Charlotte Drayer – World Traveler
70-percent of Americans say they want to “Travel the World” when they retire but only about 25% actually do it. Lakeview Village resident Charlotte Drayer is in the 25% category. This retiree has already chalked up 17 worldly trips, with three more on the books and many others on her bucket list, and she has the pictures to prove it. Her personal video and photos used in the video attached look like something out of National Geographic!
“Some of the more novel ones were to New Zealand, Cuba, Ecuador which included the Andes, the Amazon and the Galapagos Islands which was a fabulous trip,” Charlotte says. “We went to Peru, where I always wanted to go to Machu Picchu because of my archeology and anthropology background.”
The travel bug bit Charlotte when she was growing up in Chicago. Whenever possible her parents took the family on multiple domestic trips east of there. Then when the family moved to Kansas City, vacations took a turn to the west. In college, the anthropology major traveled to Europe, but it wasn’t until her children were grown that Charlotte got really adventuresome and began booking trips half-way around the world, like her recent one to Kenya and Tanzania.
Charlotte loves the animals, the cultures and most definitely the people. But this retired schoolteacher REALLY loves the learning.
“I also loved meeting the Masai children in a school funded by donors. They were singing and dancing for us. By the way, the word Masai – Ma refers to their language – sai refers to their craft. They are beaders, so the earrings and bracelets I’m wearing are beaded jewelry that they made.”
Charlotte says the greatest gift about travel is that it broadens our view of the world, and we find that people have more in common than most people think.
Charlotte has taken all her worldly adventures through an organization called Road Scholar. Its focus is on older adults who love to travel and learn. Charlotte highly recommends it.
“Road Scholar offers multiple options, and each trip is labeled with an activity level so you can choose based on your mobility,” says Charlotte. “They meet you at the airport, handle any travel issues like flight cancellations or illness. I say, do it now! Don’t wait!”
Charlotte isn’t going to wait. She is about to pack up and head to Morocco in a few weeks, then Egypt in the winter and Turkey in the fall of 2024. Charlotte has no plans to slow down anytime soon.
