On the move

Senior centers keep visitors active & busy

“You either use ’em or you lose ’em,” Leonard was always quick to tell anyone who would listen.

I met Leonard when he was already in his early 70s, and there is no telling how long he had been saying that adage. He had a tendency to latch onto a clever quip and stick with it – forever.

He was specifically talking about his legs. There was nothing wrong with his legs per se, at least nothing that was diagnosed. Yet he reminded people who can remember of Tim Conway’s comedic old man character on the Carol Burnett Show, who shuffled his feet quickly but moved impossibly slow.

“If I could walk to church yesterday, I can walk to church today. Use ’em or lose ’em kid,” he said.

Leonard had a great number of exemplary qualities but this attitude was the one that kept coming back to me as I researched this story.

I am not yet a senior, but I am far away from being a millennial. I’m getting gray around my ears and in my beard but only enough to look like I’m aging, nowhere near enough to look distinguished or wise with gray hair. As such, I had no idea what I would find when I began looking at what is being offered for local seniors in the way of active, meaningful activities.

I feared that the senior centers I pass in my car on regular basis would be filled with folks playing mindless board games or watching daytime television. Thankfully, nothing is further from the truth.

It didn’t take long to learn that the region is chock full of adventures awaiting our seniors. Apparently this knowledge is no secret to many of the folks who share Leonard’s philosophy of taking advantage of what is put in front of you.

After a few quick web searches, I was struck by the number of day and overnight travel opportunities available through the region’s senior centers and other senior service organizations. I was genuinely stunned by the quantity and quality of the trips being offered, but after a bit of reflection it is no wonder there is a such a supply of great vacation opportunities. There are more than half a million people in Connecticut over the age of 65, according to the U.S. Census Bureau – about 16 percent of the state’s total population. That represents a significant market for the travel industry. This area’s seniors are on the move. Cathy Wilson, director of the East Lyme Senior Center, says the organization is partnering with the Waterford and Lyme/Old Lyme Senior Centers to offer trips to Iceland and Ireland this year. Groton’s Senior Center is leading a nine-day trip to the French Riviera. New London Adult and Continuing Education has plans for Poland and Portugal.

That’s just a few of the international tours. There are also innumerable day trips and overnight domestic journeys that are being planned for the seniors throughout the region.

I have always perceived the generation ahead of me as having had all the luck. When I was a kid, adults were the ones who could drive a car and didn’t have a bedtime. Now that I’ve graduated to adulthood, it seems like the seniors are the lucky ones. It’s not that I can’t take a trip abroad, but be

ing in my 40s with children to provide for and a career to nurture creates some limiting factors.

“Use ’em or lose ’em,” Leonard said. After speaking with several folks who have participated in these senior tours and the people who coordinate them, it does not seem like there is any chance of these opportunities going away any time soon. After reading the itineraries of the trips and comparing prices of similar excursions, there is little question as to why. They are a great value and offered by trusted resources.

If I am lucky enough to live to see myself with a head full of gray hairs, retirement in hand and children making families of their own, I hope I use ’em and don’t lose ’em. I hope I use the opportunities to travel and am not stripped of it by the passing of time.

If you are a senior and have thought about traveling but need a helping hand in planning your journey, I hope you will reach out to one of the many senior centric organizations in our area and take advantage of what these group tours offer. If you do travel, we would love to hear about your time abroad and perhaps we will feature it in a future edition of the magazine.