Travel — Too Much Trouble?

      I’ve been away from home for a little over a week, with a week to go. We’ve had a good time. But honestly, traveling today is more trouble than it used to be.

     There’s the usual trouble of remembering car keys, room keys, iphone, reading glasses, distance glasses, bug spray, suntan lotion, my knee brace — the list goes on. The reason we carry so much stuff? It’s part of modern life (the iphone). And it’s part of the aging process (the glasses, the knee brace). 

We’re in Wisconsin, the dairy state

     Then there’s the more direct problem of aging. Everything seems to take a little longer, and is a little harder. The other night we went to an outdoor theater. That involved a quarter mile walk from the parking lot to the venue. Uphill. On a barely-improved path. It wasn’t too bad. But the point is, when I was younger I would scamper up the hill without giving it a thought. Now I’m trudging up with an aching knee.

     Our habits are also more set in their ways. Where are we going to have breakfast? Will they have the right food? I can’t handle heavy foods in the morning. Not anymore. No eggs or sausage. Cereal and orange juice and coffee. I prefer half-caff. I didn’t care in the slightest when I was younger. Now I’m more set in my ways.

     Then there are the problems caused by Covid. Our current hotel has two dining areas. One is indoors, And we’re not eating indoors. So we can’t go to that restaurant. The other option is an outdoor snack bar, with McDonald’s quality food. We had breakfast there one day. Ugh. Upset stomach. Not again. So today we’re heading into town to try to find something more to our liking.

     When I was growing up? I ate whatever they put in front of me. No questions, no complaints. But my system simply can’t handle an unaccustomed diet anymore.

Rockin’ in Spring Green, WI

     Is travel still worth it? Well, yesterday we took a tour of a Frank Lloyd Wright house (more on that next post). Then we went for a swim. We got to see our grandchild. We spent a couple of interesting hours at a Wisconsin historical museum. We went for a kayak trip.

     Last night we drove into town, took a walk around. We stumbled on a little park where an eight-piece band was playing a mini-concert. A local crowd. Some great music. We had dinner there — just some hot dogs and hamburgers off a grill. But it was great local flavor, in more ways than one.

     So, yes, it’s worth the trouble. Don’t you think? 

Tom Lashnits Writer, Blogger