When my sister, Lauren Briggs<\/a>, told people that she and her husband Randy were going to Antarctica, \u201cWhy are you going there?\u201d was a frequent response.<\/p>\n\n\n Lauren and Randy, 69 and 75, have been racking up the frequent traveler miles\u2014especially since COVID-19. They typically take a major trip a year, but several were cancelled due to the pandemic. This has resulted in trips, seemingly, back-to-back. They have recently been to Iceland and Israel, and on cruises to the rivers of Russia, the Danube and Rhine rivers, the Baltics, the British Isles, Japan and Korea, and the Galapagos Islands. And now, Antarctica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this Best-Life phase<\/a> they have the time, resources, and health to travel. They decided to take the more physically challenging, exotic, and harder-to-get-to trips now\u2014while they still can. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I am not as well traveled as my sister\u2014though as part of my former life as a motivational speaker, I score very high on those Facebook questions that ask you to check off every place you\u2019ve been in the US. Having lived out of a suitcase for decades, it has been nice to have had a phase without a lot of airplanes. But now, I, too, am ready to travel more. Just before his 65th<\/sup> birthday, my husband announced he wanted to travel more. Guess what he got for his birthday? Our combined travel is still ahead of us but just last month, along with friends from the Lubbock Women\u2019s Club, I returned home from a small ship cruise<\/a> through the San Juan Islands<\/a> which included Victoria, Canada. Before getting off the ship, I put my money down on a trip for both of us through the Great Lakes<\/a> in August of 2025. We are going to Mexico this November.<\/p>\n\n\n Throughout Lauren\u2019s and my recent travel, we\u2019ve met people who have been on many cruises and to exotic places\u2014Antarctica being just one of them. People asking Lauren why she\u2019d go to Antarctica prompted a more general, more philosophical question: Why travel? Lauren queried her Facebook friends and I intentionally sat with people I didn\u2019t know on my April cruise to learn their answers to the question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a \u201csanity break\u201d Yvonne, a trauma nurse who deals with loss and death every day, said when I asked her why she travels. Yvonne started traveling when she was a consultant with Cookie Lee Jewelry. She sold jewelry, giving the proceeds to charity, and won many trips. She has been on 10 cruises. Her sister Cynthia, who often travels with her, quipped: \u201cBecause it\u2019s fun!\u201d Overall answers to our question ranged from \u201cfun,\u201d to philosophical, to even philanthropic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regarding Antarctica specifically, Lauren received the following comments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 89-year-old Maybelle Kern, who organized my San Juan Islands trip, and her 93-year-old sister Joyce Cheatam started traveling when they had spring break from school. Maybelle was a school principal and Joyce a teacher. In 2019 they visited 5 different countries and have now been to 6 continents (not Antarctica). Joyce told me she likes the new experiences and learning something new every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our cousin, Michelle Chapman-Rienstra<\/a>, responded: \u201cI have devoted my career to cultural exchange and believe wholeheartedly in the transformative power of experiencing new cultures and environments. Keep exploring!\u201d Maxine Marsolini<\/a> added: \u201cI understand the satisfaction of seeing the world up close.\u201d Janice Stachowiak told me: \u201cI enjoy seeing the similarity of humankind.\u201d Robin McCain McAlpine said: \u201cDale and I travel to experience other cultures; see how they live. To view\/experience historical sites. To visit folks we have met during our travels and whom have invited us to visit their homeland.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n Naomi Carmona Morshead<\/a> explained, \u201cAt the age of 61, I began climbing mountains to raise money for Mending Kids<\/a> to save the lives of children born with congenital heart defects, like mine, in developing countries. I have since done 200 climbs on 43 mountains on 3 continents. I have raised more than $288,000 for heart surgery patients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Yvonne mentioned, travel offers a respite. Charlie Wheeler explained: \u201cI go to work, I go to work, I go to work. I need a break in routine. This is what I work for!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cloyce Stetson and his wife traveled with their friends Pat and Charlie Wheeler. All four were with me on the San Juan Islands trip. He said: \u201ctraveling with people I know makes it more enjoyable. We have common memories. Plus, being with a group Like the Women\u2019s Club trip, takes care of planning. I\u2019m just along for the ride.\u201d The four enjoyed it so much, they have already booked another trip together. Speaking of memories, Charlie added: \u201cWe buy refrigerator magnets from each trip. Every time we open the fridge helps us remember where we\u2019ve been.\u201d Pat agrees. She says she\u2019d rather spend money on memories than more things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When traveling, Maybelle likes to meet new people and see things most people only see on TV. She added: \u201cLater, when we see some place we\u2019ve been on TV, I say, \u201cremember when we were there?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dori and Tom, shared this with me: \u201cWe have been very lucky to have lived in a time when we could do all this. We used to take pictures\u2014but now we save memories. We don\u2019t remember the names of all the places we\u2019ve been, but we have the memories.\u201d They are 80 years old and have been on 10 cruises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It seems that travel is a bit addictive. Penny Flory<\/a> explains: \u201cThe only way I survive the very end of a trip is to begin planning the next. It helps me.\u201d Charlie calls travel \u201cthe adventure of what\u2019s next.\u201d He says it is \u201clike opening a Christmas present.\u201d Robin has found that \u201cthe more we travel, the more we want to travel!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And John Kennedy<\/a> believes he has an untreatable condition: \u201cAlways-wanting-to-see-the-other-side-of-the-hill syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hopefully, we\u2019ve encouraged you to travel. According to Carolyn Gross<\/a>, \u201cIf one doesn\u2019t travel one doesn\u2019t grow. The world is a very diverse place and all of it is worth seeing.\u201d Mary Rice Hopkins<\/a>, who has been to Antarctica and called it \u201cthe best,\u201d says travel is their big expenditure. She quotes a friend who told her: \u201cTravel is the only thing that makes you richer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n![\"Man](\"http:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/IMG_8921-1024x577.jpg\")
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Culture and Community<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Respite<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Memories<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Addictive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t Wait<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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