Discovering a new direction in life: writing about the memories and meaning of travel
Since I was laid off my job at Scholastic last February, I’ve discovered a new direction in my life—writing about travel. My blogs and articles are not just about visiting places; they’re also about memories, inspiration, disasters, serendipity, and much more.
A leap into new experiences (and bison)
The change from writing about others to writing about myself was gradual and felt natural. Soon after I got the news of my layoff, I decided to take my first group tour, which was a trip in the spring snow to see Mt. Rushmore and environs in South Dakota—something I had long wanted to do.
The tour was eye-opening to me. Previously I had traveled alone through my 20s and 30s and then either solo or with my family from my 40s through my 60s.
There were things about the tour that I loved—I made a terrific new friend across the country, met some other nice folks, and heard some fascinating people speaking about history, topography, cattle farming, wildlife, and the native American culture of the West. I had transportation and lodgings taken care of for me. What I didn’t like was sitting on a bus for hours a day (in the snow and rain), and I missed wandering on my own (and driving myself) and at my own pace (slow).
As I get older, though, I think that tours will be in the mix, along with solo travel, travel with my husband and my daughter, and, hopefully, travel with like-minded (or perhaps some unlike-minded) others.
Revealing too much, too young
Writing about myself was a block for me to overcome, much less writing about travel. I’ve been a writer for more than 50 years, and, with the exception of one terrible poem published in a journal in Amherst, Mass. in the 1970s, I have never published anything about myself or my life. Other than early travel diaries and travel letters, in fact, I have had no experience in writing about my own travel.
The birth of thebabybloomer.blog
Since I started my blog, though, words seem to be pouring out. For thebabybloomer.blog I’ve written articles about my dear departed friend Joy and what it was like to revisit her home in Menorca with my daughter, 40 years after I first visited; a two-part article entitled “Travel Lessons from a Tibetan Monk”; an article about nurturing and supporting your child’s urge to travel ; one about a nostalgic trip to someplace I had never been as a child (Coney Island); an examination of Baby Boomer divorces; a two-part article about my experiences as the worst tour guide ever hired ; another two-part article about a disastrous journey to the place I had always dreamed of going, Tibet; a look at what books and films inspire women to travel; another wonderful/awful trip, this time to Turkey; an article about what to do when a mate hates to travel (although mine certainly doesn’t); one about the support I’ve received (and perhaps given) from young travelers; another about visiting film locations in Thailand and Scotland; a staycation just blocks away, on the Morris Canal in Jersey City; a blog about how seeing art can change your life; one about my solo trip to Iceland; and one about early and rebellious women travel writers.
Since March I’ve had the opportunity to write about travel for Road Scholar (including Top Movie Filming Locations Around the World for Film Buffs , The Recipe for Friendship: Making Friends as a Solo Traveler ; Eight Reasons to Travel Without Your Spouse, and Six Reasons to Travel Solo When You’re Older ).
I’ve also been writing about travel for such online sites and magazines as Medium, The Old Broad, Travel Awaits, Boomer Café, Elephant Journal, NYCBlog, Carolina Living Choices, and, yes, a site called New Jersey Isn’t Boring, among others.
New Directions, New People
Along with a new life as a travel writer and blogger, I have made many terrific online pals who I met on Facebook.
There are groups of female solo travelers on Facebook who are 60 years and older (more than 10,000 women in one group alone), and I’ve found a community of active, feisty, smart, well-read and well-traveled women. I met some of them last August at a luncheon in Ocean Grove, N.J., and we’ve kept in touch.
Meet up at my go-to summer resort: Asbury Park
Next month I will be a guest speaker at the Women Over 60 Travel Meet up and Conference Group on December 8 at the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park, N.J. (It is appropriate that the meet up is in Asbury Park, since I went there almost every summer when I was growing up—and one of my themes is “Coming Full Circle in Life”).
This is our first large meet up, and our inspiring leader, Ann Marie McCarthy (who runs a tour company called Cracking India and arranges tours to visit villages with some amazing textile makers and artists), sees it as part of a mission to educate and unite older women who want to see the world. Although the group was initially for women living in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, it is open to anyone interested. Here’s the link for tickets:
Women Over 60 Travel Conference and Brunch
I’m a bit nervous about speaking—most of my public speaking has been telling funny stories about my recently departed relatives at funerals (my mom had nine brothers and sisters, and my dad had six). What I plan to talk about is one’s journey through life—finding meaning in it, or at least a few good laughs and a desire to understand the arc of life.
I have learned a lot over the past six months, and one thing I’ve discovered is that there are more and more older women setting out for adventures in places both near and far, alone or in groups. I’m betting that these courageous and curious women will inspire us all to take small steps—or leaps—into exploring our own lives and the larger world.
