My wife and I travel a lot. We also avoid other couples who travel a lot. This is because travelers tend to be boring conversationalists. We’re inclined to talk too much about the places we’ve been and the destinations which the listener “just has to see.”
Over the years as we have traveled, my wife and I have steered clear of group tours and cruises; and when we’ve had no choice but to attach ourselves to a group to gain access to what we desired to see, we’ve gravitated away from time with fellow travelers and have sought out the people who serve those travelers…..guides, drivers, hotel clerks, waiters….. those who have lived their whole lives in the areas we’re visiting as well as the itinerants who have lived and worked in the travel/hospitality industry all over the world.
Many of the Alaskan locals we met recently – I dare say most — are really transplants from “The Lower 48.” Many of the idealistic or independent-minded young people have come to begin careers related to environmental sciences or tourism services. Many older folks have retired from their work in other states and, in “retirement,” have taken summer jobs – for example, driving buses filled with tourists – to savor Alaska’s beauty while they supplement their pensions.
The more I hear the stories of these alternative paths through work and retirement – the bona fide adventures of people who are actually living and working in far-away places — the blander the stories of tourists become.
There is a popular luxury river cruise line that markets its itineraries by inviting tourists to join three or four hundred “like-minded travelers” aboard ship. Frankly, I’d rather spend my precious time along the travel path with local people who have experienced lives which have been entirely different than my own.
JER
ALL OVER THE MAP 
Jack,
Really enjoy your posts!
I hope as the weeks and months go by we can find time to rendezvous…. Can’t remember if you and Peggy have planned more extensive travels but you know you are always welcome to come to Ypsilanti and spend an evening with Dave and me!
I didn’t have a lot of time to “explore” in Stevens Point when I was there for my mother’s memorial service…. There are any number of “real world” coffee shops, restaurants, etc., now in business, but, still, I just don’t think I could return to “my roots.” I struggle with this. I don’t want to be “snobbish!”
I was delighted when Bill and Teri Jenkins invited me for supper the night before I returned to MI. All my brothers and sisters had left. Even though Bill and Teri had a lot on THEIR family plate (their daughter had just had surgery to remove an ovarian cyst, and the two foreign exchange students they’d hosted for a couple weeks, one from Japan and one from Germany, were departing the next morning!) they invited me. Not to mention their son had signed up for a Naval Reserves stint (not sure I’m labeling this correctly) which turned out to be in Afghanistan, thinking he would get a required service commitment out of the way before finishing his Ph.D. (versus starting the final phase of his doctorate and then being called up.)
Had a delightful time. I actually felt Bill might be loosening up a bit from his parents’ political “indoctrination!” He even brought up the time when Bob Schultz played the recording of Frank Sinatra and asked us choir members to “critique…” Bill said (in so many words), “I knew my parents didn’t like Frank Sinatra because of his politics and so I gave a negative review. Little did I realize….” PERHAPS THERE’S HOPE!!
Nevertheless, even though I think they have a happy life in Stevens Point, I just don’t think I could “transition” back.
This has been a bit surreal a time.
Hope your travels and family connections have been inspiring!!
Later…
J.
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