Marilyn C. Murphy's Blog, page 2

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

(this blog was originally published on my WOW Travel Club website in 2020)

Actually, a better title would be, “How I Was Supposed to Spend My Summer Vacation.”Because it’s June of 2020. It’s the summer of COVID-19.Because everything is upended. Everything is cancelled. Everything is uncertain.Not just for me, but for almost everyone on our planet.This has never happened before. Ever! There have been pandemics, but viruses never spread as wide or as fast as this one which hitched a ride on travelers coming from central China and rapidly spread to every country on earth.I was leading a WOW group in Morocco when the shit hit the fan, but my 22 WOWees and I staged a miraculous escape after borders were shut and international flight cancelled – thanks to Gabriel, my VP of Operations. (I call him my “Angel Gabriel” for good reason!)Since then, my company has cancelled group travel programs to Armenia, Croatia, Kenya, Hungary, and several other central European countries. I was supposed to travel independently to Japan and Tibet, looking forward to a 200-mile-per-hour ride on the Shinkansen. Instead I went to Arizona, traveling 80 MPH for eight hours in a Jeep Cherokee!

One of the most recognizable landmarks in Tucson: this two-story Tyrannosaurus rex looms over one of its busiest intersections – reminding everyone to wear their mask.

Next month, I was looking forward to Switzerland. Instead, I’ll settle for Spokane.My team is working remotely, not planning or operating trips, as would be typical this time of year. Instead, they’re busy negotiating with suppliers to get our advance payments returned on cancelled trips, and sending refund checks to our customers.Travel has always been the most rewarding, exciting, and fulfilling business. But it’s not fun these days.As for me, I’m finally taking my long-threatened sabbatical. I’m working on a memoir, with plenty of time to revive and relive memories from my nearly 40-year career in travel.

Since I can’t go anywhere else, I’ve been traveling down memory lane – searching through old photos from my 40-year career.

Ever since I circumnavigated the world with a backpack as a solo 20-something traveler, my life has revolved around foreign travel. I built a career and a travel company – dreaming it, doing it. Creating magical journeys for others to come to know what I have learned about the world. People are all the same. No matter the skin color, cuisine, costume, or customs – we all want the same things for ourselves and our children. Peace. Possibility. Freedom.Oh, the irony. We are America – the land of the free! We extoll and export the idea of freedom of speech, of religion, of expression, of movement. Now we’re living in limbo. With an abundance of time, but no place to go. No freedom to travel because borders are closed. Flights are severely restricted. Hotels are shuttered. Cruise ships are docked.This is, of course, good news to the animals, the air, and the oceans. It’s as if Mother Nature was dealing her arrogant, hubristic children a severe “time out.” We’ve been grounded until we learn our lesson.Maybe she’s telling us to just stay home and count our blessings. Recently, I found this quote by a Bengali poet, Rabindranath Tagore:

“For many years, at great cost, I traveled through many countries, saw the high mountains, the oceans. The only things I did not see were the sparkling dewdrops in the grass just outside my door.”

As much as I miss traveling the world, I am enjoying this time at home. I’m enjoying my garden, my cats, my husband, and my friends. I’m savoring the late afternoon sun as it illuminates the Buddha fountain in the birch grove in my backyard. I’m time-traveling by reading old journals and looking at photos as I research my book.

Loving my garden, my husband, and my black cats (not necessarily in that order!)

Still, I long to return to Kenya, to see Grace, the young girl I sponsor in the remote town of Kajiado. To have sundowners with Richard Corcoran, a 3rd-generation Kenyan with a passion for conservation of his beloved lands. To listen to the stories told by Kamuti, a weathered former poacher who now works as a gardener at Kipalo Hills Safari Lodge. To race a wind-powered buggy across miles of empty sand dunes at low tide on the Tana River Delta. And I’ll make sure to take extra time to go to Uganda to see the Mountain Gorillas (high on my list!) and visit my friend, Karon Wright’s philanthropic project supporting hard-working women with micro-loans, literacy, and skills training.And I yearn to return to the Sea of Cortez, where I’ll go glamping on a UNESCO-protected island off the coast of Baja. I’ll snorkel with sea lions and whale sharks. I’ll see blue-footed Boobies, Cormorants, and storks. And I’ll scratch the barnacles of baby Gray Whales as they are nudged toward the side of our 20-foot panga boat by their mamas, popping up to take a peek at the strange humans who giggle in disbelief and fumble with their cameras trying to capture the amazing spectacle.And I dream of replicating an unforgettable philanthropic journey to Vietnam, where we visited single mothers who were recipients of micro-loans from a non-profit called Children of Vietnam. With just a few hundred dollars (a loan which will be repaid), these proud women were now seamstresses, hairdressers, or fruit-sellers in the market and were using their income to send their kids to school. In addition to the poignant moments with these ladies, we had great fun riding rickshaws in Hanoi, cruising through the gorgeous waters of Halong Bay, learning to cook Vietnamese specialties, and hilariously trying to steer a round wicker boat in Hoi An.(Is it obvious that I’m ready and raring to dust off my passport?)Yes, I will enjoy my garden. And the kitties. And I’ll look for sparkling dewdrops is the grass. For now.But when the world opens up again – I’ll be one of the first to go!I hope you will, too.

Marilyn’s Magical Mystery Tour

This blog was originally posted in October of 2021, to my WOW Travel Club website . . .

I'm on my way!

“Why don’t you go away for awhile?”This was Scott’s suggestion after I tearfully poured my heart out to him a couple of weeks ago.I had been in a funk. Bored. Frustrated. Unmotivated. Listless. Yeah, bitchy, too. My emotional spiral descended into insecurity and guilt. Which then led down a rabbit-hole of embarrassment and shame.After all I am blessed beyond measure. I have an enviable life in every way with absolutely NO defensible justification for my feelings of frustration and negativity.Although he said it with love, he was rather emphatic. Apparently he was as dissatisfied with my bad attitude as I was!I embraced his suggestion instantly: “Yeah! That’s a great idea. I could do that!”I needed a change of scene. Something to look forward to. Since COVID, without any international travel in 82 weeks, my adventurous soul was despondent.My attitude adjustment was immediate, despite having no specific plan as to where or when I would go. I was thrilled at the mere idea of going somewhere – soon. It almost didn’t matter where.But, of course, it really did matter where. I wanted someplace new and novel. Unexplored – both physically and professionally. A place I’d never researched for business reasons. A place that would be full of surprise and delight.Reminiscing about my solo adventures of 43 years ago, I’m excited to replicate that kind of wondrous independent adventure! It’s never too late!But, let’s face it, the concept of traveling solo – especially for mature women – is a bit radical. From an early age, females tend to bunch up. We form tribes. Cliques. Clubs. We’re taught to be cautious and vigilant. We even visit the bathroom in groups! We make nests and create safe spaces for children and family. It seems that men have fewer such burdens slowing them down. From an early age, boys are groomed to be independent explorers. Once again, I’m so grateful to have had the experiences I had in my 20s.I’m excited – and, frankly, a little scared. (They’re kind of the same thing – right?) Traveling – which I mostly took for granted all these years – is a brand new experience. COVID has shut us down. Shut us in. This sense of positive expectancy feels weird. And wonderful.It didn’t take long to choose the place, book my flights, and reserve a room. I did not ask for discounts or assistance from my network of travel suppliers. No scheduled hotel inspections. No tours, meetings, or dinner reservations – just an open agenda to fill – or not fill – as I decide.It feels SO liberating. After a 40-year career of planning and anticipating every single detail of my worldwide journeys, I’m setting sail without a plan.After 573 days without international travel, I’m a free bird at last! I’m outta here, folks! Stay tuned . . .

And … Part 2 of the blog, published a few weeks later:

Thanks, all you loyal readers, for your encouraging and curious comments to my plan. Y'all were excited for me and were looking forward to hearing all about it. I promised to share . . . and can tell you this much:The experience really revved me up. I'd lost my mojo, but I got it back. Late in the afternoon on my second day, I sat alone on the terrace of a charming restaurant, contemplating my blessed life. Enjoying a tasty cocktail and delicious plate of appetizers. Listening to the sounds of the place as the shadows lengthened. p.s.  Oh, you’re probably wondering where in the world I went . . .

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico!

I took LOTS and LOTS of photos!

Oh, the Places You’ll Go: YOUR Journey from the Familiar to the Faraway

Oh, happy day! My book has arrived!

I had an adventure. An unexpected journey at an impressionable age, that propelled me FAR beyond my physical and psychological limits. Had I known what would happen, I never would have left home. “I can’t do this, I’m afraid, I’m not cut out for this sort of thing …” were familiar refrains that populated my thoughts. But days passed and I had survived. I was doing it! I was doing that thing I was so certain I could/should never do: travel throughout southeast Asia and India - by myself!The days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. Until I was getting low on money and realizing this life-changing experience had to come to an end. I was finally done with the most significant journey of my short life. It was time to go home to whatever would be next. But I wasn’t the same woman who had left eight months earlier. “From Saginaw to Srinagar” is more than simply my diary of travel experiences. It is a retelling of my personal renewal that left me braver, more empowered, and more confident. I want my memoir to be a force, an inspiration, a catalyst for anyone curious about the world. Curious about how other people think and thrive and survive. Curious about how they dress and dine, how they travel and transact, how they play and pray, and how they love and live in environments vastly different from ours. Whether you’re 24 or 74, there’s so much to experience beyond our borders. And so much to learn. Yes, there are obstacles: money, time and those uncomfortable airplane seats spring immediately to mind. We’re taught to be cautious, to play it safe, to not take chances. But what is life, if not to really live it?As the great philosopher, Dr. Seuss, famously said: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”Please enjoy reading about my experience. Then, go create one of your own!