TRAVELING ALONE OR TOGETHER

Sometimes my companion and I get on each other’s nerves. Being together constantly in a small RV is a real test of compatibility, and neither of us is particularly good at sharing.

Of course, there are many advantages to traveling together. He is an expert on RVs, having lived in one for nine years while in the early stages of building his permanent home. Though I try to learn all the details of handling the RV, he can always provide the knowledge that is needed. Besides that, he is much stronger than I am. Modern RVs in general do not require much strength, but I am unable to manage the black water disposal. (Some women have grinned and told me not to learn how!)  Especially important for an aging couple, if either of us is ill or has an injury, the other one is there to help. As we are both retired science educators, we share some professional interests, and often want to visit the same places. Finally, it is simply more enjoyable to share an adventure with someone you care about.

On the other hand, it’s not all beer and skittles. He is obsessed with trains—both model trains and the real ones—and I see them only as a very enjoyable means of transportation. While we both love to read, and spend a good amount of time in libraries, I prefer fiction, while he cares only for nonfiction. I like attending plays and spending time in art museums, but he quickly loses interest in them and thinks the admission prices are too high. He hates computers, I enjoy surfing the Net and emailing friends.

So, there are times when I envy my women friends who travel solo. They do whatever interests them, go wherever they wish, without having to accommodate another person. Meeting a variety of people, one of the pleasurable elements of travel, is also much easier for someone traveling alone.

For us, exploring the planet together definitely beats traveling alone, and so we compromise. Sometimes he goes off for a day alone looking at trains or taking hundreds of photos, and I spend the time elsewhere. We are both revitalized by pursuing our individual interests, and happily report to each other on the time we spent apart.