I told you all not travel in winter, but I’m having a hard time following my own advice. We made a 3½-week trip in January and we plan to make another one again this month when we travel to South Dakota again and help Mother-in-Law move to a resort. Yes, she’s moving to a place with a very nice brand-new apartment where she’ll get meals and cleaning done for her, entertainment provided on-site, with a swimming pool and gym close by. All this and more without ever going outside in the South Dakota bitter cold, but with a patio for sitting outside during warmer weather. Sounds like a dream home to me.
Since I retired last May 31, we’ve been home about 3½ months total. While that may seem exciting to some (and I used to be one of them), it’s not always what it’s cracked up to be. But first, I must say that Hubby traveling…constantly. As soon as we get home and get the laundry done and mail sorted, he’s ready to hit the road again. He has wanderlust.
For me, I love being home in my familiar surroundings with my stuff. That was a surprising discovery about myself. I always thought I wanted to travel a lot. During last summer’s sojourn, I found out I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. When traveling, you are on other people’s schedule. You are using their house, their beds, their baths, their food, their everything. Nothing is yours and everything is out of your control (pretty much). That’s not to say that you are unwelcome. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Everyone tries to make you feel comfortable and their efforts are appreciated. But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s not your home.
Maybe I’m selfish, but I need to have lots of time at home. It’s where I release my creativity. I do my writing there. I do my sewing there. I can pick any of my many hobbies to enjoy. I really missed that last summer. It left me feeling pretty empty and unfulfilled at times.
That said, our plans for the coming months are jam packed with travel. After the trip to South Dakota, we’ll be home for a month to get all our doctor appointments and dentist appointments done. After that, we have a babysitting gig in Oregon. Never get enough of those! Then it’s home for a few weeks before our big trip of the year: a week in London and 2½ weeks in Ireland. Looking forward to that one!
Hubby and I went to a “How to Pack for 2 Weeks in Just a Carry-On” class so we could be prepared for the coming travel season. The lady gave us a lot of helpful hints on how to pack and what to pack and how to do laundry in a Ziploc bag. Interesting stuff. Then we proceeded to the shop and bought a bunch of handy-dandy contraptions to make it all easier. So now we have our clothes line for the bathtub that doesn’t require clothes pins. Security bags that cannot be scanned by crooks trying to steal credit card numbers. Small electric toothbrushes. International plugs. Travel clothes that don’t wrinkle and are quick wash and dry. Ka-ching!
So we’ll soon be on our way, praying that God watch over us and keep us safe. You never know where we’ll pop up. Just stay tuned and you can come along with me.