On the road again
Traveler Program offers daytrips for seniors
By Sande Snead CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Observer As a volunteer, Sandy Lee helps coordinate daytrips for seniors offered through the Chesterfield Traveler Program.

What's in a name? Well, it's definitely made a difference in how many senior adults sign up for the county's regular offering of daytrips.

The county has sponsored senior trips for as long as Judy Jones can remember, and she's been with the Chesterfield County Department of Parks and Recreation for 17 years. But about four years ago, Jones came up with a snazzy name for the program - the Chesterfield Traveler Program. Since then, interest seems to have increased.

The program offers daytrips for seniors year round. Seniors take a number of theatre trips, but also day cruises, historical tours and shopping trips.

"Anything on the water is very popular," Jones said. "But theatre is also a big draw. The key is we have to get there and back within the day. We get requests for overnight trips, but once we put them together, people don't sign up for them. By the time you add the travel expenses, hotel, lunch and dinner, it gets too costly."

This fall's daytrips ranged between $79-$90 and typically included transportation, lunch and admission fees.

A daytrip to the new Randy Parton Theatre in Roanoke Rapids, N.C. will be a long day, but it didn't deter sign-ups. The Dec. 12 trip is full already. The trip includes a live show set to country, pop and gospel music and lunch at the Mayflower Seafood Restaurant.

Not to despair if you didn't make the cut for this trip though. More outings are planned for 2008, including a trip to see Thoroughly Modern Millie at Riverside Center Dinner Theater in Fredericksburg on Mar. 12. Then, there is a Washington By Land & By Sea trip planned for May 22. This trip includes a guided tour of Washington, D.C., including a trip to the Newseum, lunch at Vantage Point rooftop restaurant and a River City Cruise on the Potomac.

Registration for these two trips will start in January.

"We can typically take about 50 people on a trip," Jones said. "We usually fill up the buses and have a waiting list, but this year has been a struggle. More retiree and church groups are offering these kinds of things now."

Sandy Lee has been leading seniors on the trips for the last three or four years. She took a trip herself and decided she would volunteer and help out with the trips.

"I like being with people, and these are all good people," she said. "All of trips have gone rather smoothly. You just don't want to be the last one back to the bus."

Other than a few outings that involved having to go and look for people who were lagging behind, Lee cannot think of any incidents.

"Two weeks ago we went to Mount Vernon, which is really a big place now. There's a new museum and a vast amount of area to cover. But everyone scattered, then met back for lunch, then scattered again and were ready to go on the bus at the appointed time. We have good participants."

Lee's favorite trip was another outing to Mount Vernon. This one included a boat ride to the Tidal Basin.

"I hadn't been to Mount Vernon in years, so it was very interesting. Then, we had lunch at the Tidal Basin, and met the bus there to take us home. It was just a beautiful day, and we had two busloads of people, so a really great group. It was just a lot of fun."

For more information on the Chesterfield Traveler Program, call Judy Jones at 751- 4135.