114: From Jim Crow Segregation to Solo-Traveling the World in Retirement with Charlotte Simpson
Dec 29, 2020
Charlotte Simpson takes us on her journey growing up in Rockford, Illinois and spending her summers in Alabama during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation. She shares her experiences as a kid having to use separate bathrooms, separate hotels, standing in separate lines to get ice cream, and observing the difference in educational resources for Black kids in Alabama vs. her Catholic school in Illinois. She talks about her mother’s racial justice activism with the NAACP and how that impacted her growing up. She then talks about her passion for education and dedicating her life and career to working with kids as both a teacher and guidance counsellor to help them to find and pursue their passions. She gives her top tips on raising amazing kids, as well as her tips on having a truly great marriage. She reflects on the importance of travel in her marriage and how she and her husband grew together through shared travel experiences over 31 years. After her husband’s passing, she takes us on her journey to becoming a solo-world traveler and shares stories from her trips to Italy, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and India. She reflects on her years of solo-world-travel and how it has been empowering, confidence-building, and a great way to meet other people around the world. She shares her experience traveling at retirement age, and also offers specific tips for Black travelers as well as solo-female travelers, and details the safety precautions she takes as well as the travel insurance she carries. And, finally, Char reflects on the reasons she continues to travel and what travel means to her at this point in her life. FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT: www.TheMaverickShow.com