I’m a tireless traveler, an avid bicycle rider, dedicated restaurant patron and over-qualified eater. I’m French Cajun by birth, a Parrothead by choice, and a Southerner by the grace of God. I’m also a semi-retired Baby Boomer determined to defy physical age by remaining in constant motion and living a full life. With a degree in journalism, a career in marketing and more time on my hands, sharing experience stories is my retirement avocation, and that’s the spirit with which I approach my Google Maps posts.
My travel yearning started with my parents, who once-a-year packed the kids into a car for a driving vacation somewhere in the Deep South or surrounding states. Wanderlust was fed by my career of leading global marketing efforts for restaurant equipment companies. Many of the world’s largest — and quite a few of the world’s finest — restaurants were among our customers. And at one point, I had nearly 50 demonstration chefs reporting to me, and thus was a fortunate participant in a number global culinary exhibitions. By current count, I’ve been to more than 200 cities in ~40 countries and 47 US states on business or vacations, and I’m eager to travel further and farther in the future.
From that background, travel and food are the passions that inspire most of my Google Maps and Google Guide posts. In both forums, I follow a simple formula: Discover. Do. Discuss.
My goal on Google Maps is to share short-form experiences that reflect my personal journeys and are perhaps inspiring or entertaining to others in similar age groups, life situations and health. (I share longer-form material on my blog, OurTravelCafe.com. By comparison, I have posted fewer than 50 in-depth pieces on my blog while my most recent count on Google Maps is over 350 short-form posts!)
All my posts are written from my personal perspective — a mostly-retired, 60-something, upper-middle-class Southern American Baby Boomer enjoying activities and traveling for fun. Thus, most of my contributions likely appeal to the AARP candidates, Baby Boomers and seniors.
These days, my best trips include my wife and our adopted teenage son, and occasionally our grown children, their families and our grandchildren. Thus, I often imagine (and have received some direct feedback) that my targeted demographic shares my posts with their younger generations as a way of encouraging family activities.
My wife and We enjoy active travel, so you you’ll find lots of references to hiking, biking, walking explorations of historical and natural sites and similar activities. We also like to cruise, and we prefer plan-our-own port activities rather than taking the standard cruise line offered excursions. When we travel on our own, we enjoy walking tours of city centers and driving excursions through the countryside, always keeping an eye open for local markets featuring local cuisine, merchants and goods.
We’re not budget travelers though we do enjoy a good bargain. And while you may find some attention devoted to luxury or an occasional tip on travel bargains and deals, usually I’ll focus on the destinations and activities rather than cost.
As more baby boomers focus on activities, exercise and health, I often include some general fitness observations or health details in my posts where they relate to highlighted experiences. I try to ride 50 miles per week on a bicycle or the indoor equivalent. My outdoors riding speed on flat ground is 16-17 mph, and I’ll average 22 mph on the LifeCycle upright bike at my local gym set on a random program at level 11. Whenever I include a more strenuous activity in my reviews or descriptions, I’ll likely include some of the data and readings provided by my trusty Garmin device to help readers evaluate how certain activities might affect them.
So that’s what I try to contribute. Now a suggestion: I would love to see Google Maps add a better filtering system to reviews and guide content. While I may be entertained by reading the cliff-diving review of a 20-something adrenaline junkie, I’m less inclined to take their advice on comfort travel, fine dining or family activities. Users of all ages rely on Google Maps, so adding a filtering system to find the most relevant reviews would be a great service to all.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it (for now!).