Traveling in Active 20-30
Author: Mike Kingsley
Traveling is something I have always tried to prioritize in my life. When I was younger, we were not able to travel much and vacations were short, usually a short car ride somewhere, and only lasted a weekend. In my later teens I was able to travel a bit more and visit different countries. Moving into my early 20’s, I started working a lot more and travel slowed down considerably. My next chapter of life involved traveling to other states and even other countries for things like concerts and backpacking. At this point I really thought I had reached the perfect balance of reasons to travel and I was living my best life.
My thoughts changed when I began traveling with the Active 20-30 Club and for the events they hosted. See, before I thought everything was perfect: new places, exciting things to see, what could I be missing? Well, what was missing was a family traveling along with me and even more family members waiting for us when we got there. That family is the Active 20-30 family. Whether traveling inside the USA or visiting one of the 8 other countries 20-30 resides in, there is always a group waiting there with open arms, and perhaps, a cold beverage.
Traveling with 20-30 is split between two different, equally amazing, categories: 1) Traveling in the USA for another club’s project or event, and 2) Traveling for a convention, which could be in the USA or in another country.
The first one I’ll talk about is traveling in the USA for another 20-30 club’s projects. We have over 30 clubs in the USA, and they are similar to the Eugene Active 20-30 club in that they have projects all throughout the year. These events are fully open for all, and our members and guests are welcome to travel to these events to help them out or just to enjoy a fun event. In the pre-COVID-19 times, we usually did home hosting and carpooling to help keep costs down, and it’s more fun that way! These events happen all throughout the year and include types of projects like: fireworks shows, film festivals, margarita tasting, judging cookoffs, and a lot more! It’s so easy to get to know the other members putting on these events and everyone is always very friendly.
The other main reason people in 20-30 travel is to attend a convention or midterm. Each year there are 2 conventions and 2 midterms. Usually there is one in each the USA and in another country. In the last few years I have been lucky enough to travel to: Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Colombia, and Mexico for international conventions and midterms. Domestically, I have gotten to travel to: Santa Rosa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chico, Portland, Seattle and many more. These conventions take place over about a 4-day period with meetings, speeches and plenty of fun in between. Full itineraries are planned and open for all to enjoy. Plus, the traveling and hotel deals are often better than anyone could get when traveling alone or outside of 20-30.
In the past few years I have changed the reason I travel because I have found an even better reason to go to new places and I have made hundreds of new friends along the way! The ability to learn about new cultures and make so many new friends makes the choice of traveling with 20-30 an amazing idea whenever possible.