Rwanda and the British Columbia Coast
The April 23, 2025 Armchair Traveler Program featured Ceeya Patton-Bolman sharing insights, maps, and photos based on her 20 years of experience in Rwanda and Gene Allen sharing pictures, maps, and information about the British Columbia Coast and its San Juan and Gulf Islands.
Rwanda and the British Columbia Coast
Wed, Apr 23, 2025, 10am
UMRA’s Armchair Traveler program from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 23, via Zoom will take us on a cruise along the coast of British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada, and halfway around the world to Rwanda, a landlocked country located just a few degrees south of the Equator in East-Central Africa. Cecilia “Ceeya” Patton-Bolman will be our guide in Rwanda and Gene Allen in Canada.
Patton-Bolman, a retired pediatric intensive care nurse, will share pictures and information about Rwanda. In 2009, she co-founded Team Heart together with her husband, retired heart transplant surgeon R. Morton “Chip” Bolman, MD, and a group of nurses. Team Heart is a nonprofit organization focused on bringing sustainable cardiac care to Rwanda and East Africa.
Allen’s presentation, "British Columbia Coast and its San Juan and Gulf Islands," will be drawn from a month of exploring this large, beautiful area in his in-laws' 42-foot cabin cruiser, the Lady LaJean. The islands vary greatly in size, some with very popular attractions. A special example is the Butchart Gardens, a national historic site of Canada on Vancouver Island. In addition to many pictures, Allen says he will describe “three experiences we would not choose to repeat!”
I will send a Zoom invitation to all UMRA members a month before the program and a reminder the week before. I hope you can join us.
—Lynn C. Anderson, Armchair Traveler Program chair
Upcoming Events
Connect, explore new ideas for what it means to live and age well, and celebrate a community of continuous learning at the fifth annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis on Monday, June 8.
Abandoned and discarded is the theme for the UMRA Photo Club meeting in June. Newcomers are welcome.
Michael leads this hike at Afton State Park.
Pick a favorite book and bring a brief synopsis of the book to the breakfast and share with the group.
UMRA’s Book Club I will discuss In Winter’s Kitchen by Beth Dooley when it meets via Zoom on Friday, June 19. Kathryn Sedo will lead the discussion.
We will gather in the Waterfall Room for an in-person, summer social and luncheon for UMRA members and guests on June 24th. Our event will include social time; a plated, seated lunch; and the always popular Summer Social Trivia Game with quizmasters Dave Dorman and Mark Jenson.
This event will include social time; a plated, seated lunch; and the Summer Social Trivia Game.
There are three entree options - all include dessert (or GF desert) and a choice of sodas, lemonade, and coffee or water.
Cash bar available inside the Dock & Paddle.
Kayaking at Lake Bde Maka Ska.
Two major conferences, one organized by the Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE) and the other by the Big Ten Retirees Association (BTRA), will take place this year. The AROHE conference will be held in Florida and the BTRA conference will be hosted by UMRA on the UMN campus.
The AROHE conference invites all interested retirees and university faculty and staff to reimagine retirement. You are invited to register if interested at https://www.arohe.org/2026-Conference.
The BTRA is being hosted by UMRA this year. Leadership of retiree organizations around the US will convene to share competencies. Attendance is restricted.
Bev leads the Nokomis walk to Minnehaha Falls.
Nanette leads a trail of two cities hike.