In the past couple of years, my husband and I have taken a lot of trips. We are in our 40's, got married "later in life" (in our late 30's), and both have an interest in seeing and doing as much as we can in this world.
For the first few years of our life together, things were crazy - we lived in two different states, we bought a house together that needed rehabilitation from the ground up during the few hours a week my husband could visit and work on the house, we both had intense and busy full-time jobs, we got married (though thankfully we skipped the insanity-inducing extras with that), we took custody of my teenage step-son, we sold said house and I moved full-time to Cape Cod where I found another intense job, I got laid off, started a business... yes, life was a little out of control for quite some time. Don't get me wrong - it was (mostly) enjoyable and I wouldn't change a thing but it was hectic.
A couple of years ago we were offered the opportunity to go to Mexico for a week. My brother and sister in-law were attending a wedding and had rented a huge house on the water so we just had to get ourselves there. Neither of us had been to Mexico and although I had stamped my proverbial passport with nearly all 50 states in the US and my husband had traveled mostly outside of the US, we hadn't traveled all that much since we had gotten together. We leaped at the chance!
It was an incredible trip! We spent our days snorkeling in the crystal clear water checking out reefs and huge sea turtles, snorkeling in Dos Ojos Cenote, exploring the ruins in Tulum, lolling about on the beach or in the hammock reading. And we spent our nights dancing, eating fabulous food, drinking completely harmless and delicious local tequila. It was a trip we never thought we'd be able to take and yet, we managed to do it!
It opened our travel minds and soon we were planning our next big adventure! This past summer we spent two weeks traveling throughout Alaska. We rode ATVs in Denali, hiked the Wrangells, kayaked in Resurrection Bay, took glacier cruises to Meares and Northwest glaciers, saw Orca and Humpback whales, went to hot springs, drove 1,300 miles, saw bears, moose, lynx, ptarmigan - you name it! We borrowed my brother's truck and rented cabins etc along the way and sampled life in coastal Alaska and the Alaskan interior. It was an absolutely amazing trip!
I also managed to travel to Tennessee to see my brother's family twice this year, we go to Vermont every chance we get, and last weekend we went to New Hampshire for a quick little pre-Christmas getaway. We tend to take at least a short trip every 4-6 weeks whether it's to see friends in Maine or family in Connecticut - we're packing a bag and heading out!
Whenever I tell people what we've been up to, their jaws drop and they say "You travel more than any couple I know!" and we just smile. Why wouldn't we? We love to do it and we have the means to do it so what the heck?!
We know too many people that have spent years dreaming about "the trip" that they will take when they retire and then they retire and A) The money isn't there to take the trip or B) One or both people now have health problems that make traveling difficult or impossible. We don't want to be that couple. Why spend a lifetime dreaming about one trip when you can stretch a little and take several trips of a lifetime?!?
Where are we off to next? Well, the next big trip we would like to take is to Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. We are aiming for 2013 for this trip as 2012 already has two big trips planned - one to Missouri to visit family and another to a family camp in upstate New York with my husband's family. And of course, we'll continue with our quick trips as well.
Life is what you make it and we prefer an adventure that we are living to a dream that we are hoping to fulfill "someday".
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