ROAD TRIPS IN OUR SENIOR YEARS: AWAKENING YOUR TRAVEL BUG

by Kim Marvel

When is the last time you took a road trip? Few activities are more enjoyable than hitting the road to explore some new territory. In retirement, my wife and I have re-discovered road tripping.

In our younger years, we were adventurous travelers: backpacking, bicycling, hiking, even hitchhiking. Back in the 1960s, a popular travel guide was “America on $10 a Day.” Ten dollars a day won’t go very far today. Now, 50 years later, after raising kids and retiring, we’re back on the road again. At our stage in life, perhaps a more fitting travel guide would be “America on 10 Depends® a Day.” Despite age-related physical changes, we have found road trips to be an enjoyable mode of travel.

When planning our road trips, we usually have one or two target destinations: visiting family or friends, exploring a national park, staying at an entertainment mecca (think Nashville), perhaps a birding hotspot, or returning to a favorite location of the past. We then expand the trip on each side of the target activity. During the year we file away notes and articles about potential destinations, classified by location, such as states or national parks. To enhance our final itinerary, we peruse the file for ideas and search the map route for additional points of interest along the way.

A recent study found that by planning a trip, people reported greater feelings of contentment in their lives. In fact, the anticipation of taking a trip was far greater than the anticipation of acquiring a physical possession. We certainly enjoy planning and anticipating road trips. Our anticipation grows as the departure date draws near. We sometimes re-read classic road trip books, such as Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck and On the Road with Charles Kuralt. They help awaken one’s dormant travel bug.

Despite our eagerness to travel as we did in our 20s, we adapt to accommodate our minor physical ailments and the changes from our familiar home routine. We limit daily travel distance and take more frequent pit stops. After a lengthy drive, we exit the car with a routine we call “unfolding” – standing gradually, stretching, flexing knees, followed by slow first steps. Before leaving home, we gather remedies for minor aches and pains or other unexpected maladies such as a plugged ear or toothache. To improve sleep in unfamiliar rooms, we pack large plastic clips to fully close window blinds and ensure improved darkness.

For longer trips, we try to vary the accommodations. A recent trip included two homes of relatives, some hotels, a traditional bed and breakfast, and two multi-day stays at short-term rentals. For longer trips, we typically each pack a larger suitcase to leave in the car. We then select clothes and other overnight essentials to include in our smaller roller bags that are easier to transport into the room. For meals we take gift cards for our favorite national chains. Of course, trying local cuisine is a fun part of road tripping. We relish stopping for sweet treats, unexpected roadside attractions, and unusual tourist sites. We still chuckle at our unexpected discovery of quirky Carhenge, a creative arrangement of half-buried vintage cars as a replica of England’s Stonehenge, as we drove through rural Nebraska. Unplanned stops are often the most valued memories of a road trip.

Finally, a compatible travel partner makes for an enjoyable trip. On a recent road trip we stopped in Hannibal, Missouri, Mark Twain’s childhood home. In his museum I noted this poignant quote: “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” (Tom Sawyer Abroad, 1894) It’s a timeless piece of advice. Selection of travel companions is an important part of road trip enjoyment.

Another Mark Twain quote is a good summary: “It seems … that mainly what you want is to get away; get away from the same old tedious things you’re so used to seeing and so tired of, and see something new. That is the idea; you want to go and be a wanderer; you want to go wandering far away to strange countries where everything is mysterious and wonderful and romantic. And if you can’t do that, you’ll put up with considerable less; you’ll go anywhere you can go, just so as to get away, and be thankful of the chance, too.” (Tom Sawyer, Detective, 1896)

That’s the spirit of road tripping. It can be a short weekend get-away or a longer cross-country venture. So find an attractive destination, enjoy the planning and anticipation, find some compatible travel partners, pack your bag, throw in a handful of Depends® (optional, of course), and hit the road.

Author bio:

Kim Marvel is a retired psychologist and family medicine educator. He and his wife, Connie, live in Colorado and enjoy each other’s company while traveling, camping, and exploring the outdoors.