Go on, Go

We are in Sugarcreek, Ohio, population 2,200. We are pretty much in the middle of a cornfield. Well, there are rows of corn on three sides of the road that winds into the tiny campground where are parked. The closest structure I can see is two towering grain silos on the horizon. Very few power poles dot the landscape as we are in Amish country. Sugarcreek is called the little Switzerland of Ohio, but names on farms and storefronts hint there are quite a few Deutschlanders here, too

We made the 14-hour drive across three states to attend a rally of teardrop camper trailers. These modern versions of the vintage style are made by Nucamp, a company down the road, past the silos. The campground is fence to fence with these small t@bs and t@gs, all part of the tiny trailer family. Our “Joshua” was constructed here. This camp is for the “newbies” that want to learn how to operate their homes for the open road. There are all ages here and from all walks of life. 

I’ve learned so much more than how to get my trailer level or how to store the black water hose. Here’s a few of the wise words that have been passed my way. 

Sharon from Tennessee planned on taking to the road with her husband. They made three trips and the big “C” took him. Her children said “Go mom.” And she is. She is checking off her list and making it happen. She is surrounded by like minded people who help and share ideas.

There is an interesting couple that are from Dearborn, Michigan where the Henry Ford museum is located. He commented that he had a friend come to town and was delighted to visit the Ford landmarks. My new friend said, “Wanna guess how many times I’ve been? Zero, ‘cuz it’s there, and I could go any time.” I think we all are guilty of that. 

I met the nice couple who slowly rolled into trailer camping. Trip one was in their garage. Trip two was in a state park 10 miles from their house. His face lit up when he bragged how nice the park was! Sure, they made a few runs home for forgotten items. Sure, they were close enough to hit a few of their favorite restaurants for meals. But they discovered something new by looking at their area through a tourist’s eyes. 

A cute couple from Wisconsin said when they drove in with their small camper their three teenage sons wondered what the plan was, as in, what about us? They laughed and hinted that was kinda the idea. They were looking forward to some escapes without the whole family in tow. She said sometimes she gets in her trailer at home and her boys roll their eyes and say “Mom’s in the trailer!” There is a reason the “She Sheds” are popular, because sometimes moms need to hide. Sometimes hideouts are in the backyard, sometimes they are a tanning bed or a salon appointment. Ours is teardrop shaped. 

An 80-year-old retired engineer gave up sleeping on the ground in a tent and pulls his trailer with a vintage Lincoln Town Car. He is crossing the country, wondering if he should sell his house or sell his camper. He is headed south after the rally with his t@g. I think his house is north.

Our neighbor lady is traveling with her large dog because her husband doesn’t want to go. Her tiny abode is decorated for her tastes and she remarks that many of her friends are content to never see more of the world. We both sigh. 

These confessions of fellow travelers, of fellow adventurers are good reminders about making things happen. There is a big world out there, if you want to see more of it, go.  It doesn’t always have to be far or costly to be fun and interesting.

You’ve just got to do it. Go.

Making a Contact

Do you ever get a random text message that you don’t recognize the number or understand the message? I usually reply, “You may have the wrong number,” and hope they connect with whomever. Yesterday, this message showed up to me. “We are having a service at 2 pm graveside at Woodlawn cemetery, this Friday.” I considered the number and sent my ‘who is this, wrong number response’. The reply came, “Do you know Terry Flick? You were in his contacts.”

If you could only see the contacts I have in my mobile phone. I have more bus driver’s and skycap’s phone numbers than relatives in there. Being in the group travel business for nearly 25 years, I’ve met a lot of wonderful folks in the industry, and I love being able to call them personally and ask for their service. Such was the case with Terry Flick. Terry worked at the Tulsa Airport for Latico® as a skycap. He was one of the first people you would see. He worked outside at the curb checking folks and their luggage onto their flights. When he saw our motorcoach arriving, he quickly grabbed a luggage cart to help us get our bags into the counter. He always remembered my name. 

He was kind and professional and always had a nice smile as he wished us a great trip. He would take care of all the baggage and say goodbye. I always kept his number in my phone and even when he wasn’t going to be at work, Terry would arrange for someone to help us. I would give him my business card with our return flight and he would stick it in his pocket so I would have help.  I could count on Terry.

The Tulsa airport allowed a second company to come in to assist travelers. I put more names in my contacts and it seemed that I was adding and deleting on a regular basis. But Terry stayed in there and he could advise me on whom I needed to contact as things changed as the airport grew.

A couple of years ago, I learned that Terry was going to retire. I hugged him at curbside, wished him well and I selfishly thought, “Oh, no, I’ll never get another one trained! Who will help us now?!” I really did miss him and how professional he was.

 It wasn’t too long ago, I was cleaning up my contacts and I deleted his phone number from my phone. I wondered what he might be doing. I had no idea if he had a wife or family, and I quickly talked myself out of the call to avoid any awkward situations

I wish I had called. The person going through Terry’s contacts was a hospice worker that had been with him in his final days as he lost the battle with cancer. He had no wife or children. Maybe he had tons of other family and friends, but I was still in his contact list.  I wish I had called just to say hello and that he’d made my job easier for many years. I could count on Terry.

I missed the chance to say goodbye as he prepared for his journey

There’s Pride in Every American Heart

While northeastern Oklahoma was firing up for the July fourth festivities, the Good to Go gang was headed west. We have been looking forward to cruising the Columbia and Snake Rivers aboard the American Empress paddle wheeler for about a year. Our flights set us down in Boise, Idaho before our final destination of Spokane, Washington.  We had a lovely overnight stay at The Historic Davenport Hotel. The ballroom was dripping in elegance of mirrors and molded plaster designs. The public areas bubbled with fountains and offered overstuffed furniture for sipping something that called for a tiny glass.  Our rooms were furnished with heavy carved oak furniture from times before TV’s were nailed down and cups were in plastic sleeves. A stroll around the city gave us a glimpse into the lives of the residents with hiking trails and public art appearing to be priorities. 
 

We joined our boat in Clarkston, Idaho which shares the river with Lewiston, Washington. We traveled by motor coach for about two hours through some of the most beautiful farm land I have ever seen. Remember that I’m a farmer’s daughter, and I take pride that I “know split beans from coffee” (one of my mother’s favorite expressions). I associated the state of Washington with apples and cherries, but a little Googling told me that Washington ranks up there in the production of wheat, potatoes, and blueberries. These farms spread over acres and acres of rolling hills planted in wheat and grain crops, not at all like the flat farms of Kansas and the heartland that we are accustomed to seeing. While an occasional stand of trees tipped us off there was a farmhouse in the shade, we drove miles without seeing fences. Growing crops on hilly ground means working the soil with the contours of the field. Level ground gives the tractor the advantage of plowing straight rows and planting a giant, orderly garden.  Here, farmers made decisions on exactly where the fields were based on the curves and inclines of the earth.

Different crops were planted side by side but looked more like groomed golf courses. Plowed ground was prepared so perfectly, it reminded me of combed hair or a cake frosted with a serrated knife. Low gullies were left fallow, a contrast to the bright green winter wheat. But many times when I peeked out the window of our airplane and saw the patchwork of agriculture, those fields of green looked like a quilt. And the curvy, circular stands remind me of an artist’s paint, squirted out on a huge palette. Colors pool and puddle and share the same space without mixing. And the artist’s favorite hue is earth tones. 

The wind was blowing and that line from our state song came to mind, “....and the waving wheat can sure smell sweet, when the wind comes right behind the rain!” If you’ve ever been lucky enough to hear the rustle of nearly ripe wheat as the wind parts the foliage, and know the fragrance that isn’t like grass or corn or house plants, it’s wheat, you understand. The farms were immaculate. There was no trash along the roads, no rusting machinery, no outdated campaign signs, just “art” that will feed folks. It was beautiful. It was so much more than seeds in the ground.

Pride. That’s what I saw.

Quoting that line from the great patriotic Lee Greenwood song “There’s pride in every American heart.” Hope you all had a great and safe Independence Day celebration!

My Disney Vacation

Every kid dreams of a Disney Vacation, and I’m no exception. This last weekend, my three best college gal pals… made it happen. Let me give my “Travelocity” worthy review.

The accommodations were a bit smaller and more primitive than I expected. Of course, it’s all about one’s budget, and ours resulted in a two-night stay with fewer frills. The food was wonderful! There was only one meal that was “iffy” and wouldn’t you know that would be the one I was making the decisions. We had great weather with clear skies, and bright sun which made for pleasant outdoor activities. The rides were fun. It took us a bit to figure out how to make things work, and it could have been strenuous but we paced ourselves and took breaks often. The staff was friendly and helpful, and we would consider going back. Especially since it’s so close. Close, as in Disney… Oklahoma.

It seems that life gets in the way of what life is supposed to be like, and making time for girlfriends has suffered in the last few years. Girlfriend Mindy recently retired and she immediately had us pull out our calendars to plan a girls “Glamping” Trip. Glamping is camping with a glamorous touch. We are all about it. Girlfriend Sandy pulled her RV in beside my tiny teardrop trailer “Joshua” and the awnings were put up along with the party lights. Matching sippy-cups were presented tied in ribbon. Organics from Whole Foods had been purchased for meal times. We slowed down to enjoy each other’s company in the great wilderness somewhere near Disney, kinda close to Eucha, not far from Zena. 

We ran into a few people that knew us, and they acted a bit surprised to find us camping so close to home. We tried to explain that we wanted to be far enough from home to not go home. We also wanted to be close enough to home for our debut camping experience, that we could get there if needed. Or call for help, for example if we locked ourselves out of the camper. Which… we did.

Mindy towed a trailer with kayaks and a paddleboard to Disney for us to play on. We paddled about 20 miles in two days and thought we deserved every marshmallow we roasted. I was the smokin’ hot grill boss on night one. No, really, I had the grill so smokin’ hot; I burnt the hamburgers and charred the buns. The neighbors that were close by got used to our gales of laughter and our occasional pleas for help on things we couldn’t figure out. We were kinda well-known in the park. We had matching PJ’s with RV’s printed on them that we wore for the longer stroll to the public privy that probably got us nicknamed the “Pajama Girls.”

 Baseball Hall of Famer, Satchel Paige said “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” We girls played, and enjoyed, and fell into patterns from 30 years ago. The quote “young at heart, slightly older in other places,” fit us. Sometimes we need a vacation with people we love and enjoy. Maybe you could use a Disney Vacation.

Group of What??

When I’m out and about, people often ask me, “What is Good to Go?”  The quick reply is “It a travel company specializing in organized group travel.” Then the next question often follows. “What is a group?”  A group of bears is called a sleuth. A group of crows is called a murder. A group of birds is called a flock. A group of cows is called a herd. And so on and so on. But, what IS a group of travelers in “Group Traveling”?

Good question. What is a group? I’ve been gallivanting with groups for about 25 years, and groups keep changing. Let me try to take a run at an answer.

(Please allow me to throw my head back and drag out the words as I say…..) “Well, back in the day…..a group was considered 20 or more people paying by one check.” Yep, that was an accurate description. It was all about the number. A large enough number of travelers entitled one to ‘Group rates’ which usually was a lower fare. Most of the time, the hotel/restaurant/attraction would also give the organizer a complimentary fare for organizing the group. Ahhhhh, those were the days. We could honestly say that going with a group usually resulted in a lower fare. That was back in the day. Sigh.

A couple of things have happened in this crazy travel business. One, our senior adults who made up the major part of the group travel business have gotten younger. Maybe not in years, but they are well  traveled, they are technology savvy, and they don’t NEED a group to travel, but enjoy the benefits of going with like minded people.

The second thing is there is so much more competition with marketing of travel. Sure, you can call a travel agent, that that is just one of dozens of ways the cruise lines, hotels, and tour companies get your attention for their products.

Our younger, savvy traveler is looking for more free time, more hand on experiences and more unique opportunities. This same traveler wants a smaller group AND a really good price. So we are spreading the costs over 20 people, what we group leaders used to count on 40 folks to share the costs. Ouch.

So , let’s consider the question again, “What is a group?” It could be some friends that want to do something together, but want someone to organize them and make it happen. It could be a club or organization that already has a group in place that wants to travel like a women’s group or a social club. It could be people interested in the benefits of group travel such as safety, companionship and less time planning and more time enjoying. We love helping travelers find travel buddies and the friendships that evolve during a tour. People may leave as strangers but always return as friends.

When everything goes right, travelers truly believe they could have managed the trip without the help of a tour organizer aka Fearless Leader. But when things go wrong, it’s really nice to have someone to fight your battles and figure out Plan B or Q or whatever it takes. 

What is a Good to Go Group? It’s an organized adventure. Life is short, take the trip.

It’s A Mystery…

There are few surprises left in the world, do you agree? Those of us old enough to remember Santa Claus picking out our gifts without a wish list on Amazon may be the last generation to really appreciate a surprise. Wedding gifts are registered if not gift carded. I miss the days of a young bride acting excited over floral pot holders and Tupperware. Parents don’t even get to be surprised with the “It’s a boy/girl!” announcement. The baby has already worn out its name by the time it debuts. Alas, as Your Fearless Leader, I find one of my greater tasks and treats is to offer travelers an occasional mystery or surprise trip.

 A mystery trip isn’t a “who done it?”  The destination is a mystery. Given only a few clues, travelers sign up and yes, PAY to go somewhere, and do something, and stay somewhere-all unknown to them prior to traveling. For those that have a sense of adventure, a sense of humor and a sense of trust, we have made some wonderful mystery memories through the years.

The shorter the tour, the closer to home and the greater the chance that I’m taking travelers to places they have been before, or maybe even lived or worked! The challenge is to guarantee folks that they will see or do something that they have never done before. This is where the need to be creative comes in very helpful. 

We have eaten in feed stores. We have made movies. We have ridden in hay wagons. We have slept in bunk houses. We have caught trains. We have been wined, dined, arrested and taken hostage. It was all a surprise to the travelers. We have seen things hardly anyone knew existed. And we have gone behind the scenes on things that everyone knew existed. It was all a surprise to the travelers.

 Coming up with attractions to visit that aren’t really attractions, convincing local people to let us see their collection, or look at their place, or show us how they do something. In my tourism world, I call this “Knowing How to Play.”  I LOVE going into a community that gets “How to Play.”

This might not be everyone idea of a great vacation or travel opportunity, but I can testify that there are lots of fun folks who still love a good surprise.

Traveling is about learning, and exploring and creating memories. Sometimes it is a mystery on how it will happen, and that is a lovely surprise. Come play with us sometime.