2014 Senior Tours, Alhambra Style

by Myrna Aquitania

Newshen colleague Lydia Solis, her sister Lulu Alcayde and I once experienced joining the senior outing tour sponsored by Alhambra’s Joslyn Recreation Center. They usually sponsor a couple of different tours every month.

We were lucky to have joined one of LA’s “hidden treasures,” the Hsi Lai Temple tour in Hacienda Heights. It was a whole day’s worth of not only pleasurable and exciting but a spiritual experience as well.

We boarded a passenger-packed luxury coach on an early weekend morning in front of the Recreation Center and we reached the Temple within half an hour where the view on top was exhilarating.

Joslyn Recreation Center has recently published their 2014 tours and I truly recommend taking advantage of these inexpensive (minimal fees range from $12.00 to $20.00 per person, meals not included) outings because they’re really worth the minimal fee that went along with it.

Following is the schedule this year:

Farmer’s Market and The Grove on Friday, January 10^th and the Pechanga Resort and Casino on Thursday, January 23^rd. Registration for this tour was already done in December but you can check for availability of space by calling the Center at: 626/570-5056;

In February, the outings include: Queen Mary, 9:30 am to to 4:00 pm, February 7^th, fee $25.00, and the Getty Villa, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m, February 21^st, fee $12 Registration just ended on January 7^th, but again you may check with the Center for availability of space. The historical nature of the Queen Mary tour brings you back in time to “revel in the past glories of transatlantic luxury travel,” while the creative and artistic experience at the Getty Villa will enable you to get immersed in the creative art pieces of ancient Rome and Greece, plus the breathtaking view of Malibu, where you can bring a sack lunch to eat or buy your lunch at the on-site cafe, all within  a “coach ride” from Alhambra.

In March, there’s a tour of Palm Springs, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, March 13^th, fee is $12.00 and Universal City, 10:00 am to 4 p.m. on March 28^th, fee is $12.00 and registration is on February 4^th; In April, a tour of the City of Ojai is scheduled from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, April 9^th, fee is $12.00 and on April 21^st, Gardens of the World and Lakes, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm in Thousand Oaks, fee is $12.00 and registration is on March 4^th; A tour of Downtown Ventura is scheduled at 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, May 15^th, fee is $12.00 and Hammer Museum and UCLA campus, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on May 22^nd, fee is $12. Registration date is April 1^st;Santa Monica on Farmer’s Market Day. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. is scheduled on June 11^th, fee is $12 and Long Beach Harbor Cruise, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., fee, $20 is on June 27^th. Registration date is May 6^th.

For further inquiries on the various tours, you may log on to the website of the City of Alhambra at :  www.cityofalhambra.org.