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In this economy, retirement stories that uplift the spirit and inspire one to stretch the boundaries of possibilities are few and far between.
I would like to share an article that made my day. Since I'm 63, this guy is a role model for me to check a few more items off my bucket list, health permitting! I hope it brings you some happy daydreams.
"Somehow at 56, I still sensed that the mountains, lakes, rivers, and valleys might hold the answer to some yearning -- some ageless longing that stirred me to my depths. That yearning had never really left me. It had been there all these years -- like an unnoticed passenger in the back seat of my mind.So a dozen years ago, I began making an annual two- to three-week pilgrimage into the wilderness, leaving my city life completely behind to strike out for the unknown, to reacquaint myself with the rivers, mountains, and lands that we share with fellow creatures, and -- in this vast expanse of silence -- to do something I don't normally do in my busy life: just stop and listen."
We got our "calling" at 53. Took the next seven years to see this County from FL to AK. It just took a F-250 and a 30' fiver, with Direct TV. Best thing we ever did!
Larry - Hobe Sound, Fl
Getting ready. The truck is new, the camper is about ready. With luck the house sells and then our new address with be a mail forwarding service in South Dakota.
Been there done that , to coin a phrase way too often . I always took long vacations when I got older, 6 weeks were not uncommon ,...seeing North America, much of it for the second and third time. I chose a 38' Motor home and a 22' enclosed trailer with my vintage car inside. Yes we were 75 feet long , but was seldom a problem.Besides , often the destination was to hook up with friends and then drive our old iron for a couple of weeks . We saw so many places that otherwise would not have seen , and , at a slower pace.
As I look back on those 25 years now , I realize how fortunate I was to have done all this, especially at an age young enough to enjoy taken the road less traveled. I look back on not just the destinations , but the going as well. In all actually , it WAS the going that meant the most, still is, along with getting there. The remote places were a challenge, living on the road did get old at times , but , as soon as I got back from a 8,000 mile trip, a couple of days....and I was ready to go again.
No regrets , only unfulfilled items on the bucket list of places I never got to.....there were not many. I now spend my days building my retirement cottage on a mountaintop in the wilds of Upper Michigan. Its been quite a ride, getting to 70, hopefully I have a few more trips , once my hideaway is done and a book or two yet to be gleaned from my experiences these last 69 years.
We did it the other way, my wife and I travelled around the World for 5 Years in our early thirties Went to 92 Countries, the good Years. Of course now we are still working because of it.... Oh well, it was a great time.
We did it the other way, my wife and I travelled around the World for 5 Years in our early thirties Went to 92 Countries, the good Years. Of course now we are still working because of it.... Oh well, it was a great time.
Early thirties ? At lest you had ample time to recover. Doing it in your forties-fifties , not so much. I am living proof ! Still worth it however, whatever the cost, you only live once last I heard.
Great read! I know what he seeks. I am headed on a 4 day fishing trip in a couple of weeks, alone. Next year I want to extend that to a week and travel farther. There is something satisfying about being alone with nothing but your own thoughts. I don't know if I'll ever do anything like him, but my bucket list has a backpacking trip into Evolution Valley in the Sierras on it. Once I do that, who knows?
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Thanks
