Episode 5: Come along as we meet Boomers setting out to satisfy their wanderlust in a variety of ways. Explore Switzerland. Savor the tastes of the American Southwest. Sample a new kind of working vacation. And meet a Boomer who likes to give back while kicking back.
Variations on Vacationing |
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Our co-host Nancy Mills and our series creator and director of photography Bill Charette spent a few days in Switzerland with Untours, a travel company dedicated to helping travelers create their own adventure tour.
Untours provides the perfect compromise between vacation rentals and European package tours.
When you visit Switzerland, just getting around can often be the best part of the trip. Our crew found Swiss transportation lived up to its reputation as clean, comfortable and on time.
So check out the clip (complete with stirring music) of us taking planes, trains, cable cars, bikes, funiculars, steamships?everything but automobiles?through the beautiful Swiss Alps!
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The Swiss village of Meiringen and the Hasli Valley have a long and rich history.
Join Untours Guide Jessica Powers on a walk through a traditional farm village outside the town, situated on one of the oldest trade routes through the Alps.
This village escaped two catastrophic fires: one in 1879 and another in 1891. And it was well prepared during World War II for any Nazi invasion.
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"Learning - It's a Trip!" That's the tag line of an educational travel brand aimed directly at Baby Boomers. The brand is Road Scholar and it's brought to you by Elderhostel, the hugely successful travel and learning non-profit that's celebrating 30 years of service to older Americans.
Check out Nancy's audio interview with James Moses, president of Elderhostel...and a Boomer!
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Road Scholar cooking instructor Rocky Durham expounds on (and slices and dices) the humble onion, a staple of southwestern cuisine.
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Ronald Roybal is a multi-talented composer, Native American flutist and classical guitarist. A four-time Native American Music Award nominee, he makes his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico where he performs extensively.
During our visit to Santa Fe with Road Scholar, we were treated to an evening of Ronald's music.
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Working While Playing |
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Brian Kurth spent many years in the corporate world before launching VocationVacations.
His professional pursuits took him to far flung corners of the globe and all over the US. One day, while sitting in traffic on Chicago's Kennedy Expressway, Brian came up the VocationVacations concept.
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John Kelley, a veteranarian from Massachusetts, has been offering his services to the animals of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques for some years. John believes in giving back while kicking back. And Vieques is the perfect place to do both.
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Goin' Solo |
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Connecticut native Bill Adams has perfected the art of solo travel. His solo journeys have taken him all over the world. We caught up with him last summer, as he traveled around Cape Cod and Nantucket. Bill stayed in hostels during his stay in Truro on Cape Cod and on Nantucket. After all, hostels are just for youths any more, you know!
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Solo traveler Bill Adams shares some useful tips for those hoping to get a restful night's sleep in a hostel environment.
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Deborah Ruhe, Executive Director of Hostelling International USA, Eastern New England Council, recently sat down the Boomers! associate producer Katie Gulde and provided an overview of what hostelling is all about.
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Web Extras |
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So, you think making a TV show in the splendor of the Swiss Alps is all fun and games? Think again! In the first clip, Nancy has to contend with a flying intruder who ruins a perfectly good seque to our next segment.
Meanwhile, director of photography Bill Charette fends off the advances of a hungry goat! (Luckily, Bill emerged unscathed. The goat, however, reportedly complained of indigestion.)
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Randy Ferguson is a senior consumer analyst for the marketing firm Iconoculture, a trailblazer in consumer research. Randy has closely studied how Boomers are marketed to and the kinds of choices Boomers, as consumers, make. Listen to his take on how "giving back" via travel is becoming more and more popular with Boomers.
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