When Marion Beatty mentioned to a fellow birdwatcher that she was considering a vacation concentrated on their mutual interest, her friend suggested that she check out the Road Scholar tour company. Marion found hundreds of “Learning Adventures” listed on its website, including 14 specifically for birders.
Then came the biggest challenge: deciding whether to train her binoculars on unique hummingbirds in Ecuador, be awed by more than 450 species that pass through Ohio during their annual migration, or hang out at three top birding destinations in Arizona that are frequented by the likes of green-tailed towhees and belted kingfishers.
Admirers of high-flyers are by no means the only hobbyists who turn to Road Scholar’s Educational Travel and Learning Adventures when they are seeking to combine a hobby with an opportunity to travel around the country or the world. Those with a special interest they would like to pursue have a long and varied list from which to choose. From art to antiquing and painting to photography, diverse alternatives merge the pleasures of travel with the enjoyment of participating in a favorite pursuit.
Picture-taking prowess also is available from Photo Workshop Adventures, which conducts more than 150 small-group tours to more than 50 countries. These are suitable for everyone from beginners to more experienced picture-takers seeking to improve their skills. Among topics of focus (pun intended) are cityscapes and landscapes, people, and nature. Lessons in the use of drone photography are also available.
Whether traveling to take photos, practice painting, or engage in any other leisure activity, knowing the language spoken at your destination can add to the pleasure. Language immersion programs are available for all age groups.
While many foreign language programs are geared toward younger students, some welcome older adults, and others are designed specifically for the over-50 crowd. GoAbroad.com is a search engine for a variety of international travel programs, including language learning.
Music is another kind of language, and lovers of sounds from rock to reggae and country to classical can find concerts and festivals that appeal to their ears. The Apocalypse in the Desert fest in Las Vegas embraces a list of modern genres. Since the 1930s, the Boston Symphony Orchestra has performed symphonic, choral, jazz, and other music at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts.
The Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina—an offshoot of the event that originated in Italy—includes opera, classical music, dance, and jazz. When organizers sought a U.S. city that offers the appeals of the Italian counterpart for which the concert is named, they selected Charleston for its “Old World charm.”
Charleston’s rich history also is the focus of one of the themed cruises of American Cruise Lines, which offers “the most cruise options in the U.S.A.” aboard its fleet of small, luxurious ships. Its Intracoastal Waterway voyage begins in that city of cobblestone streets and antebellum houses, continues to Beaufort for an introduction to plantation life, and stops at Jekyll Island for a stroll through “Millionaire’s Village,” a National Historic Landmark of opulent homes built more than a century ago.
An even deeper dive into the nation’s past is experienced by passengers taking the American Revolution Cruise. Among stops in Virginia are the last battlefield of the Revolutionary War in Yorktown; Jamestown, site of the first English settlement in the New World; and Colonial Williamsburg.
U.S. history is one of a number of interests on display at Colonial Williamsburg, the largest museum in the world devoted to the past. More than 600 original and meticulously reconstructed buildings provide the backdrop for some 77,000 antiques and works of art, 60 million archaeological artifacts and other history-rich collections. Themed programs deal with music, theater, antiquity, and other tidbits of the past.
History is but one of numerous interests listed on the TravelStride.com website. That company describes and can book more than 50,000 itineraries around the globe offered by more than 1,000 companies. They include group tour packages, tailor-made luxury trips, expedition cruises, and independent adventures. Reviews by both travelers and tourism experts help people select the trip that fits their interests, goals, and budget. Discounts available to members can save hundreds of dollars.
