Grandpa and I have spent our adult married life traveling the world, concentrating on the man made and natural wonders of the world and world heritage sites. We have climbed Machu Picchu and the rice terraces in rural China. We have seen the sun rise over Anghor Wat and the Taj Mahal and the moais on Easter Island. We had paid for a trip to see the pyramids in December of the year the uprising in Egypt occurred and went to South America instead.
Travel plans have continued to be stymied from that point forward. A planned trip to Russia went by the wayside due to the invasion of Ukraine. A planned trip to South Africa went by the wayside due to the unrest after Mandela’s death. The Middle East and Petra — well, wars and unrest has stymied that trip. Thinking about going back to Southern Europe and Sicily was stymied by the news of the unrest due to the mass influx of Syrian refugees to the boot of Italy and Slovenia and Croatia. Now mosquito born diseases, Ebola, Cholera,and other natural and man-made scares are scaring us away from other areas of the world.
We hope that these experiences are just postponed. Our “bucket list” remains unfulfilled. River cruises in safe areas of Europe are the rage of our previously adventurous friends in this decade of world rage. The idea of a safe river cruise is not “floating our boat” so to speak.
In the midst of uncertainty, Grandpa and I have blitzed the American national parks and our natural home beauty. We are practically done seeing the natural and man-made wonders of our beautiful land. We hope it is not we who are the world jinx and fires do not keep us from Yosemite this summer!
Can this Boomer Grandma continue to travel the world? I hope so. According to GG, age 84 is around the time when those who enter “old old” decide world travel is no longer for them. As a Boomer who is “young old,” according to GG (not me, who considers myself forever young), I hope the world takes a break from unrest sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, we see an Egyptian temple and small Sphinx statue from Egypt in the Metropolitan Museum in New York and dream of the real thing. We hope our children and grandchildren will also one day be able to experience the wonders of our world without fear for their personal safety and health. The U. S. Department of State world travel advisories are lengthy and frightening.
I really did not expect the world to be in the condition it is in in the 21st century! As part of the sixties love and peace generation, this Boomer Grandma wonders if any of us will be able to travel safely to the distant wonders of the world again. Being alive and safe to watch the milestones our grandchildren reach and to share their life passage events makes me more cautious. The closer I get to age 84, I might just throw caution to the wind! But, what if one of the grandchildren has a graduation or a wedding or a great-grandchild is coming. . . .those ARE comparable to the wonders of the world!
Joy,
Mema
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