Don't Let an Old Person Ruin Your Dream Trip

You may be at risk of your adventure turning into a bad dream if you wait too long to get out there.

Scenes from the trail: day two of me hiking in Sedona when I was much better prepared and realistic about my distance!

I’ve got to remember something next time I eagerly start off on a pleasant afternoon hike in a scenic place where I’m enjoying one of my many adventures.

While my thoughts tell me I’m 20 years younger than I am, my body does not always agree.

On my visit in Sedona, AZ last week, let’s just say I got a little over-ambitious with my first hike in the red rocks. I “came in hot,” as the kids say, and without realizing it I had logged six miles of walking and exploring.

I really started to physically feel the impact of being unprepared for a longer-than-planned hike when I hit mile four. By the time I realized I needed to end my hike soon, I still had a couple of miles to go to return to my car.

While I’ve walked and hiked longer distances fairly recently, I didn’t take into account that the brutally cold and snowy January where I live full-time left little opportunity to prepare for this much mileage now.

My intentions, my muscle-memory of other hikes and half-marathon walks, and my spirit were all good to go. But the physical impact of lack of preparation on my 63-year-old body was a jarring reality check.

Let’s just say I suddenly felt old. And you know if you read this newsletter often, that’s not how I want to feel- either in mind or body.

While I can learn from this mishap and better prepare my physical body next time I decide to wander off on a hike, I’ve been aware for some time now that I also need to prep my thoughts to best endure the growing challenges that traveling in general brings us now.

As I tell others and remind myself before a trip: “Remember how great the “being there” is. It’s just the coming and going that really suck.”

So, I thought I’d remind you that while you’re doing what’s right by saving up money and work-free time before you start traveling in your country or throughout the world, you’re also creating a situation where an older person - you in several years- is going to be the one taking your long-awaited trip.

Here’s some ideas to keep your youthful exuberance in top shape to be prepared for a long-awaited dream trip that may still be several years in the future.

Pack Patience in Your Carry-on Bag

I love my many adventures I take each year to both far away new countries and new and favorite places in the U.S. I don’t want to sit out traveling just because as I grow older, I’m likely to become more set in my ways.

I can tell I now feel more aggravated by situations and people outside the boundaries of my comfort zone than I used to. Add to that a world of people that seem more self-absorbed and too often unaware of how to be courteous when sharing very tight spaces with hundreds of other people.

Maybe I’m more critical because I’m older, or maybe the world has become less polite. I think it’s both. But I’m the only one of those two factors that I can improve in order to have an enjoyable trip.

I want to be out and among the many people and places in the world, but I can’t change much about those many people and places. I prefer to change me and my thoughts so I can better adapt to be among those people and places.

I can still feel irritation when the person next to me on a long flight settles into his seat, kicks off his shoes, and opens the lid of an onion-laced salad he’s going to eat about 18 inches away from me.

I will always think this is super rude to do to fellow passengers on a very crowded flight. But a flight attendant isn’t going to respond to my complaints and make my neighbor throw out his salad and put on his shoes.

So, to better enjoy my much-anticipated trip, I’ve learned to just let it go. I put the irritation out of my mind to think instead about how lucky I am to be able to take my trip plus all of the cool things I’m going to experience while on my adventure.

If it’s been a while since you’ve traveled, you may not realize that it’s now the norm to sit on jam-packed planes in smaller seats with people wearing pajama pants and slippers. (I’m very happy for you if you’ve got the status for a first-class upgrade. But there’s more than the flight that can be irritating so read on).

You’ll also spend a good deal of time in slow-moving lines, pay upcharges for just about everything, find bathrooms that are closed or untidy, eat food that is less than tasty, and encounter people who, well, behave selfishly.

Part of your dream trip planning should include modifying expectations that nothing will go wrong. Pack a huge supply of patience and restraint to prepare for those really trying situations you encounter, then you can celebrate with joy when they don’t.

Choose These Travel Companions

I have found so much joy traveling with gratitude, curiosity and a sense of humor. Cultivating these and working to keep them constant in my thoughts keeps me in shape for the best travel adventures in the years to come.

Sure, I get flustered and upset when something goes wrong when I’m traveling. But I’ve also had a lot of fun recalling the times those blunders became interesting adventures.

Being able to laugh later about experiences like getting lost walking in a strange city yet ending up in a little out-of-the way restaurant with the nicest staff and amazing food make some of my most valuable travel memories. Often, it’s the imperfect circumstances and the unplanned situations that leave a more lasting impression on our memories than the well-executed and presented meal at a Michelin four-star restaurant.

I also keep with me a sense of gratitude for being able to see and do things I’ve dreamed about since I was young. Less focus on the perfection and more focus on how I’m feeling when I’m able to watch the sunset over the Nile River near Aswan, Egypt. Or when I viewed a rainbow of colorful fish an arm’s length away while snorkeling near Kona, Hawaii.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself to know these things I’ve done were not just in a dream.

I’ve sailed in the sunset on The Nile near Aswan, Egypt on a Felucca boat. Remembering this, I forget about some of the trip’s inconveniences.

Being constantly curious and hungry to learn about the culture, history, and people of places far from where I live helps overcome any of the short-term inconveniences of traveling.

My curiosity has led me to make some wonderful friendships with people from around the world. The quest to learn and experience new things is so powerful that it helps me overcome the discomforts and inconveniences that travel sometimes creates.

The most important piece of travel gear you can carry is the mindset you bring with you. How you view the situations that happen while you’re adventuring around your region, country or the world is something you have total control over.

Don’t wait until the week before you leave to start “working out” your mindset! Get in shape now and you’ll be in prime condition when your dream adventure date is finally here.

---