Category: Adventurous retirement
July 3 , 2025 — A trip to Scandinavia might be on your bucket list. It certainly was on ours. After talking about it for many years, Roberta and I went there for 2 weeks in June. We highly recommend it - the sights are magnificent, the people are friendly, and the traveling easy. Just about everyone speaks English, often better than we do! Here are some thoughts if you decide to go.
Cruise or Land?
Since the Scandinavian countries are surrounded by water, touring by cruise ship can be a great way to go. You will see fjords, villages, and the most interesting cities, all from the comfort of your floating hotel. As one option, the Hurtigruten line offers different trips with options to visit between 14 and 34 ports for stops of varying length. We chose to plan our own tour, mostly by land, because of the flexibility that allowed us to customize where we went, and especially, where we ate and stayed. That involved more planning work, but made it very special. Thanks to Roberta for doing all that planning!
Copenhagen, Denmark
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Published on July 2, 2024
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Category: Adventurous retirement
June 2, 2024 -- Like cruising on the great blue yonder? There's at least one product that can help you live that dream in retirement - year round! Villa Vie Residences is offering multi-year cruises on one of the residential cruise ship company's boats.
The Odyssey is scheduled to depart from Southampton UK on June 5 for its maiden voyage around the world. As part of the "Endless Horizons" program this residential cruise ship will travel the globe, visiting 425 ports in 147 countries over a period of 3 and 1 half years. Its amenities including business centers, culinary programs, and extensive onboard entertainment. The company offers purchase options for a condominium that start at $100,000 and go to $299,999 for an ocean view villa. There are also monthly fees. You can also rent with short term options for portions of the cruise.
The Odyssey
In a company press release Mikael Petterson, CEO of Villa Vie Residences said that their goal "...is to offer a seamless solution for those looking to retire on a fixed budget to never worry about ongoing expenses again". The company's pitch is that it’s a new way of living, breaking free from the ordinary, offering a life where work, leisure, and adventure blend seamlessly.
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Published on June 2, 2024
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Category: Adventurous retirement
April 3, 2024 - When you were a lot younger, could you ever imagine someone in their 80's, even 90's, who was still skiing? Well get over that, because the slopes in some resorts have plenty of octogenarians gracefully coming down their trails. Some ski areas are welcoming them with deals and events too.
One of those is Aspen, Colorado. Although a daily lift ticket can approach $300 on holiday weekends, it offers a senior season pass to skiers over 70 for $799. Alta, the longstanding resort in Utah, offers a season pass to people over 80 for a $50 admin fee (but years ago it was available to people over 75). It even has a seniors ski club, the Wild Old Bunch, with many members in their 90s. Other resorts offer substantial discounts for 70+ skiers too.
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Published on April 3, 2024
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Category: Adventurous retirement
August 1, 2023 – Talk about adventurous retirements – Lucy Burdette transitioned in mid-life from a Clinical Psychologist to published author. And on August 8th, she has 2 new books coming out! Crooked Lane Books is publishing the 13th in Lucy Burdette’s popular Key West food critic mystery series,…
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Published on August 1, 2023
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Category: Adventurous retirement
June 29, 2023 -- While any kind of travel is usually high on many people’s retirement bucket lists, a walking or hiking trip a particularly good idea for those looking for an active experience. Walking tours are the perfect Goldilocks adventure option for people of retirement age. Easier and less risky than bike tours, they provide plenty of action and adventure. They are perfect for folks who crave the outdoors and nature, but don’t want to experience new worlds from a seated position on a bus or boat.
Your editor has just returned from a hiking trip in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy - a fabulous adventure. Much of this mountainous region of northeastern Italy has been made into National parks, and the area has now been declared a World Heritage Site.
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Published on June 28, 2023
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Category: Adventurous retirement
By Bill Carito:
April 13, 2023 -- I wrote in January about our experience driving an all-electric Volkswagen Id.4 from Portland, Maine to Key West, Florida (see Snowbirding Electrically - Part 1). Thought I should provide an update about our trip home. The verdict? Totally uneventful, which is what you want from a long drive home.
Bill getting a charge
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Published on April 13, 2023
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Category: Adventurous retirement
Editor's note: Bill has been kind enough to write for Topretirements on other topics in the past, including the fascinating tale of his "Cleaning Out a Cluttered Victorian". This installment shares his adventures and lessons learned from driving his new all electric car all the way from Portland, Maine, to Key West, Florida . We think you will find it instructive, particularly if you, like your Editor, are considering buying an electric vehicle!
By Bill Carito
January 15, 2023. This past August, we took a leap of faith in the future and bought an all-electric Volkswagen Id.4 to replace our 2018 VW Tiguan. Why an all-electric? Why not a hybrid? After all, we are a one car family that would not be using this car solely for running errands around town, but also for our 15-18,000 miles per year traveling to see family and for our vacations, including our three-month stay in Key West, Florida.
Frankly? Some of it was about supporting new technology; some of it was a sense of now or never. But, for me, a big incentive was losing the internal combustion engine and all its complications. I’m sure this new tech will have its issues, but I’m going to trust that fewer moving parts means fewer potential mechanical problems.
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Published on January 14, 2023
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Category: Adventurous retirement
October 20, 2022 -- Our retired friend EZ loves a great train trip, and hates everything about flying. He resents getting to the airport hours early, parking in a remote lot, shuffling through security lines, worrying that some delay will make him miss the flight - all to have the airline delay or cancel it anyway. So when he visits his grandchildren in Colorado, he takes the EZ way. That means the Shoreline Express to New Haven, where he switches to the Acela to Washington. From there it's the Capitol Limited (with roomette) to Chicago. There he pickes up the California Zephyr. He enjoyes everything about that train trip too - resting in his roomette, eating in the dining car, chatting up interesting passengers, and enjoying the view from the observation cars. It takes a little longer, but is so much more pleasurable. BTW, his wife flies out to Colorado separately!
Many people in retirement are looking for an adventure, and a train ride makes for an exciting one. From around the world, here are 10 of the best train rides you might want to try in retirement. Some are fairly short and not that expensive, while others can go for days and can be quite costly. One advantage that most train rides offer is that you can get off and spend a day or more at as many stops as you would like.
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Published on October 19, 2022
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Category: Adventurous retirement
September 21, 2022 -- Swept up in the desire to stay healthy and armed with plenty of time in retirement, millions of baby boomers are enjoying hiking as a fun pastime. Unfortunately, sometimes things go wrong. According to hikersdaily.com, almost 5,000 hikers are injured every year, with most of those coming from slips and falls, with the ankle most often affected. There are an estimated 15,000 rescue operations in an average year on public lands. The most tricky of those are helicopter rescues, which typically cost around $12,000.
We would like to make sure one of these mishaps doesn't happen to you. And to make your hike more fun, we are including some great tips from our friend Tom Cretella, one of the most experienced hikers we know. These are his tips.
Top 10 Mistakes You Don't Want to Make Hiking
Not enough water. Running out of water is never a pleasant experience. I always carry at least 2 liters of water for a day hike. Hint, Don’t wait till you are thirty to drink; then it’s too late to fight off dehydration. Try to drink often during the hike. Good hydration keeps your muscles from cramping and your reflexes sharp. Tip: Water is heavy so I carry an extra liter of Water and stash it about 1/2 way to my destination, and retrieve on the way back. It can be a life saver.
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Published on September 21, 2022
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Category: Adventurous retirement
May 26, 2022 -- Sooner or later the "what are you going to do" question comes up in conversations about retirement. For a whole lot of people their answer is: "Maybe we'll take a river cruise". Then the big question is where? There are so many great possibilities. For sake of conversation, here are 10 of the best ideas for river cruises, and we would love to hear Member suggestions as well. We will publish another article on other types of cruises in the future.
What kind of river trip?
For the purposes of this article we are breaking these cruises into 4 categories: American, European, International, and Adventure. In addition to where you take your river trip, you also need to decide what company will take you down that river, and in what kind of style. There are a number of companies that offer river cruises for a host of different budgets and tastes, so you don't have to stick with the brand names you might have heard about. Talking with friends and your travel agent is a good way to find the one best suited to your needs and budget. We will list some of those operators under each category, but if you search the Internet you will be pleased with how many options there are.
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Published on May 25, 2022
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