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Jul 28, 2017 By Jack Hughes for The 4 min read

So much about life is in the timing of the events that happen during our journey through the chapters of our lives. Thanks to an encounter at a rest stop in Tennessee many years ago my life has been filled with the joy of travel, adventure and exploration.

At the rest stop, I ran into an old mentor from my early days in the insurance business. Bill had seen the world including all seven continents and many of the countries that make up those continents as well as all of our states. He was now having trouble walking as he had grown old, and his joy was that he had done his travels while he was younger. His advice that day was don’t wait to travel and experience the world.

So many of us dream about tomorrow and those trips and adventures we want to take. So many of us never get around to doing our dreams. Life goes by and suddenly we are old and itÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ too late.

I took BillÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ advice and now that I am old, I can look back over my life and there is a satisfaction and contentment that comes from having been there and done that. Diane and I have seen most of the states, Europe, Canada, oceans from Maine to Key West, Vancouver Island to San Diego and the Gulf of Mexico from Marco Island Florida to Padre Island Texas. Bermuda and The Bahamas round out the island visits.

While I have not hiked or skied every mountain, I have been on top of a lot of them. Favorites include Alta, Snowbird and Sundance in Utah, Aspen and Snowmass in Colorado, Santa Fe in New Mexico and Mt Hood in Oregon. River rafting has taken me to the Penobscot in Maine, the New and Gauley Rivers in West Virginia and the Chattooga in Georgia. My favorite river trip was an eight day adventure on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. I have rafted the Colorado on three occasions and the last time was life changing as I came home, sold my business and retired so I could spend more time in the outdoors. River canoe trips allowed for solitude and reflection on some of our most scenic rivers in the East.

I truly love our national parks and retirement allowed us to visit many of them. Rocky Mountain, Death Valley and the Everglades are our favorites. The parks and canyons of Utah are a must visit for everyone. Retirement also allowed us to explore many of the cities of Europe and America. The history, art, architecture and, of course, the food was tremendous. In later years, I have taken to the bike trails and have biked in Colorado, Florida, California and Florida. Of course our Allegheny Passage form Cumberland to Pittsburgh is my favorite.

While I can say we have seen a bit of the world and its places and people, there is still none more interesting and fascinating than our own Southwestern Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh is a wonderful small city with a great future. Sports, art and theater, along with a significant history make for great day trips and, lastly, the Laurel Highlands is really some place special. This is our back yard complete with mountains, river valleys and it is a great place to grow content with my aging. Spring wildflower walks, the best bike trail in the country and the most spectacular fall colors anywhere in the world.

I am glad I took BillÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ advice and may I suggest that you don’t wait.