Kayaking for Watching Nature
When one of my neighbors watched me slide my kayak into the back end of my my husband’s truck she curiously asked me if I was into”white water.” Not all kayakers, I explained, are looking for that kind of excitement. I’m more of a “nature watcher.” I do it looking to quietly paddle local rivers and lakes here in New England. I have one of the smallest kayaks that are easily fitted into a small truck or on top of a car and only weigh about thirty-six pounds. I am a baby boomer, out to relax, and have found a group of women who do this as soon as the weather allows, in the spring. And everywhere we go, we meet other women who are taking up this wonderful way of communing with nature. Last time we were out, we watched a blue heron walk along the shoreline, looking for fish. We were about fifteen feet away from him, unable to believe this large bird was letting us get so close. We’ve seen beaver and many different kinds of birds, including eagles and hawks. Two summers ago, during a kayaking rental trip in Bar Harbor, Maine, where my husband joined me on a sunset seashore excursion, a Fin-backed Whale had found his way into this deep harbor. We watched with eerie fascination as this mammoth creature found it’s way out to sea. It was far away enough that we weren’t frightened, just exhilarated. This is a sport for all ages, and a great thing to do on vacations.
Cancer Bananas!
Only in America are we so coddled, so protected–you’d imagine we’re unable to think for ourselves. Perhaps that’s why we appear to be such easy targets for terrorists. In other parts of the world, people are used to walking down stairs without a railing to hold onto. Somehow, they navigate humped up, broken concrete sidewalks (where they have any pavement at all) and cross roads without lines to show them where to walk. In my lifetime, I’ve tried to take the increases in protectionism in stride: motorcycle helmets, automobile seat belts, child car seats, cigarette warnings, bicycle helmets, skateboarders’ padding, liquor labels in bar restrooms, emergency instructions in aircraft. How did we survive our own childhoods and our parents’ ignorances?
But I draw the line at warning labels on my food!
I know that fruit labels, even fruit labels on the Internet, are nothing new. There are collectors and collections and probably competitions and havoc and furor over the adhesive and the claims. I couldn’t care less about people advertising on their own products. What I object to is the government intruding once again into our lives, using the cute little stickers to scare us silly.
Where’s My TV?
Your television may go digital in 2006. This was decided upon by Congress in 1996. What does this mean for you? It would mean that those who rely on television sets with antennaes and no cable would be faced with a blank screen or pay the price for a converter. This may all sound confusing to you, especially if you haven’t heard of it before. Check out the link and you can read all about it!
Super Foods!
One of the annoying facts of aging are the limitations that seem to restrict our lives. None is more depressing than a lengthening list of dietary no-no’s. Some result from illnesses or conditions we develop (like lactose intolerance or diverticular disease) and some are part of lifestyle changes we choose in an effort to have healthier lives. Rather than putting the focus on what you can’t have, it helps to keep your mind on beneficial foods. Learning about them, finding them at the store, learning to incorporate them into meals (if any are unfamiliar) — these positive actions keep the blues at bay far better than moping about losses.
Several versions of the “super foods” list exist. The 14-item prescription for longevity touted by Dr. Steven Pratt in SuperFoods Rx includes all but one of the ten-item list from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which advocates eating cantaloupe as a source of vitamins A and C. Also, the CSPI online listing is at odds with a mailing from them, with salmon and bran cereal online and fat-free milk and blueberries on paper. The blueberries are one of Dr. Pratt’s “everyday foods that can change your life for the better!” Although he ignores milk itself, he does advocate using yoghurt and kefir.
The CSPI list is significant in a lack of protein sources, whereas Dr. Pratt also encourages us to eat skinless poultry breast meat as well as the wild salmon and other fatty fish, oysters, and clams and most forms of soy. His other SuperFoods include:
beans
broccoli
whole grains
citrus
orange vegetables like squash, carrots, peppers
greens such as spinach, collards, kale, romaine
tea
red fruits like tomatoes, watermelon, strawberry guava
nuts such as sesame, almonds, pumpkin, macadamia
Red, green, orange and crunchy might be an easy way to remember at least part of this list.
Houston to Do: Art Car Museum
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Houston Art Car Museum The Houston Art Car Museum is a private foundation dedicated to the phenomena of contemporary art called “Art Cars”. Those who have been to Burning Man know how spectacular these moving works of arts intrigue us. The H.A.C.M. emphasizes on art cars but also include pieces of work of other fine arts from many local, national, and international museums. The Museum first opened its doors in February 1998 - founded by James and Ann Harithas. The museum is open Wednesday through Sundays from 11 am - 6 pm. Admission is free. A definite must-see for any contemporary art lover or Burning Man enthusiast! 140 Heights Blvd, Houston, Texas 77007.
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Are you ready?
A calm came over us as we had family member in the final stages of life admitted to a 24 hours seniors residence. This facility is approximately 5 years old. Extra modern, equipped with cafe’s, formal dinning areas, and suites for those couples looking to spend there final years together. Five house cats roam free and on Tuesday and Thursday a pet service brings in dogs to entertain the residences. If that isn’t enough local elementary schools hold workshops within the complex and all residences are encouraged to participate. What a beautiful place.
Myself at forty five I inquired about placing our names on the waiting list for future considerations. The unfortunate part is you have to be at a point where you just can’t take care of yourself any longer. It’s quite simple to determine whether you qualify. The potential residence is asked a series of simple questions.
1) Who do you call if your home is on fire?
2) What year were you born?
3) Where were you born?
4) What year is it?
If you answer the first question incorrectly your usually put on the waiting list immediately. By the way the answer to question one is 911, it’s that simple.
In Canada a specific calculation is applied to your income to establish how much each individual can afford. Then the next step would be to add all pensions and any passive incomes together plus assets. In this case our relative was generating $2200 monthly in pensions. Her assets (home, cash, vehicles)aren’t needed to be sold at this time.
At seventy eight she’s done alright for herself but how many of us baby boomer’s have even really started? Your probably thinking I have my home that can be used for retirement. This is true but how long will you live in the home before you can’t take care of yourself or dwelling any longer?
The reason for this blog creates many questions for me how about you?
1) How much money have you saved to date for retirement?
2) Are your children sucking the life out of your retirement plans?
3) What type of retirement investments have you in place?
4) When do I want to retire?
Are you ready?
Thank you,
Frank Joseph
Become a Novelist, Boomer!
Long before he became a rock star and racked up two Top 10 hits and nigh-on a dozen albums, Greg Kihn loved The Twilight Zone. Skin-prickling episodes about apocalypses and phantom hitchhikers made him yearn, unlike the books he read in English class, to spin spellbinding stories all his own.
The songs that eventually made him famous in the early `80s were not about ghosts but the garden-variety terrors of modern relationships. Kihn’s was a career that skyrocketed, then plummeted. A few short years after opening for the Stones he was lucky to land small town club gigs. He had hurtled down his own personal 40 miles of bad road, and it showed.
Like everyone who realizes his days of banking on boyish good looks are over, Kihn skidded to a soul-searching stop. There had to be, he told himself, “more to life than sex and drugs and rock-’n'-roll.” He’d been divorced twice, lost two fortunes. And the more he thought about it, the surer he was that his storytelling days had just begun.
Writing horror novels with musicians as their main characters is Kihn’s way of bringing together a lifetime’s passions and a lifetime’s demons. Virtually single handed he has launched a genre he dubs “music thrillers.”
Not everyone has groupies and groovin’ with Mick Jagger to look back on, but anyone with a big backlog of life-experience ought to consider taking a stab, as it were, at writing fiction.
“They say you should write what you know,” Kihn says — so in his fourth and latest book, Mojo Hand, a washed-up guitarist with substance-abuse problems struggles toward a comeback while famous bluesmen turn up grotesquely dead. The guitarist character demonstrates “what it’s like to be an asshole and get your comeuppance,” says Kihn, a Bram Stoker Award nominee. “I was all that.”
He had no formal training as a writer when he started. So while his renderings of concert scenes now throb with authenticity, Kihn found himself having to refine basic English skills while learning new lessons in humility as editors — and successful novelists like his idol, Dean Koontz, to whom he showed some early attempts — criticized his work. Still, “the stories couldn’t wait to get out of me.”
Those insistent stories are the key to everything. He urges aspiring novelists to keep their inner ears and eyes peeled for snatches of scenery or dialogue that might morph into stories.
Penning novels packed with evil spells, slashed stiffs and Stratocasters seems a fitting cap-off to years spent onstage, says Kihn, who writes three to six hours a day, six days a week. And he swears it’s more fun.
Tips To Turning Your Life Into Literature
- Write about what you know. Dig up all that old dirt, then dish it.
- Write about what you love. Would Patrick O’Brian’s seafaring Aubrey/Maturin novels have been any fun if he was hydrophobic?
- Join a writers’ group. Monthly meetings with like-minded friends are a great source of feedback.
- Go back to class and learn from a pro: Meet your future competition in an adult-school course.
- Write to your favorite writer. Greg Kihn did.
- Best-selling authors Natalie Goldberg and Julia Cameron know how to coax fledgling writers into full flight; check out their how-to workbooks.
- The more you read, the better you write.
Sex and The Baby Boomer: Can Drug Therapy Help?
In this article Dr Michael Goodman, the perimenopause specialist, summarizes an entire chapter from his book, The Midlife Bible. The subject is sexual difficulties as women enter mid-life.
Few things in life are fun and free–sex is one of them. As Henry Miller said, “Sex is one of the nine reasons for reincarnation…the other eight are unimportant.”
Of course, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If your sexual desire is nonexistent and arousal a bit slow, but it’s not really an issue for you (and your partner), don’t hassle. But, if your desire is that of a banana slug on downers and you and your partner would like to be doing the cha-cha-cha: What’s going on? What can you do?
Causes
This whole issue is the topic of a complete chapter in my new book, “The Midlife Bible: A Woman’s Survival Guide”, but I will try to summarize in the next 800 or so words. The causes are “multifactorial”, as “we experts” like to say. They include upbringing (strict, staid, “religious”, etc.), social, physical, hormonal, medicinal and psychological factors. Frequently (especially with arousal and orgasmic difficulties), they include a history of verbal, physical and/or sexual abuse, many times without adequate psychotherapeutic resolution.
Relationship issues obviously play a part. A “stale” relationship, poor communication, physical or emotional disinterest, etc., does not promote sexual closeness.
Certain medical conditions (fatigue, depression, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.) and the medications used to treat them can lead to desire, arousal and orgasmic difficulties. Frequently implicated here are certain antidepressant and anti-hypertensive medications. Additionally, sometimes orally administered hormones (birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy) can diminish desire.
The fatigue issues of midlife - either secondary to stress, inadequate sleep or hormonal factors - diminish sexual interest and satisfaction. And of course, if your roller-coaster estrogens are causing moodiness and hot flashes, or if stress is increasing, sexual interest wanes.
Hugely important is hormonal (translate: estrogen) “support” of the vagina. Nearing menopause when estrogen levels wane, many women’s vaginas respond by being dry and “scratchy”. Without adequate moisture, lubrication and pliability, lovemaking can become uncomfortable and distinctly unpleasurable.
But hormonally, as much as anything, it is the slow, steady decline of androgen (read: testosterone) levels at midlife that most likely produces the decline in desire and sexual ennui experienced by so many midlife women.
Sexuality issues can occur in three areas: loss of sexual desire (i.e. “low libido”), poor arousal, and difficulties in achieving or satisfaction of orgasm in previously orgasmic women (”I get to the edge, but I can’t quite jump off…”).
So…desire is down…lubrication inadequate…orgasm a bit more difficult. What can you do? Therapeutic approaches can be divided into four categories: Lifestyle and social intervention; drug therapy; devices; and extensive psychosexual therapy.
Lifestyle Interventions
For starters, there is everything to be gained and little downside to increasing self awareness, “touch therapy”, and self pleasuring.
It is never too late to learn more about yourself and be comfortable with your body. In my practice, I use a system of relaxation and self awareness (visual and touch) therapy to enable my patient to be more comfortable with her body and to discover likes and dislikes, pleasurable areas and erogenous zones. This therapy is performed in a secure, non-pressured environment and may lead to self-pleasuring. Along these lines we also work with erotica (literature, spoken word, visual fantasy and sexual “aids”) - see the related web links below.
Drugs
Hormones: If you are flash-flushing all over the place, feeling moody and not sleeping well, sex is probably the last thing on your mind, and arousal and orgasm may be more difficult. Get that part alleviated (by hormones, botanicals or psychopharmaceuticals).
Vaginal dryness is often a part of the equation. Locally applied estrogen, either via a cream, foaming vaginal insert or a self-contained, small, slow estrogen-releasing vaginal ring helps many. Oral and transdermal estrogen preparations help too, but take a couple of months before their effects are fully realized. In the meantime, lavish use of baby oil, massage oil or over-the-counter lubricants such as Astroglide®, Silky®, etc., lovingly and sensually applied by both partners to each other’s genitals works wonders.
Testosterone is a female hormone too, a fact that many healthcare practitioners forget. Testosterone levels usually decline even before estrogen dives. Adding testosterone to estrogen hormone therapy is a good general practice. It potentiates the effect of estrogen, decreasing the amount of estrogen needed and probably diminishes estrogen’s stimulatory effect on the breast.
Testosterone helps mediate sexual desire in women. Adding some testosterone (either via compounded lotion or capsule, a commercially available estrogen and testosterone preparation, or the soon-to-be-released Intrinsa® testosterone patch frequently helps with sexual desire, along with increasing energy and quality of life. I am amazed that testosterone has been underutilized for so long. It is finally getting its due.
Supposed Arousal-Enhancing Herbs and Botanicals
Several herbal compounds have been touted, among them Yohimbe®, Avlimil® (little more than the sage-like herb Salvia along with a few other botanicals in less-than-therapeutic doses) and several other over-the-counter herbal combinations. Most of the benefits from these agents are probably placebo-derived; there is no decent scientific evidence for their usage.
Drugs for Arousal and Orgasmic Problems
Sildenafil (Viagra®) is a well-known agent for men and has erected many a penis. Initial trials with women were disappointing, as Viagra does not help increase desire. It is, however, frequently helpful for women in increasing arousal and the ability to orgasm. The dose is usually 25-50 mg (sometimes as much as 75 mg). Since it is so expensive, have your physician order 100 mg and cut off what you need with a pill cutter.
There is no reason why the new erectile agent Levitra® shouldn’t also work well. It lasts about as long (five-six hours) but takes effect much faster than Viagra (15-20 minutes versus 45-60 minutes). An agent used in Europe but not yet approved in the United States (Cialis®) lasts much longer (24-36 hours).
Devices
The Eros CSD® (Clitoral Stimulation Device) is a nifty little unit (”by prescription only”) which gently attaches by suction to the clitoris. With regular usage, the gentle suction activity slowly swells your clitoris, making it more sensitive and responsive and used to stimulation.
For orgasmic and arousal issues, relationship issues, as well as desire issues not addressed by the foregoing advice, more intensive therapy, singly and with your mate, is in order. See your practitioner about referral to a sex therapist or counselor.
Mentoring and Baby Boomers
Why Mentor? Mentoring Is a Strategic Business Imperative
Today, in our love affair with what’s new, what’s cutting edge, and what’s technologically cool, it’s easy to forget that knowledge also comes with experience. It may require a few hours of e-training or a semester-long course to learn how an energy pump operates, but it takes years and years of experience to recognize the sounds of a pump that is not operating properly. The only way to shorten that learning cycle is to have someone with more experience help to accelerate learning.
Businesses idolize youth and technological savviness. Firms recruit new (and less expensive) talent in the belief that that’s the way to build a competitive edge. But companies also recruit and retain mature employees because of respect for their knowledge. The best companies today will help their organizations transform the way they think about all of their employees. Each person brings different knowledge to the organization. Each generation brings something different and valuable to your organizational operations.
Baby Boomers As Successful Mentors
This brings us to the topic of baby boomers as mentors. The youngest baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) have just turned 40 and the oldest baby boomers are in their late 50s. There are 76 million baby boomers and they represent a great deal of knowledge, talent, and experience.
Many baby boomers are looking for new ways to work—and are considering different business responsibilities, new opportunities, ways to give back to their organizations, or avenues for working with younger employees. Research has indicated that baby boomers like collaborative learning and working in teams. Mentoring provides a great opportunity to utilize baby boomers, but only when companies recognize that mentoring is a significant piece of a strategic plan to ramp up recruiting, retaining and increasing the knowledge and skills of talented employees.
Mentoring Helps Younger Workers Develop Their Talents
Younger employees routinely tell us of their disenchantment with their companies as they describe the onerous demands (and opportunitities) placed on them by managers who may have confidence in their abilities, but lack the time or skills to help them succeed. Faced with frustration and afraid that they will fail, many of these younger employees tell us that they are planning to move on and look for a more supportive business environment. In fact, the average 30 - 44 year old has had up to ten different positions.
Most businesses could use their more experienced baby boomers, who have deep knowledge, impressive networks, and broad-based business experience, to buffer younger employees against frustration, focus on their career paths, and find places to acquire the skills-based knowledge necessary to succeed.
Seattle to Texas: Part III - Saratoga Springs, Wyoming
Seattle to Houston, Part III:
Saratoga Springs, Wyoming
by Leaf McGowan
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Woke up early around 7 am … frozen stiff. Ice everywhere … body shivering. Peered outside under my blanket and I saw bright sun blaring off the white snow covered ground. Prairie dogs are cute running in the snow … After Rawlins Wyoming, decided to take the scenic byway 130 to Saratoga Hot Springs and over these mountains to Laramie instead of the I-road. Stopped to view the Marker on the Overland Trail - Platte River Crossing - nine miles west 1861-1868. Could feel a rush of history … Enter the tiny town of Saratoga, Wyoming … Home of the Saratoga Hot Springs. Sitting in a brick-n-mortar customized pool, yet au natural as the original spring is preserved with river rock and sand floor. Hot bubbles alternate like its own orchestra seeping from the sand to the surface of the pool. Above and overlooking the Platte River, a side subsidiary, where there are still some natural pools. It’s called a “Hobo Pool” - open 24 hours a day, every day throughout the year - completely free - and providing changing rooms with free hot showers. Extremely hot, this pool will heal your spirit and soothe your sore muscles and is a refreshing break from travels along I-80 east or west in Wyoming. Hot springs composition:
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Seattle to Houston: Road Trip - Installment 2 - Oregon
Road Trip Tales and Tips:
Seattle to Houston, Part II: Gas prices on the Rise, travelling through Oregon
by Leaf McGowan
This year is going to be tough for road trips. Gas prices have hit a phenomenal high … I remember just a month ago, before I left for Germany, gas in Seattle Washington was only $1.86/gallon. Now, its between $2.18 and $2.45.
Friday, April 8, 2005
Steven’s Pass, Washington
Started out just shortly after midnight and hit a rest area outside of Yakima, Washington. In the morning, after awaking covered in blankets and thinking the mid-40’s are cold, I travelled forth into the grand State of Oregon. Of course, you cannot pump your own gas in Oregon, but remarkably that didn’t affect prices, as gas was a bit cheaper in Oregon than Washington. I fueled up in Seattle at about $1.45/gallon. Then gas in Yakima, Washington at about $2.33/gallon. Crossed the Columbia River into Oregon and pitstopped at the Oregon Welcome Center listening to the compilations Vanessa gave me in Germany of her local rock music. Pretty good stuff. Wish I wrote down the song names. Hot desert now … sun is bright, trees are minimal, plains … 61 degrees F.
Following the Oregon Trail, beautiful views from an outlook overlooking Pendleton. Temp has gone down to 56 degrees. Now I usually bring a solar shower with me for roadside showers during summer travels, but as you can see, the temperature is not so kind to that at the moment. But I found free showers at Emigrant Lake off I84 at Emmigrant Springs state park - it appears they don’t charge for use of the day / picnic area - very cool. Stopped and ate my Trader Joe’s BBQ Unagi Sushi Roll - mmmm … then discovered they had free hot showers … so took advantage of that! A hard to find occasion in travelling by car and avoiding hotels … all refreshed! Now back to the road …. over the summit of the Blue Mountains … 48 deg.across the Grande Ronde River … into La Grande via 30 …
Historic La Grande
La Grande was the first town permanently settled in NE Oregon. Daniel Chaplin laid out the original “Old Town” in 1862 and Ben Brown built the first house, a log cabin, alongside the Oregon Trail at the corner of B ave and Cedar st.
As the prime lands of W Oregon were settled, and the gold was discovered in Eastern Oregon, a reverse migration used the Oregon Trail from W to E. The “Old Town” area grew quickly … The Post office was established in May 1863 under the name of “La Grande” in 1884. La Grande changed dramatically when Chaplin donated 105 acres to the new railroad and the commerical center moved from Old Town to the tracks.
“It is a place - one of the few we have seen in our journey so far where a farmer would delight to establish himself, if he were content to live in the seclusion which it imposes.” John Fremont, 1843.
 Overlook of Pendleton, Oregon |
 Town of La Grande, Oregon |
Road Trip Tales & Tips: Seattle to Houston, Part I
Road Trip Tales and Tips:
Seattle to Houston, Part I: Economy Driving
by Leaf McGowan
Well, I haven’t been able to post within Boomer 2.0 for awhile because I’m off on an archaeological project in Texas … so I figure, I’ll do a tour-guide, economy-guide, several installment series of my travels with tips to assist you on your road trips. Low budget, economic, crash-in-your-car, and look for cheap things to do or to get by along your journeys. Keep viewing this blog for installments along my journey.
Packing up the car: You’ll want to have enough clothes and gear to last you on the trip … but the “Key” tools of the trip to make it cheap is:
- buy groceries before hand
- Stock and bring a car cooler that plugs into your cigarette lighter
- bring a camp stove, utensils, camping pots and pans
- wet wipes
- At least a gallon of water and drinking water bottle that fits in your cupholder
- towel, soap, shampoo
- change of clothes handy
- maps and directions for your journey
- first aid kit, flashlights, and emergency stuf
- sleeping bag, blanket, pillow
- alarm clock
- cell phone and charger for phone. Laptop with DVD player (and DVD’s of course)
- reading material
- digital camera
- and whatever else you normally bring with you on car trips already!
Unfortunately, I have to start work monday morning in Houston, Texas … so this will be a speedy journey, roughly 2,600 miles from Seattle, Washington to Houston, Texas ….
Let the journey begin!
Why Spring Break Sucks
It’s spring break for many kids in and around the Emerald City. I live in an upscale suburb of Seattle, where spring break is a big freaking deal. My kids have friends in Mexico and Hawaii, at ski resorts and Grandma’s house. Where you go and what you do for spring break is very much a one-up process here.
Two weeks prior, pretty much anyone you ran into while grocery shopping, banking, or getting a bikini wax would casually ask, “What are you doing for spring break?” These people didn’t really want to know what you had planned as much as they wanted to tell you what they were doing.
“We rented a mansion on Grand Cayman,” they say. Or, “We always go to Whistler for spring break. The skiing there is wonderful. Did you know we bought a house there?” And of course I did know because I’ve been told about it every year for the past century.
Like every year, this year during spring break I will be . . . drumroll puh-leeaassee . . . working. Ta da!
The kids will stay up half the night, sleep half the day, play video games, watch T.V., instant message their friends, each junk food and otherwise get on my nerves. I will get up at 5am to work in my home office until they wake up. With a little luck, I can get a solid 5 or 6 hours in before they start asking me for things. “Spring break sucks!” they will tell me over and over again, meaning that by staying home while their friends travel their lives are somehow defective.
They have already forgotten that we went skiing in Big White, Canada during mid-winter break. (What the hell? When I was a kid, there was no such thing as mid-winter break. Kids these days have it so easy.) We planned and saved for eight long months to pay for that trip and had to rent a condo because we don’t own one there. (Or anywher else for that matter.)
With one spring break day down and nine to go, I’m sure I will survive. Until summertime, when the questions begin again. ” What are you doing this summer?”
Signs of the Times
The other day I passed a men’s restroom in a huge convention center. I was rushing down the long, curved hallway, already late for the next session. A few steps farther, the input from my visual cortex caught up to my thought processes, and I did a U-turn. I trotted back to the men’s room to gaze at the wall beside the doorway. There was a new symbol beneath the icon for “Men”. Remember when international symbols began to appear on the highways? I complained then that I couldn’t comprehend what they meant. I refused to even try to learn how to use Apple computers because of its graphic operating system. Every time I tried to use one, my language became pretty graphic, too! Fortunately the new men’s room signage had a text label that said “Change Table” or somesuch. When I read the words, I could understand that the symbol showed a baby in a diaper. A wet one, at that.
The times, they are a-changin’!
Calling all Griswolds!
The State of Georgia has started a new tourism drive aimed at Boomers.
This “heritage tourism” is really for those who want to vacation without the kids… it’s probably best for the empty-nesters or newly retired. You’ve done Disneyland… you’ve experienced Epcot… you’ve suffered through Six Flags. Now it’s time to see something YOU are interested in, without the grief of your kids whining, “Awww, dad… we’re on vacation… we don’t want to learn anything!!”
You’ve spent the last 18 years or more catering to your children’s whims… you’ve more than earned some time for yourself.