Making Room for Travel
How travel fits into a life without work
Routines have always been important to me, and after nine months of nearly non-stop celebratory travel, I felt the need to establish a new one—this time without work schedules. As the new year begins, it feels natural to settle into a seasonal rhythm: quieter winter months, spring projects, and travel woven in rather than dominating everything. But the travel bug is still there, whispering, “No trips booked until June? You’d better get on that! You’ll need a vacation.”
My son put it in perspective for me last year when he said, “You don’t go on vacation, Mom. You don’t have a job!” He was right. Without work to escape from, travel stopped being a release valve. It became something else—and I wasn’t sure yet what role it should play. I don’t plan to be a nomad retiree; I like coming home, and I like the routines I’m building there. Travel now has to fit my life, not replace it.
I’m not a New Year’s Resolution person, but the renewed focus on health this time of year nudged me to commit to habits I can stick with. I agreed (not too foolishly, I hope) to walk a 10K race with a friend in June, which gave me a longer-term goal to work toward. On day one of training, I realized a shorter goal was in order: “Couch to 5K” before “walk a 10K.”
So I looked for 5K races in late February, giving me about six weeks to prepare—and an excuse for a long weekend somewhere warmer. St. Augustine fit the bill: flat course, a city I’d never visited, a short flight, and within easy driving distance of two friends. A plan began to form. As someone who’s traveled solo for many years, the chance to easily connect with people—old friends or new—matters to me.
Small trips like these satisfy both my itch to get on a plane and my need for routine at home. Combining them with visits to friends I don’t see often feels like a win on multiple fronts. Just as vacation once counterbalanced the work grind, in retirement travel still needs to support the structure of my life overall.
I haven’t abandoned big trips. A 23-night New Zealand and Australia sailing is on the books later this year, and I’m looking forward to the planning that comes with it. But that planning no longer replaces my daily life—it sits alongside it. Travel doesn’t need to be an escape anymore. Like everything else in retirement, it works best when it supports the rhythm I’m building, not when it overwhelms it.