This journey started with me feeling sorry for myself.
Sixteen years ago, I was single and about to become an empty nester. That brought up regrets. I had always wanted to get an RV and travel across the US with my kids, but that never happened.
But instead of wallowing in my past mistakes, I decided to think outside the box and find a way to make travel a reality. With my web design business, I could work from anywhere.
I thought of a friend of mine, Ginny, who was a freelance graphic designer, a grandmother, and single. She would be the perfect companion.
Then the name came to me: Two Grannies on the Road.
I’ve brought several grandmas on the road with me
The next several years brought changes, but the dream remained. We started filming our journeys, interviewing baby boomers who had reinvented themselves after retirement. But then Ginny retired from her business and Two Grannies. I continued doing the show with Debbie, another retired grandmother.
By then, we had some new skills in our toolbox: videography, hosting, interviewing, and editing film.
We decided that it would be fun to visit every city and town in Massachusetts, all 351. But not long after we began this quest, Debbie decided to move a thousand miles away.
Within a month, I met Marcia, a retired nurse with six grandchildren, a love for travel, and lots of energy. We have been traveling all over Massachusetts ever since then, recently achieving the milestone of visiting one-third of all the cities and towns.
Marcia and I do everything, from planning the day to filming, interviewing, editing, and posting on social media.
This may seem like a big compromise from the original plan to travel across the country. However, I see it as a series of pivots that got me to a place where I’m having a blast, learning a lot, and meeting great people.
We’re having the time of our lives
We usually have breakfast and lunch in every town that we visit, and I can honestly say that we’ve never had a bad meal. We’ve eaten at diners that haven’t changed their prices in 15 years. We’ve been to a feast in an historic restaurant where they cook prime rib on a rotisserie over a huge fireplace. The meal includes a horse-drawn wagon ride, mulled wine or cider, fish chowder made over the fire, and homemade apple pie with a huge dollop of freshly whipped cream. We’ve had Indian, Egyptian, Thai, Hungarian, and Italian cuisine.
I have gravitated to local farms, where we have sampled fresh apples, cider, peaches, strawberries, cranberries, maple syrup, and sweet potatoes, to name a few. We’ve cuddled cows, fed alpacas, watched sheep being sheared, and held baby goats.
Marcia is partial to local shops that house several antique dealers, collectors, and crafters, as well as country stores that stock many locally made items.
We’ve watched bread, savory pies, pretzels, cider doughnuts, roasted coffee, ice cream, and organic mulch being made. We’ve even gotten our hands dirty with clay, dough, and paint.
We keep meeting people who are starting new lives after retirement
We met a school superintendent who took early retirement and opened a bakery. He now admits to working harder than he ever did before. Not to mention, his baked goods are incredible.
We’ve also met a former schoolteacher who had been collecting coins since he was a kid, and now has the world’s largest collection of “Back to the Future” memorabilia, including three Deloreans.
I’ll never forget the woman who ran the Iditarod in Alaska and now runs a business offering trail rides with her huskies and camps for kids, teaching them how to care for and train the dogs.
Retirement is what you make it
We enjoy hearing from people who have been inspired to explore more, go to a restaurant they had never heard of, visit a museum they had been meaning to visit, or go to a shop they hadn’t been to in a while.
What we get out of doing this is in line with healthy aging. We are staying physically and mentally active, engaging with others, and learning new things. And yes, an occasional bowl of ice cream is part of the prescription.
Marcia’s attitude toward retirement is that she gets to create her own schedule rather than operate on someone else’s. She spends her time pursuing many passions, including traveling, arts and crafts, and visiting with family and friends.
My attitude is that I will never consider myself retired if I have dreams to pursue.
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