By Gary Geyer
Every year around this time, my wife Linda and I plan a vacation.
Nothing too exciting, just relaxing. This year we decided it was going to be different.
To tell you the truth, we were bored.
Relaxing on a chaise lounge by a pool is great but, been there, done that.
We were ready for an adventure. Now don’t get me wrong, we weren’t looking for alligator wrestling in the Bayou, or rappelling down Everest.
We were looking for something (what our travel agent called) life enhancing. Something experiential and a vacation we would never forget.
Let’s get physical
Okay, that’s all well and good. But first we had to decide how physical we wanted to get. That was important because one person’s idea of rockin’-and-a-rollin’ is another person’s snooze in the shade. We found out that travel experts separate adventure travel into two separate categories: Soft adventure and Hard adventure. (Sounds pornographic but it’s not.)
Easy, or difficult?
When they say “soft”, they are referring to activities such as snorkeling, fly fishing, horseback riding, walking and bicycle touring. “Hard”, on the other hand, includes activities that are somewhat more adventurous; like whitewater rafting, rock climbing, mountain biking, and even hang gliding. Of course there are different levels of each activity, so don’t necessarily run for cover. (Easy hang gliding? Yeah, right.)
Looking for ways to enjoy life
There’s no doubt about it, people in our age group can look forward to longer healthier lives than our parents had. So, as long as we have the money to spend, we are going to look for ways to enjoy life. Adventure travel seemed like a great way to keep our minds alert and the blood moving through our veins.
How are you feeling?
And while we’re on that subject, we wanted to make sure we knew what we were getting into. We have our health to consider. Checking first with our doctors was a no-brainer. Also, we were advised to call the tour operators directly and discuss what we were looking for and ask what we could expect. We were told to be upfront with them, and discuss the state of our health. That included chronic conditions such as bad backs and weak knees; and what medications we take, and dietary requirements we have. (I’m allergic to peanuts and shellfish, Linda watches her cholesterol.)
An adventure of another sort
While we were trying to decide which adventure would be right for us, Linda had a brilliant idea. (Although I wasn’t sure at the time.) Why not take our grandkids with us? With everybody’s life going a mile-a-minute, and everyone running off in different directions, we hardly get any time with them at all. Here’s a chance to really get to know them (and they us). It could be the vacation of a lifetime, one that we would always remember. It certainly was worth considering.
So what did we do?
It took us a few weeks, but we finally decided on a rafting adventure on the Salmon River, in Idaho. Unbelievable! We haven’t stopped talking about it. Yes, we took the grandkids and that turned out to be the best thing ever. The river was exciting, the scenery breathtaking, and Linda and I have a million stories.
But I’ll save those for a future article. <<
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