Category: Recreation

Preserving Your Family History

Your story is important. Family history is your story, at least a big part of it. Your story has a foundation. Perhaps it is time to put that foundation into writing so future generations will have a greater understanding of their foundation. If you haven’t done this before or you did years ago, it is time to revisit your family tree.

Genealogy is one of the top hobbies across all age groups. It is a perennial favorite activity. Personally, I spend time almost every day researching some part of my family’s history. I have looked into my own family and my husband’s. I am yet to find any famous or notables among my own, but my husband has claim on a number of passengers on the Mayflower voyage to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. Regardless of the notoriety of your ancestors, each person is an important link to who you are today. Just think, if any link in the chain had been broken, you would not be here today.

Continue reading “Your Family History Adventure: Where to Begin”

To any National Parks, that is? Spending just a few minutes at the National Parks Service website can inspire so many travel plans. Their website has great planning tools. Pick a state. Pick an adventure and set out. If you are 62 or over you can have a lifetime pass for $80. Plus there are special savings for amenities, camping, boat launching and more. You can search for ideas by state, activity, or topic. The opportunities seem endless. I feel like a cheerleader for the NPS, but why not? Whether you are excited by natural phenomena or battlefields, presidents or volcanoes, the NPS has something to suit you. The small state of Maryland has 28 sites including National Historic Sites, Seashores, Battlefields and more. I will never forget our visit to Antietam.

What National Parks destinations are next for you?

I can’t wait to head west and explore the parks in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Oh wait, the ones in Alaska and Hawaii are on my list too. Then I want to head back to Acadia in Maine.

At the NPS website you can click on any state and see the destinations. I will admit, while writing this article, I am making a list of which parks and other sites I want to visit. Time to buy a camper and hit the road. What do you think?

If you are looking for adventure, perhaps think about discovering one of America’s treasures. Take a trip to a National Park. Please check back and tell us about it. Please share about an adventure you have already taken to a National Park.

By the way…..

Trips to National Parks aren’t the only great destination for Older Adults. Perhaps you are looking for a different travel motivation. Did you know Mission Trips are not just for Teenagers?

There is more diversity in people 55 and over than in any other age group. Diversity in education, experience, travel, employment, health, mobility, and more cannot be anymore varied. Then you take into account where you live and have lived, with whom you live, ethnicity and religion. When it comes to recreation opportunities and experiences for those over 55 cannot be anymore varied. It also cannot be more important.

Age is just a number, mobility is a daily reality. When you combine traits mentioned above in the countless number of ways possible, the ideas for recreation are endless.

When I think of recreation I think of sports activities, hobbies, and travel! Travel just may be my favorite. What is yours? Here at Winter Grace Senior Ministries we want to make you aware of the myriad of recreational activities available near and far.  Continue reading “Recreation 55+”