I’ve been mad about travelling since my first venturing outside the UK on a day trip to Calais in 1968. Not the most exotic baptism perhaps, but it seemed amazing at the time….   I followed this by a year as an exchange student in New Jersey, U.S.A. when I was 16 and that really lit the fuse.  The 45 years in between have been filled with many trips, some with partners, some with family, some alone, some with groups of friends.  Since my husband Bob followed me into retirement in 2012 our travelling has grown to the point where we now spend about 6 months of each year outside the UK.  When, I was 16 it seemed to me I would one day visit everywhere in the world.  Now I know, I won’t, but I’m still doing my best.

Blogging started as a way to record some of our travels and to keep in touch with friends and family while we were away.  My first blog was for an amazing around the world cruise we took as a retirement trip in 2015.  It wasn’t a circumnavigation.  It was a 105 night slingshot from the UK as far as Australia and then back again, so a double crossing of the Pacific Ocean.   You can read that here https://www.offexploring.com/alliebdive   and I also have links to it on this blog under the various main menu headings.  I got lots of comments and requests from friends to keep going after that trip ended.  They enjoyed their “fix” of reading our exploits over breakfast…..

My more recent trips are documented on this site for your interest and enjoyment.