I’ll be 83 in June, but still enjoy jumping off a cliff or a high diving board, and taking a chance.
I live in Rhode Island, USA now, but before, in Gloucester, Ma. where there are many granite quarries, & where stone was once extracted and used in construction , for example along the Eastern seaboard of Boston Harbour and New York. The drop varies but I’m guessing it’s a 30+ foot drop into the water – it’s a cheap thrill and I feel fortunate that I can still do it. It’s the same with high boards at the swimming pool – I’ve always been a risk taker, thinking, “yes, you can” liking the challenges! With your body you have to use it or lose it – as Einstein said you have to keep pedaling to keep both your balance and the wheels turning! I’ve had angina for 29 years, 1 hip replacement, 2 heart stents and some bumps along the way, but the heart is a muscle and it needs a good workout to stay strong and powerful. You just don’t know what you can do until you try it! I’m very grateful for my health & try to take care of my body by living a “wholesome” life & being active.
I went with ‘Walking Women’ to Provence last summer.
It was a wonderful holiday – walking through the lavender fields was a sensory overload – the sight of acres of purple flower buds and the sweet, heady scent of the blooms was heavenly. Lavender has soporific qualities, which coupled with almost 40’c heat was enough to make us all want to doze in the shade for the rest of the day. We were sweltering walking along the banks of the Ardeche river when Ginny said she thought she’d rather swim it – I agreed and we headed into the river and swam down through a gorge. Oh my goodness it felt cold – but SO good! According to Ginny, I put my head down and front crawled downstream for a mile or so- it was bliss and I think Ginny enjoyed it too. It’s moments like that you know ‘Its still in me’ and that’s truly to be celebrated and savoured.
When I was in 7-12th grade (junior & senior high school) in Orchard Park, New York, I was an active child – a ‘tomboy’. It was the 1950s when I joined the school swim team & synchronized swimming group, eager to please and volunteering for everything, joining in and doing all the training sessions with as much drive as my young frame could. I loved the challenge, the camaraderie and how strong I started to feel both physically and mentally. We built stamina by swimming endless full lengths of the pool underwater or sculling lengths on our backs, legs extended into “ballet legs”, practicing stunts for competition, and of course diving off the high board! The sport was in its infancy and not like the incredible Olympic standard of today – we made our own costumes and worked as a team. It was allot of fun working hard and giving great performances. Some of the stunts involved two or three of us working together – I think the trust and camaraderie of that has stayed with me. We became NYS AAU champions in the junior olympics. I’m now invited to swim with a group of strong senior women for fun, in R.I., and most have their own personal histories worthy of listening to. Four of us soon will head off on the Petit Nord Train shuttle taking us to the start of a four day bike trail trip north or Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
I want & try to live by the ‘Participating in life’ mantra – you are, after all, only here once. Having said that – life is maintenance – You gotta keep it all in working order!
In the 1970’s as a nurse, I worked with Expedition Training Institute, outdoor education and expeditions for teenagers with special needs, we went on ropes courses, white-water canoeing, climbing, and hiking the Appalachian Trail . It was whilst I was doing that, an idea came to me- as a strong feminist – why don’t I do something similar for women, women of all ages? I was divorced, had 2 children now enrolled in boarding school, and my female partner of a couple years & I had parted ways after spending 1 year getting rid of all the “shoulds” in our lives on this island paradise.
In many ways I’d tried to do something similar to Walking Women . I called it ‘New Dawn’, in 1986 and realize how ahead of my time I was. After a year or two of trying to create local & national trips, thought it might be easier to focus on one location. I had 5 hectares of land on Vieques, Puerto Rico – which then was very undeveloped, no phones – just a piece of earth really, shared with the US military. My vision was a safe, all female (any age, any life style) affordable retreat in the Caribbean. I invited women to come and share in this vision, and via national feminist news letters, centers, etc. (no internet) women then turned up with a willingness to participate. We set about building a large plywood house, tent platforms and community areas, -sometimes the women worked topless, up ladders, nailing up walls, roofs and decks. I was using the same model as those who are familiar with “WorkAway.info” & “WWoof.net”. Where basically, you work for your room and board. The women worked mornings and then afternoons were spent on one of the many beaches. They were fed, slept in tents at first, and we made cement foundation posts, water lines, a shower etc. We offered holidays and workshops such as tropical gardening, yoga, acupuncture & of course, carpentry. It was wonderful until in 1989 Hurricane Hugo stormed in and devasted my dreams there. I wasn’t insured, thus- it was a total loss. I started all over again, rebuilt with more women & a few mens labor and became quite well known on the island, having our own restaurant and bar, a bunk house, tent sites, horses and many followers, little blurbs written up by Frommers and other international and national publications. After doing this for 15 years, missing my children, my daughter expecting twins, I decided it was enough. In 2002 I sold New Dawn to Corky Parker, who then wrote a book about the place, renaming it “La Finca”.
Having owned & operated my own outdoor trips for women business, now with the internet, I began researching other similar businesses, checking on their itineraries, costs, accommodations etc. and still do today, enjoying travel worldwide.
In 2016 I went on my first Walking Women holiday, hiking in Mallorca. WW completely meets my needs as a holiday company – it’s simpler or less fancy than some other companies without all the ‘foo-foo’ that I find more costly – just groups of like- minded women who want to enjoy walking and other adventures, who enjoy good food, wine and a comfortable stay, without the need for fancy clothes and so on. I’m just not a package-holiday, tour person.
I really like the ‘Goat’ ratings and it’s very helpful to attend a webinar before booking too.
I like that it’s never competitive- not about who is strongest or fastest but about the joy of walking together. Walking Women values align with mine and that feels good- that’s not to be judgemental of others – but I like the values that they have- supporting women entrepreneurs and paying heed to the environment. Obviously it’s a business and needs to survive, but I feel its rooted in healthy ambition .
Now, I’m inspired by the women ‘Bluetits ’, found on Face Book, started in 2014,in the UK – cold water swimmers who attempted to swim from Wales to Ireland in a 52 mile relay, emphasizing their enjoyment of friendship. When I was 35, I took part in a six mile open ocean swim from Gloucester’s Cressy Beach – out round Eastern Point Lighthouse , through a ‘bubbler’ ( sewerage outlet) to Good Harbour Beach as part of our 350th yr celebration. The currents there are notorious & water cold– 20 people started out but only five of us finished- 4 men, all accomplished Eng channel swimmers and – me! Would never dream of 52 miles – back then or now! At 45, always wanting to be a pilot, I had the option of going to counseling or learning to fly. Getting my pvt. pilots license I know I made the right choice for the time, feeling empowered and the self confidence gained when sitting on the runway talking to the tower, or today, knowing, I can do “it” or at least try whatever.
Together Women Rise
Growing older and solo, it seemed prudent to live closer to family. My son, an ocean going Master Mariner, was often not available & my daughter and her family, – oyster farmers in Rhode Island, wanted me close by. Once there, I set out on a search to find my tribe – setting up a local chapter of ‘Together Women Rise’ in Peace Dale, Rhode Island. ‘Together Women Rise’ is an organization of approximately 5000 members in the USA, that give collectively & aims to empower women and children in the Southern Hemisphere to thrive by offering opportunities to learn, connect and create sustainable impact through well vetted grantees to achieve gender equality. I’ve been a Chapter Leader now for 10 years – during that time we have raised over $76,000 dollars to support women and girls. Since it began in 2003, has invested $13.5 million ingrants & partnerships, in more than 70 countries. It’s from this group that 8 of us are going to do a ‘Walking Women’ Gulet sailing holiday in Turkey in September. Sharing this trip with known friends is something I’m looking forward to – and the swimming, sailing and hiking.
I’ve shifted from being competitive, to loving that I can enjoy participating in the things I love- especially walking, swimming and biking and learning by sharing the activities. I accept my age – I’m not as strong or fast as I was- but grateful, when many of my contemporaries have endured health problems and no longer have the capability, energy or desire. When we were walking Ginny mentioned to me a woman named Joy who was still walking with Walking Women at 92 – she’s my inspiration- its glorious to think I could still have ten or so more years of ‘getting out there!’ I’m inspired by women my age who have taken care of themselves, are lucky and are still fit and active. Think I’m a little of both.
