Tell Others Why You Come Back to the Walkers Rally Year after Year
HI Folk
If you've been to more than Walkers Rally --(And most attendees have been to MANY, please tell folks why you like it. Just click the comments button to post.
And if you've never been to this Annual Event/Vacation, read attendees comments here.
This is a great value, great active vacation, wonderful way to spend time with a friend, spouse, sister or come alone and meet great people who like to travel the way you do. Many single women arrive at the Walkers Rally fearful that they won't fit in, make friends, find a buddy -- and leave having had a great time and planning to come back next year!
Maggie Spilner
Walk For All Seasons
posted by Maggie Spilner @ 8:55 AM
4 Comments:
I would love to blog with you, but don't have any idea how to. So I will just tell you in e-mail.
I always enjoyed your rallies, because you took us to "special" places that I would not have gone too without your rallies. I never heard of some of the places nor could I have afforded said place to go on my own. I really enjoyed all the resorts and cities you took us too.
Charleston is still my favored city of all. I have been back several times on my own but if you didn't introduce me to Charleston, I would not have known the city.
I always felt that I could travel to your rallies on my own, if I couldn't get a roommate and I would be fine. Loved the Yoga (I'm still a
yogi) and the walks. Great excerise. I also enjoyed being away from home and doing what I want to do, it was always 4 or 5 days of me time.
Do miss it. Take care, hope to see you soon. Joann Macaluso
Who knew that when I was sitting in the dentist office waiting forever for my appointment that I had reached a turning point in my life. I picked up a Prevention magazine and noticed an ad for a Prevention Walkers Rally in Vancouver (1996). I had never heard of anything like this but it sounded fun, and I had always wanted to go to Canada. So I bought a copy of Prevention and showed it to my husband. And the rest is history... We went and we had so much fun! And we haven't missed a Walkers Rally since. Wisconsin will be our 11th. I'm trying to decide which is my favorite. I kind of favor Vancouver since it was our first but all those other places... I would never have gone to any of them, because I would never have known about them. Memories for a lifetime at every rally! Great opportunities we would never have had. Great food! Great activities! Great hikes! Great people we have been privileged to meet. Plus, we have learned a lot from the people Maggie has brought in for the activities. We have made lifelong friends. And, some of the places we have stayed we have seen on tv and in magazines. We brag to our friends and family: "We've been there!" and they are envious. I work with somebody who grew up 30 miles from The House on the Rock in Wisconsin and he tells me I'm going to love it! There is no doubt in my mind. Maggie does the best job ever!
I must say that Maggie's Rallies have become a very important part of my life. I first went several years ago when Maggie was still with Prevention Magazine, and have continued with her since. I love that they are a wonderful way to combine fitness with a vacation, but I especially love that these rallies are no "keener" walking trips. People of all ages and fitness levels get together and walk at all different levels. I have frequently found myself going at a relaxed, slow pace, chatting with some wonderful people, many of whom have become good friends and cherished relationships. I also attend the Spring Break for Women, and wouldn't miss it either. We often joke that Maggie's Rallies are social functions with some walking thrown in. Not to be misled - Maggie does a very thorough job of organizing incredible walking tours, trips within trips, and plenty of exercise. However, everyone goes at their own pace, and frequently we opt out of a walk to enjoy a soak in a hot tub or just a relaxing afternoon on a veranda.
I also love the speakers and guests we've had - we've learned so much about the areas we've been in, and with guided walking tours we've seen and experienced things we wouldn't have as regular visitors or tourists. The food is wonderful - I have a favourite picture (I think one like it is on her website) of all of us at a seafood restaurant with our lobster bibs on. That photo really reflects the fun we all had that night. I also have a mini-movie of my Rally friend Kathy eating lobster for the first time. Again, one of my favourite memories ever.
I love the walking, but there are times when I just don't want to do it - it is exercise after all. These trips don't feel like exercise somehow, and my memories of them always relate to a gorgeous view while on a walk, a great dinner or social event (like drumming or Scottish Dancing)or the lives of the friends I get to see again. The personal touch is very apparent here, and I would recommend Maggie's Rallies wholeheartedly. In fact, I do.
Fun, food, laughter, friendships, new places, information, walking, relaxation.... throw in a "cruise director" who is energetic and sincere in making sure you have a great experience while hopefully reminding us all how exercise can be fun as well as good for us.(She also can be caught laughing, singing and tap dancing, on occasion!) As theraputic as that all sounds the real reason I keep coming back to the rallies is that every year I make more wonderful memories of the great people I meet, some for the first time and others to catch up with since the last rally when we were all together. Every year there is somthing new I take home. At the last rally we had drummers come and share their drums and talent with us and as a result last Christmas I got all 7 of my grandchildren West African drums ...their parents were actually OK with that !! For 4 or 5 days in the fall I have been able to escape all the hassles of our business and even forget some of the problems that we face every day, many of which we have no control over. That escape is the Rally and I am again looking forward to meeting up with old friends and meeting new ones in WI in Oct. 06. I'm packing my bags !!!!
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