I consider myself a well-seasoned traveler. I’ve logged many miles, for business and pleasure, both in the States and abroad. Except for ski club trips, I’ve always traveled on my own or with one or two people from my inner circle (BF, family, good friends). I frequently noticed these large groups of people get off big motor coaches and file through tourist sites listening to their guide using some kind of headset. They are kind of hard to miss. I scoffed at them, haughtily at times, thinking they looked like lemmings blindly following their leader. Then I took a 6-day Road Scholar trip to Yellowstone National Park and it totally changed my mind.
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Seniors
2016: Birthdays, Friendship, Olympics
This post is a tribute to friendship and a testimony to how women’s lives have improved in my lifetime. 
This year, 2016, I turned 70 and so did many of my friends, including my college room-mate Maxene. She was given a surprise party by her husband who asked all of the guests to write a letter, poem, or story to be bound in book as a gift for her…an appropriate gift because Max is very close to publishing her own book, a memoir. Of course, I went to her party. Flew to Atlanta on Labor Day. This has been a hard year for my friend; she has struggled through many months of health issues, which alone was a big reason to be there for her. But, more importantly, Max and I have a lasting bond, a connection that I share with no one else.
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Independent Living in a Senior Community
My mom has been living “independently” in Preston Pointe, a small senior community in North Carolina, for eight months …and (to her own surprise) she is loving it. She came here reluctantly with great fear and trepidation, agreeing to stay only three months as an escape from the harsh New York winter. This was quite brave of her, approaching 90, unsteady on her feet, and very hard-of-hearing, having never lived anywhere else and leaving all her friends and some family to do it. I did my research but had no experience with these type of facilities so I had my own set of doubts filled with nursing home nightmares.
Turns out, it was a good choice and worth the effort. We are both very happy with the arrangements and I encourage others to consider this option for their parents.
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accidental goddess 