Still Clickin

Soon, we are scheduled to take a trip to the land of my ancestors. In addition, some of the members of my family’s next generation have been asking for any hints about their lineage. They have even uncovered and shown me some information that I had never seen. With all of those prods, I finally started to turn back some pages on our family’s history, and I am surprised at how much I am discovering.

A lot of the information still sits on handwritten records in some musty archive. But that being said, there is still an incredible amount that is available online. What I have discovered so far -

• A great grandfather and a photo of himself to boot.
• A great aunt and uncle whom I had never heard about.
• Dates, facts, and specifics on one side of the family that are supported by written records.
• A challenge to uncover more about the other side of the family.

Most American families came from “somewhere else”. We’re immigrants. Whether for political, social, or economic reasons, someone in our personal lineage had the courage to say, “Let’s move.” I can only guess at how heart-wrenching it must have been to leave family, friends, and the familiar and strike out for a new country. Our ancestors were very brave people.

To discover the stories of these people. To learn how many died in their thirties while others endured into their nineties. To scrape some distant recollections from the memories of your early youth. To discover ancestral photos, that you’ve never seen, revealed by distant cousins, that you never knew existed. These are the delights that make the tedious research of genealogy all worth it.

Your approach may be different, but I -

• started with the ship manifests at Ellis Island
• switched to Google using both names of various spellings as well as dates and addresses that I unveiled.
• followed these searches to government records, generally census records, which may be digitized or simply scanned and organized by geography rather than name.
• also followed these searches to the postings made by other people whose search may overlap with my own.

At this point, you are finished with most of the freebies. There are a lot of sites out there that are all too willing to help . . . for a price. You have to filter these to see if any are worth it for your search, but I’m considering -

• Ancestry.com which has the decency to offer a 14-day free trial. This site seems to offer the most complete facilities and have the longest reach.
• Government Genealogy Search which says its free, but their hand is out. They search multiple government databases.
• One Great Family gives a seven-day free trial.

This is the type of search that never really ends, but I now encourage others to try.
You really might enjoy the challenge . . . and expect everyone in the family to want a copy!

NB. Click below to make a comment. Even better, expand on the original article by going to wikiSenior and clicking on ‘edit’.

With retirement comes the gift of time. And one way to use that time, recharge your batteries, and perhaps scratch a long-postponed yen, is to travel. Even though the finances of most people have been downsized over the past year, the economy has also created many bargains for those that have anything left. It may be time to scratch that itch.

Whether its around the block or around the world, travel brings an exposure to new vistas and experiences that shakes us out of our same-old-same-old routines. That bit of shaking gives us all a new sense of time, an event to mark our lives. In that way, it can be very healthful and rewarding, especially if it is shared.

But travel also brings its own set of challenges - planning, expenses, preparation and inconveniences - that can prove to be a hassle for many. For a successful trip, its imperative that we meet those challenges with a sense of fun.

Planning -
Both a weekend bus tour and an extended trip overseas take careful planning, and it’s fun to do. Part of the fun is discovering what is possible, learning more about the history and culture of an area, and targeting or avoiding local events that can draw extra crowds. To start,

• Set a Budget - No sense planning for a trip that breaks the bank. Pick a number, assume you’ll exceed it by 10%, and then explore what that number makes possible. Since sleeping is often the largest travel expense, how long you travel can have a greater impact on expenses than how far.
• Picking your Style - It’s silly to force yourself into a style you abhor, but the style that you find to be fun can have a major impact on your choice of destinations and budget. Guided tours are efficient, but less spontaneous. Cruises can feel exquisite to some and confining to others. For the physically fit, Elder Hostel & trekking may be the only way to go.
• Finding Destinations - One of the most interesting aspects of planning a trip is choosing your destination(s). exchange rates may influence the countries you choose, but this isn’t even an issue if you stay within your own borders.
• Selecting Travel Times - You can stretch your budget a lot if you avoid peak seasons and big events. If your desire is to do a museum crawl in Europe, February can be an excellent time.
• Using Travel agents - If you feel intimidated by the mass of information that the Internet delivers, you can always use a travel agent. Quite often, the fees that they charge may be offset by the deals they can discover.

Preparation -

• Read a Book - Once you’ve decided and locked in your itinerary, you can begin your preparation. The first thing I like to do is find an historical novel about the area to become steeped in its history.
• Travel guides - Find a good travel guide that is oriented toward your style. Make sure that it is light enough to carry, because you’ll want to take it along, as well as sufficiently detailed so that you can become informed as you go.
• Chart your Route - Learn enough about the locations that you can chart your overall course as well as the specific path you want to take through the cities or countryside.
• What to pack? - The short answer is ‘Less’. Everyone always takes too much. Plan to do some laundry, especially at anyplace you are staying for a couple of nights. We lessen drying time by rolling wet garments in a towel and stepping on it.

Have Fun -
Once you arrive, make certain you have some fun. Daily burdens can sometimes make people forget how to have fun, and travel is one way to force yourself out of that rut. Travel always brings some inconveniences, but is also brings adventure. So what if no one speaks your language or the bed sags. Use gestures, move the mattress to the floor, and laugh. Adventures are fun!

Helpful Links -
There are many. Here are some favorites -

• For airfare and other quotes from multiple sites try Kayak.
• Another source of both travels opinions as well as multiple quotes for fares, hotels, etc. try TripAdvisor.
• For alerts on travel specials, try TravelZoo.
• Elder Hostel offers diverse adventures for seniors.
• For packing and all sorts of other advice, go to the Rick Steves site.
• Of course, AARP Travel offers lots of info and specific tours.
• Lastly, if you’re headed beyond US borders, go to the government site for the latest information.

Click below to make a comment. Even better, expand on the original article by going to wikiSenior and clicking on ‘edit’.