Road Scholar Tour, Summary

 What do I take away from all this?

I *really* don't like driving.  Especially in traffic.  In strange towns.  I know some people who love to get out there and drive; I am not one of them (and God Bless google maps).

I'm uncomfortable being away from home.  It would be different if Bob was still here, keeping an eye on things.  I have a person who comes and puts out food for everyone, but the cats are shy so he only sees one or two of them.  So I can't help but be paranoid that one of them is hiding under the bed, sick or hurt (they were fine, and happy to see me)

I loved hanging out with Marty.  I think we surprised some of the people (including his friends) because we opted to be roommates.  It made sense to us - why chance a stranger when there's someone you know.  It was just very comfortable being with him.  And I got his roommate seal of approval, because I didn't keep the TV on and I didn't snore.

I'm glad I went - my first tour.  But my overall feeling is that it was *too* organized, the schedule too full (except for the one afternoon off).  I would have loved an afternoon off in St. Augustine to go see the alligator farm or take a tour of the Spanish village.  But we had literally 2 unscheduled hours (one after lunch, another before dinner) for the two days.

By the end of the four-day tour, I was getting seriously peopled out.  And for all my piteous writings of my first year without Bob of having to eat all of my meals by myself, I found it a bit much to be eating in noisy crowded places with a roomful of other people three meals a day.

So - really enjoyed Marty.  Really enjoyed the greenway (honestly - I think wandering around there, just the two of us, was my favorite part of the trip, and it wasn't even officially part of it).

Loved being able to get the tour of some of the rooms at Flagler that the regular tourists don't get.

Wish there had been more down time.  Too many lectures (especially in St. Augustine - the material gets repetitive after a bit).

Really disliked being herded around in a large group.

In sum - I still don't think I am a Tour Person.  Some people are - at the Meet and Greet the first night, several people said it was their 4th or 6th (or in one case, 28th!) tour.   

And yet - Marty just sent me the information on one that he's taking in August - a maritime exploration of New England.  I do love time on a boat - so maybe?

Better remember the sunscreen.