The Senior Scene

It is so nice to have beautiful weather and be able to get out and about. We had a wonderful trip to the Lilac Gardens down in Woodland and then lunch at the Oak Tree, which has been revamped and is now part casino.
The Dinner Date group drove to Olympia for dinner on the water at Tugboat Annie’s. It was another beautiful evening and we even toured the capitol grounds before returning home.
As I write this, we are getting ready for two fun trips. The first is to Harrison Hot Springs for a two-night stay, and the second is up to Orcas Island and an overnight at the Orcas Inn. You will hear about those next month.
A couple of new exotic trips have been added to the schedule for 2015. We now have Costa Rica in February for nine days and then Israel in October for 10 days. Reservations are being taken for anyone who might be interested.
In the meantime, we have a nice group developing for a quick little trip on Island Princess out of Vancouver to San Francisco departing Sept. 24, and don’t forget the Panama Canal in April 2015. It is very possible that the new canal will be open and we will be able to boast to everyone that we have been through it.
Many things come up at the last minute, so be sure to join the email list for up-to-the-minute information on what is happening. Now is not the time to be sitting home alone when you can be out doing things and making new friends. Singles are always welcome, and we do our best to try to make roommate arrangements if necessary.
A little P.S. to the Hawaii trip that you might find interesting: We always recommend trip cancellation insurance in case something happens before or during your trip that might make a change in arrangements. In our case, it did. One of our group fell and injured herself. We were pleased to learn that her cancellation policy took care of ambulance, doctors, x-ray, hospital stay and even provided an escort for her return trip home. The insurance company stayed in constant contact with me, the patient and her family. Please always ask about insurance when taking one of our longer trips. It certainly paid off here.
For further information and reservations, call me at 253-927-8207 or get on the e-mail list at linda.finch@gmail.com.

Rain and sun, rain and sun. That’s how our trip to Maui turned out.
As with the Seattle area, Hawaii was breaking records in the rain department. We were so lucky where we were in the up country of Maui. We had rain every evening and it just nicely cooled things down. During the day we could drive a mile or so and find beautiful, sunny weather.
And drive we did. We put over 800 miles on the vans during our stay. Once again, we spent two weeks learning all about the island we were on. Maui is more like two islands joined by a deep valley. It is 48 miles long and 26 miles wide (only six miles at the narrowest point of the valley). The population is 155,000 residents, plus an average of 42,000 tourists. Over 2 million tourists come to this island every year. Our log cabin home was in what is called Up Country just out of Makawao, a cowboy town, on the way up to Haleakala Crater. We were next to the Sacred Garden in the middle of jungle vegetation with a beautiful river running through the property. Almost every day we would take off for some part of the island to explore.
Our first adventure was to Iao Valley and the Iao Needle, a 2,250-foot rock formation surrounded by lush, green mountains. There are beautiful views from the top of the lookout back through the valley and into the town of Wailuku. Of course, we also had to have a stop at Costco to stock up on provisions for our stay.
On another day, we headed out to Kihei, Wailea and Makena Beach. We had lunch at the beautiful Grand Wailea Resort with all its pools, sculptures, waterfalls and beaches. You can drive for hours just looking out the windows.
A full day was spent on the Road to Hana, Fifty-six one lane bridges and 617 curves each direction. Around each curve you would find flowers, a waterfall, or just more jungle vegetation. It was an amazing day. We stopped at beaches to watch the surf crashing over lava rock, picked up banana bread at a roadside stand, and had lunch at Hana Ranch.
Lahaina is an old whaling port, now loaded with shops and restaurants. We did our thing and then all met up again under the giant banyan tree (planted in 1873). It takes up the entire city park with all its extended trunks and branches dripping with vines. We had such a great time that we even came back another day to explore the Kaanapali coast and have dinner at the Hula Grill.
One day we drove to Maalaea, where we boarded a catamaran and took off looking for whales. We were very lucky this late in the season to see a couple of them. We saw puffs of water where mothers were swimming with babies and even had a chance to catch a couple of tails splashing about.
Haleakala at sunrise is a spectacle not to be missed. It was a very early start for the two-hour drive up to 10,000 feet on very windy, curvy roads, and it was very cold at the top. We wrapped ourselves in blankets and watched over the crater as the sun rose above the clouds. A Hawaiian couple did chants to the rising sun, and the rest of us snapped picture after picture. On the way down, we stopped for breakfast, and as we continued we were able to see some of the hardy souls who were doing the bicycle trip down from the top.
We did so many other things that I don’t have space to write about but we thoroughly enjoyed. There were beaches, farms, hills and pools. There were art shows, galleries and stores. You need to be there to see if all. I hope you will join us another time.
You need to sign up now for the fun trips of the future. We have Vancouver to San Francisco in September; Memorials of War: Normandy and Paris in October; Puerto Penasco on the Gulf of Mexico in November; and then Tampa to Vancouver through the Panama Canal in April 2015. Call or e-mail Linda Finch at 253-927-8207 or linda.finch@gmail.com.

The rains were coming down. Snow had canceled the trip to Canada and the harness races. We were more than ready to head south to the Caribbean Sea. We flew out of Seattle in what was to become perhaps the wettest March in history, only to land in Houston to more rain. We saw nothing on our drive to Galveston but still more rain – only a drizzle, but definitely there.
Our spirits were up the next morning as we had breakfast at the hotel and prepared to really begin our adventure. Navigator of the Seas was awaiting us.
A marvel at sea, she has 14 decks, a royal promenade with designer boutiques, unique shops, live entertainment venues and restaurants serving up mouth-watering food. There is a rock climbing wall, full-size basketball court, golf simulator, miniature golf course, ice skating rink, flow rider surf simulator, and a complete spa and workout center. Add to that a three-story dining room, Italian, Asian and Mexician specialty restaurants, a steak house grill, 24-hour cafe, a full buffet center and other miscellaneous food spots tucked in here and there. This is a city completely on its own and would be our home for the next week.
We had two complete days at sea as we headed further south and into warmer weather. The ocean was flat and dolphins could be seen playing in the wake of the ship. Passengers lounged by the pool, became educated at the art auction, won and lost in the casino, enjoyed a production show and late-night comedy. There was an opportunity to learn a new card game, watch a movie on the big screen by the swimming pool, have a treatment in the spa, attend a seminar, take a skating lesson, learn line dancing or just join a trivia group or participate in a wine tasting. There are so many different things to do that boredom can never set in.
At last we awoke in the morning to see the beautiful greenery of the island of Roatan, home of the world’s second-largest coral reef and a divers’ paradise. We hired a car and were driven around the island, which is home to many American and European expats. Just a short flight to Texas allows these people to have summer homes away from the winter weather and into the unique culture of the island. Roatan has a long history of pirates, conquistadors and slaves. We were able to see long, beautiful white-sand beaches and volcanic rock coasts. The interior gave us encounters with monkeys, iguanas, colorful birds and even more colorful tourists zipping through the dense jungle. The shops gave us handwoven baskets and amazing mahogany wood products along with the usual tourist trap items.
The next day was Belize City, founded in the 1700s by pirates. African slaves were brought to help harvest lumber and mixed with the Europeans, whose descendents began to mix and ultimately the Creole culture we see today was created. This is a tender port, and so not everyone got off the ship. Those who did found Mayan ruins, tropical forests, flowing rivers and a zoo created for animals who were injured and unable to return to the wild. Those more adventurous types did zip-lining and cave tubing.
Cozumel was the final port of call. It was a busy spot with five ships in port at the same time. We elected to take a horse-drawn carriage ride to explore what the area had to offer other than a myriad of shops. We traveled into some of the back streets past private homes, schools and churches. We peeked into courtyards, stores and restaurants and got more of a feel as to what life might be like on this busy island just off the cost of Mexico. Cozumel is a diver’s paradise with water temperatures hovering in the low 80s year-round and visibility up to 200 feet. We even had beautiful views while looking off the ship and watching the water sports go on around us.
And then it was back to a final day at sea. It was nice to relax and have a slow, comfortable time to pack up clothes and memories; pick up a last-minute item at the duty-free store, lounge in the sun around the pool, and enjoy a cocktail as the sun sets and one last gourmet dinner.
Cruising is such an effortless way to travel. Unpack once and spend the rest of the time enjoying yourself. We have now scheduled another cruise on Navigator of the Seas for February 2015. This time she will head to Jamaica and Grand Cayman. Make plans now to join us. And don’t forget, we have space out of Tampa in April 2015 through the Panama Canal to Vancouver (only have to fly one direction and then relax on the long, luxurious way home). A short cruise is planned in September from Vancouver to San Francisco.
For those who don’t cruise and want to stay closer to home, there is Harrison Hot Spring in June, Victoria in August, Reno in September and Puerto Penasco in November. There are always dinner dates and mystery trips. For reservations or further information, call Linda Finch at 253-927-8207 or get on the e-mail list at linda.finch@gmail.com