The West Florida (Sarasota) group had its first luncheon of 2014 on Jan. 8 at the University Park Country Club. We had 12 attendees.
I started the meeting by informing everyone of the three new locations which qualify as Travelers’ Century Club Locations. This will give some of the attendees new countries.
The luncheon was interesting, lively and only ended when the club closed.
Our youngest member (not yet 40) regaled us with her travel experiences. Amanda Davis and her husband travel the world scuba diving – they will leave shortly for Palau, the Philippines, Malaysia and Burma. Local buses and trains are their mode of transportation and their luggage is their backpacks.
Two new attendees have had interesting travel histories. One, John Robinson, a former Peace Corps volunteer, is also a scuba diver who travels the world for new sites. The other, Tauna Durand, recently took a world cruise. She and her husband are looking forward to a river cruise originating in Amsterdam.
Tom Gregory’s next trip will take him to Turkey.
Mickey Knipscheer will soon be on her way to Japan, and later this year plans on taking a river cruise.
Nancy and Dan Irvine’s last trip was to visit their family, which is scattered throughout the United States. They have traveled extensively and are looking for new places to visit.
Larry and Katherine Nutt have 174 countries to their credit – they were the “most traveled” at our luncheon. Their next sojourn takes them to Bhutan and Sikkim.
Ken Chamberlain has been at every meeting we have had – he will be on cruise later this month.
We (my husband and I) returned from a 42-day cruise in early December and we will again be on our way to Easter Island, New Zealand and Australia before the end of the month.
Our next meeting will be on March 25 at the University Park Country Club.
—Lillian O’Leary, Area Coordinator
