Make a Difference Archives

BY Nancy Mueller 7 Comments ON February 26, 2014

10 Best Boomer Women Bonding Trips

Solo trips and romantic escapes have their place. But sometimes we boomer women want a little more girlfriend bonding time. The next time you’re ready for a gal pal getaway, here are 10 Best Boomer Women Bonding Trips to satisfy your wanderlust for a day, a weekend or an extended vacation:

#1 – Spa Travel

Boomers have led the pack in spa travel for decades and we’re not ready to change that anytime soon, are we? Not only do spas offer pampering treatments, saunas and hot springs; increasingly, spa travel takes a 360 approach to health and wellness in exotic locations. Whether you tend towards yoga classes by the sea, hiking through old-growth forests or weight loss boot camps, you’re bound to come home relaxed and rejuvenated.

#2 -Foodie Fun

Food and wine are meant to be shared with friends. So why not sign up for a tasting tour, 5 course progressive dinner or cooking class to discover new flavors and gastronomic traditions? Browsing local farmers’ markets will whet your appetite and inspire new culinary concoctions. Learn from master chefs as you eat and drink your way around the world, or even your own neighborhood.

#3 – Cultural Immersion

Unique, authentic experiences remain high on the boomer women’s favorite travel list. The desire to connect with a place through its people and customs leads to learning a foreign language in the country where it’s spoken. Or renting an apartment so you can mix & mingle with local residents instead of staying in a hotel.

#4 – City Slicker Escape

Take advantage of the many girlfriend getaway hotel packages, offering everything from champagne & chocolate greetings to scenic city views and tickets to special events. Go to a show in your hometown or explore a new destination together through its art and architecture. Investigate the city’s history on foot, by subway or trolley for your own urban renewal.

#5 – Bucket List Adventure

What places are still on your Bucket List? Where in the world do you want to go next? Make a plan with a gal pal to start taking turns on annual getaways. This year you get to choose and cross one more destination or travel experience off your list. Next year she gets to choose. But why wait to another whole year? How about twice or even four times a year instead?

#6 – Writer’s Retreat

A writer’s retreat is just the thing for wanderboomers who want to explore self-expression through poetry, memoir or the next best novel. Pick up tips of the trade from guest speakers and enjoy dedicated time to pursuing your craft with a girlfriend. By the time you return home, you will be well on your way to achieving your writing goals.

#7 – Festival Tour

Find your inner fun at a traditional festival anywhere around the world. Dance the samba at Carnival in Brazil. Or celebrate the rites of Spring at the colorful Holi Festival in India. Enjoy the annual Songwriting Festival in Gulf Shores or listen to jazz in Montreal. Don’t forget Quebec’s Winter Festival or the Sundance Film Festival which honors the best in independent films.

#8 – Trip Down Memory Lane

Through Facebook I’ve reconnected with a childhood girlfriend. We each moved on to different parts of the country long ago. But we plan to meet up again in the place where we spent our early days as best buddies. Or maybe we’ll just skip that part and sign up for the annual Beatles cruise, basking in our shared childhood memories of the Fab Four.

#9 – Voluntourism

Want to make a difference in the lives of the people you meet in your travels? Volunteer tourism provides wanderlusters with rewarding opportunities to help with hiking trails maintenance, housing projects, tutoring or care for the elderly, often in exchange for discounted travel costs. You can see the world, help the planet and build cross-cultural relationships all on one trip.

#10 – Thelma & Louise Road Trip

For the ultimate boomer girlfriend escape, plan your own road trip together with or without GPS. Though you might want to visualize a different ending from the movie . . . Road trips provide just the right balance of destination discoveries, thoughtful conversation and self-reflection. Get off the beaten path and enjoy your shared adventure.

Disclosure: Some, though not all, of my travel experiences seen here were provided by Idaho and Quebec tourism hosts.

Wander on!

Nancy

What’s your favorite girlfriend bonding trip, wanderboomers?

BY Nancy Mueller 2 Comments ON November 25, 2013

Passports with Purpose 2013 Needs You!

flickr DFID UK Department for International Development Mali

photo courtesy of flickr – DFID – UK Department for International Development

Passports with Purpose 2013, the travel blogger community’s annual fundraiser, launches today! This year’s goal is to raise $115,000. for buildOn whose ” . . . mission is to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education.” Specifically, PWP 2013 helps raise funds for buildOn to construct three new schools and support three adult literacy programs in Mali, Africa.

Each year since its founding in 2008, Passports with Purpose contributors have helped the organization exceed their annual goals by at least $10,000 each year. Past projects have helped raise five wells in Haiti, two libraries in Zambia, housing for 25 families in southern India, a school in Cambodia and Heifer International, a charity that seeks to end hunger and poverty.

PwP relies on a global network of travel bloggers, sponsors, PR professionals, tourism organizations and the media to spread the word for donations. As an added bonus, between November 25th and December 9th, each $10.00 donation enters donors in a sweepstakes to bid for a variety of prizes. While a donation is not required for participation, every gift of $10.00 supports the fundraising efforts.

Led by Expedia, the sponsors for the 2013 fundraiser also include DK Eyewitness Travel, Rough Guides, Collette Vacations, tbex, and Eating London Food Tours.

Please consider donating to Passports with Purpose 2013, wanderboomers. Help us spread the good word by sharing with your friends and social media communities! Many thanks!

BY Nancy Mueller Leave a Comment ON December 4, 2012

Passports with Purpose 2012 Needs You!

CleanWaterUSAID_IMAGESflickr (450 x 300)

Photo courtesy of USAID_IMAGES – flickr

A year ago I introduced wanderboomers to Passports with Purpose, a fundraising organization started by four members of the travel blogging community: Debbie Dubrow, Michelle Duffy, Pam Mandel and Beth Whitman.

The four were motivated by a desire to bring the travel blogging community together and as Pam explains, “to make the places we’ve been better.” Since its inception in 2008, the organization has exceeded its goals every year, raising a total of over $150,000. so far to fund such projects as two libraries in Zambia (2011), housing for 25 families in southern India (2010), a school in rural Cambodia (2009), and Heifer International (2008).

If you have ever travelled to a developing country, no doubt you, too, have wondered what you could do to help improve the lives of people who live there. The good news is that Passports with Purpose has made it easy for the rest of us by doing in-depth research on causes that help people in poverty, especially women and children.

This year, the organization is supporting Water.org with a goal of raising $100,000. to fund 5 wells for two rural communities in Haiti where half the population lack access to clean water and only 1 in 5 residents have access to a sanitary toilet.

Here’s how you can help. Donate a gift of only $10.00 (or more, if you’d like!) between now and December 11th to give hope, health and a brighter future to the people of Haiti. Plus, each $10.00 donation gives you the chance to win a prize of your choice, ranging from clothing, electronics, gift certificates and hotel stays!

** All photos courtesy of Passports with Purpose.org.

Led by Expedia, the 2012 sponsors for this year’s fundraiser also include Tripit, TBEX, HomeAway, Travellerspoint, Hostelbookers and GoWithOh.

Please consider donating to Passports with Purpose 2012, wanderboomers. Help us spread the good word by sharing with your friends and social media communities! Many thanks!

Have you ever traveled to Haiti, wanderboomers? Please share your story with us here.

BY Nancy Mueller 4 Comments ON August 6, 2012

Make a Difference with Meaningful Trip

“It doesn’t take much to do good,” claims Joe Staiano, founder of Seattle-based Meaningful Trip. He should know.

At home, Staiano devotes his time to several non-profit organizations: ICO (Inner City Outings) through the Sierra Club, IRC (the International Rescue Committee) and Camp Erin, founded by All-Star major league baseball pitcher, Jaime Moyer and his wife Karen, for children grieving the death of someone close to them.

For 10 years Staiano coordinated overseas tours for REI Adventures to such dream destinations as Ecuador/the Galapagos Islands, Turkey and India. He then spent the next 7 years working in community-based tourism and volunteering his expertise in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Moved to make a difference in the lives of the people he met beyond his own volunteer efforts, Staiano started Meaningful Trip with the goal of giving back to the local communities. Volunteer tourism is a worthy goal, he recognizes, and “the travel and tourism industry can do even more,” starting with his own company.

First, in addition to ensuring the travel expertise of his global partners, Staiano goes further by asking tough questions, such as: “How many women are on your staff?” What are your environmental values?” “What do you do to support your community?”

Second, a portion of each client’s fees, typically 5 – 10%, is donated to women’s empowerment, health, education, and poverty alleviation. His company also supports hunger and anti-trafficking programs in the U.S.

The third leg of Meaningful Trip’s “Triple Give” giving mechanism extends to Staiano’s dream of “building a community that cares” when clients return from their travels. Through meaningful dinner parties and thought-provoking conversations, Staiano encourages people to explore actions that make a difference in their local communities.

“Travel with an open heart and open mind. Meaningful travel and you can change the world,” says Staiano.

For more information on responsible travel and all of Meaningful Trip’s itineraries, including a Founder’s trek in Nepal in November, click : http://www.MeaningfulTrip.com or contact: info@meaningfultrip.com.

*All photos: Copyright Joe Staiano

How are you making a difference in your travels or in your own communities, Wanderboomers? Share your experiences with us here.

BY Nancy Mueller 8 Comments ON March 6, 2012

Making a Difference: Destination Haiti

Wanderboomers love to travel for a host of reasons: to see the world, meet new people, visit far-flung places, learn about other cultures, and/or to make a difference in the lives of others.

Two years after the cataclysmic 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the work to bring medical care, food, clothing and shelter to the country’s inhabitants continues. For one Seattle woman, Sarah Pierre-Louis, and her Haitian husband Adrien, caring for the children who survived the disaster has become a personal mission with the loss of their niece who died in the quake.

Tent City in Haiti

After leaving a successful sales career in corporate America, Pierre-Louis began researching and applying for grants to support their cause. The couple founded their charity, Children, the Future of Haiti, with the purpose of helping “one orphanage at a time to make sure kids have the basics,” says Pierre-Louis. “If the children don’t get the education and healthcare they need, they’ll be slaves in their own country.” Once the children’s basic needs are met, their next goal is to build schools to keep kids off the streets and prevent kid trafficking.

View of Port-au-Prince

Although Sarah and Adrien’s mission began immediately on the heels of the earthquake, their charity received legal status as an independent non-profit organization in March 2011 thanks to the efforts of their VP, Christina Barone. Since then they have partnered with Kettelyne Polinice, the director of an orphanage located in Petionville, Haiti near their family home. The 29 children living here range from 3 to 17 years of age. In some cases, the children have no parents. Others may only have one parent or two parents, neither of whom can afford to care for the child, because even if the parents survived, their businesses did not.

So far the foundation members have delivered appliances, clothing and medical supplies to the orphanage but are in need of bed linens and towels, shoes and more clothing for the children. Additional fundraising efforts are focused on raising money for toilets, school tuition and mandatory uniforms for the children to be able to attend school.

Sarah with Haitian Children

* All photo credits courtesy of Sarah Pierre-Louis.

What about you, Wanderboomers? How are you making a difference through your travels?

10 Best Boomer Women Bonding Trips

Passports with Purpose 2013 Needs You!

Passports with Purpose 2012 Needs You!

Making a Difference: Destination Haiti

Destination:

Categories: