Boldly Go Solo

Suppose you really, really wanted to travel to do something. Say, go to the Superbowl. Or the inauguration of the first black U.S. president. Or to the Olympics. Would you stay home because you had no one to go with?

Yes, many people would. And do. But not a 76-year-old woman named Marlene who I had breakfast with the other week at a Washington DC, bed and breakfast (and blogged about here.) She has traveled to DC from Atlanta eight times, to treat herself to one of her favorite things: the opera.

And she went to Europe on her own last year. It's not that she's opposed to having a travel companion. But a good one's not that easy to find. "It's fine if you're compatible with your likes and dislikes but where I'm from, 'opera' is a foreign word."

Marlene likes staying at the Embassy Circle Guest House now that she's found it. "I like the personal relationships you build sitting around the breakfast table together." She usually stays pretty quiet though, listening to others, as she did mostly when I was at the table. Until we all turned to her and asked her about her travels.

Turns out her husband died in 2000. They had raised two children together and couldn't always afford to travel. When her life radically changed eight years ago, and she was left on her own, she started traveling immediately. Solo. 

And get this. She has a terrible sense of direction, and yet she's out and about without hesitation. And gets lost all the time. She relies on people to get her turned in the right direction. "I'm not embarrassed to ask questions any more."

A lot of people she runs into can't believe she travels on her own. They ask her if she's afraid. "What's there to be afraid of," she says matter-of-factly. Excellent question, Marlene. What exactly is there to be afraid of?

Photo: Interior of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where the Washington Opera performs.