Baby Bloomer Adventures

[maryann virack]

I am not Samantha Brown, Andrew Zimmern or Tony Bourdain. I am Jersey.  I am a Baby Bloomer…64 years old, divorced, still teaching and just starting to blossom.

                In the last few years, I have gone sky-diving, zip lining, swimming in Mexican ceynotes, snorkeling coral reefs, kayaking, off-roading, swimming with dolphins and drinking Hurricanes on Bourbon Street. All for the very first time…and all alone!!!!

                I do not eat cow eyeballs or testicles, I do not venture into war torn countries, and I never dove off the cliffs of Acapulco. I am a chicken at heart – suppressed for years – and embracing my fears. I know the physical limitations of aging and hesitate such expeditions as climbing the pyramids (altitude and bad knees = disaster), eating very spicy foods (acid reflux and gall bladder revolutions), or venturing onto dark side streets without a companion (“victim” is not written on my forehead).

                I am the senior traveler … slower than my younger counterparts, a little more wary of uncharted territories, and far less adventurous gastronomically. Yet I experience all the wonders and beauty that these far off places offer…just on a little less bizarre level… the level that most of my peers tend to embrace. 

                My culinary adventures speak to the decaying guts of the older generation who have gorged on red meat, butter, salt, and Ding Dongs for forty years. My elderly father used to say, “When I was young I couldn’t afford the food in all the fancy-dancy restaurants; now that I can afford it, my body won’t tolerate it”. My dining experiences focus on food that is more suitable to the palate and digestion of the senior citizen.

My adventures are more slow paced and less challenging though just as alluring: the air-boat ride through the swamps of Louisiana, the carriage ride through Old Town San Diego, the train ride to the Grand Canyon, the paddle boat ride down the Mississippi, the jeep tours through Sedona, and Coaster train along the California coast. I investigate physical obstacles and wheel chair accessibility. I research taxis, limos and private drivers as well as walking challenges at attractions and local destinations.

There are millions of us out here; seniors who can no longer keep up with Samantha, Andrew or Tony. The fastest growing segment of travelers is the single, senior female. Yes we envy what these brave young people do; what we can no longer do; but we are not ready to lie down and die. We travel and experience what we know won’t kill us.

“Baby Bloomer Adventures” is the travel show for the young at heart with bodies of ailing parts.

 

“Jersey”

Maryann Virack

951-471-2914