A series of medical issues in 2017 awakened an adventurous spirit in Debbie Zipes.
“It was kind of a wake-up call from the universe,” she said. “It was, ‘I just get one life. Am I living the one that I want?’”
While recovering from a hysterectomy, a tumor was discovered in her neck.
“One night I was a mess, worried about the surgery, I Googled, ‘What should I do with my life?’” the Carmel resident said. “The website asked if you had a year to live, what would you do. I thought, ‘I just want to travel the world.’ I thought, ‘I don’t have the money to do that, I’m working full time. I have a house.’”
The next day, she met a woman at a party who traveled the world.
“She told me to sell everything, so you have no bills, no debt, so whatever money you would spend on a house or apartment, you just use that for travel,” Zipes said. “I transitioned out of my job. I had the surgery, and all went well.”
Since November 2017, the 60-year-old Zipes has been to six continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Australia. She’s traveled to 28 countries and 110 international cities.
Originally, Zipes planned to start with a bicycle tour of the United States. That changed when a work colleague said she wanted to give her a gift and asked where she wanted to go first.
“She then booked my ticket to Australia with all her frequent flyer miles,” Zipes said. “I booked my first two nights in Sydney and then just winged it from there.”
In the first traveling stint, she was away for five months, going from Australia to New Zealand. Then she went to Bali, Borneo and Singapore.
Her original plan was to take the money from the house and spend it all and then come back and get a job.
“But I was able to get consulting work because I’m in the nonprofit sector,” she said. “So, when I’m still working for these two foundations, I was able to work wherever I was. I could be in the middle of an Australian beach and help somebody write a grant or whatever. I was able to basically break even (and) bring in enough to cover my travel.”
Zipes, a 1982 North Central High School graduate, returned for about four months to Carmel, where her parents have a home. She considered getting a job to replenish her long-term finances.
“I’m just like, ‘No, I just love this life too much,’” she said. “I got a brochure about Africa and I wanted to go there. Who knows how long these majestic animals are still going to be on the planet? So, I continued my consulting work and took off for Africa.”
She went on safaris in Tanzania and Kenya and then took an all-day hike to see gorillas in Uganda. She then went to Thailand. where she did a stint studying at a Buddhist monastery with monks.
She returned to Carmel in January 2019 to see her family and determine her next adventure. She learned about Workaway, a program where a person can volunteer in exchange for room and board. An artist/musician community in New Mexico reached out to Zipes.
“I thought I’d go for 10 days to check it out,” she said. “I loved it and stayed for nine months.”
During that time, she took a trip to Italy and London for a family trip and wedding. She took a solo trip to Croatia and then went with her parents to see polar bears in Churchill, Canada, for one week before returning to New Mexico.
She was home for two months before going to Costa Rica for a month. She went home to Carmel when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down travel. She decided to take a bike trip across the United States with another adventurous friend.
After that, she stayed at her parents’ winter home in Bonita Springs, Fla., in December 2020. She started to play pickleball and got matched against Dan Erickson, who was visiting from Minnesota, and his friend.
“Dan said, ‘Let’s switch teams and I’ll take Debbie,’ and we’ve been together ever since,” Zipes said. “In the first five minutes, he said, ‘You are the exact type of person I want to be with.’ We ended up going for a walk. He went home to Minnesota, packed his bags and moved to Florida. We both relocated to Florida for the winters.”
Erickson teaches tennis and pickleball in Florida, but is primary occupation is buying and selling antiques and has owned antique shops in Minnesota. The couple now does estate sales together. Erickson hadn’t traveled much, but Zipes got him excited about travel.
“I always had a desire to travel, but various factors held me back, like not having a travel partner, cost and logistics,” Erickson said. “It felt like something I’d do eventually but kept postponing. Traveling with Debbie has made the experience much more enjoyable and appealing. She showed me the importance of traveling now rather than waiting for the future, as some opportunities might not be available later in life. Experiencing different cultures firsthand has been eye-opening. I’m now creating a bucket list of places I want to visit. I’ve also learned that traveling can be affordable, like staying in hostels and biking. Debbie’s adventurous spirit, fun itineraries and flexibility have made our travels unforgettable. Her approach to going with the flow has taught me a new, exciting way to travel.”
Erickson said he enjoys biking and playing pickleball in new places.
“My favorite trip was biking 370 miles along the Danube River through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary for three weeks (earlier this year) — meeting people, eating new food and learning about local history along the way,” Erickson said.
Among their other travels, Zipes took Erickson to a yoga meditation trip to Guatemala for a month.
“It’s so amazing to live this life and still stay connected to my work life and help nonprofits around the country,” she said. “There are times I fly to a place and meet on-site. But a lot of times it’s on Zoom. I have clients I’ve known for 15 years.”
Zipes works with statewide after-school networks.
“Every state has an organization focused on expanding after-school and summer programs,” Zipes said.
She works for two organizations that support that — the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and STEM Next Opportunity Fund.
Zipes wants to explore more in South America, and she has never been to Antarctica. Japan is another place she has yet to visit.
“I hope to inspire others to travel,” she said.
