Here's an Update for All of You Social Hermits Out There

Back in August, I published a post called “Social Hermit: A Personal Definition” (link HERE) in which I pointed out that I was an introvert.  I went on to describe my personality a bit and I reflected on how introversion played a major role in the way Alan and I travel and the activities we enjoy.  Much to my surprise, that post garnered a lot of attention and I received a number of comments, texts and emails about it.  (No phone calls, though, because, as it turns out, most introverts don’t like using the phone.)  The post continues to draw readers even though it was published over two months ago.

Earlier this month, Alan and I had a wonderful opportunity to spend time with our friend Mary Gill.  Mary is a Certified Professional Coach and the Executive Director of Pursuing the Positive (link HERE).  She specializes in lifelong learning and achievement coaching and is one of the most intelligent and caring individuals I’ve ever met.  During that fun-filled visit with Mary (which included boating, pizza, lots of laughs and the sharing of countless memories from our decades old friendship), Mary and I ended up on a long drive together and the topic of introversion came up.  Mary suggested a book called “Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” by Susan Cain.  Well, thanks to Mary, I have since read that book plus two others, and now I have even more to share with you about the world of what I call “social hermits.”

Yogi Was Right - "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" (National Parks Trip #1)

This post represents the final installment in the series detailing the first of our three cross country National Parks camping trips with travel trailer in tow.

As our family pulled out of the Riverview RV Park in Loveland, Colorado, early one August morning in 2007, we could look back at our itinerary and take great satisfaction knowing that we had achieved our goal of visiting one National Memorial (Mount Rushmore), one National Monument (Devil’s Tower), and five National Parks (Badlands, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Rocky Mountain) on our first cross country trip as a family of four.  Alan and I pretty much re-created our honeymoon of more than 25 years prior, the only differences being that a travel trailer had replaced our two person mountain tent and there were now two kids in the previously empty back seat.  The trip had been full of many “firsts” and tons of fun but, initially, we had been extremely disappointed that we would miss a visit with our friends Mary and Dave who live in Colorado.

If you remember me mentioning our close friends Peg and Bill who live in Virginia, you may be interested to know that Mary is Peg’s sister.  Since Peg and I have been friends since first grade, it follows that Mary and I have known each other for quite some time, as well.  Although Mary is younger by several years, she and her husband Dave had children before Alan and I did.  And I have to say that we have looked upon these two incredibly warm and caring people as role models while tripping our way through the landmines of parenthood.