Ballparks and Scotland
At our September 25,2924 Armchair Traveler Program Janet and Craig Swan shared pictures and amazing information about their trip to Scotland and Will Craig shared pictures and insights into his visits to 30 American baseball fields.
See recording below.
Ballparks and Scotland
Wed, Sep 25, 2024, 10am
Please join us for UMRA’s first Armchair Traveler program of the 2024–25 year from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 25, via Zoom. Will Craig will present “Touch 'em all: 30 Major League Baseball stadiums in 20 years,” and Craig and Janet Swan will share photos and descriptions of their trip to Scotland in 2022.
Will Craig says that what started as incidental visits became an obsession before he completed his tour of all 30 Major League stadiums. “They are all different, each with its own setting, design, fan base, and food. Visits required travel by air, train, car, subway, taxi, Uber, rental car, and foot. Several were replaced during the 20-year period, so some cities needed to be revisited.”
Highlands, islands, and ancestors
Here’s how Craig Swan describes the trip he and Janet took in 2022: “We spent almost four weeks in Scotland in late May to early June. Our visit was focused on the Highlands and parts of the Hebrides and Shetland Islands. We started our trip visiting Clan McIntosh sites. We left with awe at the beauty of the countryside and a deeper understanding of Scottish ambivalence toward England and pride in being Scottish.”
A Zoom invitation will be emailed to all UMRA members a month before the program and a reminder email a week before. I hope you can join us.
—Lynn C. Anderson, Armchair Traveler program chair
Upcoming Events
Learn about writing memoirs, technology for seniors, campus architecture, and more at the fourth annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held in the McNamara Alumni Center on the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis on Monday, June 23.
Professor Kathryn Pearson will be a special guest at the UMRA breakfast in June. This will be an opportunity to hear Professor Pearson’s perspective on President Trumps’s first 100 days, and to engage in discussion about what we, as individual citizens, can do in these challenging times for democracy.
Catch up with friends and former colleagues, meet new UMRA members, enjoy delicious food, and participate in the third annual UMRA Summer Social Quiz at the Como Lakeside Pavilion in St. Paul on Wednesday, June 25.
H is for Hawk: A Memoir on Grief and Falconry by Helen Macdonald, published 2016.
The UMRA Hiking Club will hike two wonderful county parks in Monticello, MN on Monday, July 7. Lynn Anderson will lead the hikes and we will meet at her home at 9:30 a.m. and carpool from there.
Our July 14 "hike" is a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles led by Barb Friedman and Bev Moe.
The UMRA Book Club will discuss Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid when it meets via Zoom on July 18.
Bill Doherty's April Living Well Workshop, Dealing with differences in a polarized world, inspired many UMRA members. He has very graciously agreed to hold a Skills for Disagreeing Better workshop for us in July. You will learn about the values and concerns of the other political side and practice skills for communicating more effectively in the presence of disagreement.
Still Life by Louise Penny.
Join hike leader Nanette Hanks on August 4th for a “Trail in Two Cities” hike.
The UMRA Book Club will discuss Blue Ribbon by Karal Ann Marling when it meets via Zoom on August 15.
Join Larry Micek, hike leader, on August 18th for a hike at Lake Elmo Park Reserve, located at 1515 Keats Avenue North, Lake Elmo, MN.
You are invited–join other UMRA members and friends for a late summer river cruise, this year on the Saint Croix River, departing from Stillwater Riverboat Company dock. Our lovely 2.5 hour private charter cruise on the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway includes lunch, a cash bar, and the excellent company of friends and colleagues.
Daytrip Stillwater in the afternoon with friends! Make a day of it.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.