Start Here
If you’re new to Still En Route, welcome. If you’re returning after a long pause – welcome back.
Still En Route is about figuring out what’s next – and creating more freedom, flexibility, curiosity, and possibility along the way.
Travel is part of the story here, yes – but it’s not the whole story.
This site is for people who have quietly realized that the traditional retirement script may not quite fit the life they actually want – financially, mentally, or emotionally. People who still want to stay curious, keep learning, try new things, explore new places, and maybe design life a little more intentionally instead of simply winding it down.
That realization is what eventually brought me back here.
Why I Pressed Pause On This Site
I started this site years ago… then pressed pause. (Pandemic, anyone?)
Like many things during that time, it wasn’t abandoned – just interrupted. And now, with a little distance and a lot more clarity, it felt like the right moment to pick it back up again.
But somewhere in the years since, the message behind this site became much clearer to me.
This isn’t really just a travel blog. It’s about creating a life with more freedom, flexibility, and intention built into it. And it turns out I’ve been unconsciously doing just that for well over a decade.
For me, that meant making some real-life changes. Selling the house, moving into a condo for a more simplified property situation, and creating a lifestyle that allows me to spend three months in Europe each year while continuing to work, learn, explore, and stay engaged with the world around me.
Not retired from life. Just designing it a little differently.
What Still En Route Is (and Isn’t)
This isn’t a “retire at 35” hustle-culture website, and it’s not a traditional travel blog packed with frantic bucket lists and 17-city itineraries designed to require immediate hospitalization afterward.
It’s also not about pretending life magically becomes perfect once you “follow your passion.”
Still En Route is about the possibilities that open up when you start asking what you actually want this part of your life to look like.
The point isn’t how far you travel. It’s that you’re still going places.
A Little About Me
I’ve spent 40+ years in the travel industry creating custom trips and experiences for my clients.
I’m also a lifelong reader, an online business entrepreneur, a seasonal long-stay traveler, and someone who discovered – somewhat unexpectedly – that building new projects later in life can be energizing instead of intimidating.
(Well…sometimes intimidating. But still energizing.)
Still En Route is where all those pieces finally come together: travel, learning, flexible income, curiosity, freedom, new possibilities, and a realistic sense of humor about what works, what doesn’t, and what becomes a good story later.
Speaking of stories, here’s mine.
So…Where Should You Start?
That depends on what brought you here.
Life By Design
So…now what? You don’t need a five-year plan, a dramatic reinvention, or a sudden urge to climb a mountain. Sometimes figuring out what’s next just means trying something new, ditching something that no longer fits, or finally asking yourself what you’d actually like to do with all this life you’ve still got left.
Travel
Because apparently (at least for me) staying home is not the plan. From spending a month in a European apartment to tours, cruises, independent adventures, and the occasional “well, that seemed like a good idea at the time” moment, you’ll find practical travel advice mixed with plenty of firsthand experience.
Flexible Income
Making money without letting work take over your life. Maybe you want some extra income. Maybe you want to keep working, but differently. Maybe you’re curious about online business or wondering what you could do with all those skills you’ve accumulated along the way. This is about finding ways to earn that fit the life you want – not building your life around work.
Why I Relaunched Still En Route
If there’s one thing the last few years have made clear, it’s that waiting for “someday” is a risky strategy.
Are you going to choose nap time, early dinner, or adventure? There’s no wrong answer. The truth is, you can choose all three if you wish.
Maybe the goal isn’t to follow somebody else’s idea of what this part of life is supposed to look like.
Maybe it’s simply to create more choices about how we spend our time, where we go, what we try, how much we work, what we keep learning – and what we decide we’re perfectly happy never doing again.
Preferably while remaining deeply committed to comfortable shoes, realistic expectations, and snacks.
If that sounds like your kind of journey, you’re in the right place. Pull up a chair, pour a beverage of your choice, and stay awhile.
Until the next stop (preferably with snacks),
~Mary