I came across a nicely-done video that some guy posted about traveling solo after you are 60. I watched it out of curiosity to see what he had to say and see what these tips are. I thought he did a really good job listing (I think) 10 hints and hacks about going places by yourself after you are 60 years old.

As I listened to his list, I found that I already do many of the things that he does and have for a while because I had seen them before they are good tips for everyone of any age. One in particular really stuck out and I think is very important to think about.

In Europe, the countries are relatively small and quickly accessible; you can go through a few countries in a day – much like the eastern US. With that being the case, it is VERY easy to get into “bagging countries”. I am guilty of it on the first trip; we were so excited to be there and saw how accessible the countries were to each other we went all over between Ireland, the UK and The Continent with stops in Iceland there & back. Second time we only had 9 days so we were busy but had a great trip at a decent pace. Last year’s trip we had stopovers for one to three days scattered through the trip so we had downtime and saw a lot.

On our last trip I approached it a bit differently than before, trying to be mindful of doing too much. Only a few things I would do different – with all of the constant train strike issues I do not know if I would buy a Eurail pass again. I got screwed by that. I also had all reservations made in advance before we left and I do not like a strict itinerary. I like less structure and more freedom to explore so that won’t happen again.

You really have to be honest with yourself; you cannot see all of it EVER…let alone in one trip. And this guy was right – slow down and spend a few days in a village/town/city and do a few day trips to the surrounding areas. It might even save you on hotels for a multi-night stay, but do be aware of the “single supplement” fees for solo travelers.

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I also came across an article on NPR that says you “owe it to yourself to do a solo trip” and I wholeheartedly agree. The author’s first trip solo was to a lesser-traveled country. It brought up some really good points, and even talked about something called “traveler’s melancholy”.

Since I usually travel solo this is all old news to me. I sometimes get “traveler’s melancholy” myself about an adventure, but it usually comes up more before or after a trip when I am not traveling; I try to not let anything get me down while I am adventuring. For me, I focus on where I am and what is happening…it is why I am there. I tend to look more at the fact that I am going and will have a great time; if I have someone to share that adventure with well even better. If I don’t I will still have a great trip.

The article even suggests a couple of websites for solo travelers, but they ARE travel agencies so be aware of that and the pricing that goes with it. One trip was $3000 for 7 days in NE Europe for example but it missed one country that should have been included. Myself, I absolutely prefer to not be in a tour group; I want to do my own arrangements and save money. In fairness, though, I have never looked into unaccompanied tours – that may be a good way to save money but you are still on their itinerary.

I have been looking at some international trip ideas, and one of those may be a big solo adventure but I have not decided yet. I have been to Canada several times as a solo traveler, but that is just not the same as a trip to Europe…but then again it really is. I guess when you travel ANYWHERE it is no different – you are someplace other than home. Of course when I do go someplace it will be posted within these pages.

Life just isn’t long enough so do everything you can, when you can, as long as you can, with the people you want to do those things with. Just because you travel solo doesn’t mean you should stay home & mope around; get out and have some fun! Get uncomfortable and do things to make you that way. Be adventurous since there is no one there to judge you if that is what you are worried about.

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With my health insurance last year I had signed up for a better plan for only a few dollars more. Problem is that I never got around to getting the free fitness membership included as a benefit. I forgot about it quite honestly, then when I did remember it I could never catch anyone in the office there.

Sitting on my ass more than normal is playing hell with my knees, but is also just not good for you. I still get a few miles a day in every day, but for some odd reason it is not enough for my knees. Orthopedics told me last year it is osteoarthritis so I gotta keep moving it and getting exercise in.

Yesterday I finally got signed up. Since I plan to travel more it is even better that it covers visits worldwide at one of over 4,000 locations. I am pretty excited to get this going. I needed to make it a priority and now I have. Even when I get back in the mountains and forests I will still be using a fitness center in really bad weather; otherwise I will be out in nature. I have hiked in forests to see waterfalls in the rain a few times in Washington. It is a really wonderful experience that everyone should have. Thinking about that “world locations” thing, when I am visiting a city I am walking and getting plenty of exercise. Visiting a gym is the last thing on my mind when I am in Amsterdam.

While I am still around here I can get in there to hit the treadmill and a few machines. I started this morning so my knees oughta get calmed down in a hurry. It is fairly close to where I live so it is convenient and I do not have to worry about the weather or the mud.

Guess at some point I will need to get another pair of walking shoes for the gym. Mine are still usable for now but I need to get some new insoles to use them a little while longer. Getting some treadmill in and maybe a little stationary bike to get warmed up and then add in a few machines for my knees. I found my knee exercises from PT a year ago so I hope to correlate that over to a machine they have. A few are not replaceable with exercise so I can do those at home.

I felt it was a good idea to contact my cardiologist to see if he has any recommendations for limitations and any concerns before I get too ambitious. I think I will be pretty safe but I do need to be careful. At least doing leg machines will help my knees not hurt (I can feel a little difference from this morning).

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Well, the coldest weather seems to be done for now and it is going to be warming up nicely during the daytime hours. Today it was about 60 and the next several days has the forecast in the 50s/60s with one day approaching 70. This will be great weather to get some things done outdoors

Work on the basement during the cold has gone well and I am pretty much at a stopping point for now. I need to wait until the ground dries out to load up stuff for the dump and metal recycling. That will make some more room and look even better as I continue working on it. Yesterday I took all the regular recycling to get rid of it. I got rid of about 36 old glass marshmallow fluff jars out of the basement; they were filled with nails, screws, hinges…hardware of all sorts so I dumped them all into steel coffee cans to sell for scrap.

My mom used to make a lot…I mean a LOT…of fudge and it took many jars of marshmallow fluff. She had a booth at craft fairs and would sell cross-stitching and candy. She would also take orders for her stuff and she did pretty well with it until the taxman showed up handing out tax payment information. That put a stop to that, but then she discovered the internet so the crafts were bound to stop quickly. Once she got online (AOL dial-up!) I could never call. And if she ever got near a high-speed internet access point she was all over it.

When I look at where I started and where I have gotten to with the basement, the difference is huge and it takes some of the frustration out of still being here. And that “some” is not very much; I really want to be out of here.

However, things are looking up a little bit for the housing market, though. We did have one bid get close to the magic number and my realtor is trying hard to get the deal done and I will finally be able to leave. My realtor seemed optimistic he could get it through so we will see.

That is all I have for now. Some good weather and some good developments on selling the house. Thinking about travel is never a bad thing either.

Thanks for reading my blog, and we’ll see you next time.

Shawn