Throughout most of my adult life I have had the passion and good fortune to travel extensively both on, and off, the beaten path. Outside of the baffling, sometimes impenetrable barriers of officialdom around the world, the only real restriction to my travelling was the miserly vacation time doled out by the various enterprises both DH and I toiled so diligently for.
This particular speed bump forced a travelling pace that was sometimes uncomfortable and it also led to some choices around potential secondary sights and experiences. That was then, and this is now! We have both 'retired' early- a little sooner than originally planned but the stars aligned and we're going to try to take advantage- we might not get a second chance. Like many, our work defined us and we debated the wisdom of getting out of the race this early but ultimately we've decided to take an extended break to do the kind of slow and spontaneous travel we've always wanted to do. Looking for WOW's of all sizes.
And if you're going to go, then go BIG. We sold the house, the cars, some of the lifetime accumulation of stuff (and gave away the rest). Admittedly I got a little misty-eyed when I left my well-worn hockey equipment in a trash bag at the end of the driveway (you don't sell or give away well-worn hockey equipment- it's toxic material) but if it didn't fit into a backpack it had to go. Not having anywhere to retreat to should keep us focused on moving forward.
Having absolutely no long term plans I'm sure that once we've tired of the traveling we'll figure out what to do, and where to do it- we might even find our calling as we wander the planet.
