Armchair travel is a way to experience the world and cultures from the comfort of your own residence, and for many seniors it is an opportunity to reminisce about times and travels from their past. For Paul W., a resident of The Avenues Crofton Park, travel has been a lifetime passion, and he says he is honored to showcase his adventures of traveling to fellow residents as part of a monthly series at the community.
Paul and his wife, Jane, have traveled extensively, with most trips to European nations. Paul doesn’t just travel. He is also an avid photographer, which enlivens his presentations at The Avenues Crofton Park with excellent photos from the regions he and Jane have traversed. “I love seeing things I’ve never seen before and getting a better understanding of the culture and history of different countries,” he said.
In his travel talk series, he has covered many European nations, but his favorites are Italy, France and Denmark. In fact, as an amateur genealogist too, Paul has connected with relatives in both England and Denmark on several trips.
Paul realized he was exhausting his personal travel experience for his talks, so he reached out to Rick Steves, famous author and travel guide. He explained to Steves that he was conducting the talk series at The Avenues Crofton Park and asked if he would donate a DVD collection of Steves’ European travel series. Understanding that Paul was doing his talks as a volunteer, Steves contributed a travel set to Paul to share with his fellow residents.
Paul’s travel follows in the vein of Steves, whose philosophy was captured in a recent interview when he said: “You just feel so good, and you just feel like this world is such a beautiful place. It changes you. It becomes pretty clear when you travel that we’re all in this together.”
Paul and his wife are relative newcomers to The Avenues Crofton Park, having raised their children just three blocks east of the community. He says his adult children – three girls – encouraged his wife and he to consider a retirement community move when they could control the decision versus “having to” due to an emergency. After searching throughout the area for a suitable option, they settled on The Avenues. As a bonus, one daughter lives a mile east of The Avenues; another a mile north so they can see each other often. “Jane and I explored many places, but in the end this community suited our needs well.”
To share their love of travel, Paul and Jane sponsored and organized a trip to Italy for their three daughters recently. The daughters thoroughly enjoyed the trip, sending updates and photo updates during their travel. “It’s just something we wanted to do while we are still here,” Paul said.
The travel series Paul presents continues each month, with up to 20 residents joining at a time, and Paul says while he has exhausted his travel photos and topics, he looks forward to sharing and talking about the Rick Steves series soon.
“I really have enjoyed doing these presentations, and I get wonderful feedback from those that attend. And I enjoy hearing from those that attend, I remember the memories,” he said.
As part of its Senior Boutique Living model, The Avenues Crofton Park helps facilitate programs and activities for residents – but residents set the course, and our job is to help facilitate these interests. This travel series is an example of this, and it highlights the diverse interests and expertise of residents living in the community. For more information about The Avenues Crofton Park, please give us a call at 720-328-9548 or visit us online at livetheavenues.com.