Southside senior center’s YOLO program helps travelers create unforgettable memories

Marnie McCoy and Denise Fanazick are known as Thelma and Louise to the groups of travelers they shepherd through the Southside Senior and Community Center travel program.

Like field trip moms for grown-ups, the two plan and coordinate dozens of local, national and international trips each year through the program they’ve dubbed YOLO (You Only Live Once).

“YOLO is our slogan,” said Fanazick. “Make it (travel) an adventure to remember. When you can no longer physically enjoy a trip you can always go to that time and place in your mind and relive the experience all over again. That’s why travel is such a fulfilling investment.”

Recently, a group returned from “The Legendary Danube” trip and gathered at the center to share their experience.

The excursion included three nights in Prague followed by a seven-day cruise ending in Budapest, Hungary.

Cindy Shane said it was her first trip with YOLO and her first Avalon cruise.

“Vienna was a highlight,” she said. “The cruise was great because you only unpack once and you can choose the schedule of events that you want.”

Connie Dix agreed.

“It was lovely and relaxing. We had tea every afternoon and happy hour right after that,” she said. “The food was really good.”

She’s thinking about taking a YOLO trip to Paris this spring.

The Danube cruise also was Donna Gumm’s first trip with YOLO. She showed off a beautiful scarf she purchased in Budapest.

“We came into Budapest at night with all the lights on. It was just beautiful,” she said.

At 88, she’s eager for further adventures.

“I’d like to go to Washington, D.C., and then take another river cruise,” she said.

For Fanazick and McCoy, sharing their passion for travel with others is a gift. They get to indulge in their love of adventure and also create memories for people.

“A lot of people wouldn’t be able to travel if they didn’t have someone with them,” McCoy said. “YOLO is an opportunity to bring people together who don’t want to travel alone.”

They may start out as strangers, but fellow travelers often end up as friends, and sometimes even more.

Fanazick told of a couple who met on an Avalon cruise.

“They fell in love and got married after we returned. Then they needed a honeymoon, so we planned a trip to Greece.”

She and McCoy schedule the trips, take the deposits and get their groups through the airport and customs, but once they reach their destination, the tours are conducted by professional guides on-site.

As an excursion draws near, they host a meeting or two at Southside.

“We offer packing tips, let them know what to expect and give them a chance to meet each other before we leave,” McCoy said.

The travel program is open to everyone, not just members of the community center, and not just seniors. They also will help plan private trips, though a small fee may be charged for that service.

But what about the uncertainty of international travel with recent attacks in Paris and Barcelona?

Claudia Craven, who has gone on several trips with YOLO, shrugged.

“It could happen here,” she said. “I want to go where I’ve never been and see things I’ve never seen.”

She and more than 40 others are going to Sicily in September, and she plans to visit Hawaii in February.

“I’m alone and don’t have a travel companion, but with these trips I get to meet new people and see the things I want to see,” she said.

That sums up Fanazick and McCoy’s mission.

“We get to see new cultures and visit exotic places,” McCoy said.

Fanazick added, “And we have so much fun!”