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When work responsibilities end, many retirees plan a great escape. A recent online poll by MassMutual reported that travel is the top objective of Americans approaching retirement: Seventy-six percent of respondents said that’s what they most look forward to. The travel industry has even coined a term for that first big post-work trip: the “retirementmoon.” For many, it’s more than just a getaway; it’s a long-awaited adventure, a reward and sometimes even a dream decades in the making. Looking for inspiration? Check out these travel tales from recent retirees.
A fishing expedition
Five days in the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Don Atkins, 61, Kirkland, Washington
Retired: 2021, medical sales
I got hooked on fishing as a 12-year-old kid, even though I didn’t catch anything during my first time out. After a 40-minute battle, I had nearly caught a 60-pound salmon, but the massive fish snapped the pole. I never forgot the thrill of hooking a fish.
I traveled to Alaska for work for years and always wanted to go fishing there. When I retired, I went fly-fishing with a bunch of guys. I caught 150 pounds of fish! I’m not exaggerating when I say that I caught a fish every 15 minutes. I felt like a kid again.
The Kenai is stunning. It’s an hour’s drive into the wilderness. You get to see grizzly bears and moose just walking around. One of the guides told us that a grizzly was above us on a bluff 30 yards away. We got out of there, and that guide was right on the money. I took a photo of the bear from the boat, and I didn’t even use a telephoto lens.
Where Dad fought
A 65-day trip through Europe

Mary Terkelsen, 74, Clovis, California
Retired: 2008, teacher
It had always been a dream to retrace my dad’s World War II steps in Italy. We were also interested in visiting my husband Gary’s relatives in Denmark and seeing friends in Norway. We also decided to visit as many countries in between as we could.
The highlight was when we arrived in Monzuno, Italy. It’s the village where a bomb hit just feet from my dad and where he earned his Purple Heart. We walked around the village, and a man directed us to the mayor’s office, where they could speak English. I told them my dad’s story. The office workers were coming up to me and thanking me for my dad’s service. It brought tears to my eyes. One young woman said, “Your dad’s service helped rescue our parents and grandparents from the Nazis.” The mayor’s wife took us to her parents’ home, where we had dinner. We found out that the house had been a Nazi headquarters, and then it became the American headquarters when they got the Nazis out. So we were literally walking in my father’s footsteps.
A bluegrass quest
An eight-day road trip to Nashville

Stephen Kranz, 67, Westminster, Maryland
Retired: 2023, attorney
I was introduced to bluegrass at a club while in college at Temple University in Philadelphia and have been hooked ever since. It’s the first-person storytelling, the instrumentation, the harmonies. It’s just good, well-written songs. I wanted to experience it in a city famous for live music.
So my wife, Michelle, and I climbed into our Dodge Durango and drove about 1,500 miles through five states to Nashville.
On our trip, one of the first stops was the Carter Family Fold in Virginia to see bluegrass act Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out. We had seen them before, but what was unusual here was that people streamed out of the stands and did flatfoot dancing.
In Nashville we caught Dailey & Vincent. We’d seen them at bluegrass festivals, but to watch them perform at the Grand Ole Opry was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The acoustics in that place were just fabulous.
A Jet Ski adventure
Seven days from British Columbia to Juneau, Alaska

Don Swartz, 76, Bakersfield, California
Retired: 2016, district sales manager
When I fell into the water at the start of a 650-mile Jet Ski trip to Juneau, I said to my adventure guide, “Take a picture!” I was 70, with bad knees, and was embarking on an excursion that not many people have experienced. I’m also diabetic, but I love adventure and enjoy making memories.
We traveled the 650 miles in seven days. That part of Alaska is a special place. I was so close to whales that I could smell their breath as they sprayed us. It smells like krill! And then there was LeConte Glacier, which is stunning. I’ll never forget navigating around the ice and just staring at the waterfalls.
It would be great to do the trip again, but my wife says my life insurance has to be paid up first.