Living inside a motorhome is not the usual wont of ordinary people. Not everyone is comfortable to spend a normal life inside a cramp recreational vehicle or popularly known as RV.

However, for Arizona-based Filipino-American retiree Carolina Esguerra Colborn, spending an unbelievable eight years inside an RV and cruising all over North America with her husband, Bill, is certainly an unforgettable time of her life.

“The RVing community is not diverse,” Colborn pointed out. “I met only two Filipinas also married to Americans, a few Hispanics, and a few African-Americans in all of our eight years of RVing.

“But I got an ‘intravenous transfusion, not just an injection’ of America’s natural beauty, its history, the way of life and the people. It prepared me for citizenship.”

That epic journey was chronicled in Colborn’s 2015 travel book, “Carolina: Cruising To An American Dream.” When she met Bill on the Internet in 2007, Colborn had the exceptional time experiencing the extraordinary life inside a motorhome.

“He found my profile, wrote to me, and we met after about a month of writing to each other,” Colborn said about Bill. “We found out he lived only 20 miles away from me.”

They tied the knot over a year later on August 8, 2008 (8/08/08) in a private cruise ship on Lake Union in Washington state. He is four years older than her. His three children (Jim, Suzanne and Cristine) are all older than her three daughters (Trisha, Claudine and April).

Subsequently, the couple embarked on a five-year cruise of North America. They traveled to 49 American states, nine Canadian provinces, and six Mexican states within the cozy confines of their 350-square feet motorhome.

“Bill sold his business and we RVed across the North American continent and traveled to 48 countries, too,” Colborn allowed. “Those were eight beautiful years when a new definition of retirement evolved for me. I now define retirement like this: it is the period of no longer working for money, but of being busy for fun.”

Colborn actually started with a mere casual blog on the couple’s second year of RVing that later turned more serious. “Sometimes, I write sponsored posts for advertisers,” she granted. “Other times, a post gets published elsewhere. Three books have also been published from the contents of that blog.”

She is now a paid expert and contributor for “Travel Awaits,” an online travel magazine, where she submits articles bimonthly. She even came out with a handy booklet, “Cruising in an RV: The Basics You Need To Know.”

Cruising in an RV for a total of eight years was a very happy period in Colborn’s life. The couple’s most memorable time was when they took the RV all the way up to the Arctic Circle northwest in Canada’s Yukon territory, the country’s highest peak.

“Bill had RVed before and he wanted me to experience the liberating lifestyle,” Colborn shared. “So he sold his business and bought an RV. It became almost a never-ending honeymoon for us. That is why I have branded all my writing, ‘Carolina: Cruising’.”

There was a time when Colborn took RVing literally. “My favorite pillow is the one we bought at a Farmers’ Market proclaiming, ‘We get along in our RV ‘cuz we don’t have room to disagree’.”

If there is one thing the couple solidly shared, that is travel. “We had both dreamed of the same thing when we retired from our stressful business lives,” Colborn disclosed. “We share a deep passion to go and discover the world.

“Every scenic sight became not just a marvel, but also, at times, a coping mechanism. Travel nurtured both of us and gave our life together the spices it needed to fuse the disparate flavors.”

NEW BOOK

All of Colborn’s recent activities have been documented in her new book, “Cruising Past Seventy: It’s Not Only About Outer Journeys, It’s Also About Inner Ones,” which she released only last November.

Colborn talks about inner journeys: the lessons learned, the changes made and the insights gained. She finished it while on lockdown and self-quarantine this COVID-19 pandemic.

“In fact, there are three parts of the book,” Colborn offered. “Now that we are not able to travel, it is best to look inside and find deep in our hearts and minds, our own lives enriched by travel.

“There are eight longer chapters of changes made. They include how I became a wife, a writer-photographer, a better mother and grandmother, a better traveler, a Filipino-American, and an emerging global citizen.

“There are eighteen short chapters of insights gained. They deal with the qualities and attitudes best for travelers, concerns and issues they face, and even a chapter on travel under COVID-19, as well as keeping fit on the go.”

Most people see retirement as an end to their accomplished career or everything that they did in their professional life. However, that is not the case for Colborn. For her, retirement is the start of giving way to her “unexpressed passions” that never got proper attention when she was still busy as a bee.

Although the literal definition of retirement is the period after leaving one’s job and ceasing to work, Colborn, who gave up corporate life in the Philippines when she was only 54, has given her own, personal definition of retirement.

“First and foremost, we must be comfortable and not constrained during our period of non-work,” she maintained. “To do that, I never really raised our quality of living much and saved more as my level of compensation increased.

“That is how I was able to retire very early at the age of 54. My investments were in real estate and at one time, had four properties for rent in Manila. I have sold those and I now have two properties for rent in Seattle, alongside the other two of my husband’s.”

Secondly, Colborn believes that spending one’s retirement years with somebody beside you would be a great blessing. “That is why I projectized looking for my lifetime partner. It was good I found him. That he is even more financially prepared for retirement than I am and that he shares my passion for travel are such tremendous benefits.”

Thirdly, Colborn insisted there is nothing impossible when you have time. “All the unexpressed passions I had when I was kept busy and stressed providing for my children have now gotten the proper attention. I learned how to cook, write, and take photos.

“Next year, I will turn to painting. My dear husband has already bought five canvasses, an easel, and the acrylic paints and brushes. In February, we are building an Arizona room so I can have my painting studio. I can’t wait.”

True enough, Colborn learned how to cook, write, and even take photos all in her retirement stage. More importantly, she did manage to “love a little,” something that wouldn’t have happened when she was still in Manila.

“The last one would have been impossible in Manila,” Colborn lamented. “The Philippines did not have divorce laws, only a long and costly annulment process. Although I got lucky when I was given one practically for free, when I became a high-ranking government official.

“Still, it seemed all the good ones had already been taken by the time I turned 54. I decided to wind down my career early. I wanted to face the world with someone by my side. That was the only thing I didn’t know how to do…be a good wife.”

Balancing her work and personal life then when she was still in Manila became quite unsuccessful for Colborn. “My three daughters truly felt my frequent absence,” she rued.

“I am just glad they were smart enough to pick up the good examples and discard the bad. It was also good I had a barkada with whom I spent many a night unwinding. That is what I miss the most now that I am here across the pond.”

'MOST POWERFUL WOMAN IN IT'

Colborn, who finished her BS in Mathematics from the University of the Philippines in 1971, completed her MBA (Masters in Business Administration) in 1982 and DPA (Doctor in Public Administration) in 2003.

“I felt that education must be a continuing process,” she maintained. “The BS in Math helped me to think analytically. MBA helped me manage others and transition to leadership positions. DPA helped me differentiate leading in the public sector [government] from the private sector.”

Colborn had a distinguished career in Philippine business before migrating to the US in 2004. Her last executive position was at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), as Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology (IT). She started the computerization of BIR.

She can better be described as an IT executive. In the business circle here in the Philippines, Colborn earned the recognition, “Most Powerful Woman in IT.” All the firms she headed had computerization and leading edge IT as centerpiece programs.

She catapulted the entry of those firms into the information age. With her IT training and experience, plus her marketing savvy, the firms she joined became showcases for IT innovations and experienced business successes.

Twice a recipient of the Most Powerful Women in IT Award, Colborn represented the private sector in the National Information Technology Council (NITC).

Colborn was former president and CEO of BayanTrade, an E-procurement hub of the Philippines; managing director of SAP Philippines; general manager of Megalink, the ATM transaction switch of banks.

She was vice president of the Development Academy of the Philippines, a government consulting arm. She also worked for Andersen Consulting, IBM and NCR. Colborn was only 54 when she gave up her corporate job.

“I left my post in BayanTrade and went through a two-year period of not working,” Colborn offered. “That time was also spent on rehabilitating my poor health after burning out from stresses of work and personal life in Manila.

“I actually entered the US at a mere 100 pounds. Now, my weight is maintained at 125. It was timely that my first Caucasian husband was a naturopath who helped me recover in Texas.”

'MELLOWING AND BLOSSOMING'

After her divorce, Colborn started living a driven life in Seattle, Washington, where her eldest daughter, Trisha, is based.

Colborn was working more than 40 hours a week, babysitting her grandson from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and teaching as adjunct professor in business at three institutions of higher learning – Seattle Central Community College, Central Washington University and Renton Technical College – during the evenings and Saturdays.

Colborn even volunteered as a small business counselor and lecturer in marketing for SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, a non-profit organization of 13,000 retired executives across America.

Her second daughter, Claudine, lived in Canada even before Colborn decided to migrate to the US. Claudine is a Canadian citizen. The youngest, April, was left behind here in the Philippines when Colborn went to the US, as the girl was still in college at UP then. April is now based in Melbourne, Australia with her own family and is an Australian citizen.

Giving up her life of stress was followed by Colborn’s “mellowing and blossoming,” a far cry from her life in Manila. She undoubtedly credits her husband, Bill, for the many changes she went through. “And it’s all in the [second] book,” she beamed.

OUT OF POVERTY

Growing up with only her mom as the strong anchor in their home, after her dad was found floating on Manila Bay early on in their lives, Colborn and her four other sisters look up to their mom as their role model. One sister, though, Ellen Esguerra, the actress, already passed on due to cancer.

It came as no surprise that Colborn dreamt of moving her family out of poverty. Her dad’s case, sadly, remains unresolved. “My four sisters and I were born in a tiny shack by a dirty creek in the slums of Sampaloc, Manila,” Colborn shared.

“I studied hard from my elementary grades to my college years. Then I worked hard and studied even more. I don’t think I got sidetracked. I think I did pretty well.”

Colborn proudly referred to her mom as “the great educator of the deaf,” who was sent by the government on a year-long scholarship in the US to study the advances in deaf education.

“She implemented everything she learned upon her return as principal of the School for the Deaf and the Blind and later at the Ministry of Education,” Colborn said of her mom. “She was dean at Arellano University when she passed on.

“She worked up to the last day of her life, with a portable oxygen tank by her side. I learned how determination and hard work pays plenty of dividends in the long run.”

NEW NORMAL

In her home now in Phoenix, Arizona, Colborn and her husband have undoubtedly adapted to the new normal of this pandemic. “We just do most everything on pick-up or delivery mode,” she granted. “We stay inside as much as possible, except for hikes and other outdoor activities.

“We have traveled to mountain retreats with family. And I have a chapter on how to travel during COVID-19 in the book. Nothing is really tough anymore. Everything is manageable. And there is more wisdom around, like knowing your own boundaries.”

Thankfully, Colborn and her husband live in a golf resort community that allows them to self-isolate, with three clubhouses and three ballrooms, two golf courses, a golf pro shop, a bar-grille-restaurant, ten tennis courts, ten pickle ball courts, a softball field, fifty clubs, 20 craft and meeting rooms, and many more.

“Now that it’s COVID-19, only the outdoor amenities have been left open [in the golf resort],” Colborn said. “Still, it is a great place to be. But we are limited to a maximum of ten per meeting or party. It is the best place for a lockdown.”

She is convinced that she is again in another driven period of her life, as her husband insisted. “That is why he is encouraging me to retire for the third time and turn to painting [now],” an inspired Colborn said.

Her new book may talk about her inner and outer journeys, but for the meantime, Colborn will also turn to her easel, canvass, brush and acrylic paint, as she discovers yet a new and colorful passion in her retirement.

“Cruising Past Seventy, It’s Not Only About Outer Journeys, It’s Also About Inner Journeys” is available for $2.99 on eBook.