Tag retirement

An Unexpected Passion

Reg Spittle 10 Comments

How did I get to this point in my life, more than 12 years after I left the working world?

Today, I share with you these words from carryoncouple.com, where my wife Sue traces our journey:

The headlines jump out at us daily — Find your passion…Create a more purposeful and fulfilling life.

Passion is such a strong, emotional word. Does everyone have a passion? What if I can’t find mine? Will I be happy if I’m not passionate about something…anything?

Reg and I have never dwelled on finding answers to these questions. We set goals, make plans and often make decisions as life’s pathways unfold before us. But then something interesting happened…

In 2013, not long after we had both retired, Reg and I walked Spain’s Camino de Santiago. Neither of us walked with expectations. We weren’t searching for healing or peace or direction. I just knew that we needed to do it. Reg wasn’t so sure, and may have been the most reluctant pilgrim on the Camino that year, but my stubborn enthusiasm opened a new world of interests and travel opportunities for us.

Passion had found us!


Since that fateful walk through Spain, we have become passionate about long distance walking, exploring some of the world’s most beautiful treks. I keep our carryoncouple blog up-to-date, sharing bits and pieces of our travels. We both started additional blogs; Reg posts book reviews and I share my favorite photos. Reg became serious about writing, publishing three separate books detailing our adventures. I’ve designed maps for his books as well as the covers.

Reg recently released his third book, (here’s a link) Hoofin’ It On The John Muir Trail, an adventure memoir recounting our 30-day trek through California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. This, along with his other two books, are available at Amazon.com.

In April we will set off on a couple new trekking adventures. One through Italy on the Via Francigena and another shorter walk on England’s Cotswolds Way. I hope you’ll follow along.

Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 2

Reg Spittle 4 Comments

Sue’s words transformed our lives.

It was 2012. We had just watched Martin Sheen’s movie The Way, in which the actor walks the 500-mile Camino de Santiago across Spain to honor his son’s memory. Played by real-life son Emilio Estevez, his son had died in a snowstorm during his first day on the trail. The movie was great, but I was blindsided by Sue’s delayed reaction.

“We should do it.”

I blurted out my response. “What? Walk 500 miles?” My head was spinning. I pictured sleeping and changing clothes in coed dorm rooms, showering in coed bathrooms, and carrying a backpack. My anxiety was in high gear.

“We can’t do that!” I thought my words would settle the issue.

I was wrong. So wrong. For months, Sue was a broken record.

“But what if we can?”

In spring 2013, our Merrell shoes carried us across Spain. My anxieties were quelled the first day when fellow pilgrims quickly became friends and I eventually put my fears where they belonged: in the rearview mirror. We made many newbie errors, but it didn’t matter much.

We have been walking distance trails ever since, building experiences and friendships that have formed powerful memories, leading me to again undertake the unexpected: I wrote my first book. It is Camino Sunrise: Walking With My Shadows. I have heard from readers in 10 countries and continue to feel honored every time someone orders a copy.

I am grateful that Sue never gave up on the Camino. She convinced me to take a huge risk. She showed me sometimes the best things in life come when we tread outside our comfort zone.

I hope I continue to find comfort in being uncomfortable the rest of my life.