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Since retirement, we have taken several long and interesting trips. Over the years we have worked out a system that allows us to enjoy outdoor adventures together, but within the comfort level of each. When much younger, we climbed, sailed, backpacked, paddled and biked together. After many tents and a couple of VW campers, Betty’s tolerance for persistent physical exertion, sleeping bags and endless days without showers waned. Now, we both enjoy the same trip, but “rough it” more smoothly. While I do the endurance thing, Betty is busy providing support so that we can both enjoy the trip more comfortably. This arrangement allows her to participate in the bike, hike, etc as much or as little as she desires. Betty sometimes calls herself a “fair weather adventurer”.
I retired from the US Army in 1994. Betty and I met while I was a young lieutenant stationed at Fort Jackson, SC and she was working for the FBI in Columbia, SC. Three months later we married and moved our home 21 times before retiring in Naples, FL. Our daughter, Susan, was born at Fort Sill, OK and was introduced to tents, canoes and bikes at an early age. While living at Fort Belvoir, VA and attending George Mason University, Susan met and eventually married her own young lieutenant and they now have four energetic “Army Brats” of their own. Currently stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany, her husband Lieutenant Colonel O’Brien, is a military judge servicing Germany and Iraq.
Along life’s trail, Betty completed her master’s degree in Social Work at UH while I was assigned to Hawaii in the Corps of Engineers. After my retirement, Betty worked seasonally at Naples Community Hospital. This allowed us to travel during the late spring, summer and early fall. Our “team” approach to adventure travel evolved during trips which included: a transcontinental horseback ride, hiking the Colorado Trail and hiking the Eastern Continental Trail (ECT). While hiking the ECT from Key West to the northern tip of Newfoundland, we fine tuned the system of RV support while on the trail. This is not as simple as it appears on the surface. It requires extensive map work, driving remote and unfamiliar back roads, constant resupply, unreliable communications including unending searches for internet connections and attending to all the issues on the home front like maintaining contact with aging parents, paying bills, etc. Meanwhile, I happily enjoy the outdoors as we travel this great country.
During this trip, I plan to bike the entire way, Betty will bike some of the time and will keep leaping ahead with the RV and our two small dogs. This is the first trip that we have sought to raise money for a charity. Recently, cancer has impacted a number of family members and friends making the American Cancer Society a natural choice. Everyday, continued good health is a gift and with it is an obligation to help ensure that others can enjoy life as well.
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