The Traveling Widower

Tag: life

  • A Slightly Better Thanksgiving

    November 27th, 2025

    A man in a green t-shirt holds a martini glass while smiling at the camera, standing in front of a beautifully arranged dining table featuring a large roasted turkey, various side dishes, and candles, with an elegant restaurant backdrop.

    Thanksgiving has not been a happy day for me the past two years. In 2023, we were still in the hopeful stage that Jan might get a couple of good years, and that maybe a cure might be developed by then. I was not exactly in a thankful mood about anything, other than that she was still with me, and we could enjoy dinner (and life) together. For Thanksgiving 2024, Jan was gone for over 6 months. And I had just returned from the Galápagos Islands, and my brother had just died of undiagnosed, stage 4 liver cancer while I was away. Yeah, forget being thankful about anything.

    Fast forward another year. What have I got to be thankful for? Well, I’ve been on a lot of really interesting trips and seen some amazing places. Right now, I’m sitting in the forward lounge of a National Geographic/Lindblad expedition ship, watching as we approach the Argentine coast line which is free from glaciers, snow, ice and penguin poop. A welcome site after the past week in Antarctica. I should be thankful that I was able to go on such an incredible trip, and I am. But I still wish Jan had been with me…or at least that she was waiting for me at home. She never would have gone on this trip. 

    But, I’m past the awful stages of grieving, something else to be thankful for. Other than that, I’m thankful that I’ve had a strong support group of friends and family…a few more locally would be a good thing. I’m thankful and surprised that I’ve adapted enough the past year to be able to go off on my own and socialize with a ship full of strangers. Each trip does get easier.  

    And I’m thankful that my soul mate did such a great job with our financials, so that I can live this new life of mine as the travelingwidower.com. But I would rather that she were still here with me to enjoy all the travel. Something I’ll never get over. But, I’ve learned that As Good As It Gets is good enough for me.

    One more thing to be thankful for – they served a traditional Thanksgiving dinner tonight – nothing weird, and a marvelous pumpkin pie.

    Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving

    A rainbow arching over a calm ocean with cloudy skies and distant mountains.

  • The Arachnid Hotel and New Travel Rules

    The Arachnid Hotel and New Travel Rules

    Giant House Spider
    Giant House Spider…really, I’m not making that up

    I’m slowly learning a few rules about living with stress, or more like how to reduce stress when traveling. The last few weeks have really hit me hard physically – something about lack of sleep, emotional breakdowns and pushing myself too hard are taking a toll. I look like crap with big bags and dark circles under my eyes.  So I need to take it easy on this trip and maybe just relax, have some fun, and not worry about getting perfect pictures.

    But last night was not a good start. I decided to stay overnight in Seattle, so I’d just have the flight to Sitka in the morning. I’m glad I did that. I had forgotten about Labor Day weekend – not a good time to be traveling. At any rate, I booked a night at the airport Hilton Hotel – a nice place. Unfortunately, they gave me the Arachnid Suite, which comes with one of those big beauties (Giant House Spider) free of charge. I did not realize that until I came back from a pleasant dinner, and found this waiting patiently for me on the bed. I chased it off, but it managed to hide somewhere else in the room. Rather than risk spending a night with at least one 2” spider (it might have had friends), I called the front desk and they quickly moved me into an enormous suite – which was thankfully free of spiders. 

    So along with a new rule of never booking the Arachnid Suite in a hotel again, my other new rule is to do anything you can to avoid stress at the airport. Joining Clear was number one – it really made a difference traveling on a major holiday, especially in Seattle. What a zoo. The second rule is to pay for the airline lounge if you don’t get a complimentary pass. I’m writting this, sitting in a wonderful, relaxing Alaska Airline lounge, with a nice latte and a blueberry scone, watching the planes take off. The gates are all packed, with people sitting on the floor. Been there done that in my consulting days. It’s all about me now. 

    Time for another latte, and then head to the gate.