The Traveling Widower

Tag: travel-tips

  • Trip Planning for 2026



    After the last burst of caves and tunnels, I pretty much ran out of ideas and energy for any more of these mini-trips. It’s not that there aren’t any places of interest to visit in the area (well, maybe there aren’t….this is the Sacramento Valley), I’m just kind of burned out on long drives by myself. It was nice having friends along on two of the trips but most of the remaining places on my list require an overnight or two.

    And there is one other problem – August 17th is fast approaching and that would have been our 50th anniversary. Last year I was still in shock, and I do not recall what I did on what would have been our 49th anniversary.  Jan so wanted to make it to our 50th, and we had planned a trip starting in Portugal, traveling to Spain, and then across to Morocco – this anniversary is hitting me harder than I was expecting. My solution will be the same as what I did for the one year anniversary of her passing – head to the coast, and do some of the fun things we did together. Definitely a whale tour, and possibly kayaking in the Elkhorn Slough with the sea otters. That will keep me from going down the rabbit hole of grief. A martini or two on that evening will help.  

    Kayaking in Elkhorn Slough

    What I have been doing the past few weeks is scheduling trips for 2026, and considering some adventures for 2027. My experience with having a potential diagnosis of a life threatening cancer, which fortunately was a lab mistake, made me reconsider my priorities for the next few years. Once you hit your 70’s, you have to start considering that mortality thing. And also realize that your physical condition can change very fast. I’m doing OK for an old fart, still have all my original body parts and a mostly functional brain. But all that can change in a flash. So I’m planning to schedule the more adventurous trips on my bucket list in the next 2 or 3 years – that would include an African safari, and anything that requires more serious hiking, kayaking and snorkeling. If I remain healthy as I get further along in years, that’s great. If not, I can switch to more cruise oriented trips, and have lots of good memories without the could-woulda-shoudas about the trips I never was able to do.  

    My itinerary, so far, through 2026 is:

    • Alaska Inner Passages (September 25)
    • Colorado – Manitou Incline (September/October 25)
    • Antarctica (November 25)
    • Glamping with Gray Whales in Baja (February 26)
    • National Geographic Iceland “Expedition” (July 26)
    • Photographing Grizzly Bears/Kodiak Island (August 26)
    • National Geographic Patagonia “Expedition” (November 26)

    I’m also considering an adventurous photography trip to Costa Rica for 2026/2027 – plenty of room on the calendar to fit that in. 

    I’ll be filling the in-between months with more domestic trips such as another attempt at “The Wave” and other hikes in Utah/Arizona, snorkeling/kayaking trips to Florida – I’ve got my stack of catalogs and a long bucket list of domestic things to see, that will keep me busy traveling, expanding my photo libraries, and writing new blog posts for a while.

    I’m just not ready for those Viking river cruises yet. 

  • Where to now?

    Looking into my cloudy crystal ball for the future of this blog. Where to go next? 

    Travel Catalogs Galore – so many choices

    So unlike a lot of blogs, where the author(s) posts on current events, politics, hobbies or other newsworthy items on a regular basis, my blog posts will be triggered by events which get me out of my house for at least a day, and involve hiking, photography, or some other outdoor adventure. I wish I could guarantee posts at least on a weekly basis, but there will be gaps in my travel schedule, where I need to do more mundane tasks like medical related appointments (I’m old), financial tasks like paying taxes, and just hanging around and resting from long trips. I no longer seem to take vacations to relax – I need to recuperate after 12 days of hiking, or from jet lag.  I am writing this particular post on one of the down-time periods, and it may be a couple of weeks before I venture out and have anything of interest to post. The one thing I don’t want to happen is to lose interest, as I have done with a few blog attempts in the past, or to just had a short term site like I had with Half-Dome blog I launched 9 years ago.

    Fortunately, I do have plans for more adventures in the next few months. Travel is a necessity for me – I hate being alone at home.  I am currently booked on a National Geographic trip to the Alaska Inner Passage in late August, Antarctica in November, and two interesting trips (more whales, Kodiak grizzly bears) so far in 2026. I’m also planning on a few semi-local trips in the area, places I have not been to and now have the time. I live in California, close to Nevada, and there may be one or two places I have not been to before. Plus, I have that big pile of travel catalogs to go thru for 2026 and beyond – Patagonia? Iceland? So many choices. And home is no longer where I want to be for very long – too many memories of a life I long for but can no longer have. Travel helps to fill that void. The life of a widower.