My sister Sue and her husband Tom are retired and vacationing this week in Hawaii. When I asked which island they were going to visit, Sue replied, “All of them.” They are on a cruise which docks at each island.
The issue I wrestle with the most as a solo retiree is the fact that if I want to travel, which I do, then I must get comfortable with travelling alone. I always dreamed of taking a long trip abroad once I retired, but fear of traveling solo lead me to settle for a few days in Crested Butte, Colorado (about six hours away from my home) last summer. Crested Butte is one of my favorite places to visit in the summer and the Wildflower Festival was extraordinary, but it wasn’t the travel I had dreamed of.
Late this summer I decided to stretch myself and overcome my fear of solo travel. I renewed my AAA account, serviced and gassed up the car, called to see if my friends would be around when I arrived, reserved a hotel home for me, and boarding for my dog. I was planning a solo road trip, this time venturing out-of-state.
This fall, I logged 1870 miles round trip from my home in Colorado to the home of friends in northeast Minneapolis, Minnesota. I stopped overnight in Lincoln, Nebraska and stayed at the Fairfield Inn, a Marriott property. Over the years as a solo traveler, I have found these properties to be safe and clean. The complimentary breakfast is always filling and tasty. The staff is welcoming and send me on my way with a complimentary bottle of water and warm wishes. My AAA membership gives me a great Internet room rate and I am a Marriott rewards card holder so I get points every time I stay which add up to future free stays.
Years ago I read about a series of crimes including murder and abductions from Interstate highway rest stops, which have been a respite for travellers since the late 1950’s. Due to that creepiness, I always shied away from these scary rest stops, however, I decided to give them another try on this road trip. On this solo road trip, I found them to be fairly clean and safe. Now, I did only visit them during daylight hours! I made sure I parked away from other vehicles and I didn’t talk to other people who were traveling alone. Some of the stops had an attendant who were very nice, like Mary in Straight River, Minnesota. She helped me find my friends’ address and the route I should take to get there. She even enlarged a copy of a map to help me get there. The grounds around the all the rest stops were beautiful and some provided picnic tables and grills for travellers. I felt safe strolling around the grounds stretching my legs.
Without anyone to talk to on my solo road trip, how did I pass the time? I brought a large stack of my favorite CDs (yes, I’m old school that way) and snacks. My favorite road trip snack is Pull ‘n’ Peel Cherry Licorice. Occasionally, I listened to AM radio to keep up on the latest election related scandals. These reports were stimulating and sometimes just outright unbelievable, but entertaining.
I got off the Interstate highway in southwest Iowa and travelled through beautiful fields of corn, soybeans and windmills, old and new. Being an amateur photographer I couldn’t resist stopping and snapping pictures. I also planned a stop at the birthplace of John Wayne, in Winterset, Iowa, to photograph the famous covered bridges which were featured in the movie “Bridges of Madison County.” It was a lovely fall day and I was able to capture their majestic beauty. The oldest bridges, Cutler-Donahoe and Imes, were built in 1870.
My car ran well and only asked for gas on a few occasions to stay happy. That made me happy. It was wonderful to visit some family and my friends in Minneapolis. The beautiful fall weather also made the road trip easy to navigate. While it wasn’t a dream retirement trip, it was a confidence builder and a great step toward another fearless solo road trip and maybe even travel abroad.