STARTING A CLUB
If you’re interested in starting, or joining, a travel club comprised of ITN readers in your area, send in a notice expressing your interest. We’ll print it and then you can take it from there. (This service is available to International Travel News subscribers only. If you’re not already a member of the ITN family, click here to find out more.) Check back for notices from others near you and, if things do get going, send in news and progress reports on your get-togethers plus any ideas that may be helpful to others getting their clubs going.
Write to ITN Travel Clubs, 2120 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818 or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com. (Please include your full mailing address so that subscriber status can be verified, and remember that your phone number will not be printed unless you state, “You may print my phone number.”)
Check the listings below for existing clubs and those searching for a club in your area:
EXISTING CLUBS
Arizona The ITN Travel Club of TUCSON, Arizona, meets the second Sunday of the month, September through May, at the Nanini Library, located at 7300 North Shannon Road in northwest Tucson.Members of the club meet to enjoy presentations, which may include slides, videos, photographs, brochures, etc., of their recent trips. We have no dues. Meetings are held 2:30-4 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
Contact George Eddington (520/825-8956 or e-mail eddington5@aol.com) or Roger Root (520/742-3353or e-mailW7LZ@arrl.net) or visit our website, www.toten.info/~roger/itn.
Our PHOENIX-area“ITNtravel club” TheNavigators , the first to be organized via ITN, has been meeting for eight years. We currently have 42 paid, active members plus many others who receive our monthly newsletter and attend meetings infrequently.We continue to host our meetings in our homes, with the host providing the program and refreshments. On occasion we meet at an ethnic restaurant for dinner before the meeting. We have a holiday dinner in December, which is usually potluck. We have a one-time membership fee of $10 per household, to defray costs of mailing, copying, etc. Our friendly, widely traveled group meets at 7:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month from September through May. Members live all over the Valley of the Sun, so we may be meeting inScottsdale, Tempe, Phoenix or Sun City. New members are welcome. Please e-mail MARGO WILSON at tclyde_us@yahoo.com or phone 480/483-6572.
California The No Reservations Travel Club started in July 2001. We meet at 7 p.m. the first Monday of each month. From February through July we meet at the Arcade Public Library Community Room at 2443 Marconi Avenue in SACRAMENTO, California. From August through December we meet at the Carmichael Library Community Room at 5605 Marconi Avenue in CARMICHAEL.
On the second Tuesday of each month we have dinner at an ethnic restaurant, and in the summer we have a potluck at my home. We feature a speaker at each meeting except for the December meeting, which is a dessert potluck social. There also is time at each meeting for members to ask for information or advice relating to their travel plans. There are no dues or fees to be a member.
In 2005 we had our first group tour, a trip to India. Among other places we’ve visited since then are China, Bhutan and Nepal. The tours are open to everyone, not just club members.
For further info, call me, Judith Anshin, at 916/457-1426, e-mail penguinatlaw@gmail.com (and put “travel” in the subject line) or visit www.noreservationstravelclub.blogspot.com.
The Foreign Travel Club of SAN FRANCISCO, which was previously restricted to professionals in the travel industry, has opened its membership to well-traveled persons in the San Francisco Bay Area. Membership is open to bona fide travelers who enjoy foreign travel, have visited at least three countries on separate occasions and enjoy comparing their experiences.Founded in 1934, the FTC hosts experts from all branches of the travel industry at its monthly luncheons, on the fourth Thursday of each month, at the Marines’ Memorial Club in San Francisco. The aim of the FTC is “the promotion of good fellowship among travelers to foreign lands.”Annual membership is $40. If interested, pleasewrite to Joan Sheahan, The Foreign Travel Club, Box 2166, Sausalito, CA 94966-2166; phone 415/332-5523 or e-mailftcosf@aol.com.— JOHN QUIN-HARKIN, Sausalito, CA
I would like to get the SAN JOSE/SOUTH BAY Travel Club off the ground. There won’t be any dues. Anyone interested in meeting in this Central California area, please contact me.— KIM JOHNSON; e-mailfurballs77@yahoo.comor phone 408/997-7218
The LOS ANGELES travel club Network For Travel meets monthly on a Saturday at a local restaurant at lunchtime to compare notes and share adventures/misadventures plus tips on how to save money traveling. We have guest speakers, and members give accounts of their experiences. There are no annual dues.To get information on the next meeting location and time,contact ODETTE RICASA, Network for Travel, 4361 Eagle Rock Blvd., Ste. 1, Los Angeles, CA 90041; phone 323/578-3601, e-mailodette25@aol.com or visit www.webspawner.com/users/travelnetworking.
The SAN DIEGO Travel Club , associated with ITN, was started in the 1990s by a group of very active, sophisticated travelers seeking new, better ways to see the world.With a roster of about 80 (about 30 each month in attendance), members average about four trips per year, perhaps two-thirds abroad. The greatest number of countries visited by a member is 37 and counting. Some take 3-month journeys with little advance reservation; others pinpoint every overnight and most every expense.In one meeting we can be riding the Trans-Siberian Railroad, cruising the Gulf of Finland and tripping off to Easter Island! Most club members are not affuent. We have a good number of teachers, mostly retired. All love to explore the world.No dues are charged. We meet monthly on Wednesday (generally the second Wednesday of the month) at 3 p.m.at the Clairemont Community Services Center (Meeting Room, 4731 Clairemont Dr., Clairemont Shopping Center, San Diego, CA 92117), located at Lakehurst, directly behind Von’s. Our Singles Group also meets just ahead of the club.There is always room for new members and friends. If you are (or fancy yourself) an active traveler with ideas to share or are just looking for new destinations, we need you! Please call 858/576-8300, days (leave message), or send an e-mail toemma726@netzero.netso we can notify you of our next meeting.Thanks.— DARRYL RAPP, President, San Diego Travel Club
Florida The Uncommon Travelers , in the TAMPA BAY, Florida, area, is an unusual group of exceptional wanderers — all shapes, colors, sizes and ages — with a common bond. All of us have made several journeys outside the USA, have lived and worked outside the USA or have come from other countries. For the most part, we are independent travelers, not typical tourists, and we absorb ourselves in the people, culture, food, etc., of other countries, conserving our funds for more travel experiences.
We meet from 7 to 10 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month, September through May, at the North Rome Baptist Church, 6815 North Rome Avenue, Tampa (at the corner of Sligh and Rome, just west of the Lowry Park Zoo).Social time, with snacks and coffee, is from 7 to 7:30, followed by a short business meeting and then the program (which may include discussion sessions on international themes), which lasts till 9:15-9:30. This is followed by more socializing — swapping travel news, ideas, information, help and advice.
Annual membership costs $20 single or $30 for a couple. Benefits of membership — newsletter; new friendships, and social events at restaurants or picnics or whatever you help plan.Contact the club president, Judy Butler (phone 813/979-2125 or e-mailjudithbb_98@yahoo.com); the vice-president, Catherine Mitchell (813/237-3787); the treasurer, Russell Winer (813/933-5700), or the membership chief, Anneliese Tedeschi (727/544-8233). Visit our website, www.uncommontravelers.com.
The ITN Offbeat Travelers Club meets in the SARASOTA/BRAD-EN-TON area of Florida. Our club has about 115 members and generally an attendance of 20-35 members, depending on the season. We meet on the second Monday of each month at 12 noon for lunch. Request info on the place of meeting plus driving directions from the contact persons.Our purpose is to exchange travel information. Our members are extremely well traveled and can be helpful to each other on trip planning. At each meeting, one of the members makes a presentation on their last trip. We rotate the meeting chair responsibilities. We have no officers and no dues. We do other fun things like bringing in an art object from some foreign place and then trying to guess where it is from.
For info, e-mail Bea Brinker atbeabrinker@aol.comor phone Gordon Stoff at 941/485-4799.— GORDON STOFF, Venice, FL
The Singles On The Go, Inc., travel club(6944 W. Country Club Dr., Sarasota, FL 34243; visit www.singlesonthegotravelclub.org)meets on the second Sunday of each month except during the summer months, though we do have activities during that time. Our social time is 2 p.m. and the meeting is at 2:30 p.m., at the Sunnyside Village Auditorium (5201 Bahia Vista, SARASOTA). Our dues are $20 a year.The club’s purpose is to provide a forum for solo travelers (regardless of age or marital status) to meet kindred spirits and companions for independent travel; offer social outings, activities and group travel opportunities, and educate members regarding travel resources and opportunities.Our meetings start with a social and info time so members can check what actitivies they would like to join for the coming month or what trip they would like to take with a group. The meeting consists of different leaders of the activities telling what each is like and giving the cost and the time frame. The Pilot (president) fills in with travel tidbits and club organization business and then presents the guest speaker. The meeting ends with another social with refreshments, so newcomers and old members can make friends and contacts.— BOBBYE SCHOTT (Current Pilot), Sarasota, FL
Kansas The KANSAS CITY International Travel Club meets monthly on the first Tuesday of each month. We have about 25 members, ranging from very experienced travelers (200-plus countries) to those just beginning their international travels.Each month, one of our members gives a presentation on a recent trip. Presentations have covered each of the continents and have varied from a hiking trip in Mali, Africa, to luxurious cruises. We also have had presentations from foreign exchange students from Viet-Nam, Norway and two of the “Stans.” Light refreshments are served as well.Everyone is welcome and, in addition to having an eager audience to hear your stories and see your pictures, you can learn some great travel tips. Dues are $5 per year, and meetings are held at the Prairie Village Community Center at 77th and Mission Road.For further information, call BARBARA GOODRICK at 913/469-8491 or e-mailoptraveler@yahoo.com.
Kentucky I’m surprised there’s not a travel club in LOUISVILLE, Kentucky. If others are interested, I’d love to start one. Please e-mailtravelingmcmahans@gmail.com.— DANA & Brian McMAHAN
Maryland The ANNAPOLIS area “ITNtravel club” recently celebrated its sixth anniversary with dinner at a fine Spanish/Mexican restaurant here in Annapolis, the Sailing Capital of the World and the recent host for a leg of the Volvo World Sailing Race!The travel club meets monthly at an area restaurant, a member’s patio or even on the dock of one of our local crab houses! We have no dues, no committees and no requirements except to enjoy great friends, great travel stories and great food!E-mail JOHN SCHELEUR attravelclub@comcast.netor write via snail-mail to 452 Century Vista Dr., Arnold, MD 21012.
Minnesota Most people aren’t interested in hearing about how wonderful your trip was, but the beauty of an ITN group is they love to share their experiences with other like-minded people.Our group, in the ST. PAUL area, is called ITN Minnesota , and there is much discussion about trips taken and trips planned, with lots of good ideas and practical tips. People share their knowledge of the computer and digital cameras as well as the “how to” of travel. We usually show pictures in some form or another — slides, CDs or albums.Our goals are to provide camaraderie with other people who want to share their “travel habit” and to provide opportunities to talk travel with people who can no longer travel due to physical limitations. We meet in each other’s homes, and the host serves coffee, sodas and cookies. I send e-mails to 19 addresses, and we usually have six to eight people at a meeting.I can be reached at 1077 Sibley Memorial Highway, Lilydale, MN 55118; phone 651/681-9735 or e-mailbillklett@visi.com.— MARLENE KLETT
Missouri Thanks to ITN, the International Travel Club of ST. LOUIS has grown to 250 members, becoming one of the largest travel clubs of its kind. As a not-for-profit organization, the club was organized by Harold Grady in 2000, with quarterly meetings at the St. Louis County Library(1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd.)and membership costs of $10 per year.Meetings are two hours long and feature a keynote speaker in the first hour. Group discussions are held in the second hour to share information and experiences on travels abroad, tours available, hot travel bargains and travel tips. Sample speaker topics include the wonders of world travel, cultural insights, hot travel bargains, travel smarts, favorite world destinations, the ugly American, how to choose a cruise, packing smart, eco-travel, etc.The club’s most popular activity is the Travel Companion program, which meets at noon on the fourth Saturday of each month at different ethnic restaurants in the St. Louis area, allowing single travelers a chance to socialize and find future travel buddies and reduce costs.A 10-person board of directors organizes all club committees and activities, such as newsletters, the annual picnic, membership, fund-raisers and the telephone committee.For more information, contact HAL GRADY, 2039 Silent Spring Dr., Maryland Heights, MO 63043; phone 314/275-8445.
Nevada The LAS VEGAS ITN Travel Club had its first meeting in April 2006 and a second one in May. We have a total of 12 members, to date, and we welcome more. There is no fee for membership.During our first meeting, everyone decided we wanted to keep the club for ITN subscribers only, and we all had a great time getting acquainted. We plan to meet once a month, with a barbecue toward the end of the summer this year.During our May meeting, a member shared her slides and experiences from a tour of Ethiopia. During future meetings, members will tell about trips to Nepal, Kathmandu, Burma and India.The club is currently meeting at our home but will rotate with other members.Call JEAN YAKE or Fred Yake at 702/361-5885 or e-mailfjyake@aol.com.
Oregon ITN readers in the area of SALEM, Oregon, are invited to meetings of the (noncommercial) Mid-Valle y Travel Club . Each meeting features a destination topic. In the club’s13th season, which began in September, upcoming presentations and dates include “Iran — Past and Present” by Susan Watkins (Oct. 12); “A Greek Odyssey” by Marcia Hoak and Rob Gould (Nov. 9); “Bohemia and Moravia by Bike” by George Happ and Tom Kruse (Dec. 14); “The Big Five of Kenya” by Adele Birnbaum (Jan. 11, 2007); “The Galápagos Islands” by Chris Brantley (Feb. 8); “Britain’s Coast and Countryside” by Chuck and Cherie Bennett (March 8); “The Russian Bear on the Ancient Silk Road: Kyrgyzstan” by Franca Hernandez (April 12); “New Zealand” by Lela and Wilbur Jackson and Tom and Verna Morrison (May 10), and “Yellowstone National Park” by Don and Judy Jacobsen (June 14).In addition, each meeting also features discussion of a designated travel skill, introduced by a knowledgeable member. We’re also soliciting proposals for presentations for the 2007-2008 season, especially from new members.Meetings are held on most second Thursdays at 7 p.m. at the Salem Public Library. Attendance is free.For more info, visit the club’s website, www.midvalleytravelclub.org, or phone club president Peter Ronai (503/581-9872) or program chairman Derek Stables (503/399-0974).
Texas The first meeting of the North Texas International Travel News Travel Club was held in my home in DALLAS on Sept. 19, 1999, with 12 people. We decided that we would form a loose organization without any rules or dues. We have no elected officers, so I continue to manage the meetings. Two weeks before each scheduled meeting I notify everyone by e-mail, then a few days before the meeting I remind everyone.We now have 60 active members, though usually only half that number attends meetings. Some members travel with groups, but most look forward to the challenge of traveling independently.We now hold meetings every other month in the Central Market in Plano, which provides a large room for us at no cost. Meetings usually last about two hours. We discuss tentative travel plans by members and answer questions about specific cities or countries to which they plan to travel. We then permit members to describe their experiences and show photos from recent trips. (In my 80 years, I have collected quite a few.) On rare occasions we will have a guest speaker or sometimes a travel slide show.
We often ask one another questions about renting automobiles, discuss buying railpasses and point-to-point rail tickets and recommend places to stay. Recently, we discussed the use of travelers’ checks, credit cards and ATM cards. With our combined experience in travel, there is NEVER an unanswered question. We all have become supremely cost-conscious, so the most frequently asked question is “How much does it cost?”If you would like to attend our next meeting, get in touch with me.— Carroll Chandler, 17409 Cathys Place, Dallas, TX 75252; phone 972/733-3698 or e-mailccchand@sbcglobal.net.
Come one, come all to our new travelers’ club in the GREATER AUSTIN area of Texas! We gather quarterly for the purpose of meeting other travelers, exchanging information and ideas, relating our travel experiences and having a good time. We do not intend to have bylaws, elected officers, dues, etc.
We are (at present) mostly retirees, and we meet on weekday afternoons at public libraries. Our next meeting is July 10 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Howson Branch Library in Austin. Anyone who likes to travel is welcome.
Washington, D.C. Pauline Thompson of Falls Church, Virginia, wrote, “There is indeed a WASHINGTON, D.C, metro travel club. In fact, it’s 40 years old. The Shillelagh Travel Club is located in the suburb of Vienna, Virginia. Great trips, great members, low fees and great social events.” ITN calledCarolyn McKenna, Executive Director (phone 800/556-8646 or 703/242-2204 or visit www.shillelaghtravelclub.com), who said that rather than have monthly meetings, the club has four open houses a year, wine-and-cheese receptions where members can meet the tour escorts, discuss travel, etc. These are held at 100 East St. SE, Ste. 302, Vienna, VA 22180.
The club offers cruises, tours, motor trips and social events. The first year’s membership is complimentary when you reserve a trip. Following years cost $35 for a single or $50 for a family. You’ll receive a monthly club magazine.
I’m sad to report that my efforts to start a northern Virginia/WASHINGTON, D.C., ITN club never got anywhere.However, there is an active DC Travelers’ Circle in the Washington, D.C., area. The president is Mark E. Laxer (e-mailchimp@radix.net).— FLORENCE WROBEL, Alexandria, VA
California Anyone interested in forming a travel club in south Orange County, California, please contact me at 949/499-6231 or SeeArlonGo@cox.net. — Arlene Hamann, Laguna Beach
Texas I would be interested in FINDING a club or possibly even starting one if I knew how to go about it. I am a single woman in my mid-forties and I love to travel, but I have a hard time finding people interested in traveling with me since many people can’t afford international travel. If you are aware of other singles, especially in my area Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas), who would be interested in traveling together, I’d like to meet them. Thanks!— CYNDIA MOORE, 112 State St., Ste. 218, Southlake, TX 76092; office phone 817/552-3888, cell 972/571-1655, fax 817/421-5018 or e-mail cmoore@cyndiamooreteam.com
Washington I am interested in starting a travel club in the Seattle area. If anyone is interested, please e-mail me at nancycoop1@msn.com. Thank You.— NANCY COOPER
Illinois Any travelers in the greater Chicago/Rockford/Milwaukee areas who would like to share stories and experiences? I’ll be happy to help organize a club. If you are interested, contact me atuyoungwi@mc.net.—Ursula Youngwith, Algonquin, IL
