Several years ago, I (Geezer Rob) was planning all our family adventures. We were traveling by car.   I had every stop and motel planned.  Off we would go.  It was exhausting to plan and stressful to stay on schedule.   One year my wife (Geezer Jean) said she was planning the trip.  It was to the Black Hills of South Dakota over a major holiday.  No reservations, no plans, except for a start and an end time, and a couple of high points.

I was less than enthusiastic but was determined to keep my mouth shut.  Her rules were simple. No reservations, and no schedule.  If you saw or thought of something you wanted to do, we would do it.  Off we went.  I thought motel reservations would be the big problem.  Even with the major holiday they weren’t.  Everywhere we went the motels were very helpful in finding a place to stay if they were full.

We hit Mount Rushmore and one of the kids said, “Is that it?”  Yah, not as big as I remember from my youth either.  We thought it would be one of our high spots but after an hour we were ready to move on.  Down the road a piece we found Crazy Horse Memorial,  and spent most of the day

there.  Way more than I thought we would.

Later in the trip we stopped at Hot Springs South Dakota for the night.  Nothing planned.  Just a place to stop at the end of the day.  One of the kids found some information on The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs.  It is a museum and paleontological site where they have found mammoth fossils in an old sinkhole.  Excavations are continuing, and you can watch

paleontologists work. It was every kid’s dream, digging for dinosaurs!

And so the trip went.  Every day was an adventure.  Even if there were problems, like the dust storm at Car Hinge, it was still an adventure.  We didn’t worry about passing fun up to make the next motel reservation.  We got home and were refreshed, not exhausted.  I was amazed and converted.

Future family vacations were of the similar style.  Way more relaxing, way less pressure, fun for all.  We have found this is our style.  Be it Germany by train or Alaska by auto or local overnighters.  Rule number one for us, if you see something you want to do, the answer is yes that does fit right into our plans.

This may not be for everyone, but I was willing to keep my mouth shut, listen, and I learned.  Mostly I learned to relax because it’s all an adventure.

What is your travel style?  How do you like to travel?  Motorcycle, Boat, Car, Camper, RV, Train? Comment and let us know. For us Geezers the adventure is just around the corner.

Geezer Rob