How one octogenarian’s love for travel keeps her on the move.
For Lynn Nelson, a passion for travel started with a childhood love for geography and a budding pile of stamps. “My father worked with a man who had a stamp collection, and he would always send me his extra stamps,” she reminisces. She anticipated the arrival of those postage-filled envelopes, quickly followed by opening an atlas to find each country.
Although her family didn’t travel much—they only took two trips, one to Georgia and the other to Rocky Mountain State Park—those snail-mail packages became a link between her and the world. Little did she know that she’d travel to over 50 of those countries someday.
A sunrise hot air balloon ride in Masai Mara, Kenya. Photos courtesy of Lynn Nelson
Traveling Close to Home
For many, traveling only counts if you use a passport, but Nelson encourages novice and seasoned travelers to start by exploring nearby. “Before going, I do a lot of research,” she reveals. It’s a principle she’s followed throughout her 81 years, whether visiting family or doing a local day trip with her senior community.
“Every state has something,” she says, and Virginia is the rule, not the exception. From
researching genealogy in Culpeper to exploring closer to her home in Loudoun County, Nelson immerses herself in a destination by finding interesting places to eat and staying in boutique accommodations, no matter how near or far her travels take her.
Branching Out into the World
When Nelson got married, her life changed in multiple ways. Not only did she become a wife, but she also gained a partner who loved adventure. After finishing his master’s degree, her husband’s newfound IT job in Columbus, Ohio, required a lot of travel. As an elementary school librarian, Nelson could tag along on many of his domestic trips. “I would visit those big cities all across the country, and it was addictive,” she recounts. “The more I saw, the more I wanted to see.” As their travels piled on, so did frequent flier miles, which they saved for journeying overseas.
Nelson longed to explore more, and fate brought her a viable solution. “I remember being in a hotel and hearing people talk about Road Scholar,”
she says. That prompted reading up on the company, which at the time curated trips for those over 55—they’ve since reduced the age to 50. She reflects, “At that point, I was never so excited to turn 55, because I could go on a Road Scholar program.” That interaction opened the door for Nelson and her husband to take 24 trips with the company.
Unfortunately, Nelson’s travel came to a halt for almost a decade once her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Although it was difficult for Nelson, she took her first solo trip thanks to the encouragement of his memory care facility’s staff. “They said, ‘It’s good for both of you if you’re not here all the time,’” she recalls. During that period, she went on two tours, one of which was a bucket-list trip to Africa.
Although her husband has since passed away, Nelson credits her passion for traveling to him. “I feel if I had not married the guy I married, I would have been a different person,” she reflects. What started out of curiosity led her to complete her 50th trip with Road Scholar in October, which included passage on the Queen Mary 2, followed by a theater and history-centric trip in London. One benefit of choosing that itinerary is that she could also visit her London-based son and his family after the tour.
More of Lynn Nelson’s travels abroad; holding a koala in Sydney, Australia
Reflecting on a Lifetime of Travel
Travel has shaped Nelson’s life in more ways than she could ever imagine, extending far beyond simply seeing new sites. Through her experiences, she’s encouraged other women to step out and explore independently.
As a bonus, she often finds herself as the “grandmother” of her group trips due to her octogenarian status and the number of times she’s traveled with Road Scholar.
Other women say they can’t imagine doing things without their life partners, but Nelson sees the ability to do so as a gift. She adds, “This is the first time in my life I’ve been alone, and what am I going to do with that time?” Nelson also tries to pass her wanderlust down
to her granddaughters, who have traveled with her on Road Scholar’s Grandparent Programs.
Travel has instilled a great sense of appreciation within Nelson. She realized this during a trip to Thai- land, where she saw unfortunate situations of extreme poverty. She then volunteered at an animal sanctuary and had a memorable encounter with a female elephant.
“We were given the opportunity to go into the pond and wash the animals down with a scrub brush,” she reminiscences. Without thinking about what was in the water or considering the danger of being so close to such a large creature, Nelson gently washed the elephant with a feeling of gratefulness. “I thought, ‘wow, what an experience,’” she says. “You look at things differently when you’re exposed to other places.”
What does the future hold for Nelson? For now, she plans to continue her travels indefinitely, although her granddaughter suggested she stop at 85 and then changed her mind to say 90. As a lifelong learner, Nelson doesn’t know if she’ll ever quit. “When you hear about these places, you think, ‘I could maybe go there. I could learn about that,’” she says. For her, the potential for knowledge is addicting.
What she does know is that things have come full circle as she has gone from dreaming about destinations on a map to being mindful of people she’s encountered and places she’s been. “I view these next few years as a special gift to do things that give me joy,” she says. “I hear the clock ticking, and I have many places I still want to see—and there is no reason to wait.”
Nelson continues to add memories to her passport, one stamp at a time.
7 Ways Travel Can Benefit Any Age
Courtesy of Dr. Haley Parker, D.O.M. LAc, clinical director at the Virginia University of Integrated Medicine, Fairfax
Traveling is not only fun, but its myriad health benefits can significantly boost well-being. Dr. Parker lists some serious pluses:
1. Wandering and exploring is a healthy physical activity.
2. Being exposed to new places and different environments helps boost immunity.
3. Learning and adapting to new situations helps increase brain activity.
4. Trying new things helps to decrease stress and boost mood.
5. Experiencing different places, cultures, and languages aids mental agility.
6. Social interactions can help build and strengthen relationships.
7. Doing something new gives a renewed sense of purpose and accomplishment.
This article originally appeared in the December 2024 issue.
