Ideal trips for seniors

Kathleen Anderson

In keeping with my goal of experiencing joyful things this year, I sometimes let my imagination take me where I physically cannot go.

For all the wonders of my home base in Thurston County, when the weather is too cold, I might spend some time daydreaming about a warmer clime, or Alaska if it is too hot.

I think about wonders in other places that I’ve never seen, animals I might encounter and people I might meet. I do not have to go far because there is much I have not yet experienced right here.

But if I were to take a trip, what would my ideal destination be?  And who would I take with me?

In a perfect world, I would take the little people in my life…those who are still easily amazed at the sights and sounds of all things new…because then I, too, will see them for the first time all over again.

It has been dreary, weather-wise lately, so when my new Road Scholar catalog arrived last week, I was ready for a new imaginary adventuret.

If you are not acquainted with the Road Scholar program, it offers educational adventures created by Elderhostel, the not-for-profit world leader in educational travel since 1975.

When I lived in Bisbee, Arizona, one of the Elderhostel Programs came to town once or twice a year, primarily for bird-watching enthusiasts. The travelers stayed at the bed and breakfast I managed, so I was able to broaden my bird knowledge, somewhat, beyond “hummingbirds are small – very small.”

The Road Scholar offers inclusive trips with rooms, some meals and guides and instructors to places all over the world and on just about every subject imaginable. For instance, you can travel with them to Mackinac Island, described in their catalog as the Jewel of Michigan. Mackinac Island was once a fur trading post, a Revolutionary War Site, and a Victorian resort destination. Here, you can learn about the importance of horses while enjoying a carriage ride through town, and under the guidance of the Deputy Director of Mackinac State Parks, tour their historic parks and explore the beautiful natural species up close on a walk with a naturalist.

Or, if you want to expand your knowledge of how to get the most out of your digital camera, you could join experts in Costa Rica to practice exposure, composition, and wildlife and landscape techniques.

There are trips offered to Europe and Asia – just about anywhere in the world, all with learning opportunities and instructional experts. Some trips include airfare, and there are also floating campuses you can explore.

But the ones that caught my attention were the trips offered under the heading of Grandparents and Family.

One of the first adventures that caught my eye was titled:

Spy kids: sleuths & secrets with your grandchild.

Ok – who doesn’t want to go to the other Washington, DC, and visit the city’s most notorious spy sites in General Washington’s day, while learning about investigative gadgets from former CIA and NSA agents?

Perhaps you would fancy a trip to the Windy City to explore science while increasing problem-solving skills as you build a robot and design a zoo habitat for a lion with your grandchild.

Other options include exploring and rafting the Western Grand Canyon, snorkeling the Coral Reef in Key Largo, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Adventures in Toronto and Niagara Falls, and trips to Tanzania, Tuscany, and Iceland. The list goes on and on.

Memory-making fun for the whole family or just a few of you.

For more information, click here.

Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia.  Contact her at  kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comment below.