We’d considered writing about the solar eclipse today, but after all the news hitting the airwaves, we figured all our readers had seen enough about it, and writing here would be redundant. However, we asked ourselves, “What does the solar eclipse have to do with world travel?”
It has plenty to do with it. After all, we are “world travelers,” which consists of exploring land and water on our wonderful planet. Yes, regardless of what is transpiring in the world and fear-mongering, we still believe this is a beautiful planet and health-providing down the road; we still plan to scour it with wonder and hope in our hearts (no pun intended).
For us, the past 11½ years that we’ve traveled the world has been magical, even during those less-than-desirable stays in locations we found less pleasant than others. We learned something interesting about every country, town, and village we visited during this extended period. We’re grateful for all the experiences.
Some of our friends and family members have asked us if we plan to stay in the US for the long term. As we’ve mentioned many times, at this point, the only thing keeping us here is health and the upcoming family visits. Once I recover from the surgery, we plan to continue to travel.
Most likely, we’ll return to the US more frequently than we did in the past, mainly for health checks and to see family. It’s all up in the air right now, and I do not know what’s next until I’m notified in the next few weeks.
Are there a lot of countries we’re longing to visit? Not necessarily, but there are specific locations we’d like to see and some locations we’ve visited in the past. Tom’s favorite place is Penguin, Tasmania, and I also loved it. It’s a long distance from wherever we may be, but we can get there in stages or by cruise, which would be especially enjoyable. There again, it all depends on health.
Last night, after an early light dinner, we made our way to Margie’s home, and again, we played cards. The game we play, Buck Euchre, is best played with four players. I’d played for a few hours with Tom, Margie, and Eugene, and when Colleen arrived around 7:30 after we’d finished a round, I decided to head back over to our place to give her a chance to play and after many late nights, a restful evening was in order. Tom stayed and continued to play cards.
Back at our place, I scoured our streaming services but could not find a good movie or series. I started three movies but couldn’t get into them after watching each for 20 minutes. Finally, I ended up playing games on my phone. Around 11:00 pm, Tom returned. We chatted for a while and then headed off to bed. By then, it was midnight. Awakening at 6:00 am, I didn’t sleep enough and am dragging a bit today.
We’re currently waiting for a grocery order, which should arrive within an hour. Around noon, we’re all off to the local VFW for Taco Tuesday every Monday. Go figure. Since I don’t eat taco shells, I’ll have mine as a taco salad without taco chips or a bowl-shaped shell.
Most likely, Tom will eat enough that he won’t want to have dinner tonight. If I’m hungry, I can make something for myself. No big deal. Most likely, we’ll play cards again later in the day with the sisters and Eugene. It’s pretty fun! I love playing that game. It’s easy to learn (and remember), and the games are exciting yet challenging. Tom and I have always enjoyed playing cards.
Tom’s new laptop arrives today, so if I quit playing cards early enough, I will work on setting up his new device. Since he doesn’t have many apps and files, it will be easy, taking no more than an hour.
That’s it for today, folks. If you can see the eclipse, please do so with caution, wearing appropriate eyewear, and avoid looking into a viewfinder with a camera or other device. Also, I read that cameras, including those on smartphones, can be damaged when taking photos of an eclipse.
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, April 8, 2014:
