rested in the water due to too many humans and returned to the beach during covid when there were fewer tourists bothering them. Docents now protect the turtles so they can rest and return to the water the next morning with renewed energy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the numbers:
  • Drove 18,703 miles
  • Traveled 142 days
  • Visited three countries
  • Explored 42 states
  • Hugged 52 family/friends
  • Serviced Addie at three locations
  • Received two pedicures
  • Cut hair once
  • Ate gallons of artisanal ice cream!
  • Drank…who knows?
While meandering along San Antonio’s River Walk, I saw three people standing and chatting. After I asked if one of them would take my picture (something I did numerous times on this adventure), the woman volunteered to snap my pic. She said goodbye to her friends/colleagues and had me pose in multiple locations so she could take a variety of photos (something most people don’t do when taking another person’s photos!). When I asked her where the Pearl Brewery is, a place recommended to me for an afternoon refreshment, she offered to show me since she was heading in that same direction. During our walk, I mentioned that I was finishing a five month solo cross country road trip. She asked me NOT “What were your three favorite locations?” or “Did you ever feel scared?” or “What are COVID masking policies in other states?” – all three questions I’ve been asked multiple times. Instead she asked me two EXTRAORDINARY and DEEP questions, which I’m going to answer here…
– What did I learn about myself?: I learned so much about myself! The most surprising things? How competent I am, how much I enjoy my time alone even though I’m most definitely an extrovert, how much I’m able to find joy/happiness/wonder/surprise in even the smallest of adventures/locations/experiences, how I can be both flexible and inflexible depending on the circumstances, how much I love traveling (okay, this isn’t so new, eh?!)!
– What am I going to do differently after this trip?: This question is, in my opinion, even deeper than her first question. And I don’t really have a good answer yet! I know that I want – I need! – to contribute to the world in some meaningful way. I know that it’s important to me to help reduce how much we “otherize” people. I know I have skills, talents, and abilities that can be put to good use. How I do this…I’m still not sure. What excites me most about being retired is not being beholden, so a formal program or organization does not interest me. My hope is that as I share my goal and keep my heart, mind, and ears open, the right opportunity will present itself.
Five months – too long or too short?: In some ways, five months was not long enough. There are so many other places I want to see! However, in other ways, five months was too long. I love my family, friends, home, and community so much that five months was a bit too long.
Connectedness – power of technology: Technology ROCKS! (Yes, I am a BURKE!) Most vitally, it helped me stay connected with my friends and family. Phone calls, texts, emails…they all helped me be able to share what was happening with me and allowed me to know what was happening in their lives. Technology also assisted me in planning my trip – routes, campgrounds, sights, weather, etc. My phone got as big of a workout as my legs! ALSO, my Facebook travel log connected me with so many friends and families while allowing me to keep a record of my adventures and fostering my enjoyment of writing and photography! The support and encouragement – and excitement! – of so many of my travel log friends inspired me.
Future blog: Several friends have asked me if I’m going to write a book. At this time, I don’t think so (never say never!). Next year, however, I’m going to transfer my travel log to a blog to preserve the writings and photos and to remove it from the Facebook platform. I already have a name: Chapter 5: Active Retirement! From composing my travel log, I have rediscovered my joy in writing. At the start, I struggled with each word or phrase – I kept hearing others’ criticism of my writing while I wrote. As my adventure continued, I began to enjoy the writing itself! I also realized how much I love taking photos! It’s time for me to buy a “real camera” – any suggestions for a good starter camera? – so I can develop my photography skills.
When I was ready to give up – right at the start!: The first week was the hardest! Not because I was lonely or scared or confused. But because of my misadventures with Addie. At my first campground in Clear Lake, CA, Addie’s awning wouldn’t close. When I kept trying to close it, I noticed I was standing on a yellow jacket nest – and received a bunch of yellow jacket stings on my left leg. Very painful and itchy! Then, the awning pulled out from the rivets. I slid the awning into Addie and went to my friends Kate and Chuck’s house. Their driveway goes up at an angle and then flattens out. Being concerned about bottoming out on the driveway, when I made my sharp right turn into the driveway, I hit the low wall of the righthand side and gave Addie her big boo boo. Luckily, the boo boo is cosmetic and not structural. Chuck cleaned up Addie, and they’re storing the awning for me – YAY! This was all during my first week! With Kate and Chuck’s encouragement, support, and humor – and a bit of wine! – I was ready to continue my trip. That first week, though, was tough!
Here are a few questions some of you asked me…
– So now that you’re back, how are Shaye & Ben doing?
   – They’re doing great! Having independent adult children allows me to explore and travel knowing that they’re fine.
– How did Joel survive without you?
   – He did great, too! With Emmett (grandson born May 20), his new cabin in Calaveras County, his home projects, and his work and volunteer schedule, I don’t even think he realized I was gone. (Just kidding!)
– Do you have a top 5 or 10 places you’d recommend in the US based on all of your trips?
   – Off the top of my head…
  1. Grand Tetons
  2. Black Hills
  3. Nebraska
  4. Tennessee
  5. Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
  6. Any forest hike with a waterfall
– What is Addie’s fate?
   – Addie and I are joined at the hip! I’m definitely keeping her. I’ll be fixing her boo boo, changing her curtains, and doing a few other minor repairs/upgrades, and then she and I will head out on more adventures.
– Where’s my next adventure?
   – Let’s see… Northridge, Hawaii, Dorrington, Minneapolis, Felton, Charleston, …
– What was the first thing you did (opening the door, walking in and going to the bathroom don’t count)?
   – Hugged Emmett!!! (See attached photo!)
– So are you happy, sad or a conglomeration of emotions?
   – YES.
   – This was an adventure of a lifetime. At times, I don’t believe it really happened. And then I think back over a date or a place or a person, and I’m blown away by the overall experience of this trip. I am so happy I have the health, time, and resources to have taken this trip. I am sad that it’s over. I am excited for new adventures. I am tired. I am contented. I am ready to be at home and back on the road!

Below are my reflections from the last month of my cross country adventure. In a few days after I’ve hugged my loved ones, wined with friends, and unpacked Addie, I’ll post some reflections on my trip as a whole.
Civil: My RV campground hosts in Alabama greeted me warmly and kindly. Through chatting with them, I learned that the South focuses on two issues: the Civil War and Civil Rights. The sights I explored encompassed both of these elements, as they are inextricably combined. I would also add Civility to the mix – how do we get along with each other, listen to each other, learn from each other, and live with each other? Everything came together at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum! This museum pulled together all of the elements of “otherizing,” both in the US and across the world, and most importantly offers opportunities to make a difference in its final Call to Action gallery.
Infrastructure: Roads, bridges, broadband… Oh, so many differences! Some roads are smooth and easy to drive. Others are bumpy and broken, creating hazards for everyone attempting to travel on that street. Bridges – everywhere! Broadband – intermittent! I am so happy Infrastructure Week finally happened. Our country needs it!
Size of Texas: Texas is a big friggin state, with so much diversity of people, terrain, beauty, politics. Although I spent a week in the state, there is so much more to see and do. Of course, I could say that about almost every place I’ve visited – so much to see and do!
Alabama

 

Mississippi

 

Louisiana

 

Arkansas

 

Oklahoma

 

Texas

 

New Mexico

 

Arizona

 

With Susan and Len.

 

With Laura.

 

With Shaye.

Well, I now know what it means to “smell the barn!” It means when one is so close to home, one keeps driving! So, after walking around Mesilla, NM, and taking a peek at Saguaro National Park, AZ, I kept driving. And driving. And driving. Until I felt fuzzy brained, pulled over, and found a nearby Elks to camp at tonight. 🙂

Mini-basilica in Mesilla, NM.

 

Gazebo and trees in Historic Mesilla.

 

Aha!

 

Scenery from an Arizona rest area.

 

Saguaro National Park.

 

Sunset from Addie.

 

Sunset.

 

Addie and me, ready to unwind at the Elks in Indio.

I left the BIG state of Texas this morning after a week exploring this diverse – in so many ways – state. After buying groceries in El Paso, I drove to the 62nd out of 63 national parks, White Sands National Park. Signage calls it both a national monument and a national park; it switched from its 1933 designation to its new title in December 2019.
Tonight, I’m camping at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, one of many delightful state parks I’ve had the pleasure of staying at during my adventure.
Sadly, I received a phone call last night from a former AMA president that one of our past board officers was killed on Saturday night by a drunk driver. So very hard and tragic…