Tag travel

Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 4

Reg Spittle 2 Comments

If you have walked a distance trek, then you have felt the bittersweet experience of your final steps. I was overwhelmed when I turned the corner from the Tiber River and glimpsed St. Peter’s Basilica, the end of the Way of St. Francis. We had done it! My achy legs and feet cheered the end of our toughest walk yet. Later, my eyes welled up as I folded my trusty trekking poles while Sue and I sat on a step in the square. What now?

Following the steps of revered Saint Francis, Sue and I walked 23 days, 258 miles, 80,000 feet in elevation during spring in 2018. Many days were sunny, three or four were scorching, two left us drenched. It is one of three major Christian pilgrimages, but we saw few fellow trekkers, even none a couple of days as we walked from Tuscany east to the Umbrian mountains, then south and southwest to Rome. No other Americans, until we met an American tourist who snapped our photo at Vatican City.

When we turned the corner from the trail along the Tiber River, St. Peter’s welcomed us from a distance. Inside, guards checked our pilgrim passport and ushered us into an inner chapel where a Catholic official checked our stamps and issued our Testimonium. I may not be an authentic pilgrim, but it was still a magic moment. We kept searching St. Peter’s Square for other trekkers/pilgrims, but there were none.

Italy. Italians. Italian villages. Italian food. Italian scenery. All added charm to the Way of St. Francis, my number four retirement adventure. The trek pitched some good arguments to be number one, but three other adventures were even more noteworthy.

If you want to further explore the Way of St. Francis and three other European trails, check out my second book, Trippin’ Through My 60s: When Adventure Calls, the Trails of Europe Answer. The other three treks: Scotland’s West Highland Way, England’s South West Coast Path, and the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 6

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In 2016, we plunged into the world of RVing. By spring of 2017, without having mastered the art of hookups nor the skill of guiding our Rockwood Mini travel trailer into camping sites, Sue and I climbed into our Toyota Tacoma and headed to Arizona with only one other definite stop: Charleston, West Virginia, where we visited our son Chris and his girlfriend Gail.

The tow police questioned our choice of trucks. Some asked, “How does that tow for ya?” when they actually meant, “You’re towing that with that?” But Taco never let us down and actually became quite attached to Minnie, aka Mini.

Recognize these places? Sedona, Bowie, Chiricahua, Saguaro, Asheville, Warm Springs, Badlands, and Charleston, South Carolina? There were many more highlights. We used our hiking shoes often and Minnie’s favorite spot was South Dakota’s Black Hills (Can’t you tell in the photo above?).

In the Hill Country of Texas, we rode out a tornado warning in Taco, where we buckled up for safety. He thanked us for not leaving him alone by running to the restroom to ride out the storm in a shelter with a foundation. We learned the art of reverse hookups in Texas, when the sewer, water, and electric hookups were on the opposite side, meaning we had to somehow string pipes and wires under Minnie. They barely reached.

After twenty-five states, 9,833 miles, and 61 days, I wrote:

“Was it easy? Absolutely not, but the best trips have challenges. Call us crazy, but we think overcoming hardships is part of the joy of travel. Towing a trailer into a hard wind is no fun, but the smell of coffee from your own kitchen each morning is a dividend.”