Distant cousins

[Ultrarunner]

I think some older people feel they are irrelevant as their circle of friends pass away...

As a very small kid I would always ask people to tell me about the "Olden Days"

[johnd393]

Did the trip. Didn't contact them. There are other cousins, not so far away, that I've known over the years, that I ought to try to see more often.

[ItsRick24]

OP, take it from me.
You want to go ahead and make that call! Try to form a bond with your cousins. I say this from experience - in my family, there's not many of us left; all of our elders (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, older cousins) are gone now. It's just a handful of us still here. My brother and sister are in their early 60s and I'm approaching my mid 50s; we aren't getting any younger.

Make the call.

[shamrock4]

If you decide to contact them the next time, I agree with the poster who suggested that you invite them out for coffee, lunch or dinner but make it clear upfront you are not looking for a vacation stay at their home.

Otherwise, they might shut you down immediately as people in tourist areas get overwhelmed by visitors. They might agree to meeting outside their home since that would not involve work for them.

Having lived in a vacation area, I lived with this situation. I actually had a family member become angry when we were transferred as we "ruined" their vacation as they couldn't mooch at our house. I know that was not your intention and make that very clear for perhaps a positive result.

[Delahanty]

I agree that it's a good idea to call first and suggest a get-together.

I don't understand the thread title, though--distant cousins?

[johnd393]

The destination is a part of the country, not one single location. We put 2000 miles on the rental car. We were at the closest point about 25 miles from them for one day. We could spare a couple hours up to an afternoon for a visit. Nothing in a phone conversation would indicate we were looking for a place to stay.