Retired and not having the desire to travel

Roadwarrior:
Have read you travel adventures with interest,
Once retired had intentions of driving through Colorado, Montana, Idaho and Dakotas-love mountains. I also have strong interest in
being a rock hound.
Not to be-spouse develop cancer, lingered five years.
Tell us about Idaho, seems remote, desolate...

I'm a rock hound. I thought I was in heaven in South Dakota. The first time we went to the Black Hills, I climbed over the gate at the back of the RV park into the state forest and discovered all the quartz just laying around, I about died of joy.

You can legally remove two gallon buckets of quartz per day. Of course, I didn't have a bucket with me....or a back pack....or even a bag. I did, however, have pockets, which I filled to capacity. Which was fine, until I got back to the park and was half-way over the tall gate when the weight of the quartz made my jeans fall down to my knees. In front of several people, of course. Well, it was let 'em fall or let me fall...… I chose showing my butt rather than broken bones. I don't know which was pinker....the quartz or my cheeks.
 

Pecos:
Ug! Thanks, but still Ug...reminds me of those that dine on Puffer Fish, knowing the possible consequences
Lot of rattlesnake served in my part of the world; its more for the brag than the taste. (Taste like chicken
 

I once ate rattlesnake chili. With all of the other ingredients included in the soup, I couldn’t taste the meat. I did notice the texture was different. Kind of course and a little chewy, not much, but tougher than a piece of cheap roast, like Chuck Roast.
 
I once ate rattlesnake chili. With all of the other ingredients included in the soup, I couldn’t taste the meat. I did notice the texture was different. Kind of course and a little chewy, not much, but tougher than a piece of cheap roast, like Chuck Roast.
That doesn't sound too bad as long as they didn't include the heads.
 
Snake Alley? Where they have individual play with toxic snakes--What is it?
Snake Alley is a few blocks long with vendor stands selling what the Taiwanese people refer to as delicacies. Some of the food items that I saw were turtle and snake meat, drinks of different breeds of snakes' blood and deer ***** wine. Most of the customers that I saw were foreigners. I don’t know if it’s still in operation or not. I did taste the cobra blood, but nothing else. I only did it to be sociable with my hosts. One very small sip was enough for me.
 
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I'm glad I'm not the only one who would rather stay home and sleep in my own bed. I must have been born minus the travel gene because I haven't ever liked it. During my working years, travel was on the agenda way too often. I learned to take my own pillow along in order to get a decent night's sleep. Occasionally I'd have to share a room with a colleague, which was usually okay, but on one trip I got really unlucky and had to bunk with a woman who snored like a freight train. Wrapping the pillow around my head didn't begin to drown out the racket. It was so bad that I got another room at my own expense.

I worked in Germany for a while and that was bearable because I was actually living there. I did get lucky enough to go on two three-week vacations in Europe. That was fine because I was in each of the places visited for at least few days at a time, long enough to unpack, wander around the neighborhoods, do some sightseeing, chat with the locals. The only country I didn't get to that I'd have liked to visit is Luxembourg because it's a country with a 100% literacy rate and 100% of its citizens vote.

Now? Blech. Living out of a suitcase appeals to me less than it ever did. A one-week trip is tentatively planned to my hometown next summer, and while I want to see family, the prospect of traveling to get there is...I dunno...daunting.
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one who would rather stay home and sleep in my own bed. I must have been born minus the travel gene because I haven't ever liked it. During my working years, travel was on the agenda way too often. I learned to take my own pillow along in order to get a decent night's sleep. Occasionally I'd have to share a room with a colleague, which was usually okay, but on one trip I got really unlucky and had to bunk with a woman who snored like a freight train. Wrapping the pillow around my head didn't begin to drown out the racket. It was so bad that I got another room at my own expense.

I worked in Germany for a while and that was bearable because I was actually living there. I did get lucky enough to go on two three-week vacations in Europe. That was fine because I was in each of the places visited for at least few days at a time, long enough to unpack, wander around the neighborhoods, do some sightseeing, chat with the locals. The only country I didn't get to that I'd have liked to visit is Luxembourg because it's a country with a 100% literacy rate and 100% of its citizens vote.

Now? Blech. Living out of a suitcase appeals to me less than it ever did. A one-week trip is tentatively planned to my hometown next summer, and while I want to see family, the prospect of traveling to get there is...I dunno...daunting.
Gosh, Georgia, you sound so much like me its eery! I've often thought if we had that "beam me up Scotty" thing on Star Trek it would make traveling so much easier. Do not care about it except for short trips. Do wish I was a better traveler though, don't you?
 
Liberty...nope! Don't even give a rat's rear anymore ;)
The main reason I'd like to travel better is driving to see the kids...its a long way away and when we get there they tend to treat us like "old rock stars"...lol. They come down a lot, but if I traveled better, it would be easier and more "fun" to go up there more often. Of course, now winter is coming up there in Ohio and we don't "do cold". Ha ha. It does have its "perks", after all, too.
 
I would still like to travel if I could. Since I grew up in northern Idaho and lived in both Idaho and Washington most of my life, I really miss being out there.
Both of my sons still live out west, and my daughter lives here in Alabama (which is why I ended up out here), and we usually go out to Spokane about once a year, so we can visit the rest of the family who still live out there.
If I could do it, I would take another cross-country train trip, just to see more of America, and I really love traveling by train.
 
I would still like to travel if I could. Since I grew up in northern Idaho and lived in both Idaho and Washington most of my life, I really miss being out there.
Both of my sons still live out west, and my daughter lives here in Alabama (which is why I ended up out here), and we usually go out to Spokane about once a year, so we can visit the rest of the family who still live out there.
If I could do it, I would take another cross-country train trip, just to see more of America, and I really love traveling by train.
If I might ask ...what did you enjoy about traveling by train? Assume you meant more than by car or flying, right? Thanks for letting me know. We've not traveled much by train.
 
I would still like to travel if I could. Since I grew up in northern Idaho and lived in both Idaho and Washington most of my life, I really miss being out there.
Both of my sons still live out west, and my daughter lives here in Alabama (which is why I ended up out here), and we usually go out to Spokane about once a year, so we can visit the rest of the family who still live out there.
If I could do it, I would take another cross-country train trip, just to see more of America, and I really love traveling by train.
I agree, I slept like a baby on a train on the two occasions when I crossed the country that way.
 
Gosh, Georgia, you sound so much like me its eery! I've often thought if we had that "beam me up Scotty" thing on Star Trek it would make traveling so much easier. Do not care about it except for short trips. Do wish I was a better traveler though, don't you?
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Georgia and Liberty you both must be my kindred spirits LOL!
 
I have no desire to travel anymore.

I have a hard time traveling the 30 miles to Wal Mart and the 120 to my mothers...I'm good.
 
I adore travelling by train...there's more room than on a plane, and no stress about driving and heavy traffic problems... you get to see all the countryside, and sit and relax with a book or a computer..

Sadly it would cost too much to travel by train from here to Spain where my daughter lives so we fly , but we have travelled to France, and to Scotland by train, and we live on the edge of London, so we regularly travel into the city by train..and I love it!! 🚋

..I love travelling..it's just the airports I hate!!

ETA...we also spend a lot of time travelling by train when we're overseas....
 
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If I might ask ...what did you enjoy about traveling by train? Assume you meant more than by car or flying, right? Thanks for letting me know. We've not traveled much by train.

I enjoy traveling pretty much however I do it, and there are benefits and drawbacks to just about any way that you want to travel. There are several reasons that I like the train, and @hollydolly has pretty much mentioned all of them, too.
The longest train trip that I have ever taken was from northern Idaho out to Virginia to visit my daughter when she was stationed near Norfolk, VA.
The train does not follow where a highway goes, so sometimes we were deep in the mountain passes, or going through the plains, and no houses or cars anywhere around.
The train has an observation car (used to be called a VistaDome), where you sit in kind of a glass bubble on top of the main deck of the train, and you can see everything from up there, in all directions.
I loved being able to watch the front and the back of the train, and when we were going to go through a tunnel, you could just see the whole train disappearing into the tunnel, car by car.

With a train, you can easily get up and walk around,so it is not like being confined to a seat like you are with most travel modes. I enjoyed walking up to the dining car in the mornings and having a fresh cup of hot coffee served in nice cups and silverware that is actual silver plate and not stainless steel.
There was also a snack bar where you could get sandwiches and pop or other snack food, and I carried protein bars along with me in my travel bag, so that helped to save on food costs.

For one part of the trip, I had a sleeping roomette, and that was pretty nice, too.
Not a lot of room, but an actual little bed, and private.
In the dining car, I visited with other travelers, and learned that train travel is something that seniors are doin a lot of. One couple said they do their vacation each year by train, and had sold their motor home.
They stopped wherever they wanted to visit, and either rented a car or used Uber to get around while they were visiting a city. They didn’t have to drive, try to find a nice motel or RV campground at night, and could both just relax and enjoy the scenery.

Amtrak has specials where you can buy a ticket for a certain amount of time (say 2 weeks or a month), and then get on and off the train anywhere along the route that you have chosen,sightsee, and then get back on another train when you re ready to leave and go somewhere else.
I would totally LOVE to have a month to spend, just riding around America and seeing places where I have never been.
 
I enjoy traveling pretty much however I do it, and there are benefits and drawbacks to just about any way that you want to travel. There are several reasons that I like the train, and @hollydolly has pretty much mentioned all of them, too.
The longest train trip that I have ever taken was from northern Idaho out to Virginia to visit my daughter when she was stationed near Norfolk, VA.
The train does not follow where a highway goes, so sometimes we were deep in the mountain passes, or going through the plains, and no houses or cars anywhere around.
The train has an observation car (used to be called a VistaDome), where you sit in kind of a glass bubble on top of the main deck of the train, and you can see everything from up there, in all directions.
I loved being able to watch the front and the back of the train, and when we were going to go through a tunnel, you could just see the whole train disappearing into the tunnel, car by car.

With a train, you can easily get up and walk around,so it is not like being confined to a seat like you are with most travel modes. I enjoyed walking up to the dining car in the mornings and having a fresh cup of hot coffee served in nice cups and silverware that is actual silver plate and not stainless steel.
There was also a snack bar where you could get sandwiches and pop or other snack food, and I carried protein bars along with me in my travel bag, so that helped to save on food costs.

For one part of the trip, I had a sleeping roomette, and that was pretty nice, too.
Not a lot of room, but an actual little bed, and private.
In the dining car, I visited with other travelers, and learned that train travel is something that seniors are doin a lot of. One couple said they do their vacation each year by train, and had sold their motor home.
They stopped wherever they wanted to visit, and either rented a car or used Uber to get around while they were visiting a city. They didn’t have to drive, try to find a nice motel or RV campground at night, and could both just relax and enjoy the scenery.

Amtrak has specials where you can buy a ticket for a certain amount of time (say 2 weeks or a month), and then get on and off the train anywhere along the route that you have chosen,sightsee, and then get back on another train when you re ready to leave and go somewhere else.
I would totally LOVE to have a month to spend, just riding around America and seeing places where I have never been.
My husband says the train stations are in really bad areas of towns, and that's why he doesn't want to travel by train. He also doesn't think they are very safe...lots of accidents. Sigh.
 
My husband says the train stations are in really bad areas of towns, and that's why he doesn't want to travel by train. He also doesn't think they are very safe...lots of accidents. Sigh.
I can see where that might be possible. Most train stations are older buildings and would often be in the heart of town at this point. However, I don’t thing that they would be necessarily dangerous, unless you were in some city with a lot of crime, like maybe Chicago. You would normally not even be getting off of the train, so would be perfectly safe going through just about anywhere, and if the places where you do stop to visit are smaller towns, then the train depot should be safe there, too.
I didn’t have any problems with that on my trip. I did go through Chicago , and had to change trains there, but only had to go from one train to the next one, and not inside of the train depot at all.
Just don’t go to visit any city with a lot of crime, and you should be just fine with train travel.

As far as train accidents, those don’t happen often, and when they do, it seems to be with an oil tanker, not a passenger train.
 
Oh wow, that's not the case here or in most of Europe!!
Yes, the issue is the railways are old here and freeways were built so cars became the norm.
We could get on the westbound Amtrac in Houston (H-town), going to LA , but its in a crappy neighborhood - like the bus station. Lots of nice, small towns to stop at, like Alpine & Marfra - in west Texas, but its getting to and from the station that my husband is talking about.

We've stayed in vintage railroad cars - representing the old movie stars - in Indianapolis - at Victoria Station -as "hotel rooms" but these rehab'd train station areas are few and far between from what we've seen, and we have traveled extensively.

When living up north we took the "rapid transits" in Cleveland, and rode the trains in NYC. That wasn't the most pleasant experience - they were necessities, not like the cross country trains.
 
I still love / like to travel. I really like road trips and love to drive and stopping along the way, though last earlier this year I was driving down to Arizona and the interstates in Montana and Idaho were horrible. One lane open with 2 feet of snow. Saw a few cars flying into the ditch.
I have a daughter in London, so I have been to Europe a few times. I absolutely hate plane travel, it is like licensed torture. All the waiting, security, trying to get on with your carry on bags, the extra ridiculous fees, etc, etc. But if you wanna go, it is the only way to get there.
I really liked the Eurostar train from London to Paris though, smooth, clean, 180 mph. And the French train system is pretty good to get to the Mediterranean coast.

BUT, travelling is a friggin quick way to drain a wallet!I15.jpg
Interstate I-15, not a good drive!
 
I have travelled to about 65 countries since my high school days. I still love travel but have almost given up now. I am in my 70s. I get so tired of all the hassles at airports. I get tired of watching everyone staring at their cell phones all the time & watching bad movies in airplanes. I remember the days when people actually talked to you as you travelled. I remember when they served you a meal when you flew instead of silly little bags of peanuts. There are just too many young couples travelling with 2 or 3 month old babies. Then there is the noise factor of many places such as Mexico. Barking dogs don't help. Don't like tourist traps. Can't imagine going on a cruise ship with 5,000 people. Tourists are over priced. As a Canadian I can't afford the medical insurance to go to the USA. These days I am more interested in road trips. Might head out to BC next summer & The Yukon. Tourism has become a big business & you are just a commodity.
 


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