A Preview...my itinerary!

It's December 1st, 2025. I have exactly 13 more work days before I retire. And exactly 38 days until I leave on an epic 3 month adventure to Australia and Southeast Asia. I am beyond excited, incredibly nervous, and simply can't wait to share my post-retirement adventures with you!

As a preview, here is the general itinerary for Laura's retirement kickoff journey:

Southern Australia for Nature, Tennis, Wine and Food

• January 8 - leave for Melbourne Australia, by way of Qatar

• January 10 - arrive Melbourne (and start to recover from what will likely be crippling jet lag!)

• January 12 to 15 - small group tour along the great ocean road, ending in Adelaide. There will be amazing coastlines, Koalas, and many Kangaroos and Emus along the way!

• January 15 to 19 - in Adelaide. Will attend the semifinals and finals of the Adelaide Open, a precursor to Australian Open, and get up to the Barossa Valley for some wine tasting.

• January 19 to 27 - back to Melbourne for the Australian Open, a short jaunt to see the "fairy penquin parade", and lots of delicious meals...this city was just named the world's top food destination for 2025 by Travel + Leisure

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Southern Thailand Beach Time

After all that tennis, I wanted to have some downtime to rest up before the the very action-packed SE Asia tour that starts in February. The Andaman sea islands of Southern Thailand have been on my bucket list forever - clear blue sea, excellent snorkeling, dramatic limestone cliffs, delicious food - so it was an easy choice to spend some time here. I booked myself into two very nice resorts, first in Krabi for 4 nights at Phulay Bay, a Ritz Carlton Reserve property, then for 5 nights at Naka Island, which is off the coast of Phuket. Will probably travel between the two by ferry or motor boat - a scenic ride of just under 90 minutes.

Phulay Bay, Ritz Carlton Reserve

The Naka Island, Phuket

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Southeast Asia Immersion: Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos with G Adventures

This was the first thing I booked and what I built the entire trip around. Its a 31-day small group, immersive tour that makes a big loop from Hanoi, Vietnam in the north, down through Vietnam to Cambodia, up through Thailand, and ending in Laos:

The full itinerary is linked here if you are interested

Itinerary

There is a lot of cooking and eating and history, plus something active - hiking, biking, kayaking - most days. It's going to get me out of my comfort zone, for sure!

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Back to Oz - and an epic Cruise

The SE Asian Immersion ends in Laos on March 8. Rather than flying home immediately, I decided to take a trans-Pacific cruise on the Queen Anne, leaving from Sydney on March 17. I haven't yet planned the interim, but am thinking I will head to Sydney from Laos, and perhaps spend a few days in the nearby Blue Mountains - visited there the other time I was in Australia and did not get enough time to really appreciate it. Sydney is just beautiful, and has amazing food, so I may end up just spending the time in town. Will keep you posted!

What I do know for sure is that I will be hopping on the Queen Anne in Sydney on March 17 for a 20 night cruise that ends in LA on April 5!

We have a couple of stops along the way - Vanuatu, Fiji, and Honolulu - but its mostly sea days. My rationale for coming home this way was threefold: (1) price, which was similar to a buisness class fare home; (2) jet lag, which I figured would be more fun address slowly cross the ocean than back at home; and (3) a general love of cruising. There is something about looking at the open ocean that I find incredibly relaxing. Will get a lot of reading done, and hopefully hone my bar trivia skills along the way!

My sister Deb is planning to meet me in LA and we will spend a week together doing the California coast before heading home around the 12th of April. Just about time to open the RI house for the summer!!

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you decide to come along vicariously. I hope to post a little about my final preparations over the next few weeks, and will definitely be chronicling my adventures along the way, starting in January.

Stay tuned!