Born between 1946 and 1964, you belong to the generation that changed what it meant to live well. Here's the list you've earned.
The American West & Great Outdoors
The Roads Worth Taking
01
Drive the Pacific Coast Highway — One Week, No Rush
From San Francisco to San Diego on Highway 1. Stop in Carmel, Big Sur, Morro Bay, Santa Barbara. Stay two nights wherever the sunset is worth it. This is the American road trip your generation invented. Plan your PCH trip →
02
See the Canadian Rockies by Rocky Mountaineer Train
Banff to Vancouver through the Rockies in a glass-domed train car. The Kicking Horse Canyon, the Spiral Tunnels, the Fraser River gorge. Two days of scenery with meals served at your seat and no driving required. Book Rocky Mountaineer →
03
Spend Three Weeks Driving Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way
1,800 miles of coastal road from Donegal to Cork. Stay in country houses and castle hotels. Drive on the left. Get rained on at the Cliffs of Moher. Eat the best seafood chowder of your life in a pub in Dingle. Book Ireland driving tour →
04
Cruise the Norwegian Fjords in June
The midnight sun, the Geirangerfjord, the Bergen fish market. Viking Ocean Cruises and Hurtigruten both do the full coastal route. June means 20+ hours of daylight and wildflower meadows above the fjords. Browse Norway cruise options →
The World Beyond America
Experiences Worth Flying For
05
See Machu Picchu — by Hiram Bingham Luxury Train
You don't have to hike the Inca Trail. The Hiram Bingham train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes has Pullman dining cars and brunch service. Arrive by noon, beat the crowds, stay a second night in Aguas Calientes for dawn access. Book Machu Picchu train →
06
Spend a Month in Portugal — the Alentejo Region
Not Lisbon, not the Algarve. The Alentejo: cork forests, medieval hilltop villages, some of the world's best wine at $8 a bottle. The pace is what your generation remembers from Europe before the crowds arrived. Book Alentejo tour →
07
Take the Alaska Marine Highway System — Ferry Through the Inside Passage
Bellingham, WA to Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan over 4–7 days on a state ferry. You can bring your car. Bald eagles, humpback whales, calving glaciers. A slow, extraordinary journey through the most dramatic coastline in North America. Book Inside Passage tour →
08
Do a Safari at Chobe National Park, Botswana
Africa's highest concentration of elephants — over 130,000. Chobe River boat safaris get you within 10 feet of herds at the water's edge. Less crowded than Kruger or the Mara, and arguably more spectacular. Book Chobe safari →
Boomers built the experience economy. The ski vacation, the wine tour, the weekend away — your generation invented the idea that experiences are worth spending on. The only difference now: you have more time. Use it.
American Icons & Classics
The Things You Always Meant to Do
09
Attend the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs — in the Infield
Not the fancy grandstand seats. The infield: 80,000 people, mint juleps, hats, mayhem, and two minutes of the most exciting sport left in America. The first Saturday of May. Tickets sell out 6 months out. Book Derby experience →
10
See a Game at Every Original MLB Stadium Still Standing
Fenway Park (1912), Wrigley Field (1914), Dodger Stadium (1962). A road trip project with a framework: see a game at every ballpark built before 1970 that still hosts baseball. The older ones feel like the country used to. Book Fenway Park tour →
11
Drive Route 66 — the Full 2,400 Miles
Chicago to Santa Monica. The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook. This road was built for your generation. Drive it before the final diners close. Book Route 66 tour →
12
See the Grand Canyon at Sunrise — From the North Rim
The South Rim gets 90% of visitors. The North Rim is 8,000 feet elevation, 1,000 feet higher, open May–October, and has a third of the crowds. Bright Angel Point at dawn in total silence is the most beautiful spot in the United States. Book North Rim tour →
Culture, Food & the Arts
Live Inside the Things You Love
13
Attend the Edinburgh Festival Fringe — One Full Week
August in Edinburgh: 3,500 shows across 300 venues, the largest arts festival on earth. Comedy, theatre, opera, street performance — and the city itself becomes a stage. Book an apartment near the Royal Mile. See 4–6 shows a day. Book Edinburgh festival tour →
14
Eat Your Way Through Tuscany — with a Cooking Class
Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Montalcino. A week in a rented farmhouse with a cooking class at a local agriturismo. The Bistecca alla Fiorentina at Buca Mario in Florence alone is worth the flight. Book Tuscany cooking class →
15
See the Sistine Chapel at Dawn — the 7am Private Access Tour
The Vatican offers pre-opening tours before the general public enters. The Sistine Chapel in near-silence, with a small group, under controlled lighting, is an entirely different experience from the afternoon crowds. Book Vatican dawn access →
16
Attend a Week at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival, Washington D.C.
Free admission, held on the National Mall every June. Represents folk arts, cultural traditions, and heritage from countries around the world. The kind of event that shows you what this country can still be, on a good day. Explore DC cultural tours →
Learning & Personal Growth
The Chapter That's Still Being Written
17
Take a Road Scholar Learning Adventure — Week-Long Program
Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) runs 5,500 programs worldwide specifically for adults 50+. Art history in Paris, geology in the Badlands, birdwatching in Costa Rica. Programs start from $800/week all-inclusive. Browse Road Scholar programs →
18
Write Your Memoir — Not the Full Thing. The First Chapter.
Take a week somewhere quiet. Write the chapter about the moment you remember most clearly from your childhood — the one that keeps surfacing. You don't need to finish the book. You need to write that chapter. Find memoir writing guides →
19
Record an Oral History With Your Children and Grandchildren
StoryCorps offers a free app and recording kits. A professional interviewer from Storycorps can facilitate for $200. The stories you carry about your parents and grandparents, told to your grandchildren, on record — irreplaceable. Get started with StoryCorps →
20
Learn Watercolor Painting — Take a Week-Long Workshop
The Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee and the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine both run week-long residential workshops for beginners. The skill matters less than the week of making things with your hands. Find art retreat programs →
Legacy & Connection
What You're Leaving Behind
21
Plan and Host the Reunion You Keep Saying You'll Have
The high school reunion, the family reunion, the college roommate weekend — the one everyone agrees needs to happen but nobody books. You book it. Choose the date, the location, the venue. Send the invitations today.
22
Take a Genealogy Trip — Visit the Country Your Family Left
Ancestry.com, 23andMe, and MyHeritage can all produce travel reports showing the villages your ancestors emigrated from. Many of those villages still exist. Some still have your family name in the church records. Find genealogy travel guides →
23
Give a Scholarship — Even a Small One — in Someone's Name
Contact your high school, college, or a local community foundation. A $500 annual scholarship in your parents' name, or your own name, creates something that continues after you. The application process takes about 2 hours.
24
Plant an Orchard — Apple, Pear, Cherry, Whatever Grows in Your Climate
Not a garden. An orchard. Ten to twenty trees planted this spring. In five years there will be fruit. In twenty years it will be something worth walking through. Order bare-root stock from Trees of Antiquity or Raintree Nursery. Find orchard planting guides →
Active Adventures (No Excuses)
The Body You Still Have
25
Kayak in the Sea of Cortez — 7-Day Guided Expedition
Natural Habitat Adventures and Baja Outdoor Activities run guided sea kayak tours in the Sea of Cortez between October and April. Dolphins, whale sharks, sea lions, and desert camp sunsets. Moderate fitness required — nothing extreme. Book Sea of Cortez kayak tour →
26
Snorkel the Cenotes of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula
Cenote Dos Ojos, Gran Cenote, Cenote Ik Kil — crystal-clear underground rivers accessible by snorkel (no scuba certification needed). The most beautiful fresh water swimming of your life, 30 minutes from Tulum. Book Yucatan cenote tour →
27
Take a Flyfishing Course on the Madison River, Montana
The Madison is one of the world's great trout rivers. Orvis-endorsed guides in Ennis, MT run 2-day learn-to-flyfish courses from $400/day. You will catch something. Montana in June is incomparably beautiful. Book Montana fishing guide →
28
Go Whale Watching on a Small Boat in the San Juan Islands
June through September, the San Juan Islands have the most reliable orca viewing in the lower 48. Small-boat operators (6–12 passengers) like San Juan Safaris get you within 100 yards. Book 3 months ahead. Book San Juan orca tour →
