A Special Section Highlighting Senior LifestylesThis monthʼs focus: Traveling

The Big Apple is terrificdestination for seniors tour BY EMILY HEDGESCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Curtis Hedstrom, 68, had alwayswanted to travel to the Big Apple.When he saw a notice in the LakevilleSenior Center about an upcomingtrip, he thought the time was right tofinally go.

“I had wanted to go to New YorkCity, but I didn’t know where to stay,or what parts were safe. I thought if Igo with a group, I won’t have thoseissues,” he said.

Creating turnkey travel experi-ences for seniors like Hedstrom is apriority for Senior CenterCoordinator Linda Walter.

“They have no worries about book-ing sightseeing tours, where to eat,etc. It’s all taken care of up front.They have the chance to meet newpeople and enjoy the company of oth-ers rather than just going on a trip bythemselves,” said Walter.

The 40 seniors who toured NewYork City together were from all overthe country, including seven fromMinnesota. Also traveling from theLakeville Seniors was Kathy Hames,67, who like Hedstrom had never beento Manhattan before.

“I had wanted to go to New York fora long time,” she said. “My friend, BevSellentine, and I went together andjust had a blast.”

Both Hames and Hedstrom saidthe vibrancy and energy of the citywas their favorite part of the experi-ence.

“I loved going to Times Square.There were people everywhere. I likedthe action,” said Hames. “When we

went to Ellis Island, and I found myfather’s family name on the wall.”

She also loved seeing the 911Memorial.

“It was touching. All the names ofthe victims were there,” she said. “Wewent into the museum and watched afilm about the experience. It was hardto watch.”

During the group’s backstage tourof the theater where they saw MaryPoppins, she was able to live out a life-

long fantasy.“I broke into a little soft shoe on

stage and sang New York, New York,”she recalled. “Now I can tell people Isang and danced on Broadway.”

Hedstrom particularly enjoyedwalking the city streets and seeing somany sites he’d always heard about,including Grand Central Station, theEmpire State Building, RockefellerCenter, the Ed Sullivan Theater andCarnegie Hall. He found a few things

he saw were not what he expected.“Taxis were cheaper than I

thought they would be. The restau-rants weren’t as big, and the numberof them was amazing,” he said.

Hames said that she can now markNew York City off of her bucket list,and that traveling with the LakevilleSeniors is as easy as it gets.

“A shuttle bus comes to your hometo pick you up. It’s all included in theprice of the trip,” she said.

“I feel it is important to offer tripslike this to the community,” saidWalter. “If we didn’t, some peoplewould not get the chance to go. Ourtrips are so convenient for people. Allthey have to do is pay the money andeverything else is taken care of.”

Upcoming trips planned with theLakeville Seniors in 2013 are: Hawaii,Jan 31 to Feb. 9; a riverboat tour of theupper Mississippi River, July 4-13;Canada and New England cruise,Aug. 31 to Sept. 8; and a Bahamascruise, Nov. 10-17.

The mission of the LakevilleSenior Center is to focus on the well-being of individuals aged 50 and olderin order to enhance the emotional,physical and psychological aspects oftheir lives. The Center strives to pro-vide programs of interest for seniorsof all ages and to be a fun, friendlyplace for seniors to come to meetfriends and enjoy the day. TheLakeville Senior Center is located indowntown Lakeville, just behind thePost Office at 2011 Holyoke Ave. It isopen from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday -Friday. For more information, call(952) 985-4622 or go towww.lakevillemn.gov.

KathyHamesposeswith“KingKong”found atthe topof theEmpireStateBuildingduringher tripto NewYork Citywith theLakevilleSeniors.

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2 Mature Lifestyles – Friday, November 23, 2012 sunthisweek.com

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Mary Wanderers travel extensively BY EMILY HEDGESCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Mary Odell may have the best jobin the world. In fact, she says if sheever retires, the City of Golden Valleyshould auction it off.

“I enjoy my job. I’ve met sometruly wonderful people,” she said.

Odell serves as the escort forGolden Valley’s popular travel pro-gram. If you ask Jeanne Fackler, sen-ior citizens coordinator with the Cityof Golden Valley, she’ll tell you thatMary is one important reason for theprogram’s success. In fact, she is suchan integral part, the program hastaken on the name Mary Wanderers.For more than 20 years, the Crystalresident has led excursions all overthe country.

“Mary is the perfect escort. Shehas a positive attitude, pays attentionto details, can ‘go with the flow’ ifthere is a glitch, and has a greatlaugh,” said Fackler. “Our partici-pants, some of whom have traveled

with her for 20 years, have shared herjoys and sorrows. Plus, when a tripends with chocolate, it has to be good,right?”

Mary and Jeanne plan trips with

the help of Alice Norman fromMedicine Lake Tours. Mary says thatideas come from her and Jeanne,along with suggestions from theirseniors. She finds the most popular

experiences include boat and trainrides, home tours, and anythinginvolving music. Some of her recentfavorites have been a train trip toChicago; Mackinac Island; a boat rideup the Mississippi River; Bayfield,Wisconsin; Washington D.C.; andNashville.

“Every trip I take is one of myfavorites,” she said. “This has been avery good year. I especially love holi-day trips. They really get people inthe mood,” she said.

Barb Bailey, longtime recreationdirector for Golden Valley, began thetravel program more than twodecades ago that has grown in popu-larity each year.

“Our trips are very popular withGolden Valley seniors, but we get a lotof people from the other suburbs,”said Odell. “We have a wonderful fol-lowing. It keeps growing and we havenew people all the time.”

Mary believes meticulous plan-

The “Mary Wanderers” are pictured during a bus trip to Chicago earlier this year. Photo providedby Golden Valley Seniors Program.

WANDERERS: TO NEXT PAGE

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Mary Odellhas servedas tourescort inGoldenValley formore than20 years.Photo pro-vided byGoldenValleySeniorsProgram.

ning is one of the reasons sen-iors keep coming back to theprogram. And she agrees withJeanne that chocolate doesn’thurt.

“I always have special treats,and I like to stay positive.Things are well planned, andpeople like that. It’s the peoplethat really make it for me,” shesaid.

Odell wasn’t always a travel-er. In fact, she didn’t fly in anairplane until she was 40 yearsold. She and her husband tooktheir three children on smallvacations. Now, when she isn’ton the go, she is probablyspending time with her threegrandchildren, who she saysmakes her heart smile. Sheespecially loves to take them toGopher football games. She is aseason-ticket holder, although

she will admit, she goes mainlyto hear the band.

Mary may also be foundleading a crafting group at theSenior Center. Volunteershand-make a variety of papercrafts for local groups, such asthe Good Samaritan Home,Golden Valley Rehab, and theDinner at your Door program.

“I just like doing things. Ihave a very good time, and I justlove this job,” said Mary.

Golden Valley Senior Centerwill host a travel show at theSenior Center located at 200Brookview Parkway in GoldenValley on Jan. 28 at 1 p.m.Seniors are invited to comehear about upcoming travelopportunities over coffee, pieand ice cream. There is a smallfee to attend. The group alsohosts a travel show at theHopkins Senior Center the endof March.

For more information, call(763) 512-2339 or go to www.gold-envalleymn.gov.

FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Wanderers

sunthisweek.com Friday, November 23, 2012– Mature Lifestyles 5

BY EMILY HEDGESCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Seniors John and KarenEggert will tell you that travel-ing with the Spring Lake ParkRecreation Department is oneof the best deals around. Giventhe value, they were surprisedto learn that part of the pro-ceeds go to benefit youth andadult recreation programs inthe community, a fact thatmakes them feel even betterabout getting out of town.

“The trips are so economi-cal for what you get to do. Ifthey are also raising moneyfor kids programs, that’s won-derful. Both of us have tried tosupport our local community,and there are so many in needthese days,” said Karen.

When the City of SpringLake Park faced budget short-ages, city staff realized thatrecreation programs wouldprobably be the first thing togo.

“We’d been doing one-daytrips, but some of the seniorsbegan to request more extend-ed trips. At the same time, ourstaff was trying to come upwith some new ways to bringin dollars,” said MarianRygwall, director of parks andrecreation for the City ofSpring Lake Park.

Rygwall and her staff real-ized they had knowledgeablepeople who could plan andlead some extended trips forcompetitive costs and raiseenough to help keep taxesdown.

“Our playground program,skating rink for the kids inwinter, these are the sort of

programs being covered byfees from our travel program,”said Rygwall.

The department offersthree to four extended trips ayear to appeal to differenttastes. Travel insurance isalways included, so seniorsput down a deposit knowingthey can always receive a fullrefund if necessary.

“Our goal is education,socialization and enhance-ment of life experiences, all atthe pace each individualwants,” said Rygwall. “Some ofthe trips are for active seniorsand some are more relaxed.They always stay in nice prop-erties that cater to their needs.We program for the comfort ofour seniors.”

The trips are multi-genera-tional, with many seniorsbringing along their childrenand grandchildren. However,for singles a group like thiscan offer the perfect optionwhen traveling alone.

“Seniors feel comfortabletraveling with a local group.When they lose a spouse, orthey don’t wish to go alone,they feel comfortable goingwith us. Neighbors cometogether and develop travelgroups. It eases them into thetravel experience,” saidRygwall.

The Eggerts have gone onthree extended trips with theSpring Lake Park seniorgroup.

“We saw this program whenwe retired,” said Karen. “Wehad always wanted to go toGraceland, so we signed up for

Area recreationdepartment

offers great travelopportunities

RECREATION: TO NEXT PAGE

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the Memphis trip. We loved itso much we went to NewOrleans.”

Their most recent trip wasa16-day excursion through thePacific Northwest. The groupmade up of seniors ranging inage from 60s to 90s traveledthrough North Dakota,Montana, Washington,Oregon, and California, tour-ing a number of major citiesand National Parks. John’sfavorite stops were Mount St.Helens and Yosemite NationalPark. For Karen, images of theColumbia River Gorge and theamazing waterfalls are theones she’ll never forget.

“It was mind boggling. I justloved the water,” she recalled.

The Eggerts credit tourplanner and escort SharieLinke with the success andquality of the excursions.

“Sharie does an excellentjob of pre-planning the trip,”said Karen. “John and I areboth retired math teachers.We’re concrete, sequential peo-ple who like to have the dailyitineraries.”

For John, the best partabout traveling with Sharie is

the time savings and varietyof experiences.

“It’s a really good bargain.For the cost, we were amazed

at all we got to do,” he said.“You may do it yourself for

less money, but you’d have todo so much work and research,and we’d never have known todo half the things we did.”

For Linke, it’s people likethe Eggerts who make her jobso enjoyable.

“I find it absolutely fasci-nating interacting with peoplethat have so much experienceand knowledge. On a tour, Ialways try to use their knowl-edge and have them share theirpersonal experiences,” saidLinke. “We always have suchkind and caring people on ourtours and why wouldn’t theybe – they’re from Spring LakePark and the surroundingcommunities.”

Spring Lake ParkRecreation Department hasthe following trips planned for2013: Deluxe California Fly-Away, Jan. 20 to Feb. 3; NYCand Washington D.C. March 17-28; Canadian AtlanticMaritimes, Sept 7-22; andBranson Holiday Tour Nov. 20-25. For more information ontravel opportunities, call 763-792-7231 or go towww.slprec.org.

FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Recreation

Seniors from Spring Lake Park travelled to the Pacific Northwest for 16 days. Here,John and Karen Eggert pose by a sign near Mount St. Helens in Oregon.

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