For the past three months I have been getting a taste of what retirement might look like.   And let me tell you,  I don’t like it much!   For years now,  I have brushed off questions about retirement with a trite “I wouldn’t know what to do with myself”,  and quickly changed the subject. But late last year my son and I began serious discussions about a succession plan that included him gradually taking over the business,  leaving me the many parts of the job that I like  (and

I don’t have any verified homesteaders in my family tree  –  well, maybe a few  –  but it is always tempting in times like these to compare the current challenges to what our pioneer fore-fathers actually endured. I’ve always taken solace from historical comparisons,  but as a historian,  I have to admit we’ve never seen anything like this. Since the first ill-fated cruise ship arrived in port with quarantined passengers,  I’ve been collecting clippings and scouring the inter

Chances are if you were to ask ten people why they travel,  you would get ten different answers.   But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  I personally have quite a collection of travel quotes and they represent a large spectrum of ideas on the subject.   I especially like those by philosophers and travel professionals. Many of these quotes have to do with rejuvenation or the concept of a quest. Thomas Cook (the original travel agent) placed travelers into four main categori

Traveling with a purpose is the latest buzz-phrase in the travel business,  and I always get kind of a kick out of it,  because I can’t imagine any other kind of travel.   It is a fairly broad category which includes traveling to learn,  to provide public service to underprivileged parts of the world,  eco-tourism,  stretching your personal comfort zone,  and sometimes even adventure travel. For me it has always meant learning about  “what happened here”.   It doesn’t have to

From all accounts it appears that everybody today has a bucket list,  and travel is almost certainly on it.   We even tout a few of our adventures as bucket list-worthy, often including states that – sadly – wind up as numbers 48, 49 or 50 of states visited. But the essence of such a list is usually things that you have never done before.   So what do you call things that you enjoyed so much you want to do them again? I have such a list and after careful consideration I have

The first time I visited my future father-in-law’s study I was struck by two things:  the enticing collection of history books that filled the shelves (surprising to me, since he was the Dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of South Dakota and long-time theatre professor – not a historian).   The second was what appeared to be a yellowed newspaper clipping, professionally framed, and entitled,  The New Yorker’s Idea of the United States of America. The clipping

I was recently on the receiving end of a flattering and wholly unexpected accolade recognizing many decades of volunteer work promoting and preserving the history of South Dakota. This is what I do for fun, and despite the fact that my tour business grew out of my love of history, it is rare when the two cross paths. One is a vocation and one is an avocation. I get it. And I’ve always known that I am regarded as something of an oddity by each of these groups. As a sophomore i

What is your job title? Are you a sales manager, vice-president, chief cook and bottle washer? Most businesses assign titles without much thought, relying mostly on old standbys. Some actually think a fancy designation is an acceptable substitute for a raise! I am fortunate to work in a business that does think a title matters, and sometimes even encourages employees to choose their own. Some are as creative as the jobs themselves: “Chief Inspiration Officer”, “Prime Minister

One of my ever-lasting passions is for movies which toy with the space-time continuum, or time travel. There are tons of them out there, so many that they can even be broken down into sub-categories. But the reason Hollywood keeps making them (and movie-goers keep watching them) is the very human urge to search for something better. This is escapism at its finest, because it actually poses an alternative outcome, even though it often turns out that what the protagonist had in

I read recently that, according to a Netherlands travel study (plus followup research conducted by psychologist and consultant Shawn Anchor), anticipation of an upcoming trip gives travelers the greatest satisfaction on the happiness scale.  It’s nice to have reinforcement, but I don’t need research to tell me that people look forward to vacations!  I hear every day from people thinking about signing up for a tour, or already on the roster. I’ve known for years how much our p

I have been writing a regular monthly blog now for the past four years. It has been both challenging and rewarding. But it is also time-consuming, and as I so often protest, I am a tour operator, not a professional blogger. If my writings produce more business for my tour company, or drive more business toward a deserving attraction or destination, so much the better. But I’m obviously not in it for the money. Not that it wouldn’t be nice to receive a little compensation for

There is a wildly popular restaurant near me that offers only two entrees on its evening menu: big steak and little steak! In this day of proliferating options in every category from soup to nuts (pun intended), it’s kind of reassuring that sometimes the simplest choice is the best. Downsizing is a natural reaction to a complex world with stress levels sometimes off the charts. There is a growing nostalgia for a simpler time with fewer choices – not more. The recent orgy of a