What’s Your Travel Style?

We have friends in England who travel extensively in retirement, visiting places like Mongolia, Antarctica, China, Central America, and India, so not easy, comfortable travel. When I was younger, I’d have been so envious of anyone doing that. I wanted to see as much of the world as I could, the more adventurous the better. Now, while I enjoy reading about our friends’ adventures, the idea of moving from place to place for weeks at a time feels exhausting.

I don’t know if that means I’ve become less adventurous, or just that what I enjoy doing has changed. When I was dreaming about retirement, I had lists of adventures Ray and I could go on. I pictured us spending a significant portion of our time in travel mode.

A few unexpected things happened to change that. We added Juno to our family. The pandemic forced a break from travel. The United States became a less welcoming place for Canadians. Air travel became more unreliable and less comfortable.

Mostly, though, when I fantasized about retirement, I just thought about the freedom to travel, without thinking about the non-work aspects of our lives that might keep us here, like friends and family we want to spend time with, or hobbies and community commitments that we don’t want to give up. Ray likes to be around for tree tapping and gardening in the spring. I don’t like to miss too much of the school year. We don’t want to travel during the peak summer season.

I still have places I’d like to visit, but for now our travel priorities are destinations where friends and family live (I see a lot of west coast travel in our future), and seeking warmth during Canada’s long, harsh winters.

Ray and I are fortunately quite travel compatible. Our destination lists are almost identical. We both prefer scenic landscapes over cities. We both prefer slow travel, taking our time to soak in the experience, rather than covering as much ground as possible. We’re both happy with simple, self-catered accommodation, and are more likely to choose a taco stand on the beach than fine dining options. I require more frequent escapes from Canadian winters than he does, which gives me a chance to travel with my sister as well. Karen and I are also very travel-compatible. We want to sit in outdoor cafes and eat ice cream with about the same frequency. We’re both happy to be back in our room in our PJs by 8:00.

I’ve often said that living together, being friends, and travelling together, are three very different types of compatibility. I know many couples who’ve lived happily together for decades, but aren’t travel compatible. In some cases, one person wants to travel and the other has zero interest in doing so. Even if both halves of the couple want to travel, one person’s idea might be an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean, while the other wants to RV around the country. You can also have great friends who you love spending time with, but who aren’t compatible as travel companions.

Speaking of great friends we love spending time with, we’ve had a rather social couple of weeks, starting with attending two birthday celebrations for Don’s 80th. I must admit it feels strange to have a friend turn 80, but I’m not sure if it makes me feel old, or young (by comparison).

Don and Bonnie’s travel style is to abandon us for six months of the year. While I understand their motivation, we miss having them around.

Karen and Tom came for a visit (yes, ice cream was consumed), and then we had a lovely catch-up weekend with Tim and Pamela. They usually show up with about a week’s worth of food for a two-day stay, so not only do they feed us while they’re here, but they leave enough behind to keep feeding us after they’ve left. We love their visits!

Then we had our second annual “lumberjack weekend” with the Ottawa gang, generously hosted by Rob and Sue. The ladies spent the morning hiking to Eagle’s Nest and lunching in Burnstown, while the guys split, chopped, and stacked wood.