NEW YORK CITY???

 I’ve been thinking a lot about how far it is from here to New York City. Someone once said to me that they live so far away, they would not have any idea how even to get there. I could only think of Confucius. You remember, Confucius is the one that said, “A journey of 1000 miles begins with one step.”

One of my stops in life: TRAVEL
The Taj Mahal

At the time we were living in a community in eastern Oregon called Ontario. It is found in the Treasure Valley where some of the richest land in our country can be found. It was a beautiful place in the spring. It was green in the summer with truck farms that grew vegetables. It was a place you could easily love because of people were warm and the community wrapped its arms around you.

But occasionally a person wants to get out of town. And so I was talking about going to New York City with this person. I am a day-dreamer and she wasn’t. She said to me that she would have no idea how to even get to New York. How would you do that? Of course, I wanted to convince my husband that we should drive all the way across the country and see Chicago and the great lakes and all of those places that I’d heard and read about but had never actually seen. I’m a small town girl.

This little community of Ontario, Oregon was located on the very eastern edge of the state and to our east in the direction that you would go to get to New York City there were other communities. Nampa was the first and maybe Caldwell and then, of course, Boise, Idaho. When she said what she said, I looked at her and I said “Well, I’d go to Boise” because remember, Confucius said the journey of 1000 miles begins with one step and I saw Boise as the first step. 

They often say that life is a journey. I have left my little community of Ontario. I’m now in New York City. At the age of 81 I’m finding I like New York City a lot, but then I’ve liked Nampa and Caldwell and Boise,Idaho too. The journey of life has many stops, and some of them are beautiful and some are not but when you arrive at New York City, be sure to look around and appreciate the ride. 

I’m not a good swimmer but who knows, I may have a dream about London too.

Where are you in your life’s journey?

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*In case you didn’t know, I am really in Tucson Az. NYC just symbolizes my age.

On Being a Tourist Successfully: New Delhi, India

India: Life on the street.

 I am not sure that I qualify as a tourist here but I am learning a lot about how this country works for local expats. 

My life of travel has included Spain, Thailand, UAE, Mexico, Germany, China and even a short period of time in The Philippines (spelled with 1 L and 2 Ps.) Sigh.

I have been privy to the expat's life in China, the UAE and now India. The interior of their houses always reflect where they call "home". What I have always missed with the inside of the citizens of that country. Even here in India the homes of those that clean and garden and walk the dog are not open to me. What would that look like? I don't know.

But here we are able to walk out at night to local restaurants and bistros. It is fun to sit about with locals and see them in their world, to hear them talk and laugh together. The waiters speak just enough english to keep us both happy.

There are a few things I always do when I visit a foreign country that may surprise you. 

Sapa, Viet Nam: She is the queen or the
indigo fabric market...
a Su Mae I think.

Sapa Viet Nam

• I try to find a place to get a hair cut. I have done this is Spain, China and now in India. The life inside a woman's world always are a little unique in every place. I found Spain to be more my world than any of the others. In China and here in India men cut and styled my hair. In Spain women gathered together for other women. In Munich hair dressers worked in store front salons and become a bit of performance art. Each different.

  

  India: My granddaughter's haircut.

• I have had my nails painted on the beach. That was such a lot of fun.
• If at all possible I visit a local food market or grocery store. No matter where I am I find food I have never seen before. In the UAE we bought eggs that needed to be scrubbed before being cracked. In Thailand I bought a lunch box. In Viet Nam I bought an individual sized coffee pot where coffee was brewed with water and Eagle brand milk. In Spain I bought a quart of olive oil in a beautiful container. They also had cherimoyas, a fruit native to Peru. 
• The local outdoor market is filled with great finds. They have a Friday street market near the embassy that I would love to visit but time will not permit it. In Spain I bought peppercorns that spoiled me for any I have had since. In Sapa, Viet Nam the local market sold live chickens, tribal hats and of course hand dyed indigo fabric. (Sapa is located north of Hanoi and required an overnight train and a long van ride. It is very near the Chinese border and local tribes sell in the market.)
• Walking if the best way to arrive anywhere. If you do not just wander around you will miss a lot. 

Toledo, Spain: train station
waiting to return to Madrid

• Local public transportation can be wonderful. In Bangkok, Thailand the Sky Train will take you almost anywhere. They also has those water taxi's that travel up and down the river. In Spain, Euro Rail will take you from Madrid to Malaga at the speed of light (it seems). Light rail travels up and down the Costa del Sol from community to community. In Shanghai, my husband I used the subway to go from Pu Dong to down town Shanghai. Taxis were available. In Mexico, we used resort transportation, rented a car and were told that we could stand at the side of the road and hail down a bus. You have to put on your big girl pants and just do it!

  

  Playa Del Carmen, Mexico: Odami Tribal embroidery

• Do a little research and find out what each country is bragging about in the way of handicrafts or goods. I bought a beautiful Odami table cloth in Playa Del Carmen near Cancun. My husband loved masks and bought several. In China we visited antique markets. Here in New Delhi, small malls are everywhere and they are wonderful. I visit Fab India very soon after we arrived. It is a short TukTuk ride from the American Embassy School where I am staying.
• Take a cooking class if at all possible. My daughter-in-law and I did that when we were staying on Koh Samui in Thailand.
• Eat as much local food as you can and absolutely do NOT be an ugly American demanding burgers and fries. It is unbecoming and narrow minded. (My own personal opinion.)
• I suggest drinking bottled water and cooked vegetables whenever possible. Getting sick is not a good thing.
• Put your passport in the safe unless you are traveling out and are staying in a different hotel. The passport may be needed. Check on that information. But...do not carry it around willy nilly especially in Europe. The gypsies can outwit anyone. 
• 
  



India: picture from the back of a TukTuk taxi.



• I always take a lot of pictures and do not regret that. Today I revisit my vacations at my leisure. Todays phones make it so easy. Here in India I have taken so many pictures from a traveling taxi to TukTuk. In many cases, it is the only way to do things.

New Dehli, India:
A sacred cow

Here in New Dehli the monkeys and even an occasional cow are a very common sight. Homeless camps are everywhere that there is space. It appears that they have an economy all their very own. Vendors are everywhere. The proliferation of camps is very visible. An occasional child will knock on the car window begging and know all the flip-off signs if you do not donate. They do not go away. 

The way of life is established is a constant and I suppose that each person is trying to improve their life day by day. How long has it been like this? Maybe forever. 

I have tried to connect the Guatami Tripathy but it seems it will not work. That would have been fun. 

Our driver, Maxwell, is wonderful and treasured by my husband's family. He ranks very high in their daily life. He will drive us to Agra so we can visit the Taj Mahal. 

My granddaughter's graduation is Saturday. She will travel home with me next week. She is enjoying the time with her family and friends. She and her friends will part and possibly never connect again. Who knows.

Till next time...

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It's India...what can I say?

Cattle in the street...sacred animals
in Indian culture.

 
Of all the places on the face of our earth I think that India has been talked about more than any other. So what can I say that you have not already heard? Let me think about that.

I have been here at the American Embassy School in New Delhi for about 10 days now. We eat, we sleep we walk across the street to the American Embassy for lunch or dinner. I am with my son and his family so I get to spend time with them. It is very normal in so many ways. Yet not at all!

Dinner at a restaurant courtyard
 under the Banyan Tree!

First of all you need to understand that the American Embassy is part of the Embassy Enclave for nations around the world. It sounds very exotic and yet it is located next to a famous slum or camp where people live a life that I cannot imagine. (I have included a link to a tour for the slum. The pictures from inside are wonderful.) Water comes in by trucks and there is little electricity or even sewage disposal. It all seems more than impossible. Yet as I sit writing I look across the street and life goes on quietly. Children play. A man has set up a barber shop that is constantly busy and a garbage truck comes occasionally.

Water bottles waiting for the water truck. 

Sunday morning finds women dressed in beautiful scarves waiting for someone to gather them up for a day somewhere else. People mill around and stop to talk. The village is surviving as it probably always has. The site of the slum is owned by a foreign country that talks of building an embassy someday but until then generations are born and live their entire life inside its walls.

Tuk Tuk driver

Proof of the Tuk Tuk ride.

Here in Mahal 1 across the street life is very different. A fence separates it from the real world. That fence is topped with barbed wire (because of monkeys?) and guards check everyone that goes out or comes in. I find that in my mind the line between those two worlds is blurred...until I approach the gate and come under scrutiny. So close yet so far. I have to remind myself that I am a tourist and that at home we have a system not unlike India's.

Home interior.

Here in the house I am never alone. A cat named BOO and two dogs keep me company. Two teens come and go. The oldest will graduate next week (hence my visit). A cook comes some mornings. A cleaner comes all week days. Gardeners clip and others clean the gates so they shine. A man comes to walk the dog and a man comes to water the plants inside as well. Every surface is dusted and scrubbed with infinite care. 

I am told these people are very proud of their jobs and they have jobs that are coveted by others. The idea that a job is so precious reminds me of the privilege we in the United States are blessed with. 

Yes, we have gone out to eat and shop a bit. My son and his wife walk or run to parks and restaurants when the weather permits. Their children are busy with their school life. The whole family is thriving I think.

See, in this place, life is complicated so for me without my husband I do not feel free to wander about as I would do with him. I do feel safe but it is very hot night and day so there is that. But, having said that, I want you to know that I get so much pleasure out of each day un-pressured and relaxed. Watching the world go by is not such a bad thing! I will go back to Oregon on June 1.

Where are you today?

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The Little Black Dot

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Published back in 2013...still relevant:

If you look at the page of life after retirement, be sure to look past that little black dot. The whole world waits for you.

In a post I wrote several year ago called How To Be A Snowbird I talked about how you can find a way to load up the bare essentials and travels south to escape the cold, dreary and wet/snowy north. People around the world that can afford it do this every year. Even those people that live in the southern hemisphere probably look for warmth during their winters.

In an inspirational blog post put up back in 2012 the black dot appeared in a story told by "Steven" on a website called Motivation.  In the story, a group needing to see a bigger future for their community was inspired by a simple black dot in the middle of a blank piece of paper.

During her presentation, the speaker took a large piece of white paper and made a small black dot at the center with a marking pen. Then she held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw.

One person quickly replied, “I see a black dot.”

“Okay, what else do you see?”

Others joined in agreement: “A black dot.”

“Don’t you see anything besides the dot?” – she asked.

A resounding “No” came from the audience.

“What about the sheet of paper?” – asked the speaker. “I am sure you have all seen it”, she said, “But you have chosen to overlook it.”

“In life, we also tend to overlook and take for granted many wonderful things that we have or happen around us and focus our attention and energy on [the] small dot...."

When we retire our options are open to us like they have never been before in our life. We are not tied to a place on the face of the earth because of a job. Our children are grown and truly need to live a life free of us for at least part of every year. And all of us have dreamed of what we would do if we had that freedom. Admit it, on those days when the job drove you crazy or your responsibilities as a parent seemed overwhelming, you dreamed of a kind of freedom that was impossible at that time.

The dream is there and yet many of us focus on the black dot in the middle of our page in life and forget to even glance at the blank page and it's possibilities. It is right in front of our face.

I hear women say they cannot leave their grandchildren.

Men will immediate take up a volunteer life or get so involved with a hobby that they forget to find a way to include their spouse in something they will both enjoy.

Many simply don't see the option as possible even though it can be affordable. They are afraid of change.

Their whole life is about the small black dot when a whole blank page is ready to be explored.

Being a snowbird is an opportunity to explore that blank page. As a retiree a person you can spend a little time here or there. If one day later in that stage of their life they decide to settle down, they will have experience and knowledge about that they can do.

I always keep a list of the options close at hand. My husband and I like change a lot and are not looking forward to a time when we are glued to the floor. Here are a few ideas that might help you spread your wings and try something new.

1. Buy a very small trailer that you can tow behind your car and go out and see our country. That is what we did first and I think it was one of our most valuable experiences. We learned that we were up for adventure and could take risks without harm.
2. Take advantage of a timeshare you have owned FOREVER and didn't use. Go to Mexico or the Caribbean or even South Carolina. 
3. Visit a location near to someone you know. They can show you the ropes. I know so many people that have done this and found a whole new life.
4. Consider your options and take a look at your finances to see what you could afford if you were to find a vacation home in the warmth of winter sunshine.
5. Keep in mind that very affordable yet simple living in places like Arizona are available. We have settled in a small old park model that we have turned into a doll house. It is so affordable that we can stay for 6 months in the desert AND travel. We own one car and drive back and forth from Oregon to Arizona and back.
6. Buy a Camper Life book and explore the options at campgrounds around the USA. Many, many have rentals in simple facilities that are wonderful.
7. Read, read, read. Travel books, blog posts and even websites that Lonely Planet give a window to the world and have all the information you need to make a dream vacation.
8. Always keep in mind facilities like AirBNB when you travel. You can stay in a house and get a feel for how real people live almost anyplace in the known world. I like that option a lot. Living like a tourist is a lot different than living like a local!
9. Explore options for hobbies that you had not thought of before. Who knows, you may love geocaching a lot.
10. If you love golfing, hiking or gardening in the north in the summer, remember traveling south makes those hobby possible year around. RV resort offer jewelry making, music group participation and theater groups for you admission to the park. Trust me, you will never run out of things to do.

    

    In my Oregon garden

So there you have a few. Don't focus on a dot in the middle of the page when the whole wide world is waiting for you.

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Ultimate Guide: HOW TO BE A SNOW BIRD and do it right!

Our park model home in Arizona

Take the time to do it right...you will never regret it! Follow the links listed here and on the other posts. You will find a wealth of information.

Oregon

I am not here to burst your bubble but there are a few reality checks that need to be considered. I know...traveling off to warm weather in the winter, having two sets of friends and maybe a second home, sounds very luxurious. Golfing while your friends are mucking around on snow and ice would be soooooo dreamy. I want you to stop and think about what you might be doing. There are choices to be made

Arizona

We sat next to a couple from the east side of Portland this summer. They were approaching retirement age I guessed. We were talking about membership in the wine club at this particular tasting room when I told that we were gone for six month of the year so a membership might not work.

The man sat up suddenly interested. "You're snowbirds? How do you do that? We want to wander some but we really just do not know how." Do we sell our house here and move? Can we afford to keep both places? How do we decide?

That is where I come in. I can help you if you are feeling the same way. I wish there had been someone like me when we retired. Truly it was a mystery. We had no idea what was possible and what was not.

If you want to travel from resort to resort you can do that. If you want to work and travel, that is possible too. I have known people that worked in the resort they were staying. Another person worked at the local golf course. Some go back to school and one man I know because a tax consultant. You can figure it out. If you are just looking for a place to build a nest, you can do that.

Try it out first! I cannot emphasize how important that is. When you are first retired things look different that what they will in a while after. Go to the place you think you would like, take a short vacation and get the feel for the location. Being a snowbird requires some doing and I think making a choice about the life style can be a process. Just look around and make yourself sure that is what you want.

If you decide where and when,  I suppose the first consideration is money. Inexpensive second homes can be had but you need to be careful before you leap. (Link: Rental information) Areas that cater to snowbirds both in the southwest and southeast do provide opportunities to rent fully furnished apartments or park models in RV resorts.

You will need to do some research online or even call a rental agent in the place you have chosen to visit. It is all very doable. ( Inexpensive Retirement Information)

RV resorts offer a lot of activities and that is a real consideration when you have free time on your hands. You can rent the park models* in these places. This is another choice that might replace living in an apartment.

Will I Miss my Grandchildren? I think the answer for this one is obvious. Yes, you might miss your family. It is a given. But on the upside, your family dynamic may be better when you are gone for a while.

When we started this life my children actually needed for me to be out of town for part of the year. I got a break from babies, my children became more independent and we enjoyed each others company more when we got back together. In fact, they now see us coming home as a vacation of sorts for themselves.

If you have children that live in a warm place, you can choose to live part of your year close to one child and part of the year near the other. If you get lonesome for them, you can talk on Skype, or use your smart phone, iPad or computer for Face Time or even use video via your Facebook account. This is our link to home or where ever our children are at anytime.

Where should I go and can I afford it? This is such a personal thing...we chose a human comfort zone. Really the geographic location is not as important as the people around me. For example, if I won the lottery, I would not be comfortable living in a high roller apartment in Las Vegas. That is not who I am. While this is an outrageous example, it is absolutely the truth.

If you are a very educated person that loves the opera and expensive restaurants, you need to find a place where those people that live around you love the same things. If golfing or cards help you pass the time, there are a lot of opportunities to connect with those people in a resort. If the pool is important, you need to find someplace that has a heated pool. Even in the southwest it is winter and the days can be chilly. (Link: Like Minded People)

But, what you are really here for is to find out if you can actually afford this life style. It is a given that traveling in a motor home big or small is initially going to be more expensive than buying a park model in a resort. Because snowbirds have been around for a long time, those that are either aging or simply moving will sell these small homes for lower than you will imagine. A price of $10,000 to $20,000 is not that unusual.

How much it will cost to rent the property where the park model is depends on that you expect:

...beautiful vistas and enticing amenities come at a price, and it’s not cheap. Rates vary widely depending on location, season, and how far in advance you book it. For an in-season rental, rates usually start anywhere from $70 to $100+ per night. In addition, many luxury motorhome parks have a minimum stay requirement. A week-long stay at even the most basic luxury RV park could cost $1,000 or more. (From RVShare.com) 

You can get a space for less but be aware that very old unmaintained resorts can be tacky. It depends on your level of "luxury". Mom and Pop may be fun and really nice but the location counts as well as the amenities.

You also need to know that a nice resort is not going to let you come if you don't fulfill their appearance/length requirements. Still don't be frightened by the prices quoted above. Check with places like Rincon RV Resort Country in Tucson. Rincon Country has two resorts in Tucson. Here is their 2019 rate schedule. I would also check with Voyager RV. That resort is beautiful. I could not find a price schedule for them so you will have to contact the resort either online or personally.

How to Snowbird We are leaving for Tucson soon...here is where we get down to the nitty gritty of being a part time person in two locations. Think about:

• How long to stay gone? We are living about 6 months in both of our homes. That is a personal choice and one we have settled on after all these years. We began by traveling in a motor home, bought a park model in a resort in Tucson, AZ and now have a small townhouse. We live in the Portland Oregon metro area and have been Oregonians all our lives. It rains a lot here and we like to avoid as much of that as we can and still enjoy our beautiful location.
• Should I fly or drive? After people have done this for many years they usually buy a clunker car and simply fly to their winter home. Really this depends on whether you are coming to Arizona from Nova Scotia or from Oregon. Some drives are just not worth the time and expense. Our friends put the car on blocks, disconnect the battery, find a spot in the shade for the vehicle and leave it behind. The worse that can happen is it is stolen or the rats gnaw on the electrical wires! But if it is an insured clunker, you are fine. (Rats are another thing entirely but still you need to be aware of any varmints that lurk about...FYI.)
• Should I rent out my home while I am gone? Let me tell you if this is possible and you can find someone you trust, do this. Most of your other dilemmas don't exist when you do this. We have had students live in our house and rented it out. In both cases it was a win/win situation. The extra cash in the case of renting can pay for your time in the south! The minor clean ups and damage were nothing compared to what we need to do when no one is in the house. The best part is the "closing the house up" part just disappears.

How do I switch from one life to another? There is an extensive list of to-dos when you close your house down and switch to a different life. Many of things mentioned in this will save you money that can be used while you are gone from home. This is a list worth copying:

1. Mail...the post office with forward mail with a beginning and ending date. If you are in one location, this works perfectly. If you are on the road you can have a family member forward you mail occasionally or you can have your mail forwarded to a service and they will take care of this for you.
2. Turning off the water if possible. This is one big bill you do not pay if you do that. If you turn off your water you also need to turn off your water heater. The tank could burn up without water. Some heating systems are dependent on the water. Can you turn your heat off and not have big freezing problems? Draining pipes might be necessary if you are from the frozen north! No matter what, keep in mind what water can do. If you cannot turn it off, have someone check you home frequently. Water damage is a horrible thing and it happens a lot! (Yes we did have that happen to us.)
3. Have the insurance for you second car changed...this can save you a lot of money. The insurance company will reduce the cost for you if you have the car in storage. The coverage is comprehensive so if another person drives that car check with insurance companies to see if their insurance covers the car while they are driving it. Cutting the cost for car insurance for six months out of the year saves you money. 
4. Keeping the bad guys out...I know people that turned on an alarm system and walked away feeling very secure. I still advice you to be very careful. We have someone check in occasionally and ask neighbors to be watchful too. We leave our phone number as well as our local family's number with them.
5. Make your home look lived in when it is not...(see keeping the bad guys out). Be sure that some delivery person is not leaving unwanted ads at your front door. Piled up newspaper ads are an invitation to trouble. I suggest that you have a neighbor clear these away. I hate those things anyway but it happens. The local pizza parlor has to advertise somehow I guess. Leave the blinds partially cracked and leave a plant by the front door that will survive through the winter. You can even hang a generic wreath on the front door that looks welcoming. All these things make your house look lived in. I see that timers for lights do not cause fires so you might consider using some of those.
6. Make choices about turning off garbage, TV, internet, phone service, etc. Most of these services have a "vacation/hibernation" setting. That means that they don't disconnect you entirely and all you need to do when you return is give them a call and they turn your service back on. Your garbage can, TV cable box (if you still use one) and your modem for internet hook-up can remain in place. You might have to pay a small fee but it could be cheaper that paying to have services reconnected. This also gives you the option of coming home for a short period of time or letting a friend/relative use the home and having the services needed. We come home at Christmas and have our internet, garbage and TV turned back on for that short period of time. You make the choice. I have written about what I think is a wonderful solution for reducing cable cost in a post called How Snow Birds Can Cut RV Cable Costs.
7. Decide on a wardrobe. It has taken me years to learn what to take with me and what to leave behind. If you are a total newbie, check on the temperatures during the months you are going to be in a locality. Arizona for example, is NOT hot in the winter. Locals and experienced snowbirds do not dress like it is 90 degree when the temperature rises to the mid 60's during the day. You will need sweaters, longer pants and a jacket in the evening hours. Pay attention to this sort of thing when you pack for your trip. I know we all dream of warm winter days but in this case it is all relative. Warm in the winter is 65 degrees but compared to say Iowa that is really warm. See what I mean?
8. If you leave the electricity on, UNPLUG EVERYTHING that can be disconnected. Just because.
9. Then there is the cat!!! Our cat was a real part of our life...however, the RV resort where we spend our winters before we moved to a townhome would not allow a cat outside the park model. (See making snowbird location choices.) Because our cat was a feral cat when we found him in Texas, he would NOT stay indoors all the time. 

So, there you have it. Actually, when you think about it, the benefits far outweigh the problems. I hope this reality check helped you make the decision that will work best for you. If you have any further question or ideas, feel free to comment and I will get back to you. I love comments and I am sure you love answers!

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*A park model is a small trailer with all the same amenities as a big trailer. Our park model was about 12' wide and 34' long. We had added a room to the side that we call an "Arizona Room". That space provides storage and utility space. We also have a shed where our washer and dryer was stored as well as my husband's work bench.

Related articles

Tucson for Snowbirds...a season at a glance! (retireinstyleblog.com)

Is being a snowbird right for you? An Interview with me by Satisfying Retirement Blog (retireinstyleblog.com)

How to choose the right RV park! (retireinstyleblog.com)

(Link: Keeping Retirees Connected)

How Snowbirds Can Cut TV Costs

It's a Secret: Our Arrival Time

My husband and I flew home for our 6 months in Oregon this last week. We fly Southwest because they allow us 2 pieces of checked luggage each...free. We have figured out how to get everything we want for the next 6 months into those suitcases. In fact, I think we might be able to travel with less if we needed to do it. Our life is good.

But, as Gilda Radner would have said, "It's always something!" and it was. I am sure you know that a Southwest flight had an engine explode recently. As a result, every plane in the business is taking care of their engines, canceling flights and keeping us safe...and safe we were.

 View from our
Oregon home front door.

Our flight was canceled in Tucson Wednesday morning, we were put on a different flight and routed through Los Angeles, Oakland and then on to Portland. It was not bad at all. Really! I just did not care.

But in all of this shuffling, I became aware that not one time did the airline tell us when we would arrive at our destination until we were ready to take off. If we had been flying on our original ticket I would have known but as things changed...not so much. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention but still...it was not on the reader board and it was not on our boarding pass. Has it always been this way?

I had to laugh because all I was thinking was 'no promise made/none to break!'

We went along willingly to places we were not sure of and arrived at 7:00 pm instead of the 2:00 pm we had counted on. A birthday party was rescheduled to Sunday but other than that there wasn't much inconvenience. Our son and grandson were waiting for us when we arrived. It was wonderful.

AND...my husband and I received 2 vouchers for $200 each to use in the future on Southwest. I suppose we were well compensated.

It truly is "always something". Travel is always an adventure,
at least for us. And when we compare the journey we made each year for many years in our car from Arizona to Oregon, the 5 extra hours is nothing.

How are your travel plans working out?

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Is it Possible to Find a Place on Earth that is Untouched?

Sapa Market...Sue Mae (oldest sister) and me (no bath, no hot water, no makeup)

There really are places you can go see the past. There may not be a McDonalds so you might not be able to get a burger. I am sure you will survive. But it is tricky. Did you see that 1000 people were lined up at base camp to climb Mt. Everest in the last few days of the climbing season? One thousand people dropping oxygen bottles and trash on the highest most remote mountain in the world! What was an adventure enjoyed by only a few has now become a tourist destination! It is getting hard to find places where the McDonalds culture has not evaded. But it can be done.

The New York Times featured at article in the Art and Design section about a region near Oaxaca, Mexico. A village close by has remained untouched by the modern world. The article was aptly titled The Past Has a Presence Here.

The past is visible in the landscape. The past casts a sharp shadow here, wherever you look. You see it on mountaintop plateaus, where the ruins of ancient pyramidal staircases and capital-I-shaped ball fields hint at mysterious rituals that disappeared over a millennium ago.

When you stand on a flattened hilltop above the village of Atzompa, some seven miles outside of Oaxaca, and look over at a nearby peak, you can glimpse the immense ruins of Monte Albán, a pre-Columbian plaza of breathtaking expanse used for ceremonies and games. Below those ruins, where perhaps 25,000 people lived in the early part of the first millennium, you can make out faint remnants of terraced farming on the hillside. New York Times, June 15, 2012

The Times article pointed out that even in this place the stalls in the market feature Sponge Bob Square Pants t-shirts. And yes, McDonalds came to Oaxaca in 2002. In this case, you must travel the 7 miles from Oazaca to Atzompa to escape the omni-present fast food business. The truth is, in order for a person to get a glimpse of what was, most humans must be left behind...a distant hill or village has to be the destination.

H'mong woman

When my husband and I visited Sapa, Vietnam this last winter, we could not believe our good fortune. The food was authentic and the only tourists we saw were trekkers. There was not a McDonalds in sight. We shopped in markets run by H'mong people that did not call Vietnam nor China home. They belonged to a culture of their own.  The H'mong women that were sent to town each week for a few days followed us relentlessly asking us to buy their trinkets. I was adopted by a woman named Jan. She trailed behind us like a puppy for a whole day. She could not read nor write. Western culture had not ruined her true nature. The face she showed us was one of a childlike innocence. She let us know that all the women talked about our family. My husband and I were a rarity because of our age.

When we were in Hanoi, the real Vietnam was still very much in evidence. Vendors began crowding the street to set up stalls at 5:30 a.m. so people that lived in that neighborhood could do their daily shopping. They brought the produce on their shoulders to the street balanced like a scale while riding bicycles. A loud speaker outside our bedroom window woke the neighborhood at 7:00 am with daily announcements. (Shades of Good Morning Vietnam with Robin Williams)

French Villa style setting.

Here again, the difficulty of getting to the place determined how authentic the places would be. We flew into Hanoi from Shanghai on a Vietnamese airline that was actually held together with duct tape on the interior.  The trip to Sapa required an overnight train ride and a bus ride north to a place at the foot of the Himalayas 40 kilometers from the Chinese border.  

Night Train...open windows?  WOW!

Cat Cat Village, Vietnam

A few French villas left from the times of the French colonization dotted the hillsides. The people in the country side lived as they has been living since heaven knows when.  But, in order for us to see that, we walked down stairs and paths that made the adrenaline rush as the thought that, if you fell, you would die flashed through the mind.  It was only then that we saw the H'mong people  living much like generations before.  

I suppose the lesson here is that the real cultures of the world are disappearing at the speed of light and, if we want to see something authentic, we need to dress in suitable clothes, bring a helmet in case you fall and wear good walking shoes.  It is not physically easy.

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I recommend you read Seth Kugel, of the NYT.  I especially recommend this article he wrote about Mexico.  

Picking a Spot, Any (Undiscovered) Spot, in Mexico

By SETH KUGEL

That One Day When Travel Surprised Me Again

Mail boxes taken through the screen on a dirty window...just interesting!

We often travel without a plan. Life seems to happen to us without any prompting and we find what we really like and are not unhappy for what we did not see. We like it that way. It is all about the surprises in life.

This trip to Santa Fe comes four years after our last. It was my birthday so it was a celebration of sorts. We ate authentic New Mexico food, visited Canyon Road and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. We ate at the Plaza Cafe for breakfast (a must).We shopped from the Native American artists that sell their wares in front of the Palace of Governor's.

Those artists are chosen by lottery so the person you see today will not be back tomorrow. Every item must be hand made...no manufacturing of any kind can happen.  One does not get to "think it over". I like that too. I am always surprised by what we find.

On the way to and from Santa Fe we found new gems and missed some old ones. Hatch NM did not have the chiles drying on the roof or in the street this year. But they did have some beautiful pottery from Mexico.

We found a restaurant in Deming, NM on our way home called Elsa's House of Pies & Restaurant. The food was good old fashions southern home cooking. The very small space was located in the alley beside the Well Fargo Bank parking lot! It was a surprise to say the least.

Out of all the wonders this trip brought, it was the totally unexpected event that happened at the The Museum of Art and Culture on Museum Hill south east of the city center. As we arrived, a crowd was gathering and a crowd of Native Americans and locals were walking up the hill toward the center piece of that complex. Native drummers were practicing in the parking lot. It was there we happened onto a ceremony for the unveiling of a statue of Valentino Tzigiwhaeno Rivera. Valentina was the son of a former New Mexico governor, George M. Rivera and a famous hoop dancer that performed around the world. His father is a renowned artist and created the bronze sculpture as a way of healing.

Valentino was injured in a car accident in 2015 that took his life 14 month later. He was 8 years old at the time of his death.

Even in the womb, Valentino Tzigiwhaeno Rivera was a dancer. Complete story here.

Performers from dance troupes called the Lightning Boy Dancers, some very small and other's teens that contend in the World championship competition held in Phoenix each year. Tzigiwhaeno was Valentino's Native American name and meant "lightning". The group is lead by a world champion hoop dancer and named is sponsored by the Lightning Boy Foundation formed in Valentino's memory. His mother, Felicia Rosacker-Rivera, leads that foundation.

We were very fortunate to witness the whole event from the speeches to the unveiling of the beautiful sculpture to the hoop dances dedicated to Valentino's memories. It was a remarkable though heart wrenching thing to see. That little boy was a gift and a wonder.

We spent 4 nights in the area and never stopped to wonder what we were going  to do. The more we come to Santa Fe the more I want to go back. And on this trip..life happened to us again. I suppose we shouldn't even be surprised after almost 57 years of marriage.

What was your big surprise lately? :)

Canyon Road Art Gallery. It is a feast for the eyes.

Fall brings out the last colors!

She was just sitting in the Plaza in Santa Fe and waiting for an admirer. I am glad we came by!

Sculpture in the garden on Museum Hill.

Albuquerque Old Town Plaza

Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

The More Things Change.....? An Interview with Bob Lowry

This our snow bird park model before we restored it to
it's former glory. I don't have the after pictures
right now but I will add them later.

Back ever so many years ago Bob Lowry posted an interview with me called Being a Snowbird: Is It The Right Choice For You? The questions were all related to our snowbird lifestyle. That was when I discovered that being a snowbird is a total mystery to so many people and that surprised me. Even today almost 5 years later, I have people wondering about how they can do it and asking very good questions. Because we did not research "snowbird lifestyle" before we fell into it, I am amazed that people have so much foresight.

Retirement is almost symbolically connected with being a snow-bird in my world. My husband and I were both educators that retired before we were sixty. We were healthy and antsy! Like all retirees, it took many years before we settled in our retirement lifestyle. Each step brought us closer to being experts on a post retirement life.

I think our current way of life all began because we took up golfing a little while before we retired. It became clear that it was something we both loved to do and gave us a great outlet for our energy.

When we began to golf, we traveled a little to golf tournaments around our home town. The last year we worked we were invited to go to a tournament in Enterprise, Oregon. I remember meeting people at one of those tournaments that lived in Mexico on Lake Chapala for the winter months. It was 1995-6. At the time I did not know that people actually left their home and went someplace totally different for all of the winter.

This was back in the day before we owned a cell phone and the idea that people retired to live yet another life after retirement was totally foreign. I was around 50 years old. I leaned back in my chair at the post golf tournament dinner party and wrapping my mind around the idea that I might leave my house and family to travel for weeks or months. How could we do that?

My husband wanted a small trailer so we could hunt and fish in eastern Oregon. Our dreams were not big. Our children were just grown and we had no idea what they would do. We were very happy in our own little world.

It was the year we were in a motel at that tournament in Enterprise that the travel idea began to emerge. There was no coffee pot, no breakfast and no comfortable bed or pillow in that small town motel. I raised my head from my pillow and said to my husband that I wanted  my own stuff. I wanted my coffee in bed. It occurred to me that I wanted to go home or be able to take my home with me.

His eyes popped open and I could see the wheels turning...it was what he had been wanting and he was just waiting for me to come up with HIS idea. Before long we owned a fifth wheel and a new pickup. Shortly thereafter we retired. I am still a little stunned to think that we flipped from what was normal to us to something so foreign in such a little time. I guess the timing was just right. We could hunt and fish and stay in our state's campgrounds AND take our house with us...and I could have my coffee in bed! Life was good.

We invited our adult children to join us on a couple of outing near their home. The fifth wheel make cooking possible with ease. We all loved it.

The idea of leaving for an extended time began to seem more and more appealing. It was the beginning of the cell phone age. We could stay in touch all of the time.  My mother was in a nursing home near-by and we had very young grandchildren. The cell phone actually opened doors of possibilities for us.

We decided one day to travel across country. I think that was when we had traded the fifth wheel for a little Class C RV. We drove from Portland to Florida and back again in a little over 6 weeks. I was so anxious to get home after that trip I don't even think we stopped. We must have but I don't remember. It seemed like an eternity but WE DID IT! That was a big step in moving from a very small life to a life of travel.

But we did not arrive at the big moments for many years. Life is a lot more like eating an elephant...one bite at a time. We did not swallow the whole thing. First we went to California for a few weeks. Then Tuscon and into Mexico. The we went to Texas, Palm Springs and finally we settled in Tucson AZ. Our son and his wife lived overseas so he invited us to come see him. The game was on and we were eating that elephant in bigger chunks all of the time. In the end, we have become fearless...almost. But we have arrived here after many years of learning and watching. That is our style!

Yes, we did learn a lot. Sometimes we learned the hard way; sometimes we actually talked to people that knew what they were doing. A few things come to mind right away. These were some of our "Holy Cow" moments:

1. Our motor home slide out slid out on the freeway.
2. Our 5th wheel brakes lock in the parking lot...we could not move.
3. RV parks did not keep their promises.
4. Our cat escaped in the resort that does not allow cats...we were yelled at.
5. We became ensnared with another couple and could get free.
6. We could not figure out how to take care of business on the road.
7. We discovered that you need to be quiet in your motorhome when there is no space and no privacy.

Fortunately we never broke down or were in a wreck. We have only lost all of our luggage once when flying and we have never gotten sick while traveling. But, we are prepared and we are flexible! If things go wrong, and they will, we just hunker down and move forward.

That is what is important.

At the top of the sidebar on this blog you see a quote asking if you are living life by design or by default. If I were to answer that question about my husband and myself, I would have to say that we live right in the middle of those two. We travel the road of life, stop a each intersection and decide what to do. We do not plan for what we do not see. Does that make sense. 

Life presents a lot of surprises and we are forced to make choices by default, but I suppose the overriding design for us is to make a change when the time feels right. Then we just go out and find a way to continue the adventure.

Please go over to Lowry's blog and read Being a Snowbird: Is It the Right Choice for You?  Even though the post is several years old, not much has changed. You will find a wealth of information. 

Have a wonderful day...may the adventure live on!

What is your dream?

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