Monday, January 17, 2011

Going Rogue?

Number 127 on my Bucket List is Vacation Alone. Now, preferably, that would take place in Paris, my favorite European city. I could go there every year if the economy would only allow it.

That being said, I'm terrified to travel to a foreign country alone. What if someone kidnaps me and holds me for ransom? (Good luck getting a dime out of Sarge, buddy!) Or what if I'm sold into the sex trade? (Don't laugh; someone might want a fifty-some-odd year old woman with a bad back and a trick knee!)

Despite the dangers both real and imagined, foreign and domestic, I am still game. But I think maybe I should practice first. So I pack my bag and tell sarge Hasta la vista, baby, and I get in my car and drive. A dry run, so to speak, although I never travel without a bottle of Veuve Clicquot in my luggage. A girl's gotta have a cocktail no matter where she ends up.

Two hours and one hundred twenty miles later, I'm in beautiful downtown Palm Springs. Alone. I feel so bold, so daring, so..........so alone without Sarge! But I'll get over it. I stop at Stater Brothers to get snacks for later. I pull into the garage of the home I'll be staying at, and two men working in the yard next door stop and stare at me lasciviously. Or am I being paranoid, and they are really looking at something down the street?

Silly moi, because I had a really good time that weekend. I felt like a superhero. I didn't leap tall buildings in a single bound, or run faster than a locomotive, but I did go to the movies alone, restaurants alone, window shopping alone, and I didn't get mugged or kidnapped even once!

Sarge calls my escapade "Going Rogue." I call it "Baby Steps." Just a little rehearsal for a much bigger show to come. You've gotta crawl before you can walk.

10 comments:

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Love this post, Arlene! It made me laugh out loud and the description "going rogue" was excellent. :)

Read in Colour said...

I want to go rogue too! I turn 40 in October and I'm so ready to hit the send button on a reservation for a 14 day cruise through Europe. What I really want to do is just fly to Italy and explore, but I'm a chicken. I figure the cruise ship will give me a home base. Surely someone will come looking for me if I don't make it back to the ship, right? Probably not, but it'll make me feel better on my first solo trip, especially so far away.

MsALWalker said...

Thanks Madeline. Sarge says the darnedest things!

MsALWalker said...

Turning 40 demands something new and different to celebrate its coming! I say a 14-day cruise is the BEST way to see Europe for the first time. That way, you can visit multiple countries, and decide which ones you like best, that you might want to explore more thoroughly. Also, cruising WILL give you a home base; they keep track of who hasn't made it back to the ship. So I say push that "send" button and GO ROGUE, Girlfriend!

Cathy C. Hall said...

Arlene, I'm glad you stopped at my blog-it reminded me that I hadn't caught up with you lately. And I always laugh when I catch up!

But I have to hand it to you, going it alone. Back in the day, I used to eat at restaurants alone but now, the thought of that makes me so uncomfortable! And staying at a hotel? ALONE? I not only worry about real villains but the spirit ones, too. But at least a ghost would be some company. :-)

P.S. My son had to go a business trip alone and got stuck in snow, etc. etc. He said he marked off 12 things on his list of Things He'd Never Done (But Is Glad He Did). Should I check with him to see if he has any ideas for your Bucket List? ;-)

injaynesworld said...

Your trip to P.S. sounds lovely.

Long, long ago and far, far away in a land known as "my youth" I went to Hawaii by myself for a week. It wasn't bad at all.

My adventure days are in the past, so I'll have to live vicariously through you.

MsALWalker said...

Cathy, please do check with your son on things to add to my bucket list. Let's get a male perspective on this!

MsALWalker said...

Jayne, you're my idol; you've been there and done that! And I love your blog. It's no wonder you have hundreds of followers.

J.L. Campbell said...

Hi, there,

I haven't ever taken a vacation by myself, but I'm sure it would be a blissful experience.

This is a great idea for a blog. Looked down your bucket list. I'm thinking that many of us never do the things we dream of because we don't cement them somewhere in black and white.

MsALWalker said...

You're right J.L. Check out "Why You Need a Bucket List" in my sidebar. It really helps to have it in writing! Thanks for dropping by.