What Wanderboomer hasn’t dreamed of taking off for an extended vacation, maybe even a trip around the world, before or after retirement? I know I have. Well, economics professor and world traveler, Wayne Dunlap, has written a manifesto to show you how to do it.
In his practical and inspiring book, Plan Your Escape, Dunlap tackles the nagging questions, concerns or excuses that keep us from realizing our travel dreams. But the beauty of his advice is that readers planning shorter trips will also walk away with useful tips for their journeys. For example, have you wondered how you’re going to come up with the money to fund your wanderlust? In Dunlap’s case, he and his wife Pat sold their business, rented their home and took a gigantic travel leap by visiting 51 countries in two years, spending an average of $100. a day. Not bad, huh? Dunlap details exactly how they managed their costs both before and during their travels. Concerned about staying safe and healthy on the road? The author tackles that, too, by providing tips and tools for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and minimizing security risks far from home.
What I Like
Plan Your Escape offers a comprehensive approach to take you from visioning your trip, to planning, packing and even shooting photos like a pro. Each chapter begins with a brief summary of the chapter contents with motivational and inspirational quotes sprinkled throughout. I love a book with checklists and action steps to keep me on track, and I found plenty included here, including an extensive packing list and a step-by-step 5-month planning and preparation guide. As an added bonus, Dunlap includes travel advice from experienced travelers he and his wife have met along the way.
What I’d Like to See
While I appreciate inspirational quotes as much as anyone, inserting so many throughout the text became more of a distraction than a motivator for me. In general the book could have benefited from more thorough editing to avoid overuse of exclamation points(!), errors using proper parts of speech (e.g. image vs. imagine), placement of periods (inside, not outside, quotation marks) and organizational structure of chapters as well as topic headings within the chapters.
Summary
It’s hard to argue with success. Dunlap and his wife have made their travel dreams come true by following the steps he shares with readers in Plan Your Escape. His travel enthusiasm and encouragement to others who’d like to follow in his footsteps is evident. But readers, be warned: when I asked Dunlap how easy it was to return home after their two-year adventure, he said that he and his wife were in the process of selling their house and possessions so they could get back to what they love best: planning their next escape.
Ready to plan your next escape, Wanderboomers? Where are you headed? Share your travel escape with us here.
We went one step further from planning our escape. We decided to move! All our travels have helped us define what we prefer in terms of climate, terrain, etc., and we have ended up in a small town on the Olympic Peninsula — convenient to Seattle, Victoria, and Vancouver, but quiet and artsy, with plenty of hiking and biking opportunities. Last summer we realized that we kept leaving Houston every chance we got, and that was a message to us. Hubby telecommutes anyway, kids are grown, and parents are gone, so we are fortunate to be able to live wherever we want.
Hi, Nadine! Okay, let me guess since I live in Seattle . . . My hunch is that you and your husband moved to Sequim since you said it was a small town on the Olympic Peninsula. Am I right? Thanks for stopping by ~
Nancy, I love to travel! This book looks really cool, some day when I retire, I’m going to travel around, but it might be outdated by then! It would make a great gift for a wanderluster!
Jodi
Definitely check out the book, Jodi. Dunlap offers helpful tips to travelers who are taking off for a two-week vacation or a more extended journey as he did with his wife. You’re right – it would make a great gift for the traveler on your list!
Nancy, I would love to take an extended trip if I could afford one and had the time. Alas, it’s not in the cards right now. But thanks for letting us know about this book. Sounds great.
Hi, Monica! Here’s the great news about Dunlap’s book, though . . . The travel advice he offers here is valuable for anyone planning even just a one or two-week vacation. Check it out for yourself ~
$100/day? Wonder if that was for both of them or each. Either way, it’s sounds definitely doable.
I like holidays but I also like coming home. I can’t see myself selling my house, but who knows what can influence a person. Right now I want to find a beach and sun, but instead I am New York bound. I’ll make do. I’ve never thought about traveling around the world – taking lots of trips, yes, but I like the stops at home.
Hi, Brenda ~ I know what you mean: there’s no place like home, is there? Ah, but when you have wanderlust in your heart, the idea of traveling for extended periods sounds sooo appealing to me. In the meantime, I’ll use some of the tips in Dunlap’s book to help me make the most of my shorter trips. Thanks for stopping by ~