Fall has arrived and a new class of empty nester parents are drying their eyes and lamenting the fact that their last baby has left the nest. What will they do now that Johnny and Sally are at school? Where did all of the time go? What shall we do next?
Have some fun.
Experiences for empty nesters are the answer.
My husband and I are four years into enjoying life as empty nesters. I do not wish to make light of this emotional, transitional, monumental time in our midlife years. However, what I have learned through these past four adventurous years is that there are many ways to be happy in the empty nest.
Make lists, take a class, dream big, explore the world, perfect a skill! However, what I truly believe will get you out of that slump and put a smile on your face is to go out and find adventure. Get out and make experiences happen and you will thrive. Pick up this motivating bestseller called Thrive by Arianna Huffington. It is an inspirational book tohelp you “remake the world in your own image, according to your own definition of success”
I am giving you fair warning that this post contains a great number of tedious details. Think of it as a road trip diary of sorts. I understand completely if you do not wish to continue, but thank you to the rest of you who are still reading. It feels good to for me to vent a little about our recent road trip to Seattle.
Did you take driving trips with your family as a kid? Did your grandparents land on the East Coast and make their way west by car?
Did you take your kids on family road trips?
My husband Craig traveled by car with his family every summer. He has fond, vivid memories of these vacations, discovering majestic national parks and visiting different parts of the United States. My family traveled by car only once to Missouri to visit family when I was 8. I hated it (for a multitude of reasons I won’t go into) then and the memory stayed with me.
With our young family of four, we drove as far as San Diego or Palm Desert and once we drove to Danville (Northern California) for a Thanksgiving Holiday with friends from our home in Southern California.
So other than an occasional short driving trip from point A to B, the Staverts always took a plane for vacation. Now as empty nesters, our focus has been on using airline miles and hotels points for parts unknown and usually far away.
When we decided to move to Seattle for 6 months (learn why here) we were moving with our dog Rocco (we did not want to ship him by air) and needed our car while in Seattle… We had to take a road trip. Yikes. That is not my idea of fun. I do not like sitting for hours at a time and Rocco had never been in a car for more than an hour. Craig’s job is very demanding and can’t be away for very long. This road trip presented some major personal challenges, but hopefully no disasters.
The Road Trip Plan
For reasons of comfort and tolerance (mine), we decided to break up the nearly 1200 mile trip into 3 1/2 days of driving and three overnight stays. We packed our SUV with as much of our belongings as possible which was mostly clothes, computers, dog stuff and flat screen TV. The only room left in the car was a small space in the back seat for Rocco’s bed and Rocco. Otherwise, every bit of air space was taken. This was truly a hillbilly-like situation.
Our first potty/food stop was a truck stop in Bakersfield at Burger King. Oh my favorite! It was a blistering 95 degrees and we found a small, dry stretch of grass for Rocco and we stood on this patch of grass while eating our “delicious” lunch. Rocco did his business and we were off. After easily 4 ½ hours of more driving, we traveled through San Francisco and tremendous traffic to stop in Santa Rosa for the night.
Happy Friday! I hope your week was successful and eventful. Mine was definitely full of adventure. We left on Sunday for a road trip from Pasadena to Seattle. We made it here on Wednesday afternoon without too many mishaps and only a couple of sketchy moments. I am busily recapping the trip for Monday’s post. …
This post is written by Tam Warner Minton of the super awesome blog: TravelswithTam
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” Terry Pratchett
Yesterday I wanted to meet a friend for lunch, but my car was in the shop. I called Uber and was quickly picked up by a friendly and delightful driver from Guinea, Africa. We began to talk about Guinea’s location, and he was overjoyed when he discovered that I had actually traveled to Africa and visited several countries there. A story emerged which highlighted, perfectly, why we should all travel. The driver worked on the morning of his daughter’s wedding, and he drove that day in the suit he was going to wear at the event. One of his clients asked him who it was that taught him how to put on a suit. You have to admit, that is a rather odd question. (The inference being, of course, that someone “civilized” had to have explained to him how to wear a suit). The driver, who speaks clear English and has been in the USA for almost 30 years, admitted he was very angry about it. People in America, he said, do not travel often enough, and have no idea about the cultures of other places. I agreed.
Since my discussion with him, I have done a little research, and yes, it is true that the vast majority of Americans have never traveled out of the country. I have had people tell me they are not interested in going to other places because America is the “best”. I’m not going to argue about patriotism, but my question is, how do you know? If you have never been to another country, how can you know what is “best”? And does everything have to be rated as good, better and best? Can’t it just be different? I realize that not everyone wants to travel, but there is no question that it provides invaluable experiences and insight to the traveler and to the people the traveler knows or meets. “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” I agree, St Augustine, I agree.
There are over 40,000 Buddhist temples in Thailand! Bangkok is a city filled with wonder. My daughter and I were both blessed by the monks of The Golden Buddha Monastery while we were there.
The renovation of our empty nester fixer-upper will begin in September.
The last time I wrote about the empty nest renovation was clear back in January. It has been quite the roller coaster ride with so many details, so many decisions, so many ups and downs.
A quick review:
Craig and I decided to sell our home, downsize and leave our beach community of Laguna Niguel after 27 years. We left our dear friends, daily routine, and a house full of memories. Not an easy decision.
We purchased a much smaller, 1937 Spanish Colonial fixer-upper home on a quaint, tree-lined street in Pasadena, CA in order to live closer to our family and my Dad who is fighting cancer.
With so many adjustments and challenges, these past seven months have been really difficult and exhausting, however the quality time I have been able to spend with my Dad has been priceless. The move was truly worth every single minute of heartache or discomfort.
We hired an amazing architect, a well recommended contractor and were finally given approval by the city to begin. Truthfully, we have delayed the start a couple of months because of Dad’s illness. He is an inspiration and has suffered more than any person should ever have to. Dad is still outrunning it and plans to continue on this path!
We have chosen fixtures, tile, marble, granite, appliances and floor coverings. The decision making is overwhelming, but exciting. So… now we needed to find a place to live while the house was under construction. The renovation will include every room and every crevice and to live there was just not feasible.
Thank you to Teri Walker from 1802 House Bed and Breakfast, Kennebunkport, Maine for this travel quote. ”A tourist experiences disconnected sights and sounds and enjoys them without drawing meaning. A traveler roams the earth, digests what he sees and hears, and collects them in a framework of understanding which he both brings to his travels …
Two Generations Enjoying Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco~ Craig, 55 – Suzanne, 54 – Clint (our nephew) 21, – Alexandra (our daughter) 27- Nick (our son) 22- Alec (our son’s best friend) 22
Outside Lands reigns supreme in my new world of music festivals. A three day, thoroughly engaging, eclectic, excessively HUGE, outstanding music festival for all ages. Who knew that two people in their mid-fifties could mix and mingle successfully with the hipsters, hippies and young music lovers in their 20’s and 30’s? Designed to showcase over 100 bands and offer headliners like Elton John, Mumford & Sons, The Black Keys, Sam Smith and even Billy Idol. I expected to like it, but I honestly loved every morsel.
To gain entry into the world of my twenty-something children and experience their passion for music from the inside. It was so special to see how by teaching and sharing his passion for music, my husband fueled the musical interests of our children. From the time they could talk, Craig would quiz them, share stories and play all kinds of music for them.
A brilliant plan… I think. Inviting our adult children to join us on a vacation in Napa Valley and San Francisco takes quite a bit of planning. Four schedules to contend with and four strong opinions,(as well as enthusiasm) were all considered and a plan was created. The truth is that the kids and Craig truly …
There is never a shortage of amazing food markets in New York City. Picking a favorite is like choosing which of your friends you like best..impossible! Just like with the number of friends, the more markets the better! When we travel, one of our favorite activities (besides eating) is to visit local and specialty markets in …
Yes, I went and did it, I used he “O” word. No, not “Oprah”…“Old”. Old seems like it would be a derogatory description, but honestly it doesn’t have to be, it can be a badge of honor. Parenting wisdom is attained through maturation, trial and error and countless other components. It is staggering what important parental …
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