So far, Grandma and I have been quite happy with the arrangements and we've already met several interesting people. We met Martha Thompson, a woman from Lansing, at Detroit while we were waiting for our Northwest flight to Miami. She and Grandma hit it off right away. they have much in common. I took a picture, since it seems likely that we'll be seeing more of each other.
At the airport in Miami, we were kept waiting a long time for our boarding passes, and we found that many other people were very much like Grandma. While waiting at the terminal, we met Connie, a younger woman (thirties maybe) traveling alone. She and her husband were married in the Virgin Islands, and they live in Austin, Texas now. Her husband travels some, but didnŐt really want to go here, so she's going it alone.
Sitting next to me on the plane is Helen, a retired schoolteacher from L.A. She is recovering from the earthquake and has lots of stories to tell, about teaching in L.A., traveling, etc.
It's pretty clear to me now that most of the people on this tour (they're almost all here now with us, after all) are elderly, well-experienced travelers. That's good, because it means they have lots to talk about and share, and that they all have a very positive attitude about traveling. Very easy going, with only a very few troublemakers. Many of these people have been to Europe, Asia, Galapagos, even Antarctica before.
This should be a fun trip.