What a Trip!

SourcePoint’s travel excursions—from day trips to overnights—are growing in popularity

As SourcePoint continues to offer more activities and programming off site, there’s also a growing interest in those activities that regularly take place way off site.

SourcePoint’s trips are a great way to take in live shows, check out new restaurants, and visit out-of-state destinations. And since day trips resumed in July of 2021 after a pandemic-related hiatus, SourcePoint Trips Specialist Mary Ann Evans said the excursions are becoming more and more popular.

“We were fortunate to begin resuming day trips a couple years ago,” Evans said. “We offered 13 trips at that time and momentum has built significantly since then.”

Trip offerings grew in 2022 to 48 (37 daytrips and 11 overnight outings), along with a travel-related open house where participants were asked to complete a survey to help plan future trips.

“We had 119 surveys completed,” Evans said. “The whole focus was for people to give me their top three destinations. Our members have spoken and have their fingerprints all over where we’re heading.”

The 2022 trips calendar kicked off with an outing to a Columbus Blue Jackets game on Jan. 4 and continued all the way through a Broadway in Columbus production of “Elf” on Dec. 13. In between, travelers ventured to places inside the outerbelt (Franklin Park Conservatory, National Veterans Memorial and Museum, the Ohio State Fair), outside the outerbelt (The Wilds, Put-in-Bay, Circleville Pumpkin Show), and beyond Ohio (Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C., Canadian Rockies and Glacier National Park, Albuquerque Balloon Festival).

“Word is spreading about our trips program and how robust it is,” Evans said.

Part of the popularity and word-of-mouth advertising for the trips program can be attributed to the attention to detail that Evans provides with each trip, including whether someone uses a mobility device or needs an assistive listening device, and whether there are travel companions with whom you want to be seated.

“We most recently saw the musical ‘SIX,’” said Annie Horstman, MD. “It was one of the best musicals I have seen, but the added bonus was being dropped off right at the theater’s door and being picked up right outside at the conclusion. You can’t beat that when it’s cold and dark outside.”

“We had great bus transportation, reserved seats, all details covered by Mary Ann, and wonderful company,” said traveler Eileen Summerhill, who’s been taking trips for close to a year after being introduced to them by a neighbor. “I only wish I discovered SourcePoint sooner.”

Evans said Summerhill’s sentiment is shared by many travelers, particularly those who may be reluctant to sign up for their first trip.

“I have a lot of solo travelers, and I mention that because I really enjoy encouraging people that they will find community among other like-minded people 55 and older,” Evans said. “In some cases, I see people struggling with widowhood, and it’s great to see them make connections. It’s about being alive and starting again and having that courage it takes to get off the couch.”

Once those connections are made, many of them continue long after the trips have concluded. Traveler Anne Marie Reames values the group of friends she’s made on SourcePoint’s trips.

“One is a widower and three are divorced. One is raising her granddaughter after her daughter died. We support each other and check in on each other, and we have more events planned together,” Reames said. “I moved to Delaware during COVID and knew very few people. SourcePoint cured that!”

“I made friends with two people I now consider good friends,” Summerhill said. “One of those new friends and I went on the Put-in-Bay trip and talked nonstop the entire way. Two SourcePoint strangers sat down with us on the boat and we spent the day together laughing, becoming the best of friends. Several other trips together have solidified that friendship, and they are friendships I wouldn’t have without SourcePoint.”

Upcoming daytrips on the SourcePoint calendar include the Honda Heritage Center (April 6), hiking at Shawnee State Park (April 24), and the BalletMet production of “Swan Lake” (April 28). Longer excursions planned in the months ahead include trips to Ireland (April 15-23), Colorado (billed as a “train adventure,” July 5-12), and New England and Nova Scotia (Oct. 11-20). Trips are open to SourcePoint members and non-members who reside in Delaware County, and Evans said fliers that provide more detail come out monthly and can be found in five locations around SourcePoint and are also on the SourcePoint website and social media pages.

“By the last Monday of every month, my new trip flyer announcing trips and registration is out,” Evans said. “If you know that you want to be on a particular trip, don’t delay. Register early!”

Nelson Katz said he and his wife registered for a trip after reading about all of the fun outings the travel groups were taking.

“My wife and I plan on taking many more trips with SourcePoint,” Katz said. “They are so well thought out and planned. And what a bargain!”

If there’s any drawback to the frequency and variety of trips available through SourcePoint, it’s that you may have little room on your calendar for anything else once you get registered.

“Most of my calendar is filled with SourcePoint events,” Horstman said. “They add so much for the mature adult’s social, mental, and physical well-being.”

Jeff Robinson is a feature writer for My Communicator.