One thing that repeatedly amazes me about the US is its senior citizens' willingness to not let age be an inhibitor for anything. This feeling was hugely enhanced on our recent trip to Alaska where I ran into multiple extremely up and about older folks!
Our bus driver in Denali National Park regaled the ~45 tourists on the bus with stories from her 18 years of riding people around the park. The bus ride was ~200 miles and officially 12 hours long but it lasted 15 hours because she was too intensely passionate about ensuring everyone had a good time and got the best pictures of nature and wildlife.She had started her day at 3 in the morning and was going to drop everyone off and head home by about 10 pm. And she'd often mention her 4 kids and many grand kids with equal affection and candour. She was more than 60 years of age and I could swear I could do with a lesson or two on being high on life from her. Mind you, unlike in India she was single-handedly responsible for the bus and tourists as driver, conductor and guide!! 😇
Then there was the 80 year old yellow cab driver from Israel who could tell us the price of every house on the way to our BnB in Anchorage... he had an idea for a supposedly million dollar GPS business for yellow cabs in Alaska if my husband was willing to partner with him. 😆
I also remember fondly that really old super cute gentleman on the Denali bus who ran to the Park Ranger to get a stamp on his National Parks Passport like he was a 5 year old. His excitement was palpable even at the end of 12-13 hours of bus ride and hikes! And the Park Ranger himself... Clearly one of the senior most in service at Denali (70 or so of age) - guided us through the Kantishna district hike and gave us presentations about the history and stories of the land like it was his first demonstration- the pride with which he lugged around his 2 bags full of historical exhibits and the authority with which he told the tales of the land brought vivid images of the difficult times and mining heritage of the place for all of us. Age wasn't a factor in his sprightly gait nor was it limiting his ability to provide everyone with an experience they'd forever cherish!
But I digress! This is really the story of Jim and Judy, our extraordinary hosts at Judy's Touch of Class BnB at Anchorage, Alaska.
My husband prefers the privacy of hotels while I love the element of socializing that a BnB provides so usually we split our vacation stays into a little of both. In Anchorage I booked the first 2 days at this BnB that is the house of Jim and Judy, house where they've spent 57 years of their marriage and raised their 3 daughters (currently married and settled elsewhere in the US) and now often entertain their 13 grand kids.
They were high school sweethearts, met in Grade 10 and dated 7 years before they married. I quickly rounded up that they were in their 80s! They have this large beautiful home of which they rent out 3 rooms to have company of Alaskan travellers not because they need the money but because they have this otherwise huge empty house that can be put to good use and they love to host and enjoy the company of travellers.
Jim offers to pick and drop his guests to and from the airport and downtown any time of the day and Judy makes an amazing hot breakfast (although their website only mentions continental) as guests gather around the breakfast table and mingle. The house is beautiful, full of heirloom knickknacks and weathered goods, quirky sign posts and gorgeous upholstery and is immaculately maintained by the residents. The three guest rooms have 3 themes - Rose , Lavender and a Nautical suite (in the basement) and each is a treat for home enthusiasts such as I. There are some amazing picture frames as well - of Jim and Judy's 50th wedding anniversary recreating the wedding cake from 50 years back alongside that of their wedding picture from the era of black and white. There is another of them wearing matching clothes with their 13 grand kids - ranging all ages from 20 to 1 (several of them adopted and equally loved)
From Judy's BnB
Jim is so so funny I was tempted to recycle his jokes as my own and Judy is warm and gracious. She shared with me that she suffers from some fairly serious age-related ailments but none of it seemed to take the slightest away from her immaculately ironed shirt or the tasty hot breakfast she served or the 10ish ice cream bins they laid out for my daughter and us post dinner. During the day Judy was hard at work with a huge project underway in one of the rooms- she was sorting through hundreds of family photos, cataloguing them and pasting them in scrap book pages to preserve the memory of their good life.
Jim is also an active pilot, owning his own plane and ever willing to provide his guests a flight tour weather permitting. For this summer, they had one of their grand daughters visiting and in charge of housekeeping - she was an absolute sweetheart as well and my daughter had the best of time playing football and pool and whatnot with her while exploring the nautical suite [Check out Trip Advisor Reviews here]
My husband and Jim after taking a ride on Jim's plane
On our second night, we bonded with another senior couple that were visiting from New York. They were retired and well travelled and had many stories to share as well of their children, grand children and life.
Staying at Jim and Judy's was one of the 2 high points of this trip! Besides my awe and wonder, Ajith (who I said prefers privacy) was also absolutely enamored by our hosts, their personality and spirit. And they left such a deep, deep imprint on my 5 year old's heart and mind as well that she constantly mentioned how she misses them over the next few days!
We cannot decide how long we live, but it's certainly upto us to live it well. The level of independence, alertness and mobility Jim and Judy demonstrated despite obvious ailments, made me want to be them.
In India, where I come from, there is a constant awareness of 'old age' right around retirement which is mostly around age 60 and beyond that there is a sense of dependence on children and helplessness without them that I am being increasingly led to believe, is often more psychological than real. Do you agree life can be way more rewarding if we forgot our age?
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