Tuscany, Italy

 

Giverny, France

 

Key West, Florida

 

Decades of Destinations

While getting ready to write another article for this blog, I thought about how interesting it might be for readers to know all of the places I’ve traveled to so far. At first, I thought I’d create a list, but soon realized how boring that would be. Instead, I’ve decided to show you where I went and add a fact about the location, or perhaps an impression it left with me.

Sunday drives and summer road trips were common when I grew up. I learned to enjoy looking out the windows of our family station wagon as we traveled from place to place. In high school, I took a photography class, and added a camera to our family excursions. I expanded my travels internationally as an adult, even taking my language students to Europe repeatedly.

The first trip I took as an adult was to Avalon, on Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California, where I grew up. I visited once with my parents, but this time, they didn't come. Four high school girl friends and I (along with one of their mothers, to act as a chaperone) stayed for a week, one week after graduating high school. I was eighteen.

A few days into our carefree trip on the island, my friends and I decided to stroll along the boardwalk. It was late at night. As we were walking along, enjoying the vibe, chatting and having a snack, we were approached by two uniformed police officers. They informed us that it was past 10:00 p.m., and we had to go back to our hotel, since we were minors. We asked how old our chaperone had to be. After they told us the person must be at least eighteen years old, I volunteered that I was, in fact, eighteen and was "supervising" the minors. 

Then they asked for my I.D. Not realizing this might be a issue, I had left it in the hotel. That is exactly where we were ten minutes later. Life lesson. ID? Never leave home without it.  

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Options

 

Monday, May 29, 2023

The last few days have been busier than before, but less stressful. Getting ready for a 3-year cruise, and not having needed information was hard. Everything else seems far easier, even moving. My original plan was to cruise the world for three years, then move to Portugal. Having the rug pulled out from under my feet (although not literally, of course, it sure feels like it), made me reevaluate my timeline.

One possibility was to push up moving to Portugal. I could go sooner rather than later, but why? Sure, it’s safer there and gorgeous. The weather is about the same as SoCal, but the prices are much lower. Do I really want to be somewhere I don’t know, and where I know no one? I did that once before, when I moved to Cape Town, South Africa for two years. I loved every minute of it. But that was then. I was twenty-five years younger. I didn’t have osteoporosis, or the pain that comes with it.

So, this weekend I investigated another option. I could move somewhere closer to home. I opened my iPad and scrolled through rentals in Laguna Woods Village. It’s a huge retirement community not far from where I live now, in Laguna Niguel. I lived in the Village before moving here. It was very easy living there. But as a renter, you’re always subject to the whims of the owner. My landlords were a lovely couple, very thoughtful and kind. But when the husband died, the son pressured his mother to sell the condo. He had plans for her money.

I found a two bedroom, two bath condo that is clean and bright and flooded with light. Being smaller than where I live now means it will be easier to manage. My present home should have been undemanding and was before the pandemic. I had a handy man I trusted and a house cleaning company I had used for years. The owners had even become friends. But when everything shut down, it was all on me. This has become oppressive, which made the cruise seem like a great option. No housework, no shopping, no taking care of potted plants, just fun.

Of the three options, I decided to move forward with the lovely condo in Laguna Woods Village. I contacted the Realtor Friday, saw the condo Saturday, and filled out an application the same day. After sending heaps of documentation to the Realtor, the owners picked me from a group of applicants.

Sunday, I emailed my present landlord to notify him I will be moving out by the end of June. He called shortly thereafter. We had a pleasant conversation. He wished me well, and I wished the same for him. The rest of the day was spent tackling my bedroom closet. Finished early enough in the day to start on the master bathroom. There’s a closet there too. I piled up lots of clothing to take to Goodwill Tuesday. Life lesson. Get rid of stuff on a regular basis, so this won't happen to you. 

Today I filled out more legal documents online and will meet with the Realtor to give her checks tomorrow. I’m back to decluttering prior to packing. I was doing this anyway because of the cruise. It's less complicated now, however, because I don’t have to figure out what to take, what to store and what to donate. I just decide what I want to keep and what to give away. There are a also few things that should be sold. I’ll let the movers take them to my new home and sell them later.

My next blog post will be back to discussing how to get ready for a big trip. I still have my lists of monthly tasks. Although I’m no longer hopping on a ship for an around-the-world cruise, the information is still valid for anyone getting ready for a big trip. Little notebooks make this simple. I found these work well, CLICK HERE (ad).

Organization is really “my thing”. It started when I took language students to Europe to use the French or German they were learning. It was all on me then too. I did all the planning and organizing, with some input from my students. These trips prepared me for my big move to Cape Town, South Africa in 1997. That in turn made the decision to go on the lengthy cruise less daunting.

Remember to subscribe, to learn more about how to travel, even solo. I have. You can too.

 

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Allergic to Chaos

My normal routine since signing up for a three-year round-the-world cruise is to start my day by opening my iPad and reading any new posts in our resident portal. This past Sunday, May 20,2023, I saw a message from another passenger which read, “We’re still going to Istanbul”. Uh-ho. What does that mean?

It didn’t take long for someone to comment back, echoing my sense of dread. The response came quickly. We were directed to the cruise Facebook page, to read a letter from the Managing Director of our cruise.

The worst had happened. He announced he cancelled the cruise and gave his reasons for doing so. Rather than try to rehash the contents of the letter, and give the “other side” of the issue coming from the cruise company, which had been working in collaboration with the management team, here’s an article from CNN which explains what happened, CNN Article.

It took me all week to process this, but as stated in the article, deciding whether to continue with the cruise was an easy, although very sad, decision. I’m allergic to chaos. Life lesson. This felt far too risky for me. I’m out.

Now, what to do about my blog? My plan was to share my adventures on this three-year cruise with family, friends, my Twitter followers, and especially single people who have been reluctant to travel alone. About the middle of the week, I realized that I could achieve my goal, without going on this specific cruise.

After all, I’ve been single for over three decades, and I haven’t stayed home much. I can still encourage people to hang up their hats, get in a car, plane or ship and go somewhere. I will show how to do it by blogging about trips I have taken in the past, and those I take in the future. Yes. I made a list. So far, it has twenty places I intend to visit.

As I stated at the top of my blog, I encourage you to join me on my adventures. Just subscribe to this blog so you will be notified when I post something new.

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I Can't Believe My Luck

 

Saturday, April 1, 2023

Good news. Fell asleep right away, slept all night, and woke up refreshed. But there was a bonus. During the night my subconscious came up with something fun, and perhaps profitable, to do while on my 3-year cruise. I’m going to take painting lessons to learn how to paint pretty patterns, botanicals and abstracts. I’ll use the best ones on tote bags for my EnjoyTheViewTotes.com shop.

Additionally, friends in real life, and dozens on Twitter have asked me to share my 3-year adventure with them. They want to see photographs and hear stories. So, I’m taking this journal I started nine days ago, and turning it into a blog.

I can’t believe my luck. A new friend on Twitter shared an article with me about two sisters who took around a world cruise 100 years ago. They kept a journal, like I’m doing. At the end of the article readers were asked by the publisher, CNN, to share one of their travel stories. Lightbulb moment. I gave them an elevator speech. If something comes of this, terrific. If not, it was fun, and very kind of my new friend to share the article with me.

I worked on starting this blog for the rest of the day. It was frustrating as the site I use has made many changes since I used it last. The biggest obstacle was linking my URL. Way too much techie stuff for me. I decided to leave it until tomorrow.

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Slept well again. I guess my overwhelming enthusiasm is leveling off. That would be delightful. Worked on this blog in the morning. I found a work around for linking my URL. It’s not yet the way I want it, but it works fine.

Then I took my first journal entry, polished it a bit, and put it up. I added a picture from my library of travel shots and posted it. Of course, nothing goes right the first time. The first paragraph was in one font, the rest in another. No idea how that happened. After fussing with it for a few minutes, I was able to fix it. I hope you like it.

I’m writing in my own voice. It’s how I talk, and much like I write my posts on social media. Although I’m usually a rather formal person, my writing is not. I guess it was influenced by teaching and communicating with teenagers for forty years.

After this, I received an email from a friend with a link to Travel Smith. I don’t need clothing, so I looked at their accessories and electronics. Bingo. I ordered a wonderful device that acts like a flash drive, but with a difference. It will scour my computer, find and save all my photos. The next time I use it, it will just save the new ones I’ve taken.

I ordered one that will hold up to 32,000 photos. Although that’s a big number, it gives me confidence I won’t run into a problem with storage. The first time I took students to France, for 15 days, I brought forty rolls of thirty-six exposure slide film, and used them all. This cruise will last three years.

I stopped looking at the catalogue. Although I might need to do more shopping just before the trip, I need to watch my spending. Any money I don’t spend now can go towards excursions in faraway places later.

Monday, April 3, 2023

This morning I received a message from a friend telling me passport renewals now take months instead of weeks. She suggested I start mine sooner than where I had it on my to-do list. Since it’s going to be warm and sunny this week, I’m going to have my passport photos taken Wednesday. I’ll buy extra sets to bring along, just in case they’re needed. The post office is nearby, and by taking the envelope and paperwork already prepared, I can drop it there, after I add the photos.

I had several chores to do around the house today, watering inside plants, taking out the trash, and vacuuming. After they were finished, I began the process of reducing the amount of “stuff” in one area of my house. I’m handling one space each month, and one area in the space each week. Going slowly acknowledges that I’m no longer in my 20s, 30s, or even 40s. You get the picture. Sheesh. 

April’s my main bedroom. This week I’m tackling the nightstands and dresser. I keep books in the nightstands. Most will be donated to my local library. I can drop them off after taking the passport pictures and mailing the renewal. This is a simple loop, down the hill, around the corner, and back up the hill home.

After lunch, I worked in my EnjoyTheViewTotes.com shop. I designed three tote bags for Taurus and listed one in my shop. I decided this series of bags will contain Zodiac symbols in their “power colors”. I’m making them in three languages. I’ll list the others tomorrow and Wednesday.

I took care of some banking today too. I’m moving money from my high interest online savings account to my local financial institution, so it will be there when the next (big) payment for my trip is due.

Finally, I cleaned up the clutter that trip planning has created in my living room. I laid down on the couch and took a nap. When I woke up, it was time to have dinner, close the drapes, and settle down to watch some mindless TV. Life lesson. By being organized, I’m still able to accomplish what needs to be done and enjoy simple pleasures while not stressing out.

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Details Details Details

 

Tuesday March 28, 2023

I called the Coolibar company and tried to order the swim gear I saw in their catalogue yesterday. The agent was great, knew exactly what I wanted. As it turned out, the catalogue being new was the issue. Life lesson. Their computers didn’t even show the swimsuit, etc. yet, but she could handle it live. So, she did. Very nice. Had a lovely chat about my upcoming trip while she resolved the issue.

Spent most of the day planning and thinking about all I need to do. Making a to-do list for each month is helping me move things out of my mind, and onto paper.

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Meds Onboard

 

Monday, March 27, 2023

This was a tiring day. Did the chores around the house that I should have completed over the weekend. Once the excitement wears off, I hope to balance my time better. Watched another webinar, this one live. Many questions were answered. It helped me make an executive decision to sign up for mail and package forwarding. It’s expensive, since you must sign up for a minimum of 18 months. But it will be worth it to receive prescription medication and Amazon orders on the ship. However, if the ship pharmacy has the meds I need at a reasonable price, I’ll skip it and save the money.

Many of the items I ordered yesterday arrived. Everything was great, including Bob, the cute critter I bought to bring with me, CLICK HERE (ad). I ordered a bow tie for him to wear at dinner, CLICK HERE (ad). I don’t know how often he'll appear on the ship, but I’m certainly taking him ashore with me. Life lesson. He'll be great for a little added humor in my photographs.

Found a sun protection swimsuit with matching coverup in a Coolibar catalogue that came today. Looked for it online to order, but it wasn’t there. So annoying. I’ll call tomorrow. Don’t send out catalogues if you don’t have the items in stock. Sheesh. It can’t be gone already. The catalogue just arrived!

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Adventures Ahead

Friday, March 24, 2023

Join me in my upcoming adventures, where I will be touring the world for the next three years. But first a little background on why I’m starting this blog. Being outside, especially by the sea, is my happy place. So, when I learned about this cruise, I pounced on the opportunity. I’m sharing my photos and experiences here at the request of dozens of my Twitter followers.

The goal of my blog is to encourage other singles to travel more. By showing how I’m doing this, I hope it reduces their fear of the unknown. Travel is such an enriching experience, it would be a pity if fear of the unknown was a deterrent.

This morning, during our weekly Zoom meeting, my friend @DeborahDian, described a segment she had just watched on Good Morning America. It was about a three-year cruise around the world embarking this fall. She was shocked that the price was only $30,000 a year. I know how much I spend annually living in Laguna Niguel. So, I knew this was within my reach.

When we finished with Zoom, I went to my iPad and started investigating. I watched the online video of the segment from Good Morning America and liked what I saw. I then did more research on Google. “Wow. This looks great. I need to do this.” When I looked up, it was almost midnight. Yes, I had accomplished almost nothing else all day. I think I had lunch at around 3 o’clock. Dinner? What’s that?

It wasn’t easy for me to actually sign up for the cruise. I had difficulty picking a stateroom on the ship. Perhaps it being well after midnight had something to do with it? But after that, it was simple. Goodbye $5k, hello MV Gemini, cabin 3218. Life lesson. When an opportunity shows up, do a little research. Then pounce. 

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