Have a Nice Mid-Life Crisis!

Not so much a crisis, more a winter of discontent. I had a good career. I was pretty good at it, and I was making money. The only problem was I wasn’t excited about going to work. I decided to do something, but wasn’t sure what. I am only 53 so retirement just was not a good idea. I have way too much energy to go that direction. I could have gone into another field that was more lucrative, but I doubt it would have made me happy.

The Wife and I Have the Bug!

My wife Sandy kept telling me the same thing when I was in the aforementioned funk: “Do something in travel! You always come alive when you plan our trips, and you are so good at it! You would make a great travel agent.” Sandy and I both have the travel bug pretty bad. We have been planning and saving to fit more travel and more exotic travel into our lives for some time. What she kept telling me made sense, but I was not sure how I could practically go about implementing it.

Watch Me Sail Around the World!

When Sandy and I met way back in the seventies that cute young lady with long blond hair I was getting serious with showed me the most interesting brochure. It was for this college program called Semester at Sea. It is this amazing semester aboard a ship taking college classes (for credit) while you sail around the world! A Magellan cruise for college credit? It looked so cool, but there was no way I could afford it. She decided to forego this awesome program to be with me.

Flash forward to 2004 and Sandy and I are parents of two lovely young ladies, one of which is half way through her studies at ASU. She was majoring in Travel and Tourism. When she told us she wanted to go on Semester at Sea, we strongly encouraged her. She knew we had considered it all those years back. We followed her journey with interest and a bit of jealousy.

During her trip I did my usual travel help. I found her and a friend a really cool hostel in Beijing. I found 5 girls a cheap hostel in Oaska and one in Tokyo that were not so nice but fit the budget. I just love doing that type of stuff. This is why my wife who knows me oh so well kept telling me: “Go travel young man.” That, and the perks that might come for both of us if I became a travel consultant!

Next Time: Every Journey Has Unexpected Turns.