For Peggy, she was looking to learn, and that’s why she decided to launch her new journey with Road Scholar. “And then push the envelope, just a little bit.”Ī good way to ease into traveling on your own is to go with a group of travelers who share your same interests. “Do something close to home that doesn’t last very long,” said Peggy. Last year, Peggy went on her first Road Scholar family adventure to the Grand Canyon with her daughter, 10-year-old granddaughter and her granddaughter’s other grandmother.įor boomer women who are hesitant to enroll in their first solo trip, Peggy suggests starting small. Not only is Peggy a trailblazer in this new wave of female solo travelers, she is also passing that love of learning and travel down to the next generations. I promised myself that I would never ever let fear stop me from experiencing life.” When my husband passed away, that was a life-changing event. “The reason I’m not personally afraid of traveling on my own is because of what started me on this journey. Today, Peggy Johnston, 65, has been on more than 20 Road Scholar programs, nine of them as a solo traveler.Īlthough her family was skeptical, Peggy wasn’t afraid of making this epic life change. “That somewhat impulsive decision transformed my life, and I’ve been a nomad ever since.” Not only did Peggy sign up for this life-list trip, but she committed to a life of exploration by selling her home. “It fell into my lap, and it was a dream of mine,” said Peggy. One day in 2009, she received an invitation to join Road Scholar’s safari in South Africa, a destination that had always been at the top of her list. “I was retired, my adult children had their own lives, and I wanted to learn more about other places and cultures.”īut just like many female solo travelers, Peggy needed a little push. “After my husband died, I knew that I wanted and needed to start a new life,” she said. Peggy saw this as an opportunity to begin a new journey-on her own. She was thrust into the biggest transition period of her life, but she didn’t lock the door and throw away the key. Peggy Johnston’s husband died unexpectedly in 2007, just two months after her retirement. But women who are considering traveling on their own may need a little extra encouragement research shows that over 20 percent of women are hesitant to travel solo versus only 7 percent of male travelers. Solo travel is on the rise for baby boomers and beyond, especially for solo female travelers. According to AARP, 37 percent of travelers over 45 have tried going solo.
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