Travel & Life Rhythms
Stories, photos, and reflections from the places and experiences that shaped our days.
Bonaire November 2025
Bonaire November 1–22, 2025
The first thing one should do when one retires is run away to a Caribbean island for three weeks with the love of your life and two of your closest friends. We left the gray of Illinois on November 1st for Bonaire to scuba dive, snorkel, float in the sea, read, eat at great restaurants, play countless games, enjoy a few cocktails, and talk and laugh for hours. No schedule. No alarm clock. Totally unscripted.
Michael started diving in 2016 and quickly found it to be his favorite activity. He refers to it as his own form of spa and tranquility. On this trip, 109 lifetime dives later, he became a certified Master Diver and completed his self-reliant certification.
I don’t dive, but I never tire of warm sunshine and the endlessly blue Caribbean Sea, so I am a willing and enthusiastic supporter of his underwater pursuits. We favor Bonaire, renowned for its shore diving, and it has easily become our island of choice for both diving and relaxing. The island offers roughly 80 dive sites, each marked by a yellow painted rock and the site’s name. Names like The Lake, Hilma Hooker, Bachelor’s Beach, and One Thousand Steps become part of daily conversation. Bonaire is also a favorite among wind and kite surfers.
Bonaire is one of the three islands that make up the Dutch Antilles, often referred to as the ABC Islands, along with Aruba and Curaçao. Located about 80 miles north of Venezuela, all three sit safely outside the hurricane zone.
There are no American hotel chains or restaurants on the island (Kentucky Fried Chicken being the lone exception). Accommodations tend to be VRBOs, Airbnbs, or dive resorts. There’s little nightlife to speak of, because most visitors are there for the water and prefer a good night’s sleep to a late night out.
Thanks to its ties to the Netherlands, highly rated chefs and hospitality professionals often migrate here to escape the dark, damp European winters. The result is a dining scene that more than satisfies the foodie in us.
I do some snorkeling, but mostly spend my days reading, journaling, working on art, and dabbling in photography while Michael explores below the surface of the sea. It’s a combination that works well for us.
Sharing the experience with our good friends Kerry and Dude made it even better. They completed their open water certifications shortly before the trip and proved to be excellent dive buddies for Michael.
Our days followed a gentle, predictable rhythm. Coffee. Breakfast, always with options. A loose plan for the day. Slow mornings, maybe a dive off the pier at our villa, reading by the private pool, catching up on emails and calls home. A simple lunch, then off for the day’s main dives. Non diving days meant floating in the sea, reading on shore, or road tripping the island.
Late afternoons usually found us at a favorite local bar for a cocktail and a snack of fries, shrimp, or a burger. We formed a sweet habit of watching the sunset together and each naming our “blessing of the day.” Dinner followed, either out at a restaurant or prepared by Kerry and Dude at home. Cards often ended the evening. Simple routines, deeply enjoyed, and now fondly remembered months later.
Bonaire didn’t win us over with spectacle or noise. It stole our hearts with rhythm, restraint, and room to breathe. It reminds us that retirement doesn’t need to be busy to be full, and that joy often shows up quietly in shared meals, familiar routines, and unhurried days shaped by light and water. For three unscripted weeks, we lived exactly where we were, and that may be the greatest luxury of all.
Places we recommend: VIP Diving (great guides, excellent service, the only dive shop Michael uses) Chefs (reserve early, hard to get into, but worth it) La Cantina/The Brewery (best cocktails, charming atmosphere, terrific staff and service) At Home (private in home dining by Manouk and Egbert. My favorite experience) Melisa Sailing (small sailing vessel, an evening of great food while watching the sun set and the stars come out) Restaurant Flora (fine dining by the sea at a boutique restaurant. Michael’s favorite) Foodies (on the east side of the island on Lac Bay. Quiet, laid back, always our last stop before departing Bonaire.)
Grade for this trip?
A solid A, only missing an A+ due to a few issues with the VRBO.
Charleston, Savannah, St Augustine January 2026
Ten Days in Charleston, Savannah and St Augustine January 3–13, 2026
We’ve always looked at winter in the upper Midwest as a season to hibernate, a time to do the things pushed aside the rest of the year. Build several puzzles in a week. Binge-watch Band of Brothers over the Christmas holiday (yes, every year). Spend hours in the train room. Work on art journals.
But we’ve learned that one of the best times to travel is right after the holiday season.
By early January, most people have finished the family rounds or fought airport crowds to reach warm beaches or snowy mountains. Life returns to its regular rhythm. Hotels and VRBOs are easier to book, restaurants are eager to fill tables, and points of interest feel calm again. Tours are simpler to schedule. Everything breathes a little.
Having visited both Charleston and Savannah on separate occasions, we decided this time to experience them in the same trip and add St. Augustine for comparison. Early January had served us well during our pre-retirement years, and once again, it didn’t disappoint.
Our flight from Madison to Atlanta was easy, with the added bonus of visiting a couple of our Sweet Littles. From there we picked up a rental car and headed to Charleston, arriving Saturday, January 3, 2026. We settled into our charming VRBO, grabbed dinner, and called it an early night.
Sunday found us in Old Town Charleston in search of brunch. Success came in the form of Rudy Royale, followed by a leisurely afternoon wandering art galleries, strolling the Battery, and walking the genteel streets of a city we’ve come to love. That evening, we dined at Wild Common, one of Charleston’s Michelin starred restaurants. Sitting at the bar allowed us to watch the chefs at work, visit with the bartender and yes, the food absolutely earned the star. Content, we returned to our VRBO.
Monday began with coffee and another venture into Old Town for tours, including an excellent carriage ride with Palmetto Carriage Tours, lunch at Henry’s, and the Rembrandt exhibit at the Gibbes Museum of Art. A rooftop cocktail rounded out the day before heading back to the VRBO once again.
Tuesday was transfer day to Savannah. I woke up sick, so Michael drove while I slept. We checked into the JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District, a stunning property that’s worth visiting even if you don’t stay there. The building itself houses an impressive collection of artifacts and curiosities, including a replica of the largest dinosaur discovered to date.
Unfortunately, I was completely down and out and spent the next two days in bed. We upgraded to a room overlooking the Savannah River, which at least offered a front row view of massive ships moving through the third largest port in the United States.
Wednesday, I dragged myself out of bed (poor me) to join Michael on a walking food tour I’d booked with Savannah Taste Experience, and it turned out to be one of the best experiences of the entire trip. Our host and guide, Shannon, was delightful and knowledgeable.
Friday brought another travel day, heading toward St. Augustine via Tybee Island and the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. Our next VRBO sat directly on the ocean. Still not fully recovered, I felt an almost immediate sense of healing from the salt air and rhythmic waves.
Our friends Jim and Rachelle joined us on Saturday for the weekend, and it was truly a blessing catching up.
They served as generous tour guides. Sunday included another food tour with First Coast Cart Tours, this one beautifully layered with history and culturally appropriate dishes. A relaxed afternoon and another wonderful evening with friends followed.
Monday was the drive back to Atlanta, a flight home, and arrival that afternoon.
The goal of this trip wasn’t simply sightseeing. It was practice.
We wanted to learn how to pack for longer trips, manage expectations, and enjoy each day as it came. What happens when you forget something you truly need? How do you handle three unexpected days confined to bed despite prepaid plans? What about cold, rainy weather you didn’t anticipate or pack for? And the big one, how do you keep from overpacking?
We aren’t new to travel, but given the pace we’ve set for ourselves in the next few years, efficiency and intention matter more than ever.
Grade for this trip?
A solid B- with plans to do better next time.
Traveling Home to Minnesota
February Birthdays February 6-10, 2026
New Orleans March 2026
New Orleans March 12-17, 2026
National WWII Museum/The Higgins Hotel/Warehouse District
A weekend built around history, food, and a little unexpected time.
The Sweeter Things
A few photos of the people we love, and the moments we shared with them.