Hitchhiking

An Aussie Boomer’s Rite of Passage, Part 2

Published August 3, 2019 | By Clark Norton

Rome’s Trevi Fountain, 1970

When we last left Sandy Coghlan, an Aussie baby boomer who has written up her 1969-70 European travels in her new book, Yesterday: A Baby Boomer’s Rite of Passage, she was in Monaco enjoying the somewhat casual changing of the guard in front of Prince Rainier’s and Princess Grace’s fairytale palace.

If you haven’t read Part I of excerpts from her travel diary, you can go there now. As with Part I, I’ve added some of my own notes to provide context. Sandy has included her vintage photos and a few postcards from her travels.

We pick up the narrative in Rome, where she has gone to work as an au pair, looking after five children under the age of seven. (She confesses she got the job by saying she was the oldest of five children and had lots of experience looking after her… Continue reading →

7 Travel Adventures I’ll Never Do Again

Published May 4, 2015 | By Clark Norton

Camel riding is fine until you turn numb and get dust in your mouth. Photo by upyernoz on flickr.

I never like to say “never” when it comes to travel experiences, especially adventurous ones, but there are certain ones I don’t care to repeat.

I’d glad I did them — but “did” is the operative word (as in the past tense). I’ll do just about anything once, with the possible exception of bungee jumping. I’m still working up to that one, and admire anyone who’s done it — although I’d feel pretty stupid if that’s the way I kicked the bucket, list or no.

Here’s my “honor roll” of once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime-is-enough-thanks travel experiences:

* Camel riding. It seems the height of romanticism — crossing the Sahara or the Arabian sands on a camel. Lawrence of Arabia, Omar Sharif, flowing robes, Bedouins and all that. My first camel ride, in Tunisia,… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Countries, Sports | Tagged Camel riding, cave biking, dogsled driving, dogsledding, Finland, glacier walking, Hitchhiking, mud walking, sauna., Tan-Zam Railway, Zambia | 2 Comments

According to government and private surveys:

Leading-edge baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) and seniors account for four out of every five dollars spent on luxury travel today.
Roughly half the consumer spending money in the U.S.--more than $2 trillion--is in the hands of leading-edge baby boomers and seniors.
Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) travel more than any other age group.
When asked what they would most like to spend their money on, baby boomers answered “travel” more than any other category, including improving their health or finances.