For a woman who married a traditional-type male at a young age, solo travel in my fifties is a constant stretching and discomfort on many levels. We women like to face new situations with a friend or companion at our side, someone to feel safer with, someone to laugh and process new experiences with, and someone to complain to when things aren’t going well.
The first week of my recent trip to Kauai (my friend Holly joined me the second week) was fraught with the discomfort of being alone, a stretching I felt keenly regarding the doors-off helicopter tour I had booked in a fit of bravado.
My reasoning for choosing a tiny four-person chopper with no doors was as follows:
1) It’s going to be scary and expensive anyway, so why not a flight that will guarantee the most jaw-dropping views and extreme experience?
2) My husband Mike did one on the Big Island to photograph lava flowing, and pronounced it “awesome,” so surely, I could handle one too.
3) I’m practically cured from the fear o…
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