How We Caught the Travel Bug

Le Anna and I have had the travel bug since I took a 2 + year job assignment in Zambia in 1988.  I was 41 and the farthest I had been from the US was a couple of short trips to Mexico ( I'm not counting Canada).  Le Anna had never been East of the Mississippi.  Zambia was 2 overnight airplane flights from Seattle, and a whole world away.  Our kids were still in high school at the time, but they got to come over for summers, and after they went to college, Le Anna came over for about 8 months before the job ended.

Zambia was a true third world country (still is), and it is no exaggeration to say that the experience there changed all of our lives forever.  As a result, our entire family has had the travel bug ever since - wanting to see more and more of the wonderful world we live in.  The cause of this affliction is very strange, since living in Zambia was definitely not easy, nor could it really be called pleasant except for some occasions.  But every day was a new adventure, and a moving experience.  Le Anna likes to say that every day something made her weep with sadness, and every day made her heart sing with joy.  The Zambian people have a great positive attitude in spite of having absolutely nothing in terms of material goods.  We made several good friends among the locals, as well as with expats from a number of countries around the globe.

So Zambia stirred the urging in us to see other new places in the world, and meet new people.  In my work life since Zambia, I have gladly volunteered for assignments in Alberta, Canada, Shemya Island at the end of the Aleutian chain, Qatar, England, and Moscow.  For pleasure we have traveled internationally to Mexico,  South Africa, Aruba, Costa Rica, Panama, the BVI, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.  But we feel like we have barely scratched the surface.  Every trip makes us want to see more.  This is the Travel Bug, and to the best of our knowledge, it is an incurable affliction.  We view this as a good thing.

Now that my retirement is opening up many possibilities, we find ourselves envying other seniors who have become real nomads, selling their homes and living in different locations until they feel the urge to move on to another new spot.  While this is very appealing, our practical natures tell us that we still need a home base to return to at least a couple of times a year, to visit doctors and take care of personal business.  Maybe in time this will change, but for now we will hang onto our home in Washington, and travel as much as our budget will allow.

So over the last 3 months we have planned 3 month-long trips during the first 6 months of my retirement.  Trip planning is half the fun for us.  We like to discuss all the possible routes and means of travel, and especially places to stay.  It's time to see more of the US though we have lived many places and traveled quite a bit throughout the US, it's a big country and there's always more to see.  

We are not high-budget travelers, and believe in saving money where we can, without totally sacrificing comfort.  Our first trip will be a road trip in our personal car - kind of a "shake-down" trip for 4 weeks in the Western US. 

We plan to travel from our home in SE Washington, out to the Oregon coast, then south down the coast to the California Redwood parks.  We will try tent camping for the first 4 nights, then spend 2 nights in Napa Valley at a modest hotel.  Next we go to the San Francisco area where we have booked a houseboat for 4 nights - that should be different.  After SF, we head east to Yosemite National Park, where we are camping for 3 nights, then driving up to South Lake Tahoe where we have a timeshare rental for a week to relax.  Le Anna's brother and sister-in-law will join us there, which should be fun.  From Tahoe we are going over Donner Pass and up to Mt. Shasta for a night.  Then we are treating ourselves to a night at Crater Lake Lodge.  From there, we go to Bend, OR, a place we always enjoy, then we will drive back to Richland and relax for 3 weeks before our next big trip.

We will get into the next trip later.  Stay tuned as the adventure begins; our retirement is in sight.