The new older generation is looking for more to do than sitting on a bus or cruise ship. They want to have fun. Elderhostel understands that.
By ROBERT N. JENKINS, Times Staff Writer
Published September 11, 2005
Everything is relative. For instance, at age 61 (for another month or so) I am a geezer among my St. Petersburg Times newsroom colleagues. Then again, they might seem advanced in years to my 18-year-old college freshman son.
But I have few acquaintances through whom I could understand what being "old" means. As for the grinning folks the commercials insist are enjoying "active lifestyles" in their "golden years," I used to wonder, who are the real-life versions of these delighted seniors?
Now I know 15 of them, and I understand there must be hundreds of thousands more.
My epiphany came in two segments this year, during trips to Arkansas and Canada. In Little Rock, I gained insight from a noted gerontologist. In Newfoundland, the lesson was firsthand, during a 10-day trip with Elderhostel on which I was 27 years younger than the oldest participant.
Breaking the mold
"At age 85," gerontologist David A. Lipschitz says, "the chances are that about 50 percent of us won't be able to function as individuals, either due to memory loss or physical disabilities.
"But that means that about half of us will be able to get around on our own," he adds with his ready smile. "And in the next 25 years, the number of 85-year-olds in this country will have more than doubled, perhaps even tripled.
"Everywhere you look, you will see a sea of older people . . . more independent than ever, an inspiration to everyone."
Lipschitz, director of the University of Arkansas' Reynolds Center on Aging, is a medical doctor and has a doctorate in biochemistry and physiology. He is an author and the host of a 26-part PBS series, Aging Successfully with Dr. David. Lipschitz, 61, told newspaper travel editors in the spring that we should be presenting information that an increasing number of older travelers want. And that doesn't just mean packaged bus tours or cruise itineraries.
"There is no way anyone is going to herd a dude like me onto a bus," he said. "I want to climb, I want to swim. And I'm not alone. Yes, I'm going to look "old' as I do these things, but that's okay.
"Baby Boomers - those born between 1946 and '64 - are very individualistic. We may have never, ever, done what our parents wanted us to do. Now, as we age, we are rapidly becoming our parents' parents - we see them as (if they were) our children, always asking us for the car keys, getting out and about we don't know where.
"They want to be on their own, gallivanting about the globe. They also want to be treated with respect."
Having spent more than a quarter-century researching how people respond to aging and how to keep them feeling youthful, Lipschitz predicted his audience's future:
"Whatever you want in the way of travel or entertainment at the age of 50 will be the same in your 60s or 70s . . . We're going to give up some of the trappings of life that have tied us down. Our children have left the nest. We're ready to really live."
He said that though a 20-year-old might see him as "a slow, senile, sexless human being, that image couldn't be more wrong. Things may not be as easy as they used to be, but it's preposterous to think of someone in their 60s as "elderly!' "
Elderhostel adapts
His comments may have been in the back of my mind, but I still wondered about what sort of people I would meet when my group of 16 gathered in late June to begin an Elderhostel trip in Newfoundland.
As it turned out, all of us were from the United States, though Elderhostelers come from other nations. And while we had opted for this trip in Newfoundland, in its 30 years Boston-based Elderhostel has enrolled more than 1-million people in courses that range from three days to multiple weeks, on every continent, at all times of the year.
That's a huge evolution from its humble beginning in the summer of 1975, when the nonprofit organization offered brief summertime instruction at five New England colleges, using vacant classrooms.
But over the years, Elderhostel executives realized what Lipschitz preaches: being older does not mean being sedentary or disinterested in the world.
So courses were moved out of the classroom and into the world with visits to historic battlefields and bird habitats, mansions and museums, Old World villages and New World glaciers.
Always, educating the participants has been the basic goal. Elderhostel's group leaders herd the pack sheepdog style, nudging the strays and counting noses.
The group leaders are supplemented by teachers, historians and locals who earn a living at what is being studied. Elderhostelers can interact with residents, ask their own questions or pursue personal interests, when meals are taken with locals or on-site specialists.
My group's members had received a 28-page booklet that included an itinerary, a 16-book recommended reading list (most in my group said they had not read anything on it) and rules of the road such as type and quantity of clothing to bring, information on meals and travel insurance.
But we didn't know anything about our fellow travelers beyond their names and home towns.
That's by design: Elderhostel believes it is best left for each participant to decide how much personal information he or she wants to share with the others.
At the airport that was our rendezvous point, we were met by an Elderhostel worker who checked us off her list, then gave us airplane tickets, updated itinerary and neck lanyards holding name cards.
Participants took it upon themselves to make introductions and volunteer to watch luggage while some of us shopped, headed to the food court or to the bathrooms.
In Corner Brook, Newfoundland, we were welcomed by Irene and Bruce Martin, who operate a number of services in the region including bus charters, and by Sharon Coles, 16-year Elderhostel group leader whose family operates a motel we used.
This was retired schoolteacher Irene's first trip as a full-time group leader, so she and Sharon took turns during the bus rides describing everyday life in their relatively isolated section of Canada. Occasionally Bruce, also a native of the region, would offer anecdotes and background.
About halfway through the 10 days, we drove farther north and Bill Maynard, motel owner, outdoorsman and historian, replaced Sharon.
The schedule was relatively gentle. Though we covered more than 700 miles, no bus ride lasted more than two hours. At each of the four motels we used, help was available for luggage.
Finding fun and friends
The theme of this trip was the history of the area - from the people known as the Maritime Archaics to the Vikings to the rugged lives of commercial whalers and fishermen.
Most days had separate activities in the morning and the afternoon. We walked national park trails, cruised a beautiful canyon lake, had botanists and geologists lecture to us indoors before leading us to sites that demonstrated their science.
We watched videotapes, took a whale-watching cruise - it seemed the whales were watching us, too - marveled at artifacts, artworks and a re-created Viking settlement, enjoyed a lobster bake on a beach, and tried every day to photograph the moose our bus passed on the roadside.
There were a few organized events beyond dinners but most nights were free. Time was built in for naps, for laundry, for independent walks, for writing in journals or sending postcards, playing bridge or surfing the Web.
Meals were simple, including a few bag lunches eaten on the bus. Vegetarian preferences were satisfied.
And it all seemed to please the Elderhostelers. Not counting me, they ranged in age from 66 to 88. There were four married couples, two sets of friends traveling together, and three singles.
Everyone but me was retired, and their jobs had included a computer sciences teacher, stockbroker, biochemist and a former University of South Florida teaching administrator. The majority, however, were like Martha Knuth of Ballston Spa, N.Y., who said, "I'm a retired teacher and a permanent student."
Her friend Rita Pettigrew, of Lubbock, Texas, met Martha during 35 years of teaching in New York. Pettigrew said she "loves to travel - I get in as much as I can" and has a friend care for the half-dozen or so cats she has adopted.
Mickey and Phyllis McKinney drove their RV from Los Angeles - "We've lived in the same house there for 37 years," said Mickey - to reach this, their 20th Elderhostel trip.
"We are already signed up for our 21st . . . and every one has been good to excellent."
Karen Ferguson was on her third Elderhostel trip, flying to Nova Scotia from her home in Buffalo, Wyo. - "which has two stoplights."
And Colin Gribble, of Huntsville, Texas, was on his first, deciding he would come with his wife, Kathy, because "She said that if I didn't go, she'd find one of her friends to go with her."
Nancy Shaw Burns had a unique perspective among the participants. Retired in 1988 as assistant director of the SunCoast Teacher Training Honors Program at USF, she said, "I taught at Elderhostel, and when I got old enough, I started going on them."
Her husband, John, said that he has "been to about a dozen Elderhostels all over the U.S. and Canada . . . One benefit is the opportunity to meet many interesting people; usually they have lots of interests and lively minds."
And, he added, "It's good to have the food and bed readily available all week without having to make a lot of reservations."
Two members of the group prepared formal journals afterward. Cora Barr, on her 10th Elderhostel trip, wrote a 21-page report that included photos. Lucille Roden's journal was a mere eight pages, but then Lu - our oldest member at 88 - had written a poem about Newfoundland that was read to us on the bus.
As Lipschitz might note, Lu was an inspiration to everyone.
Industry estimates are that in 2004, 197.6-million days were spent traveling by Americans at least 55 years old. Reflecting the aging of America, the market is growing.
- Elderhostel, based in Boston, is a not-for-profit organization that organizes and markets travel programs for people at least 55. The organization, celebrating its 30th year, estimates it has nearly 200,000 participants a year.
In 2005, Elderhostel is offering more than 10,000 programs, in every state and Canadian province and in more than 90 countries.
My 10-day trip in Newfoundland included flights to and from Halifax, Nova Scotia, all lodging, bus transportation, all but a couple of meals, admission to museums and parks, guided tours by Parks Canada rangers that were just for our group, plus a supplement to reserve single room accommodations. The cost was $2,507. To learn more, go to the extensive Web site at www.elderhostel.org call toll-free 1-877-426-8056. The organization offers paper and electronic versions of its program catalogs, issued several times a year.
- Grand Circle Travel, founded in 1958 by the retired educator who also founded AARP, had 64,000 customers in 1995. This year the company expects up to 200,000.
The minimum age for its customers is 50, but the average age is 72. The company does have trips designed for grandparents and their grandchildren.
Priscilla O'Reilly, vice president for public relations for Grand Circle, said its most popular segment is cruises on relatively small ships - the company owns or charters 43. But the fastest rate of growth is in soft-adventure travel.
Grand Circle offers escorted tours to Turkey, Scandinavia and Vietnam.
- Trips to less-traveled destinations such as Fiji, Bhutan and Panama are offered by Grand Circle's subsidiary, Overseas Adventure Travel.
"Our Botswana safari is so popular we had to add 12 departure dates" for 2005, O'Reilly said from her Boston office. "The more exotic the better, although our travelers do enjoy their comfort."
Overseas Adventure Travel booked 3,050 people in 1995 and expects 37,000 this year. The average age of these travelers is 65.
For more information on either company, go to www.gct.com the toll-free number for Grand Circle is 1-800-959-0405; for Overseas Adventure, call 1-800-493-6824.
Ideas for a better life
Dr. David Lipschitz has spent years arguing against fad diets and over-medication as ways to keep aging people healthy.
"We all have to prepare not to just live longer but to live better," he says. "Diets fail. It is critically important not just to diet but to exercise properly and regularly. (And) be an educated consumer in health care - don't believe everything your doctor tells you."
The geriatrics clinical care center he directs was rated in the nation's top 50 hospitals for the ninth consecutive year, by U.S. News and World Report last year.
"The key to living better is to be happy," he says, "and to be happy you need four things:"
- Love - "The key to longevity. The average married man lives 10 years longer than the average single man . . . loneliness is a key predictor of ill health."
- Faith - "People who believe in some higher power, not necessarily in organized religion, live longer. It is important to have the capacity to forgive and to repent."
- Having a purpose - "People who plan for retirement live better and longer . . . get busy and stay busy."
- High self-esteem - Recognize beauty in everyone. Travel experiences can promote self-esteem" as can creativity. He advises people to try writing and painting - at the minimum to cultivate a hobby they enjoy.
Lipschitz's book is Breaking the Rules of Aging LifeLine Press; $24.95 hardcover, $16.95 paperback. His Web site is www.drdavidhealth.com
