One foot in front of the other; Vicky the adventurer
- Michelle Aldrich
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
My friend Vicky Romero asked me to take her on an adventure. She didn’t care where we went or when, she just wanted an adventure.
I’m 61. Vicky is 79, born and raised in Kanab and still living there. I chose Scotland, and on July 29, we left with one-way tickets to Glasgow. We packed one change of clothes, sleeping bags, inflatable mattresses, a tent and the essentials.
This wasn’t going to be a relaxing vacation.
We planned to camp and hike the West Highland Way, adjusting as weather and trail conditions required. Scotland welcomed us with rain, cold nights and midges. We climbed over rocks and boulders, crossed streams and walked trails that were treacherous at times.
But the best part was watching Vicky. She had never done anything like this before, and everything was new.
Along the way, strangers repeatedly helped us. One night, after we arrived soaked and unable to find lodging, a young Scottish man offered us a room because he couldn’t stand the thought of us sleeping outside.
In Edinburgh, we accidentally stumbled into the Festival Fringe, the world’s largest arts festival. Then we learned the Fringe began in August 1947; the same month and year Vicky was born. We decided we were officially “Fringes” too.
Scotland was only the beginning.
We flew to Madrid, Spain, then traveled to Burgos, where we walked part of the Camino Francés. Spain was unbearably hot, but we had come at an extraordinary time: the total solar eclipse on August 12. We stood together beside the road in our eclipse glasses and watched the sun disappear.
Afterward, taxis were impossible to find, and our hotel was seven miles away. A woman who spoke no English offered us a ride. She got lost, then accidentally drove the wrong way down a one-way street.
“Mamma mia!” she exclaimed.
The three of us couldn’t stop laughing.
When Spain became too hot, we caught an eight-hour bus to Porto, Portugal. We explored old streets, visited churches and a fort, walked along the beach and hiked portions of the Camino Portuguese.
On August 19, we flew home.
In 22 days, we traveled through three countries and walked more than 150 miles. Through rain, heat, sore feet, language barriers and wrong turns, Vicky never complained.
She would simply say, “One foot in front of the other.”
That became our motto.
Watching Vicky embrace all of this at 79 reminded me that adventure doesn’t have an age limit. You’re never too old to try something new, get a little uncomfortable, laugh at yourself or wake up thousands of miles from home wondering, “What are we doing?”
We were living, and what an adventure it was.
