My wife is going to a birthday party for a 90-year old friend. It is a women-only gathering and they are holding it at a local brew pub! I can just see a bunch of tipsy old ladies whooping it up! It is happening this afternoon, but wife has several meetings afterward, so I assume she won't have too much "fun", but I cannot speak for the others. Alaska women rock!
Wife got home safely and all went well. Some of the older ladies here are amazingly spry. The 90-year old they celebrated today walks well even on ice, can stand for long periods and drives by herself all over the place, even in winter. Your comment on a bear hunt reminds me of a story. A coworker moved here from Connecticut and, of course, was very anti-gun and thought wildlife were cute and cuddly. She stopped at a roadside park and saw a moose cow and calf near the parking lot, so she approached the calf presumably to pet the cute/ugly animal. Needless to say, the mom didn't take it well and charged her. She got behind a large tree and managed to keep the tree between her and the moose until the calf wandered off and the mom lost interest. She (the coworker) decided moose weren't nice and decided she would become a hunter. She signed up to participate in a "Wilderness Women" outing. Turns out it was a lesbian wilderness retreat, so she left shortly after arrival, and signed up for "Women in the Wilderness", which is what she thought she was signing up for prior. This is a workshop put on by Alaska Fish and Game for women interested in becoming hunters. She successfully helped dress out a caribou that had already been killed. The coworker then decided she was qualified to go moose hunting on her own (not something I would recommend unless starvation was at hand). After hiking for miles and seeing nothing, she then decided moose hunting was too hard, and she would try something smaller...like Dall sheep! I don't know if there are hunters here, but Dall sheep hunting is for the very able as it involves mountain climbing and very strenuous activity, especially if you are on one mountain and shoot a sheep on an adjacent mountain then have to climb down, climb up the other side, and pack the animal back down. Anyway, she finally left Alaska and has moved elsewhere--I don't know where. Sorry to ramble, but I had to tell the story.
That's actually a good story, and it had a happy ending. And I like hearing of people who are that age and independently mobile. I know a couple of them here.
A dear friend I met while in my later years of playing bridge, post retirement, threw herself a 90th birthday bash for family and friends and I didn't go to this one as my hip replacement was new and I was having walking issues....the 95th she threw for the same bunch I did attend and she did it up so nice on both of them...Her gift for herslf was to treat others. She died not long after the 9 5th bash. I did a couple small bashes at a LA restaurant for about 8 good gf's when I was in probably early 60's....I treated them, same gesture as my 90 yr old friend. The restaurant was Italian and had singers walking around singing....good food and entertainment..... Those were the days....
My group used to have 'over the hill parties' after we turned 50. Most of our birthdays landed in January and February. Haven't done it in a while, now. We probably don't like going out in the middle of winter.
Over the hill, turning 50? Life for me really began at 40-50 rsnge, 80 would be more Over the Hill spot.