# Do You Have A Sense Of Adventure?



## Lon

It's just my opinion but I think those of us retirees that had no trouble planning where we would live and what we would do in retirement tend to be leaders and not followers and viewed the process with a sense of adventure.I sold my home when I retired, moved away from family and friends and spent the next 25 years living half the year in New Zealand and the other half in California with lots of travel and adventures in between. Now I back where I started and though family is here most old friends have died or moved. In retrospect, knowing what I know now, I would not have done anything different. .My adventues now are more modest and suitable for a 82 year old aging body.


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## Ruth n Jersey

I have no sense of adventure at all. I like routine and could spend my life puttering around my home and garden. Having dinner out is nice once in awhile and a phone call now and then from friends and relatives is all it takes to keep me happy. .


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## Aunt Bea

Nope, I'm pretty much a homebody.

For me the perfect vacation is a week in a rustic cabin by a lake with a book, some booze, good coffee and lots of bacon!!!

I think about going on a vacation to England,  Ireland or Scotland but I want to see those places as they were before WWI and have no interest in seeing what they are today, I tune in to the local PBS station for my wild adventures, LOL!!!


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## Sunny

I did, more when I was somewhat younger. When my husband and I retired, we moved from Maryland clear across the country to Washington state, because we had fallen in love
with the Pacific Northwest. We didn't know a living soul there, just liked the adventure, and the look and feel of the place appealed to us. We stayed there for 18 happy years, eventually returning to MD to be near one of our children. (As you get older, living 1000 miles from your nearest "kid" starts to be a little too much of an adventure!)


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## angelica

Yes,I've still got a sense of adventure!


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## Knight

Sense of adventure implies wanting to experience as much as a person can into their life. We've lived out of country. We've lived in several differant states. We've traveled to every off shore place we ever wanted to see. Most enjoyable and still at it is hiking America's national parks. For instance Old Faithful at Yellowstone how many know that there is a trail leading to a mound about 1/4 of a mile behind Old faithful that gives a far better view. Two very short trails under Mt. Rushmore. River tubing outside Cades Cove in Tn. Latest was hiking The Arches in Moab, Utah again, there is something special about getting to delicate arch and talking to people from other countries that come there just for that experience. Jobs, several differant kinds, the most mind numbing was for the U S Post office, I lasted about 6 months, how I have never been able to figure out. 

For sure no patience for bingo, horse racing, Nascar or Indy 500 racing. Bingo has no challenge, you either get numbers to win or you don't. Horse & automtive racing is the epitome of boredom. Face a track, horses or cars begin in front of you, make a left turn, another left turn, another left turn, another left turn then pass in front of you.


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## Victor Meldrew

I'm afraid to talk about it.


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## Grampa Don

No, I'm more of a hobbit, perfectly happy in my own little shire.  Luckily, my wife is of the same persuasion.  I know a lot of people dream of retiring, buying a motor home and touring the country.  I've never felt the urge.

Don


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## hauntedtexan

*If you're not livin' on the edge, you're taking up too much space!*

I must have been a severely unhappy homebody in my past life, because this life has been filled with wandering, some of it aimless. In western Washington state I learned to white water canoe on the Skagit river, how to hang glide on Dog mountain, and did a ton of miles remote hiking in the Olympic mountains over 14 years. Almost crashed in my friends plane after we flew over Mt St Helens not long after it erupted, air filter filled with ash and we landed in a field. In the California Mojave desert, I wandered aimlessly looking for ghost towns and abandoned mines in my spare time and since I had a legit military base sticker, I would wander Edwards AFB, China Lake Naval Weapons, and Ft Irwin until someone with a machine gun said "halt" over 7 years. In west Texas, I participated in the Sheriffs posse, on horseback sometimes, in search and rescue, along with being a tornado spotter in some very sketchy weather, and raced my cars on some of the greatest back roads in the world (Hwy 17 between Balmorhea and Ft Davis was a favorite). Then, after 20 years in sales, I got sick of people and decided to drive a big rig across the continual US and chalked up 280,000 miles in 2 years with no tickets or accidents. Still have the intense desire to travel and see more before my body finally says "halt". I did settle long enough back in western NY to remarry my 1st wife, but even then we took a month to adventure to places she never saw when the doctor declared she was in submission from cancer. The places she wanted to see the most, were places I was already in love with. Must have been meant to be.


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## Iodine

Probably not anymore.  I've traveled a lot and had some adventures when I was younger but I sort of enjoy the little things now.  I appreciate the quiet times.  There's still some travel in my future but it's to see family and not just for the adventure aspect of it.


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## Falcon

My stint in the military was enough adventure for me.


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## Capt Lightning

I've been fortunate in having a career that gave me the opportunity to travel and work in other countries.  It also gave my wife the opportunity to join me (at the firm's expense) and have plenty of short breaks.   Now that we're retired and having moved to the other end of the country,  the sense of adventure is pretty strong.  There's such a lot to see and I don't want to miss too much of it.


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## NancyNGA

Lon, it seems that seniors set the bar so low nowadays, that just answering a telemarketing call is considered adventuresome and dangerous. 

I'm not prepared for a tornado, identity theft, a burglary, a terrorist attack, or most other things.  So,  in that way, I guess I'm adventurous.


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## Lynk

I like to think I am.  I have visited close to 30 states and been to the Bahamas.  Last week I went with family to St. Louis and had a great time.  We went to Comic Con and I figured I would be the oldest one there but there were several older than me.  Some wore costumes. We decided we wanted to go again and wear costumes.  That was an adventure to me.  I love to visit St. Louis.


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## jujube

I really do still have an adventurous nature.  I love ziplines and giant slides and the like.  I'd still be riding rollercoasters today  if my ophthalmologist hadn't said I'd have to choose between rollercoasters and my retinas.  I really like my left retina, so I gave up the coasters.


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## Shalimar

Yes. I still enjoy sailing, diving, suspension bridges. Traveling by canoe up the coast. I walked the West Coast Trail three times when I was younger. Backpacked over Europe as well.


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## Warrigal

I have an adventurous spirit but an unadventurous husband. 
Even so, I have managed some little adventures on my own from time to time.


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## Bullie76

Lon said:


> It's just my opinion but I think those of us retirees that had no trouble planning where we would live and what we would do in retirement tend to be leaders and not followers and viewed the process with a sense of adventure.I sold my home when I retired, moved away from family and friends and spent the next 25 years living half the year in New Zealand and the other half in California with lots of travel and adventures in between. Now I back where I started and though family is here most old friends have died or moved. In retrospect, knowing what I know now, I would not have done anything different. .My adventues now are more modest and suitable for a 82 year old aging body.



That sounds like a great life. No I don't have that kind of sense of adventure in me. Wish I did, but I'm more of a routine kind of guy. I do have a vacation condo 3 hours from here, but certainly doesn't compare to living half way around the world for a portion of the year. I do like my lifestyle and glad I can afford to own 2 places.


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## Lon

At My age now, my adventures consist of things like walking down three flights of stairs from my apartment to the SPA with out tripping and falling down or falling into the SPA and drowning. This morning my BIG Adventure was calling UBER to take me to the VA to have my Hearing Aids adjusted and then back home. My big adventure later today will be to walk some what painfully two blocks to Wallgreen's and back to pick up a pain reliever.  Ah My ---How things change as we age.


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## Manatee

Our adventures were mostly traveling to see how other folks lived.  We are very glad we did it when we could, because it would be difficult now at ages 83 and 82.


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## Wandrin

So many places to explore!  Just add up the national parks, national monuments, national forests, state parks, provincial parks, etc. and it is a very long list.  And there are so many unique little towns along the back roads.  We still have time and are actively exploring our way through it.


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## Skyking

As an Air Force and later airline pilot flying missions and non scheduled international flights with mega layovers all over the world I've had enough adventures for a lifetime. But here's a few things I learned.
*Adventures come with a price. Most real 'adventures' require leaving someone or something behind and often times you can't get them/it back.
*Adventures without someone special to share and relive memories they just aren't as good. 
*Adventures all turn into memories and memories seriously fade with time. 

After 2-3 generations even my family won't know or really care that I've been here, or that my life was or wasn't well lived. So was all of the adventure pointless? Maybe. For now that answer is the best I can do. Because nowadays I think it better to just live in the moment and enjoy time with my loved ones. That one should be my last and best adventure.


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## Callie

My (late) husband was a truck driver and was away from home for a few days at a time until he went to work for a local company. In the 90's I worked for a company and had to do some traveling, which was not fun. I don't care for the crowds, staying in hotels. airports, etc. 
Hubby was for sure not into traveling when he was not working..lol..

We made one trip in our pick-up truck, which came with a camper attached. We decided to take a trip to the mid-west to see my relatives. We were on the way back home, sitting in a restaurant in Bakersfield, Calif. I was reading the newspaper and noticed the date. Told hubby, _Do you realize that we are going to be home one daily early from vacation? _Hubby said, _Ohhhh Yeah_!! Right after we got home, he removed the camper shell and eventually sold it.

When we bought the home where I still live,  it became our 'vacation spot', and after 40+ years, it still is.

I have no sense of adventure. I like my own bed and my own bathroom.


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## helenbacque

Always have, always will.  I spent several retirement years RV traveling.  Saw much of U.S. and Canada as well as small bits of Mexico from the driver's seat of my Winnebago.   I loved the comfort of my own kitchen at mealtime and bed at night.  Did Europe via Eurail Train Pass, was freighter passenger to New Zealand and Australia.  Concessions to age and health have required compromise so most current adventures are of brain/mind variety but adventures nevertheless.


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## Harley

Have had many adventures, now I'm more settled..A big adventure was riding with my hubby for 25 yrs..


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## Shalimar

Skyking said:


> As an Air Force and later airline pilot flying missions and non scheduled international flights with mega layovers all over the world I've had enough adventures for a lifetime. But here's a few things I learned.
> *Adventures come with a price. Most real 'adventures' require leaving someone or something behind and often times you can't get them/it back.
> *Adventures without someone special to share and relive memories they just aren't as good.
> *Adventures all turn into memories and memories seriously fade with time.
> 
> After 2-3 generations even my family won't know or really care that I've been here, or that my life was or wasn't well lived. So was all of the adventure pointless? Maybe. For now that answer is the best I can do. Because nowadays I think it better to just live in the moment and enjoy time with my loved ones. That one should be my last and best adventure.


Thank you for your wise perspective, made me think.


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## Jim DR

I suppose I'd consider myself adventurous, retired 25 years ago, but now aging way too fast. I[ll turn 85 later this year. In the past we did quite a lot of traveling. Starting in the sixties we visited 49 of the 50 states hitting most of the major national parks and several trips overseas. Last year we drove from our home in the Chicago area out to southern Utah. Nowdays my driving long distances is mostly down to Florida in Feb and March. I hate to see these things drawing down, oh well, what will be will be.


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## Trade

Absolutely. 

But it's mostly in my mind. 

I'm a Walter Mitty type.


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## Camper6

For the life of me I cannot understand mountain climbers willing to lose their lives climbing a mountain.

All kinds of them remain on the mountain and their bodies cannot be recovered because it's too dangerous or they are covered in ice and snow.

There was a movie about the Matterhorn and the race to the top between the Italians and the English.  The English won on the way up but lost lives on the way down.

An adventure now is installing a new printer and getting it to work.

"To continue, press   any key"

Panic stricken.  Looking desperately for the 'any' key.


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## Elsie

"Adventures all turn into memories and memories seriously fade with time."

I've thought at times, okay I see travels on T V to different countries, and my heart aches wishing I could go there in person.  But then I think what does it matter if I can't go there in person, leaving those places would end them up as only memories.  Memories that dissipate in time.  Afterall, the excitement, interest of seeing, being in those places can't last, becomes unimportant.  It's where we live each day that adventure and excitement can be found.


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## dothingsthatinspire

After much thought on our adventure to date, I'm amazed out how simple life can be. We explore, plan, and do things that inspire us. Some of the things we longed to do turned out to not be so inspiring. Other things, like helping others figure things out things that inspire them, has turned in a real purpose that has me springing out of bed early each day. One thing is for sure: if we had not broken out of our old routines, we never would have found the level of satisfaction we enjoy today.

Elsie said it but it bears repeating, "It's where we live each day that adventure and excitement can be found." Thanks for the great reminder!


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## HiDesertHal

I think Travel and Adventure is overrated.  I've been to the Grand Canyon once, which was satisfying.

But I can get just as excited in anticipation of how I'm going to enjoy my next meal at the "Steer & Stein" steakhouse!

I'll sip a 16 or 32-ounce Beer while chooosing what I want to eat other than Steak. 

It will usually be Fish & Chips, Baby Back Ribs, or Country-Fried Steak.

I've tried every steak they serve, incuding the RibEye, and I can't chew any of 'em except the Country Fried, which is tenderized before cooking.

So much for Adventure...(yawn)

HiDesertHal


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## Lolly

Nope...  no adventure for me.   I hate surprises... drama... stress or being outside of my comfortable surroundings..  I'm happiest alone or with hubby reading, puttering around the house, or yard.   Biggest thrill I want is going to Costco.  lol!


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## HiDesertHal

Awwwww...

HDH


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## Lolly

Too many years of deadlines.. stress, pressure... goofy people and goofier bosses...  Worked like a dog to give myself a secure and comfortable retirement.. Now I'm kicking back and smelling the roses.


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## Son_of_Perdition

After 8 years dealing with cancer/surgery/chemo then discovering another lifestyle aliment (Type II diabetes) dealing with that, reprogramming myself changing my eating/exercise habits.  Losing 140 lbs gaining new perspective on life, I have embarked on things that used to interest me in my young adult life.  Camping/Driving (solo).  Dealing with problems associated with those, planning for the next trip.  Surfing the campsite listings on the BLM, USFS, State, Free boon docking sites gives me purpose.  My wife has her garden, I have my wanderlust & van conversion.  

I sat & watched my neighbor's routine until I was ready to maim him, not because of anything he did but what I was limited to from my vantage point.  If I die in the mountains, at least I haven't spent the last years hating my existence.  I cut the cord, watch very, very little TV, never go to the movies or live in someone's else's mind.  I began reading for pleasure now, not what kept me current in my career.  I would just as soon eat to live, not live to eat (my favorite quote), never going out to eat is okay with me.  No more adventure in foods, just life.


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## Harley

Lol.....


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## Harley

LOL@ camper6..I know that panic..


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## HiDesertHal

MEIN GOTT, Shalimar!

You would make Huell Howser seem sedentary!

I was born in a town that had the longest Suspension Bridge in the US until the Brooklyn span was completed in 1883.

HDH


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## Camper6

Harley said:


> LOL@ camper6..I know that panic..



Do you know the joy of doing easy crossword puzzles?


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## drifter

I retired with a lung disease but learned to live with it and in some ways have made it better. I like order in my life with my adventures little ones in the nature of small personal challenges, like learning to write a bit in public, learning to play a harmonica, first as a medical devise then for quite pleasure. Learning to play a flute, little things, small pleasures. Riding a motorcycle, attending bike rallies, meeting new people, being part of a camera club with monthly challenges for a decade. Riding a bicycle, twenty-five, fifty miles rides, bike races, trail biking in the mountains, big chellanges for me but also real pleasures. That's about as adventurable as I've been. Little adventures, small pleasures.


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## Camper6

drifter said:


> I retired with a lung disease but learned to live with it and in some ways have made it better. I like order in my life with my adventures little ones in the nature of small personal challenges, like learning to write a bit in public, learning to play a harmonica, first as a medical devise then for quite pleasure. Learning to play a flute, little things, small pleasures. Riding a motorcycle, attending bike rallies, meeting new people, being part of a camera club with monthly challenges for a decade. Riding a bicycle, twenty-five, fifty miles rides, bike races, trail biking in the mountains, big chellanges for me but also real pleasures. That's about as adventurable as I've been. Little adventures, small pleasures.



Good for you.  I love riding a bike.  Just recently mine needed repairs and I really missed it.

I fixed it myself.  It' only took me ten hours of fooling around with the derailler.  I should have taken a picture before I started.

But now I'm back in the saddle again.


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## Camper6

I just installed a new printer.  That was an adventure.  Do you want to install it wireless or through a U.S.B. port simply.

It's a new Canon Pixma so I went the simple route .  I'll try the wireless option later for my tablets.


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## Jiminey Crycket

My sense of adventure gets me into trouble all the time. Or so my wife sez.  

Just noticed that I'm a junior member, can I keep that forever. Not sure I want to be a senior member.  Ha!


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## wogelsby

There's my buddy, 

 *Jiminey Crycket    *     Get on over to the Introduction Foruma and post one.


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## Jiminey Crycket

I like to read the community a bit to get a feel for the ambiance and flavor. Only then to I allow myself the pleasure of introducing me!


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## annabee

You are an inspiration!


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## Manatee

Sunny said:


> I did, more when I was somewhat younger. When my husband and I retired, we moved from Maryland clear across the country to Washington state, because we had fallen in love
> with the Pacific Northwest. We didn't know a living soul there, just liked the adventure, and the look and feel of the place appealed to us. We stayed there for 18 happy years, eventually returning to MD to be near one of our children. (As you get older, living 1000 miles from your nearest "kid" starts to be a little too much of an adventure!)



Our kids grew up here in Florida but now live in the pacific northwest.  We looked around when we were visiting up there, and concluded that we could not afford living there.  We later learned that the climate did not agree with us for 10 wet months of the year.  As a compromise we moved to Arizona.  That did not work well for seeing more of the kids, but it was an excellent base for seeing the western states camping with our little travel trailer.  Our travels took us to Mexico and Canada as well.

During a visit with the kids we decided to move back to Florida.  Our daughter now in her 50s is talking about returning to Florida when she reaches retirement time.


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## Katybug

I loved adventure at one time, but it disappeared along with other things due to aging.  I've been very lucky so far as traveling over the years, but now I'm happy to have a week of family vacation within a few hours' drive.


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## Rainee

I am happy with my life now as it is each day is an adventure .. to see how you cope ..   ,, we did love adventures in years gone by and one was travelling over to different part of the world.. many countries and cultures all so different .. now I am happy we were able to do those trips in the span of 10 years as now we couldnt do it .. health wise my walking has deteriorated after finding out I inherited a genetic disease not sure from which parent as both had the same symptons .. its under control now but still have to keep a watch on what I eat and my iron contents .. then an accident when I was in early 20s left me with a knee problem so that is getting worse too so now I am happy to potter around the home and contented to be on the computer and learn new things one being will be able to restore old photos hope I can find one to do that with ...thats the most I`ll get with an adventure now but I have been there done that now its relax time ..


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## HiDesertHal

Lon said:


> At My age now, my adventures consist of things like walking down three flights of stairs from my apartment to the SPA with out tripping and falling down or falling into the SPA and drowning. This morning my BIG Adventure was calling UBER to take me to the VA to have my Hearing Aids adjusted and then back home. My big adventure later today will be to walk some what painfully two blocks to Wallgreen's and back to pick up a pain reliever.  Ah My ---How things change as we age.



Just one question, Sir.....Why am I not included in your list of Friends in your Profile?

HDH


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## Manatee

I advise people "do it while you can, you will never again be as young as you are right now".


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## HipGnosis

It depends on your definition of adventure.   I once read "Adversity recalled, is adventure".
I don't agree with that one.  Adventure is personal.  Travelling, esp in style or group tours, are not adventure to me, but so many others count it as their adventures.   Even if they are seeing whatever city or location from a 4 star hotel room.
I learned many years ago in the boy scouts to 'Be prepared'.  In my world travels in the Air Force, I learned that every location, situation (and person) has their pros and cons.  As such, I haven't had much adversity in my life.   Sure, things didn't always go as I planned or hoped, but THAT IS adventure.  Figuring out how to make the best of the situation and options.   
I literally danced in the eye of a typhoon.  It was an opportunity of a lifetime.  It was eerily calm and serene, yet pensive and ominous.  The wind and rain before and after were anything but calm.   Hard to say which was the bigger adventure.


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## Elsie

Only if I were in a luxurious hotel room that was being burglarized by men/women with guns & I came out alive, would I call that an adventure. 

Otherwise, only being in and surviving never before explored, possibly dangerous unknown places would I consider a REAL adventure.


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## Jackie22

Lon said:


> At My age now, my adventures consist of things like walking down three flights of stairs from my apartment to the SPA with out tripping and falling down or falling into the SPA and drowning. This morning my BIG Adventure was calling UBER to take me to the VA to have my Hearing Aids adjusted and then back home. My big adventure later today will be to walk some what painfully two blocks to Wallgreen's and back to pick up a pain reliever.  Ah My ---How things change as we age.



...as long as we keep looking at these everyday things of life as an 'adventure' we'll be fine.


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## Pete

Congratulations on taking the path few travel for fear of the unknown. 

In reading your post your "adventure" in a way mirror's mine in that after almost 30 years as a craftsman in the printing trade I moved to Alaska and spent 14 of my 20 years in Alaska living off-grid in its Northern wilderness only to return to my family now living in Texas. Now like yourself any people I knew here in the lower 48 have died or moved and my few friends in Alaska are thousands of miles away. Like yourself I feel the burden of 72 years of life on my shoulders and have told myself if I ever wanted to return to where my soul resides I would have to do it soon. I am planning to return to Alaska next spring but even if it does not happen like yourself I have the many memories of being in a land touched by the hand of God.

Best of luck on your continued walk down life's road.
Pete
https://kl1hbalaska.wordpress.com/about/


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## HiDesertHal

Adventure? Certainly not!

Adventure is overrated anyway.

Hal


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## Olivia

NancyNGA said:


> Lon, it seems that seniors set the bar so low nowadays, that just answering a telemarketing call is considered adventuresome and dangerous.



I resemble that remark. :untroubled:


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## Elsie

HiDesertHal said:


> Adventure? Certainly not!
> 
> Adventure is overrated anyway.
> 
> Hal


Olivia.  LOL

Well at least a telemarketing phone call is sometimes an adventurous challenge.  Got my blood flowing fast when I 'faught' with the telemarketer over why I would not/could not donate.  I eventually learned to just say I wouldn't be contributing, sorry -- right in the middle of their spiel--then immediately hang up.  (feeling alittle rude and guilty)   

My health at 81 is fine, if you don't count the physical & emotional difficulties (and the depression concomitant with Essential Tremors) that its (for me) full body shaking causes.  I'm blessed though to not have any physical pain.   Accomplishing any action daily shaking is a real adventure. 

www://tremortales.com


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## Jiminey Crycket

At 62, I'm still waiting to become a senior. (Good genes.) Running a big band these last ~15 years has been my pride and joy. It's a lot of work, but boy howdy it's fun. 

Still do some work on the side, but I cherry picked the kind of work I enjoyed and make enough to pay off the utilities each month so that's something. When I get really adventurous, I sub in different bands where I'm sightreading all the music. Sometimes I get a little money for that too. I tell the young ones I meet that I'm glad I went the music route vs. the sport life because I'm still playing and the sport athletes are long past playing ... well, say football, etc. 

Music, art, tennis, golf, those are the things that can be with you through most of our lives.


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## HiDesertHal

No, I'm a homebody! 

I'm not a traveler either.  I travel only through the medium of Books, Video Travelogues, and Documentaries.

The only trip I ever took (beside my transportation to the Orient furnished by the US Army in 1961), was a 400-mile drive to the Grand Canyon.

As far as I'm concerned, there is no more breathtakingly beautiful place on Earth!

And I don't need to see Rome before I die!

Harry


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## HiDesertHal

Hey Aunt Bea...

On the Andy Griffith show, he has an Aunt Bea, and lives in Mayberry, N.Car, and has a neighboring town called Mount Pilot.

Hmmm?

Hal


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## HiDesertHal

Camper6 said:


> Good for you.  I love riding a bike.  Just recently mine needed repairs and I really missed it.
> 
> I fixed it myself.  It' only took me ten hours of fooling around with the derailler.  I should have taken a picture before I started.
> 
> But now I'm back in the saddle again.



That's why I hate derailleurs! The chain doesn't run true from sprocket to sprocket.  A couple years ago I bought a nice SUN 26" bike for around $1000. 

I paid extra to have the derailleur system removed and have a 3-speed planetary gear set installed in the rear hub, with the coaster brake still operational and a brake on the front wheel. I can shift through the 3 gears with the pedals stationary, and the chain runs true with no tension changes.

HiDesertHal


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## KingsX

.

I'm more like Walter Mitty... my travels and adventures are mostly mental.


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## KingsX

.

When I was a child, my parents took me on many educational vacations around North America.
We would mostly camp out... by lakes, in the mountains, in the desert, etc.  It was a wonderful.
You have never seen the stars unless you have camped out in the darkness of the remote desert.

Traveling today could never be the same because the world is different. Traveling as an adult
pales in comparison to what I experienced as a child.


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## Wandrin

KingsX said:


> .
> 
> When I was a child, my parents took me on many educational vacations around North America.
> We would mostly camp out... by lakes, in the mountains, in the desert, etc.  It was a wonderful.
> You have never seen the stars unless you have camped out in the darkness of the remote desert.
> 
> Traveling today could never be the same because the world is different. Traveling as an adult
> pales in comparison to what I experienced as a child.



No, it can never match the pure wonderment of your childhood experiences, but it can be its own new experience.  The park rangers call it the "shoulder season".  It is essentially the time when the weather is great but the kids are still in school.  Suddenly, in the national and state parks, there appear retirees in everything from VW campers to motorhomes.  Sometimes someone will pull out a guitar around the campfire and start singing the old folk songs.  Others are welcomed around the campfire, some bring wine.  It is a great time to meet new people with interesting backgrounds and perspectives.  We love it.

There are still the spots in the desert or mountains where you can go and be alone under the stars.  There can still be the beauty and wonder of it all, and the quiet.


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## happytime

*Retirement*



Aunt Bea said:


> Nope, I'm pretty much a homebody.
> 
> For me the perfect vacation is a week in a rustic cabin by a lake with a book, some booze, good coffee and lots of bacon!!!
> 
> I think about going on a vacation to England,  Ireland or Scotland but I want to see those places as they were before WWI and have no interest in seeing what they are today, I tune in to the local PBS station for my wild adventures, LOL!!!




 I'm with ya....cabin, booze ,coffee an football


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## C'est Moi

Living in a major metropolitan area, the freeway on-ramp is all the "adventure" I can handle.


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## retiredtraveler

I'm not sure what 'adventure' means. DW and I are in mid 60's and still do mountain hiking in western national parks in the U.S. and Canada. If hiking 8 miles with a 3000 foot climb up and down is adventure, then we're adventurous.  We do week-long bike and hike trips too, but on bike trails. Nice, but pretty tame. We hike the UK every year too although, of course, their 'mountains' are what we would call hills around here.


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## Vinny

I have been to 21 countries, fought in combat, played baseball and football on all star teams. I am living in my 9th house and used to spend 12 weeks a year travelling overseas on both pleasure and business. A lot more weeks travelling 26 U.S. States. My wife has been great supporiting  and decorating all 9 houses plus being without me for a good part of each year. Plus I never had to worry about her when I was gone and the same for me. 

I like to experience as much of life as I can, even the not so pleasent stuff. I used to put myslef in situations that I was uncomfortable with just so I would be forced to do them. I have lots of stories about my life which has not been traditional in all areas. I cannot believe some of the things I did back when I was younger. Now that I am fully retiring this month after working 3 days a week for the last two years, I am enjoying just staying at home. I have done everything in life that I wanted to. I have not only met every goal I had but exceeded them. I have had a full and exciting life and now I feel like been there and done that.

I do not know what the future will bring. For at least the rest of this year I intend to just write some of my adventures, watch TV, read, surf the web and do some things with my wif and a few of our friends. I used to go through two passports a year and now I just have the card one which is not good for flying out of the country. I only got it for ID since I used to need security clearance for my job. We sold off my car and just have my wife's now. I still have my amateur radio equipment and can do that from home. I did buy a lot of camera gear and intend to get back into photography which kept me occupied during my world travels. I have been here 8 years and we are already thinking where we can move next. We never lived in a desert State like Arizona and we have good friends living there but the thought of packing and moving at our age is holding us back.


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## Keesha

I have an amazing sense of adventure. 
Im done quite a bit of traveling to other countries, driven motorcycles, gone para sailing, go hiking all the time, horseback riding, skating, gone to painting parties.


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## RadishRose

Vinny, you sound like my cousin!

Long may you enjoy Life.


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## wvnewbie

Just returned from 5 days & 4 nights backpacking in the WV Wilderness.  Spectacular weather = YAY!  Really wore me out carrying a too heavy pack getting to a wonderful site in a spruce grove along a stream.  Carried too much food, beer, puppy chow & gear for my new 6 month old rescue puppy.  He really loved the stream!  I let him run and he was in that stream every ten minutes which was good for him AND he politely showered me when he returned.  That saved me the trouble of having to bathe while out there   I love those adventures even tho' it was physically demanding.


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## Pookie

No, my sense of adventure disappeared in the Army.

My idea of fun now is mastering how to use a rocking chair without smooshing the cats' tails.


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## JFBev

Did the adventure thing for 30+ years!    Was great but it all started to look the same eventually, and I was glad to exit that life and live by the sea.

Nothing wrong with watching the surf roll in and out.  Of course, if it wasn't for the internet, I'd feel very isolated, so there's the balance I seem to need.  That, and the occasional drive on the coast highway.

Every once in a while, the adventure urge surfaces again but I get busy doing something and it passes.


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