This year was a transitional one for me. Since I began my retirement adventures over eight years ago, I mainly did trips and adventures that were activity oriented (especially hiking, biking, paddling, kayak sailing, skiing, and snowboarding) and mostly to places I could travel to with my toys in my travel van. In the past year I shifted to travels that were more educationally-oriented and in places that I got to by plane, train, or boat. So while I still did plenty of hikes, whitewater kayaking and multiday canoe trips, I also visited places that have great cultural, artistic, and historic values. And I've been finding both kinds of travel to be immensely interesting and fun! The cultural highlight of the year was a six week trip to Portugal and Spain in the spring, with visits to many fascinating UNESCO World Heritage Sites as well as hiking, biking, and paddling in National Parks and on rivers and shorelines in both countries. The adventure highlight was a five week kay