Here’s some advice from the book “How to Love Your Retirement” (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com, 13.95), straight from people who’ve done it.
“The coast of Maine, the glaciers in Alaska, the historic buildings in Boston, the hills of San Francisco, the active volcano in Hawaii: These are all new entries in my memory bank since retiring.”
—Jane Hulman, Bethesda, Md., retired for 11 years
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“Don’t just sit at home. My husband pointed out recently that we were free to go wherever we wanted or to live wherever we wanted. Our retirement checks are going to come no matter where we are. That’s a nice feeling—not being tied to a place, a job, or a daily responsibility.”
—Susan Taylor, Texas, retired for 3 years
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“One of the best trips we ever took since we retired was a bike tour of Italy. We biked from Pisa to Venice. Everything about it was great: the food, the hotels, the sights, the people. We didn’t want it to end. And it was pretty easy, about 20 to 40 miles a day. There was one hard day when we climbed the Apennines, and it was 100 degrees and there were trucks spewing blue smoke. But then we got to the top and drank wine for two hours, and then it was downhill and shady on the other side.”
— Jimbo, Minneapolis, retired for 14 years
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“When you’re working, a vacation home is a real adventure, like a minivacation. But when you’re retired, it’s totally different. It’s not nearly as pleasurable. Anticipation of a vacation is probably as much of the enjoyment as the travel itself. You won’t feel the need for that vacation home quite as much as you did before.”
— L.C., Stratford, Conn; retired for 2 years
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“A timeshare is not only a good investment; it’s a good adventure. We own a couple of timeshares — in Park City, Utah, and in Palm Desert, Calif. — which allow us to travel to those places, and we also trade them. By trading our timeshares, we’ve traveled to Block Island, R.I.; Hilton Head, S.C.; Italy; Austria; France. We’ve been to10 or 12 different places.”
— Robert L. Zimdahl, Fort Collins, Colo.; retired for 1 year
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“It gets awful lonely on the road. I missed being around my kids. They never tell you that in those travel brochures. Make sure if you are going to travel that you take someone along; even a dog will probably do.”
— Chad Morton, Poland, Ohio
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“When we travel, we go to Elderhostels. We really like them, and I’ve always thought the housing was fine. You do have to be flexible; if you go to Costa Rica, they’re going to feed you rice and beans.”
— Janet, Minneapolis; retired for 10 years
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“One of the best trips I’ve taken since I retired was to Australia. I went with a friend, and we were gone for six weeks. We arranged the trip so we would connect up a couple times with a group, but we also were able to travel on our own. We really liked that combined kind of trip. It was very expensive, but if you’re spending that much money to go to Australia, you want to make good on the time.”
— M.L., Bloomington, Minn.; retired for 15 years
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“When you’re traveling in an RV, with 250 square feet, you really have to respect each other’s privacy.”
— Bill Charles; Bristol, Tenn.; retired for 6 years
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“I’ve been in contact with my old college friends. About 12 of us lived together on the same floor in a dorm in college, and we had a ball. I hadn’t seen some of them in 20 years, and yet when we got together at the beach, we picked up right where we left off. When you’re retired, you need to make plans like that with old friends. We’re all getting together again this summer, and I can’t wait.”
—H.I.H., Durham, N.C., retired for 7 years
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“Get a huge map of the United States. Put it up on the wall. Put on a blindfold. Get a dart. Throw the dart at the map, and make your destination the place where the dart lands. It’s great to plan a trip to somewhere you’ve never been and would otherwise never go. You can find fun and adventure anywhere you go. The first time I did it, we ended up going to Fowler, Kansas. It was a great little town that I would have never, ever seen otherwise.”
—Benny Tadford, Youngstown, Ohio, retired for 3 years
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“Retirement is ideal for day trips: the beach, amusement parks (without kids!), or antiquing in nearby villages.”
—T.S., Tampa, Fla., retired for 12 years
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© 2006, Hundreds of Heads Books, Inc.