Portugal river cruise reservation deadline reminder and update
Wed, Oct 28 2020, 8:58am - Sat, Nov 7 2020, 5pm
The UMRA Travel Committee would like to remind members of the March 1 reservation deadline for our Douro River cruise.
Call Road Scholar toll free at 833-810-6427, reference Program #23416, Discoveries Along the Douro: Portugal’s Best-Kept Secrets, October 28 to November 7, 2020, and note that you are a member of the University of Minnesota Retirees Association. They will answer any questions you might have, discuss cabin options, register you, and take your down payment. We have reserved 16 cabins exclusively for UMRA, 12 double and 4 singles on the upper and middle decks.
You may also book your international flights through Road Scholar. Their estimated roundtrip airfare from Minneapolis is $1,200. Or, if you prefer, book your own flights.
Our previously announced, optional pre-cruise tour of Lisbon has been changed to a post-cruise tour. Details of this customized, five-day tour of Lisbon produced by Road Scholar exclusively for UMRA members will be available in early February. The optional post-cruise tour of Lisbon will start November 7 and end November 12 with return to Minneapolis.
Please contact Cherie Hamilton at 612-929-0233 or [email protected] if you are interested in the Lisbon tour. The estimated cost will be $1,099 for double occupancy and $1,449 for single. We will need at least 10 members to sign up for this option.
Final payment for the Portugal trip will be due July 20.
—Cherie Hamilton, chair, UMRA Travel Committee
Upcoming Events
Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles! If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25. The second hour is free if we rent before noon. Life jackets are provided with the rental.
Laura Ericksen will lead the discussion of How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger, a true story by a speech-language pathologist who taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using buttons associated with different words.
Our August 5 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park. This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside. The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks. After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park.
Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams, a book set in 1914 Oxford chronicling the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery, but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.
Enjoy a two-hour cruise on the Jonathan Padelford, leaving from the Harriet Island dock in St. Paul, boarding time at 5:30 p.m. We will have a brief program on board by Patrick Nunnally from the River Life Program of the Institute on the Environment.
August 31 is the due date for annual reports and updates. Annual Reports, Toolkits, web page updates, operating document updates and archives collections are all due each year on this date.
Autumn is a wonderful season in Minnesota so plan to join UMRA at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Kristen Mastel, head librarian and curator, will reveal its treasure trove of publications and artifacts relating to plant history, horticulture, and natural history. After the tour, those who are interested may stay to eat lunch together, sitting outside if the weather is nice. Later, you are invited to a one-hour tram tour of the entire Arboretum that includes natural areas of flowering shrubs, bogs, and forests, family garden and landscaping showpieces, and the red barn farm
After a summer break the UMRA Photo Club will next meet September 10, 2024 in the meeting room of the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library. For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 am. For September the THEME will be Curves
We will continue to discuss the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage. You will also hear about notable non-health plan and non-broker resources.