NICE Meeting of 12/12/09

The holiday season cut our attendance to just 5 regulars, but we had an enjoyable get-together, as Phyllis showed us her photos from her Adventures Afloat Elderhostel trip to seven Grecian Islands in August...



Then I showed movies of our two New England Elderhostel trips in August and September, both of which are available online: Kayaking, Canoeing, and Rafting the Delaware Water Gap in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains...



...and sailing on the windjammer Angelique on Penobscot Bay out of Camden, Maine...



We then adjourned to Hillcrest Restaurant for a tasty meal...

Writer's Group Meeting

A number of our Elderhostel alumni group members gather together regularly to create memoirs (also known as lifestories) under the tutelage of Don Nylin of our group, who has taken several Elderhostel courses on this subject. We have been meeting for nearly five years now, and some of us have a couple dozen of these memoirs finished. In essence, we are each writing our autobiographies, one chapter/ incident at a time, attempting to leave to our descendants our own words in order to allow them to know who we were and how we got to be these people we are.

Today we met at my place, and, since we hadn't met in quite some time due to scheduling problems, we spent some time getting caught up with each others latest doings, and then after a nice lunch, Phyllis, Pete, Don (clockwise around the table)...



...and I shared our latest stories for several hours.



Getting together with good friends and sharing our written words is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. And new members are always welcomed!

October 10th NICE Meeting Cancelled..

...due to a conflict at our meeting place. The next meeting will be December 12, 2009.

The Writer's Group will still meet in Wauconda as planned.

Exploritas/Elderhostel "Relaxes" Age Limit of Participants

A Message from President James Moses

Dear Friends,

Since our new program name was recently unveiled, I have fielded many questions and concerns about the age eligibility for Exploritas programs.

The widely circulated and erroneous idea that we will be seeking new participants as young as 21 has become a lightning rod, and has led to a false fear that our programs will be overrun with overly energetic 20- and 30-year-olds. The simple message is that we won’t be actively seeking any participants younger than Baby Boomers, but neither will we be turning away any adult who loves lifelong learning.

Elderhostel has been, and Exploritas will continue to be, a program created for and attractive to older, primarily retired adults.

Before 1975, older adults had very few organized ways to learn, grow, and experience adventure. When Elderhostel was founded, it was exclusively an organization for adults 60 and over. It was something special, almost a rite of passage, because it provided opportunities that weren’t previously available. Later the age limit was changed to 55, and this change had no impact on the average age of participants. When we launched Road Scholar in 2004, those programs had no age limit (other than the requirement of being legally an adult), yet the average age of participants was still over 60. For years we've allowed, even encouraged, people over 55 to bring along their younger spouse or partner, or for that matter, their adult children.

As we considered the decision to apply the Road Scholar standard generally to all of our programs, our thought process was this: Why should we bar a 54-year-old (or a 53-year-old, or a 52-year-old) from coming on a program if they have a sincere interest in the destination or the subject matter? Why should we turn away a 32-year-old who wants to go on a program with her 60-year-old mother? Once you start unraveling this thread of questions, you quickly realize that any formal age limit is totally arbitrary. Does that mean that our programs will suddenly be flooded with 20-somethings? Nothing in our past experience suggests that will happen because, for the most part, people in that age range choose to do other things with their available time.

There’s a related concern about how a broader range of ages might affect the activity level of a program. Once you understand that there won’t be a flood of younger participants, this concern should mostly go away, but there’s still a point that needs to be made. While it’s certainly true that, in general, people become less active as they age, there are lots of exceptions, particularly among our participants, who we know are atypically hale and hearty for their age. I've seen many, many people 70-plus who can out-hike people decades younger. If people are honest with themselves (and with us) about enrolling in programs at the right activity level, a mix of ages should not be a problem.

In summary, we all need to remember and remind others that there is a huge difference between "actively seeking" and "not turning away." Our goal as we relax the 55 age limit is not to change the atmosphere of our programs, but to adopt an open, welcoming posture. We don’t want to turn away any adult who has a genuine thirst for learning, affiliation and meaning, and I believe that anyone who looks beyond the sound bite will agree that this is our proper position and the right decision.

If you have any comments or concerns you’d like to share, please send me an e-mail to comments@exploritas.org.

Sincerely,

James Moses
Elderhostel President

NICE Meeting of August 8, 2008

Today was the bi-monthly meeting of our Northern Illinois Chapter of Elderhostel. Pete opened the meeting with information about the much-anticipated name change for Elderhostel. The change to a new name has been much ballyhooed for many months and will soon be revealed. Elderhostel has a short video explaining its 35 year history and the need, now, for a name change...



Bob spoke of his latest 3 1/2 week trip to South Africa's Kruger National Park and his adventures there with his wife and son. This was his third trip and he really knows his stuff!



Then I presented a movie I made showing our two Elderhostel programs in Florida a few months ago -- canoeing in the Ocala National Forest and the mystery behind the magic in Disney World.

Don was next, with a slideshow of his intergenerational Elderhostel program learning to sail a 19' sloop in Maine's Booth Bay with his adopted grandson.



Don then related his duties and the experiences he's had as an Elderhostel Ambassador for the last decade-plus.

Finally, we all conversed a bit about our varied experiences with programs before dismissing and heading to lunch at Hillside Restaurant. Our next meeting will be 10/10 at 10 am.

June meeting cancelled

The Northern Illinois Chapter of Elderhostel Alumni will not meet in June (over half of our regulars have health concerns or other commitments).

Please save Saturday, August 8, 2009 for our next meeting. We will meet at the State Bank of the Lakes in Grayslake, Illinois at 10 AM until 12 PM

Our program will be a sharing of recent Elderhostel experiences. Please e-mail or call Pete if you have one you want to share: peterobertclark@aol.com or call 847-549-1659.

NICE Meeting of April 11, 2009 featured...

... Anette Isaacs, German historian and leader of German Elderhostels, speaking on the events that led to the "Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall."


The enthusiastic audience enjoyed the presentation...



...as well as the door prize, a $100 certificate towards any of the many Elderhostel programs in Germany.

"Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall" at NICE Meeting on April 11, 2009...

...10 a.m. to Noon, at the STATE BANK OF THE LAKES (847-548-2700) in Grayslake, 50 Commerce Drive, located east of Illinois Route 83, off Center Street, on Industrial Drive, across from the Post Office.

The meeting is in the Community Room in the basement (there is an elevator).

(Click on map to enlarge)

German Historian Anette Isaacs recounts the events that led to the
"Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall".

The event is free! Everyone over 21 is welcomed!

Anette will also describe the Elderhostel programs available in Germany AND there will be a $100 certificate to one winner for an Elderhostel program held in Germany.

For More Information:Call Pete Clark, 1-847-549-1659
or e-mail Pete at peteropbertclark@aol.com

On the day of this program, you can call 1-847-970-8700 (cell phone) for directions or other questions.

Elderhostel is...

...an organization with which you should familiarize yourself if you 55 or better IF:

• You like to travel.
• You enjoy spending time with people who share your passions.
• You want to learn while engaged in an enjoyable activity.
• You want an affordable trip.

I joined 7 years ago, have participated in 21 programs, and highly recommend their offerings. Here are posts about the canoeing program ...



...and the Behind the scenes at Disney program, both from last month...



A love of learning, and a love of being in the company of exceptional people while visiting new locales, and a love of participating in engaging environments -- all create extraordinary experiences -- which is what Elderhostel has been providing for more than a quarter-century. "Exceptional learning opportunities for adults at a remarkable value" is their motto, but in a nutshell, Elderhostel is older folks going to school without homework, without tests or quizzes, with long recesses, with nice people from all over the country, and with really good food service.

Elderhostel was founded in 1975 on five New Hampshire college campuses, based on the idea of inexpensive lodging and non-credit classes. As it evolved, Elderhostel programs left college dorm housing and moved to quality motels/hotels, and the meals similarly improved. In fact, many programs provide local, cultural cuisine to add to the "educational component" required of all programs. Our Mexico/Copper Canyon trip included local restaurants and even featured a "home visit" where we were served a traditional home-cooked meal by the matriarch of the home. Another program in Florida took us to local black churches for delicious home cooked meals.

Today Elderhostel serves 160,000 participants annually, offering nearly 8000 programs in the USA and Canada, with an additional 1251 programs in over 90 countries on 6 continents. Since Elderhostel is a non-profit organization, you eliminate the middle-man fees usually found in travel programs. There are 698,853 Elderhostelers living in 524,568 households with an average age of 71.7 years, of whom 62% are female. Over 4 million people have participated in a trip since Elderhostel began.

Elderhostel strives to offer low-cost, stimulating trips, and you can find a program to match any interest you wish to pursue. Programs can be found that cover one day or several weeks, though most are 5 days long. The average cost for US programs is a bit over $100 a day, a bit over $200 a day for international trips. Everything except transportation to and from the site is included in the advertised fee -- all meals, taxes, lodging, excursions, group shuttles to sites while on the trip, activities, lectures, and even all gratuities. No ups - no extras!

Best of all, perhaps, is the Travel Assistance Plan that is automatically included in the cost of the program. It provides 24-hour coverage in any emergency during the trip, including medical evacuation.

United States & Canada Programs	International Programs
• Emergency medical evacuation • Motor vehicle return to your home • Baggage delay insurance • Assistance with lost or delayed baggage • Help with travel document replacement	• Emergency medical evacuation • Limited medical coverage for an accidental injury or sickness • Baggage delay insurance • Lost, stolen, or damaged baggage insurance • Medical escort

And membership is free. Membership gets you free catalogs of all the offerings, though many use the convenient online search capabilities of the Elderhostel site, which also allows you to sign up online. Or you can call their toll-free number and speak with a live person for answers to questions or to register for for a program.

Many communities such as ours even have "alumni" groups which are local chapters composed of experienced Elderhostelers and those interested in learning about the organizations. I belong to the Northern Illinois Chapter of Elderhostel (NICE) and we meet every other month (photo below) and share our latest Elderhostel adventures, hear guest speakers, and socialize over lunch afterward.



As I mentioned, twenty-one of my adventures have involved active outdoor Elderhostel programs, all of which are listed here and include info and photos on each. Or go here for Elderhostel's description of program categories. It's free and could change your life! And just for fun, go to their website, type in a topic of interest to you, and see what programs are available for that topic. One warning, though -- Elderhostel trips can become addictive!

February Meeting Postponed -- Annette Isaacs presentation on April 11th

The February 14th meeting has been postponed until April 11th and will feature a presentation by Anette Isaacs, the Berlin Director for Elderhostel’s program provider, Group IST Germany. She will speak on the Berlin Wall being taken down and what has happened since.

There will also be a raffle of a $100 voucher to an upcoming Elderhostel program in Germany.