The only reason I look forward to the New Year is because it beckons me toward more grand adventures. On New Year's Eve, I stay far away from rowdy crowds. I don't drink bubbly champagne, or march around banging pans or blowing whistles outside in the cold air (in Maine anyway). I don't look back at the year that is expiring, nor do I bother making a list of resolutions to be accomplished in the coming year. I do pause to wonder how many more new years I have left in my life, and that sobering thought (lacking any quantifiable answer) propels me to want to make every moment I have left worthwhile.
I've reached the age where I'm acutely aware that my To Do List contains far more projects than I will ever be able to accomplish. Each year, I review the list to be sure that the most pressing projects are at the top, and those are the ones where I will expend my energy. For 2025, my priorities are to record and release an audiobook version of Becoming Amazed, to teach a Senior College class on Making your writing Dazzle, and to complete my third book about living with the mobility robbing incurable Stiff Persons Syndrome. I'm excited about collaborating with three fellow women authors on a book about how we all decided late in our lives to write our memoirs and along the way found friendship and some great shared experiences. There are at least two more epic adventure books swirling in my brain, waiting to be written.
Writing is largely a solitary task that I do best late at night, so it gives me time to socialize with friends and entertain visitors during the day. That is when I don't have a medical appointment scheduled. Somehow I've managed to accumulate: a primary doctor, a cardiologist, an ENT specialist, a dermatologist, an urologist, a neurologist and a neuromuscular specialist, an optometrist, a physical therapist, an oncology nurse (for my Stiff Persons IVIG infusions) and most recently at an age far beyond when I should need one, a gynecologist. All of them want me to visit at least 2-3 times a year. I figure I'm close to earning a medical degree based on the hours of time I spend with them.
Recently, Richard Bangs, my boss during my years at Sobek Expeditions, honored me by featuring me as an Extraordinary Traveler in his Extraordinary Travelers Club Dispatch digital publication. You can read the feature interview about my decades of travel in Issue 12 for December-January 2025 on their website at https://www.extraordinarytravelersclub.com/etc-newsletter-issues
While you are there, check out the amazing trips that Richard and his partners have planned for 2025. Richard rationalizes his trip to Ukraine by explaining, "Every so often, a destination calls us not merely as explorers, but as participants in a play larger than ourselves. Ukraine, at this moment, is that destination. The world has not forgotten. Ukraine is a living testament to resilience. The people have toted heavy challenges, yet their spirit remains unbroken. To travel to Ukraine is to witness this resilience firsthand.There are moments when travel becomes more than a leisure pursuit; it becomes an act of connection and contribution"
Richard's partners, Jack Wheeler and Rebel Holiday, lead the Bhutan trip. Jack, who has traveled to all 193 countries on all seven continents, has been called the “real life Indiana Jones” by the Wall Street Journal. They describe how "this exploration combines natural beauty with exotic culture, primitive peoples, authentic communities, luxury, and adventure. We’ll show you an incredible part of the world that few ever have the privilege to see."
About the expedition to Mongolia, Richard and Jack say, "This is your dream of Exploring Mongolia come true. How can we do it in just 11 days? By private charter plane to see remote wonders, land cruisers, even camel-back over sand dunes of the Gobi. That emptiness is of extraordinary beauty and diversity, while the people you meet are welcoming and hospitable. We will learn about their lives and customs; how they herd, hunt, and ride camels over the dunes."
As you can imagine, these extraordinary journeys are not for the feint of heart. But if you want to experience a "real" adventure like the one I took with Richard in Tanzania in 1981, minus the hippos and crocodiles, here's your chance. I promise you won't regret traveling with two of the greatest living explorers.
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