Discovering The Mature Lifestyle Marti Sanville takes trip to see camels in Egypt, elephants in Thailand. Page 2
Travel
November 20, 2015
November Issue
BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER It was January 2015 when Shari Draegert’s “very good year” began. She and her daughter had listened to a speaker at the New Brighton Community Center who talked about Landmark Tours, and Draegert’s daughter jokingly said she thought that would be a good way for her mom to spend her inheritance. “I got the urge to see the United States,” Draegert said. Since January 2015, Draegert has taken airplane-bus trips to Hawaii, California, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., New York, the Canadian Rockies and the New England states. And there’s more to come. “I’m having a ball!” Draegert said. “It’s a great opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful people. It’s so much fun.” In Nashville, she discovered Civil War memorials. “I had no idea of that history,” she said. “I was ashamed of myself.” The trips offer a bonding experience for travelers, Draegert said. “It’s like one big happy family; it’s like we’ve known each other forever.” Each trip includes about 3040 people, Draegert said, and includes couples as well as single people. “We have a lot of teachers, nurses and retired people on the trips,” she said. “Landmark Tours is wonderful. They keep you so busy. They book us into wonderful hotels and the food is delicious.” She depends on Landmark Tours to set her up with a roommate for the trips. “That’s even more fun,” she said. Lesley Young, recreation coordinator at the New Brighton Parks and Recreation Department, said she first met Draegert when she worked in Shoreview for 15 years.
Shari Draegert is pictured with Brennan Mogck, operations manager at Landmark Tours. (Submitted photo) Young worked with Landmark Tours in Shoreview, too. “It’s a family-owned business that started 20 years ago,” Young said. “They fill a coach for their trips.” At New Brighton, there are 12 trips listed in the 2016 catalog, according to Young. “It starts with music of the south in New Orleans, goes to the Albuquerque balloon festival in Colorado, and another to Nova Scotia, a cruise trip in Alaska and one to the Great Northwest – Vancouver and Seattle.” The trip to the Canadian Rockies is the favorite trip, Young said.
Mike Lyons, owner and general manager at Landmark Tours, said his company works with 16 senior citizen groups throughout the Twin Cities. Their customers’ favorite trips, he said, are autumn in the Northeast in the fall, Savannah and Charleston in the spring, and the Canadian Rockies in the summer. His company contracts with motor coach companies, Lyons said. “When we find good drivers, we stick with them,” he said. “Brennan Mogck, our operations manager, ensures that our trips are well planned and executed,” Lyons said. “We think he is a great guy to ‘swear by’ because he’s normally behind the scenes ensuring all the proper trip pieces are in place. As a small company, our guests often get to know many of us including myself, my dad (John Lyons – our president), and Brennan. It’s this type of close-knit relationship that we’ve built our foundation on, and that brings a high level of traveler loyalty from the local community.” The cost of the trips starts at $1,999 and goes up from there, according to Lyons. The cost is “very, very inclusive,” he said, adding that the price includes air and motorcoach transportation, hotel accommodations, professional tour managers, breakfast and dinner, and admission to activities listed in the itinerary. “We expect our guests to have very little reason to get their wallets out while they’re on the trip,” Lyons said. Draegert, who worked as a waitress and a secretary, raised four children and now has 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. “I have a granddaughter in the Air Force who showed me how to pack, how to fold and roll things,” Draegert DRAEGERT - TO PAGE 2