Life Is About Experiences

I have come to realize that life is about experiences. My memories of my youth were about the many memorable experiences my parents provided me. Yes they took us skiing, but we drove to Canada with our clothes packed in chic brand luggage called Glad (yes, trash bags). We slept on the floor of my grandparents' apartment and drove to the mountains everyday. We didn’t take planes or stay at resorts, but we had experiences and boy could I tell you stories about our experiences of going to Montreal every Christmas week throughout my youth. The truth is I still go almost every year and I still drive (we just don’t use Glad luggage anymore).

So years ago when Carol and I were having financial difficulties, we prioritized creating cost effective ways to continue to provide our children with memorable experiences. And we still prioritize experiences to this day, we just have more means to create them. 

Carol and I have lived our life and raised our children with the motto that life is about experiences. My father had dementia for about the last 12 years of his life, yet his memory and heart were full of the many experiences he and my mom were able to have through their travels. These memories brought him joy in his last years. I’d encourage everyone to live a life full of experiences that speak to you. 

Our trip to London was initiated by Carol, who for the second year in a row put her name in the public lottery to buy Wimbledon tickets and this year was selected. 

Our trip started at Alamo as we rented a car for our first five days in the Cotswolds. As if driving on the opposite side of the road wasn’t challenging enough, I also chose to rent a car with a manual transmission. I love driving a manual transmission, but I hadn’t done so regularly for forty years.  Taking on new challenges is a form of creating experiences. I enjoyed the manual transmission and realized how challenging driving on the opposite side of the road was on my brain, especially in England where there are so many round-a-bouts (i.e. circles).

I did have one near accident (two by Carol’s count), but by the fourth and fifth days I was quite comfortable driving. That said, I still appreciated Carol’s reminders to look right as we entered a round-a-bout.

We visited Blenheim Castle. We saw boys practicing cricket in a park as we’d see boys practicing baseball here. We toured old towns. We visited churches; walked through art galleries; and ate a lot of baked goods, sweets, and gelato. We visited Stratford-upon-Avon. We toured William Shakespeare’s childhood home. 

We attended a comedy play, School of Scandal at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Our tickets were three seats apart, so we asked if the three people in the middle would move one to the right so that we could sit together, which they gladly did. I got to talk with the 89 year old man in the seat next to me. I just love speaking with older people. There is so much grace and wisdom that comes from them. It’s tragic that our society doesn’t seem to value older people as much as other cultures and societies do. 

We visited farms. I stopped many times to take pictures. I love taking pictures. I started at Blenheim Castle using my camera, then I just decided to stop using it and only use the camera on my Apple iphone 15. I loved it. The simplicity is amazing as were the images. Carol talked to the sheep whose picture I was taking and the sheep talked back. I took over 750 photographs and a few videos. 

At times it was difficult wrapping our heads around the age of things we were experiencing. I took a picture of a building that had "Built 1485" written on it. Carol realized that Shakespeare was born 400 years earlier than her. Then we went to Bath where we toured the famous Roman baths, which it’s believed were constructed around 70 AD. That’s about one thousand, nine hundred and fifty years ago.

Then we went to Stonehenge, which archaeologists believe was constructed in several phases from around 3100 BC to 1600 BC, with the circle of large sarsen stones placed between 2600 BC and 2400 BC. I find it difficult to imagine how people back then were able to create it, as it’s believed each stone weighs about 25 tons. 

We went to Windsor Castle, which is a mere 950 years old. The oldest thing I know of in the United States is a private school near us that was founded in 1689. 

In London we visited the major attractions, including the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and took the Palace tour. We went to see and of course take pictures of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We visited the Tower of London, saw the Crown Jewels, and toured the Tower Bridge.

As a birthday gift for Carol, our boys treated us to a phenomenal afternoon tea experience at the Aqua Shard. It is on the 32nd floor of a building called the Shard, with amazing views of the financial district, the Tower of London, the Tower bridge, the London bridge (which is really nothing special), and the London Eye. 

We walked through various neighborhoods and areas including Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street for shopping, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, and past Kensington Palace. Our last three days we averaged over 19,000 steps per day.  

We traveled in planes, drove a car on the opposite side of the road, used Uber, took the Tube many times, and even used their double decker buses a couple of times. The only transportation we didn’t use was a traditional London cab. But we did see one with an advertisement, "Greetings from New Jersey." Yes they were promoting a visit to New Jersey on a London cab.  

We saw amazing cars. Every day we walked by the Aston Martin dealer on our way to the Tube. I love Aston Martins, the cars that James Bond drove. You can pick up an Aston Martin SUV for a mere £240k British pounds, or $305k US dollars.  We walked by a Lotus dealer. We saw more Bentlys than you could imagine. We saw multiple Lamborghinis, including three Lamborghini SUVs. And of course, we saw Rolls Royces; the Phantom, their SUV, and an old classic. As you might imagine, I have pictures of many of the cars we saw. 

We had dinner with friends and my niece who was also in London at the same time. On another night we traveled to visit cousins I rarely see who live outside of London.

And then the ultimate experience and the reason we went to London in the first place: Center Court tickets to Wimbledon. We had amazing seats, third row at the baseline on the Royal box side of the court. I could have been the line judge calling in and out shots (which I actually did during the matches). The line judge was sitting just seven feet in front of me. We got to watch Medvedev beat Sinner in a terrific five set match. Then we got to see Paolini easily beat American Navarro. The winners were interviewed right in front of us and then they signed autographs a mere seven feet in front of us. 

Center Court is Wimbledon’s main court. It is a very intimate setting as it’s just one bowl and seats a little less than fifteen thousand people. Obviously, playing on grass and having players wear only white attire adds a uniqueness to this tournament as compared to any other grand slam event.  

We ate fish and chips, and had dinner and gelato in a food court which was inside a converted church. We had many great meals. 

We met and spoke with a lot of people along the way from all over the world. London is a cosmopolitan city with a lot of multicultural and ethnic diversity. We found all the people we met and interacted with kind, welcoming and respectful. We had a fabulous time filled with many memorable experiences. 

Western culture is good at having us think that life is about stuff, accumulating possessions. It's about a new car, a new suit, a renovated bathroom. I’d like you to consider prioritizing experiences you want for yourself and your loved ones as much as or more than the material aspects of life. If you do, you will have fond memories which will bring you joy and last you a lifetime.  It doesn’t need to be trips around the world; it could be taking a hike, going to a state or national park, or eating at a restaurant you wouldn’t normally go to.  

Because the truth is that life is about experiences.

Every day, whether we are on vacation or not, we go out in the world and have an opportunity to live and create experiences for ourselves and others. We do it by our actions, our deeds, and how we speak to and treat others. 

Thank you for allowing me to share some of my London experiences with you. What experiences are you creating?