Road Scholar Solo Traveler Enjoys Program No. 50 and Counting!

When she first heard about Road Scholar, Janet remembers thinking, “This looks like it’s for me!” She couldn’t wait to get her first catalog in the mail, and chose, for her very first program, a Grandparent Adventure with her then 8-year-old grandson. Rafting & Raptors: Northwoods Minnesota With Your Grandchild was a turning point, because that’s when Janet realized Road Scholar was the perfect fit for her.

Fifty learning adventures later, Janet says Paris wasn’t even on her wish list! But a neighborhood friend who had moved there years earlier had been lamenting that no one ever visited her. So, Janet volunteered, and added a Road Scholar learning adventure as the icing on the cake. Luckily, there was a spot left for the program date she wanted, and Janet says, “Road Scholar gave me a better education about Paris than my friend who lives there did!”

In fact, Janet frequently attaches Road Scholar learning adventures to any visit she makes to see friends and relatives, no matter where in the world they live.  She’s also visited all 50 states and continues to collect stamps in her national park passport, thanks to Road Scholar.

With a love of family history instilled in her by her mother and grandmother, Janet’s found herself on a path of personal discovery as it relates to the American Revolution. So lately, Janet’s been choosing certain Road Scholar learning adventures in her quest to gather information on relatives that were connected to that historic era.

For instance, on The American Revolution From Philadelphia to Trenton, Janet was able to delve further into the history of our nation while she was personally searching for a distant relative who may have signed the Declaration of Independence! After that program, she continued embarking on learning adventures that would allow her to walk in the footsteps of earlier family members, uncovering information about her heritage along the way.

On one of her most-recent learning adventures, Janet was able to trace her roots on The Best of Northern Ireland: Past, Present and Future in Belfast and discover where another relative came from. Janet even uncovered a book with her family name in it during that educational experience!

“Near our hotel was the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies,” says Janet, “And in my down time, I was able to find out more historic information on the Scotch-Irish heritage of my great grandfather, one of the Ulster-Scots who sailed to America and helped create the United States.” So it’s no wonder that some of Janet’s favorite learning adventures have been historic programs that have to do great conflicts as well as those focused on presidential history 

Another Road Scholar highlight for Janet was the Great Australian Train Trek. While she was preparing for that, she thought, “Why not hop from one Road Scholar learning adventure to another and go to New Zealand?” And she did!  Janet’s continued to satisfy her love of train treks, chugging along through various parts of Canada and Northern Arizona.

With Janet’s zest for life, it’s no wonder she adores Road Scholar’s Holiday programs and has especially enjoyed the Rose Parade and a San Diego New Year Celebration.

How does Janet sum up living life as a Road Scholar all these years? She says, “It’s been fun — I simply pick up and go wherever I please!” Her neighbors, meanwhile, have been known to walk by Janet’s home murmuring, “She’s gone again?” Janet’s even gotten her friends and neighbors hooked on Road Scholar. She says that if she’s having a conversation with someone she knows and they mention a place they wish they could go, she makes a mental note and later “throws a catalog in their mailbox!”

Janet is very comfortable being a solo traveler. When others make excuses for not being able to travel, it reminds Janet that she doesn’t need a traveling companion — she’s got Road Scholar. She says, “I’ve been a get-up-and-goer my entire life!” And, she adds, “It stunts my traveling to wait for others to say ‘yes.’”

With a lifetime career centered around customer service, Janet says she doesn’t find it a problem to make new friends in a group of Road Scholars, even going solo. She says “new-timers” tend to ask her lots of questions once they find out how many learning adventures she’s been on. When asked what her advice would be to someone who may be on the fence about signing up solo for a Road Scholar program, Janet says her philosophy is, “Act first, think later!”

Here's to many more educational adventures with Road Scholar, Janet. Keep on learning, growing and dreaming.