Guy Grosgebauer speaks for 63-year-old men everywhere when they brave their first group tour. As a recent retiree from the defense industry, this Texan, who also keeps a home near Denver, came with his wife, Karen, on his first group tour with Collette to Iceland in November. We became friends and I wanted his impressions of his maiden tour.
“I’m pretty active, and my biggest fear was waiting on people everywhere we went,” he said. “We really didn’t know what to expect, so we came in a day early to get acclimated. That was a good thing because the pace of this trip was filled all the time.”
Grosgebauer traveled internationally in his career. He had meetings in nearby Norway numerous times. He is someone who knows his way around airports and Ubers, so it was reasonable to wonder how he would like group travel.
“Our tour manager did a nice job, and I have been impressed with how much we’ve seen in a short time,” he said. “I would recommend this trip without hesitation to my friends back home.”
John and Robin Vinson are avid travelers who lived for years in Hawaii because of their work and make their home now in Mystic, Connecticut. John was the “unofficial” photographer in our group, and he photographed the northern lights by staying up for hours at night checking for them.
“We came to see the northern lights, but the sky itself is remarkable,” he said. “The stars at night are beautiful by themselves.”
“The beauty here is raw,” said Robin. “In that way, it’s much like Hawaii.”
I often find that my fellow travelers say things better than I can. Those of you who plan travel know exactly what I mean.
Email me anytime with your thoughts at maclacy (at) grouptravelleader.com.