A year from now, if all goes as planned, we will be home from Pennsylvania. YaYu will have graduated, we’ll have done a bit of sightseeing (Gettysburg and Valley Forge: as history nuts we like visiting battlefields), and we’ll be turning our focus to our fall trip to Japan.
I’m not sure though how I’m going to get through this next year. I miss my kids and my grandkids. We’ve got goals we’re working on, we’re saving like mad, there’s loads of research and planning to do, but we’re still not going anywhere. It’s hard, for me anyway.
This year has been going by fairly quickly – it’s June already! – and we have plenty to do here to keep us busy, but I’ve still got an overwhelming urge to go somewhere. Anywhere. The temptation to do something, go somewhere, swirls around me constantly, especially as the world reopens.
I’ve thought about us making a short visit to another island, but then I think about how it would cut into our savings for 2022 and the Big Adventure II, and I tell myself to hang in there. It’s the same with any other travel or getaway idea that pops into my head. I remind myself we’ve had to wait a year or more before for other journeys and we can do it again. The girls will be here for Christmas. I look at our savings balances and think about how much bigger they’ll be at the end of the year if we just keep doing what we’re doing now, and don’t give in to waiting fatigue. Dreaming, I remind myself, is free.
Look at the big picture. Eyes on the prize. The reward will be more the worth it. Better to be safe now than sorry later. These are my mantras right now, but I am still feeling restless and itching to go somewhere.
The Occasional Nomads 
I read an interesting phrase posted by a local reporter in reference to seasonal planting too early. Her mother was quoted as saying – you have to wait until your hurry is over.
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I love this saying! It perfectly expresses where we are now. Brett and I are actually pretty good at waiting for things, but it just gets to me once in a while. Time seems to be moving along at a good clip thank goodness. There’s much to accomplish before we go and I can actually see it getting here before we’re ready.
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Laura, I found you via the Senior Nomads awhile back and read all of your posts. Very inspired and impressed by your walking and weight loss dedication. I am almost 65 and my husband will be 65 in 2 years. We plan to travel nomadically beginning in 18 months., staying places for 2-3 months at a time.
Our daughter just graduated this week from University of Southern Calif in engineering. (yes, older parents like you!) We took the leap and got on an airplane to be with her. But it just reinforced to me that paying for hotels, even Airbnb is expensive!!
Your current post inspired me to move forward with a though I had, which is to see if you would be interested in a house exchange with us. We live in Seattle, between downtown and Lake Washington in the arboretum area, and have a 4 bedroom home. We have done this with friends before, even exchanging cars. Maybe Oct- Nov- March -April- May, attached to your trip to the east coast for graduation?
A couple caveats up front… we have 2 cats that need attending and if our daughter still does not have a job she could be living at home… but she is working on that part diligently. Anyways, we use our Alaska Airlines credit cards for most of our west coast, Mexico, Hawaii and ever Costa Rica 2 years ago to travel with the companion fare and this cuts down the cost. Have you discovered this. Even if you don’t see this as viable, its fun to reach out to you.
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Thanks for writing and for your intriguing idea. Hmmm. We’ll see how things go. Right now we are holding back on purchasing any air tickets as prices from here back to Pennsylvania next year are outrageous. It would cost less for us to fly to Baltimore than Philadelphia and then drive up there. But I will keep this in mind in case the urge to travel gets to be too much – and we LOVE Seattle!
P.S. I removed your contact information and put it in a safe place where I can access it. I didn’t want you hearing from someone you didn’t know or want to hear from.
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My trip to the UK to see my DD and family has been fun but kind of strange compared to pre-Covid travel. It does feel good to be somewhere other than home. But it is definitely a more challenging undertaking. Hopefully by the time you travel, some of this will be smoother.
The testing regimen is ongoing and quite expensive. I have had four Covid tests for this trip and only one (pre-flight in the US) didn’t cost a fortune. The Day 2 & Day 8 tests required by the UK government cost me £160, and the test today to return to the US was another £85. 😩 As well, I was expected to quarantine with my family and the NHS called me EVERY DAY for the entire 10 days, asking if I was doing my tests, observing my quarantine and then reciting symptoms and telling me how to find help if I got Covid. Oddly, they called my cell phone and I could have been anywhere, so not sure how effective that all is. 🤷♀️
All this is just to say, as much as you want to travel (and I do too!), it is a much bigger hassle than previously, and you are likely to enjoy it more next year as things get closer to “normal”. Hang in there!
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I am supposed to fly to go see my granddaughter in July, by plane. I so desperately want to see her. For the next three years, I will be flying there twice a year, but no where else, since I have to get my youngest through law school starting this fall. He is on full scholarship but I am helping with living expenses. After I retire in four years, I plan to travel to Central and South America. AT least, these are my plans but I am almost afraid to plan because of how my plans seem to always go sideways because of family health issues..
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As long as you have a plan, Cindy, you’ll be OK. I remember how it felt to wait before our last adventure, but in the end we were glad to have gotten everything taken care of so we could travel with ease.
I’m with you on plans going awry – but you sound like you’re pretty flexible. I am still envious of you getting to see your granddaughter in July – can’t wait to see our grands again, but that won’t be for over another year.
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I hear you loud and clear! In theory I can jump in my car and go someplace but you are on an island, which must just reinforce the feeling of being “stuck.”
I think we both must have what Ma, in the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, called an “itchy foot”. It’s the term she used to describe her husband who was always looking to move again.
This too shall pass….
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No, there aren’t many places we can go here that we haven’t been before. We’ve thought about doing a staycation, but for now the urge to save is stronger than any desire to go anywhere. A beach trip or two once a week is fine with us. Eyes on the prize, as they say.
Itchy feet is right. Our son says we are “restless.”
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Hawaiian was having some crazy island hopping sales…. maybe take the earliest out and latest back and Uber for the day?
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As I wrote before, for now the urge to save outweighs the urge to go anywhere. But a day trip to Honolulu or Maui would be fun. I’m just afraid once wouldn’t be enough, and then where would be be?
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Tried to post a response from the UK, but it didn’t go. 🤷♀️ Anyway, waiting until Covid is farther behind us is probably the best route. I have had (and paid the long dollar for) more Covid tests than I ever wanted. As well, I had the NHS calling me EVERY DAY during my 10 day quarantine. It was worth the time and money to me, but I fully expect your travel will be more fun when you wait a year. And you’ll have that much more saved. Things are expensive and getting more so, so having more $$ is smart.
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It’s frustrating not to be able to go, but we are staying home for exactly the reasons you mention. We want to do this smart, and the smartest thing we can do right now is stay home and see how things play out, as well as build up our savings.
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