dandj

I know so many couples that one or the other did not want to travel. Yet once they got the bug they are ready to go all the time.

Or sadly, one never did get the bug...

nanabee

my husband and i have always loved traveling. our first trip together and my first trip outside the country was to england. i was 26 years old. this was in the early 70's and most people, in fact, didn't routinely travel as much as they do today. we travel as much as we can now - can't wait to get up and go!

nanabee

dandj:
one question i also wonder about is do children of military families like to travel more because they traveled so much as children? maybe the bug got them at an earlier age!

djkbooks

My husband and I kept putting off going to Europe, even though we thought we should "get started". One day I went to the bookstore to collect tour guides (before the www) and came home with a book about New England Inns (we live in New Hampshire). We spent some years touring New England, until my husband was sent to Switzerland on business. We were hooked! Both of us.

In our forties, we decided we had better go where we wanted to go while we felt like it and had the means.

But, we did meet dozens of widows on a river cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg who hadn't "been able" to travel until their husbands passed away.

I probably plan more trips than my husband would (especially left to himself) and he travels for business more often than I would prefer. But, I go with him and he comes with me because we enjoy being wherever we are together. It's the traveling, not the being there, that's sometimes distressing.

We are both enormously grateful that we've gone everywhere we've gone. The dismal exchange rates, the ever escalating air fares, airport/packing hassles! We're older and our energy is diminishing! Also, we really enjoy our home and are less inclined to travel in the nice weather when our yard is beautiful, we can enjoy our deck and the views. In the winter there's the fireplace and the hot tub.

We've enjoyed plenty of scenery, cathedrals, palaces, museums, historical monuments and sights.

Retirement is only a few years away. The grandchildren are a joy, the nieces and nephews are graduating and getting married. Now that we're the "oldest generation" we enjoy spending time with our sibblings and cousins much more.

Grandma

Well.. my husband had travelled a lot and I had been absolutely nowhere. I'd made it to New York City and was happy there. During his first marriage El Husband had had to slow down travel somewhat w/ children et al. But by the time we married they were grown. He finally insisted we do something more than sit on the beach in the summer. Reluctantly I agreed. 25 years later I'm ready to go at moment's notice. Of course, now we're older and can't travel as adventurously as we did before. But I think will probably drop somewhere on the trail -

kathcoll

My husband of 36 years has been to Europe (Ireland) once and vowed to never take a flight longer than 4 hours EVER again. He is a big man who was miserable sitting for the flight...to say nothing of the joys of making connections, toting baggage.

I, on the other hand, was hooked since that very first trip. Being of sound mind and body, I was unwilling to make every vacation a fly fishing sojourn within 150 miles of home...so I travel. Mostly with good friends or my son. My husband is happier and I am happier. If I could change one thing about the guy I would want him to share my love of travel. He doesn't. So I just have to love everything else about him and try not to be jealous when I read of couples that just love all their trips together.

ira

Hi K,

> If I could change one thing about the guy I would want him to share my love of travel.<

Take him to Europe on the QM2.

tcreath

Luckily neither of us are reluctant travlers. I love to travel so to be honest I would have a hard time being with someone who didn't share that same passion.

With that being said, I am the more adventurous traveler. My husband will travel to a lot of places, but as soon as I bring up the possibility of traveling to Oman or Jordan he looks at me like I have three heads! But I'm still working on him....

Tracy

J_Correa

My husband is pretty much game for anything I plan, but if I didn't plan it, he would stay home. He loves going though and has even started taking a more active roll in the planning.

He doesn't come from a family where people travel, so he didn't grow up with the expectation of travel. In my husband's family, people didn't go places unless they had a purpose - job related, to see relatives, etc. His younger sister has the travel bug though and their dad is absolutely amazed that she will just pick up and go someplace - even something as simple as last spring she and a friend took a cruise to Mexico, this amazes him. Dad could travel, but he prefers to spend money on new cars and that sort of thing instead. Just a different set of priorities.

On the otherhand, I grew up in a family in which those who could travel, did. My parents didn't have the means for us to travel far, but we went all sorts of places within California - just to see what was there.

Linda21

We have always done a lot of traveling, and still do, however going thru US airports has become a real pain...with the useless 3 0z. liquid limit, removing shoes, & on & on. If any of these things were proven to be of help that would be different.

Byrd

I guess we have both always had the "Go Bug."

Many years ago we were probably some of the first skiers (snow, that is) in Alabama.

People in our little town marveled that we and our good friends would spend all that money to take our children to Colorado and risk a broken leg.

Then one day I came home from a ladies' party (read: dressed nicely) to find husband John in a coat and tie.

"Don't even sit down," he said. "We're going to have passport photos made."

And the rest is history.

Now in our early 70s, we still go to Europe at least once a year, and may even take the grandchildren skiing this winter.

Byrd

amyb

I'm still single but have traveled quite a bit on my own and with friends/family. In reading this, I have to wonder, would you consider it a deal-breaker if your new SO didn't want to travel? I'm not sure I could tolerate it, but I haven't been faced with the choice. Yet.

kathcoll

amyb,
I have been forced to choose - and I'd choose the great guy I spend 49 to 50 weeks a year with any time...as long as he can tolerate the fact that I'm blowing the budget 2 or 3 times a year with a trip without him!

Do I wish he loved travel as much as me - you bet! And I admit to pangs of jealousy listening to others talk of the shared memories of travelling together. But what I have the rest of the year (in what he calls our real life) is worth the differences.

Heck, I know people who work 5 days a week and spend every weekend apart while their SO golfs, plays other sports, or goes out with the guys. Being apart a couple weeks each year is no big deal.

amyb

Thanks, kathcoll, that's interesting. I guess because travel is such a focus of mine now, I can't imagine not sharing it with whomever 'he' is. But I also have some friends who become golf widows or Sox widows for much of the year, so I guess this is no different!