We Are Seasoned Travelers

One of the best days of my life!

Since I've been with Earl, I've done more traveling than I ever dreamed of. I am now officially a seasoned traveler. In mid-March we were in Miami. It was much fun. For the first time ever I under packed and it was a good thing we did a little shopping so I had something to wear for the last two days of the trip. I had room in my suitcase for Earl's first prize golf trophy, too.

I have a travel checklist in my iPhone so that I remember all of the basics. Very helpful. I check my Weather Channel app for a 10-day forecast so I know what kind of clothes to pack.

We bought one of those big framed wall maps from a catalog. The map has little magnetic dots to mark every place we've visited. It looks fairly impressive these days.

My bucket list trip is a European tour. Paris, Italy and London.

The last weekend of March we were in Boston. I was excited about this trip for two reasons. One, I got to see a branch of my family that I haven't seen in years. Oh, we've chatted on the phone and exchanged Christmas cards. Even Face Booked, Twittered and texted the young ones. But nothing is like laying eyeballs on your loved ones. The hugs are great, too. The memories are forever. Two, I'd never been to Boston and I wanted to see some of the places I'd read about in the Robert Parker books.

The most exciting trip we've taken so far was the South African tour a couple years ago. Three weeks of brand new adventures. Three days of 2-a-day safaris, an elephant ride safari and the Blue Train were the highlights of the trip for me. Google Blue Train and you will see that it is spectacular.

The hubby insists that we take our passports everywhere we go, even though we're not leaving the country. Just in case the end of the world comes or there is a national disaster we will be ready. We've learned the value of GPS in our travels. Never again to get lost.

I like to chill out by the pool while Earl is golfing. Golf tournaments are the main reason for most of our travels. He will travel just about anywhere to play golf. Like Tunica Mississippi. Haven't been there yet, but it's a possibility. I look forward to checking out my mother's gambling stomping grounds. She and her road dogs would take the gambling bus from St. Louis to Tunica as often as possible. The trips ended when gambling became legal in Missouri.

Until recently, I really enjoyed the spas. Now I have to avoid extreme temperatures - no jacuzzi or steam room. No massaging the swollen arm. Sheesh, that leaves nothing to do at the spa. Kind of a bummer. Maybe a mani-pedi. I'll just have to find other activities.

I would take a half empty suitcase to San Marcos, Texas for the golf tournament there. San Marcos has the largest outdoor outlet mall in America. Umm hmm. It would take weeks to go into every store. Lucky for me, I've had about 5 visits to shop there. I go with a list of regular stuff and then there are always the surprise finds. I was really disappointed when that tournament ended. The best thing about the tournaments, though, is the good friends I've met along the way.

My very first trip was when I arrived in L.A. to live with Earl. I was back in L.A. for less than a week, when I packed up to meet him in Wendover, Utah. He was doing a movie called Con Air. It was all new for me. Meeting movie stars, flying on a chartered plane and riding home in a limo. Heady stuff for a girl from St. Louis' north side.

Our latest trip to Atlanta was enjoyable as always. A long weekend for golf of course, with an extra day to hang out with local friends. We also got to visit with our L.A. friends who are so busy at home that we only get to spend quality time together when we are out of town. Hanging out until 2 in the morning.

The Atlanta trip ended with the death of my large red suitcase. The baggage handlers broke the zipper during the Boston trip. I used it one more time and that's all she wrote. That bag served me well. Especially in Africa when we could only carry 44 pounds on and off all of those trains and planes.

Glad to be home for a while to rest up and catch up on things on the homefront. Next trip will be to St. Louis for my niece's wedding. Can't wait!