The Senior Scene

RV campgrounds near Mount Rainier are expected to be busy places this summer. By early June, reservations were starting to go fast. Visitrainier.com recommends booking by mid-week for the best availability. And during the summer, making reservations as far ahead as possible is strongly advised.

Here are a few campground options:

Ashford RV Camping

At forested area near trails and waterfalls, 10 sites are available for RVs up to 35 feet long and a maximum of eight guests per campsite. Enjoy all Mount Rainier has to offer in just minutes. Electric, water, and sewer hookups and potable water is available. Reservations: https://www.hipcamp.com/washington/mount-rainier-rv-camping/ashford-rv-camping

Crystal Mountain Resort

Six miles from the entrance to Mount Rainier National Park; 40 electrical RV hookups, plus non-hookups. Silver Creek meanders through the site. Summit House, Washington’s highest-altitude restaurant, and a mountain gondola ride are nearby. Reservations/information: 888-754-6199, 360-663-2265.

Enumclaw RV Campground

Located at Enumclaw Expo Center; 28 year-round paved sites with access to electrical and water hook-ups.  Forty-seven minutes from Crystal Mountain Resort, about an hour from Sunrise Visitor Center at Mount Rainier National Park. Information: 360-615-5631.

Half-mile from the Nisqually entrance to Mount Rainier National Park. Full-hookup RV sites are shaded by 300-year old cedars. Facilities include shower and coin-operated washer and dryer. Nightly fee for dogs. Information: 360-569-2594, 800-456-9380.

Traveling can open our eyes and minds to new cultures and experiences, and for licensed captain Gill Terry Causey, traveling by sailboat has also guided him toward profound personal discoveries through the self-realization and introspection that seafaring can inspire.

Sailing “is the most rewarding and fulfilling way to travel, and these experiences have been both transformational and even transcendental,” Causey said. “It has taught me to unplug, discover and explore other awe-inspiring worlds.”

Causey’s book, “Let the Wind Carry Me: How Curiosity Can Open Doors of Perception and Learning,” is part autobiography, part detailed travelogue, and part pictorial of Causey’s worldwide sailing adventures. He shares vivid details (and more than 50 photos) from some of his most memorable excursions, and peppers his narrative with personal insights and reflections on the seeds planted early in his youth that inspired him to explore a world without boundaries.

Readers can experience the exact moment when he fell in love with blue-water sailing and hop on board as he runs a successful charter boat in Hawaii, explores South America and the Amazon forest, embarks on adventures in Central America, and sails the islands of French Polynesia. In all, Causey completed hundreds of inter-island sails, including 12 to French Polynesia, 11 to the Line Islands (a chain of atolls and coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean), seven around New Zealand, three to Australia, five sails to Fiji, and one sail each to the Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands.

“Sailing has transformed my life because I’ve been able to travel to places that are best seen by sailboat,” Causey said. “It’s a way of life that I have always embraced.”

“Let the Wind Carry Me” is Causey’s story, one he hopes will inspire others to explore and embrace the transformational power of travel.

Causey is a lifelong ocean-cruising sailor and a patron of maritime causes and projects from Hawaii (where he lived for more than half his life) to California. He is a licensed captain of a 50-foot sailing vessel that was built by the German navy in 1928. The vessel is iron-riveted and does oceanographic work for the University of Hawaii, the University of Cambridge, and the U.S. Department of the Interior. He also dedicates his time to many other projects, including the Sea Cadets, and he continues to be a significant benefactor to Call of the Sea (https://callofthesea.org/), a non-profit organization that gives children opportunities to sail and access to marine-based education.

He worked with the Polynesian Voyaging Society to revive their sailing culture, and he funded and supported the building of the 135-foot Brigantine Matthew Turner in Sausalito, Calif. The ship was recently certified by the U.S. Coast Guard as a school ship, which will be used to educate and inspire young people.

Causey retired in order to take care of his mother and relocated the family home to Newport Beach, Calif. But he still takes every opportunity to be on the ocean, enjoying what he calls the wonders of its cosmic power.

The threat of COVID-19 is another layer of unpleasantness for air travelers. Many already were stressed by airport security—the long lines, worrying about what may trigger a re-check, emptying pockets and removing shoes, belts and coats. Such a hassle. The good news is that the airport security experience could improve over the next few years.

Dana Wheeler, chief executive officer of Plymouth Rock Technologies, a threat-detection technology developer, said there are “multiple layers of security technology in development that will cause the false alarm rates at the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) checkpoints to go down and the lines to move faster. And they’ll make the airport perimeter, including outlying parking areas, much more secure.”

Wheeler, a supporter of an international push for the changes, said new devices will use a combination of technologies, including millimeter waves and artificial intelligence to identify threats. He stressed that all this technology – including a 3-D imaging foot scanner by his company that is in the final testing phases—is safe and already proven to work in other applications.

“Nearly every car coming off the production line is equipped with millimeter-wave radar for cruise control, blind-spot detection, and collision avoidance. Now, we are working to make these solutions for security applications more widely available,” Wheeler said.

During the pandemic, AAA reminds air travelers that in-flight amenities, including food and beverages, may not be available. Also, as a precaution, wipe down your seat, armrest, belt buckle and tray table with disinfecting wipes.

Washingtonians who make the personal decision to travel need to know the risks involved and ways to keep themselves and others safe. In addition to CDC (national Centers for Disease Control) guidance, travelers should also be aware of local and state travel restrictions, including testing requirements and quarantine orders.

Here’s what the CDC says: “Travel can increase your chance of spreading and getting COVID-19. Postponing trips and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. You and your travel companions (including children) may feel well and not have any symptoms but can still spread COVID-19 to family, friends, and community after travel. If you have a known exposure to COVID-19, you should delay travel, quarantine yourself, get tested, and monitor your health. Check your state or local health department for information about local quarantine requirements.”

If you do travel:

• Plan ahead. Check with state and local authorities where you are, along your route, and at your planned destination to learn about local circumstances and any restrictions that may be in place.
• Follow public health guidance. Consistent use of face masks combined with social distancing (at least six feet) and regular hand-washing are the best ways to lower your risk of contracting COVID-19. Pack face masks, disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, and a thermometer to help protect and monitor your health. Also, pack water and extra snacks to reduce the need to stop along your trip.
• com offers the latest state and local travel restrictions and, for road trippers, which rest stops, gas stations, restaurants and hotels are open along their route.
• Verify before you go. Call ahead to minimize any last minute surprises.
• Call ahead to ensure your hotel is open and ask what precautions they are taking to protect guests, if there are social-distancing protocols like capacity reductions in common spaces, if hotel staff wears masks at all times, and if all amenities are available.
• If renting a car, ask what has been done to clean the vehicle.