Glenmeadow to Offer Multi-Generational Trip to Egypt in 2020
LONGMEADOW—In July 2020, travel lovers can experience a trip to Egypt with everyone in their families through Glenmeadow’s travel program, Glenmeadow Getaways. The life plan community is offering a 10-night, multi-generational excursion from July 11 through July 20, 2020. The trip includes a cruise on the Nile River, riding a camel, and exploring an Egyptian pyramid.
“I think it’s a great mix of all the best of what Egypt has to offer,” said Andrew Butler, a travel advisor who is planning the trip with Glenmeadow and its travel partner, Abercrombie & Kent. “Travelers will be accompanied by true Egyptologist guides to put it all in perspective.”
Complete trip details, including pricing and a day-by-day itinerary, will be available in two information sessions to be held at Glenmeadow on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 5:30 p.m., and on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 11 a.m. Butler will be available to answer questions via video chat.
If you aren’t able to attend but want to learn more, contact Linda Edwards at 413-567-3951.
Butler traveled extensively as a child. When he became the father of two, he wanted his children to also have adventures. As he said, “Travel is a living classroom.”
An emergency room physician in Texas by day, Butler is a travel advisor in his free time. He and his wife, Tracie, also a physician, use travel to provide dedicated family time, entertainment, and education. “We put work—and our phones—aside to learn together and share in the same adventure together,” he says. “It’s really special for us.”
The Butlers have visited destinations across the United States as well as Europe, Asia, India, the Galapagos Islands and, last year, Egypt.
“Both children and adults can appreciate Egypt,” Butler said. “Egypt has been an evocative destination across pop culture. It appeals to those of us who grew up with novels by Agatha Christie as well as to today’s children watching Indiana Jones. We certainly found it to be a great multi-generational destination when my family traveled there.”
Butler said Egypt is a perfect place to explore with family members from multiple generations because the history is so rich.
“Egypt’s history dates back further than most places in the world, and the parts that you can still see are from 3,000 and even 4,000 BC,” he says. “Much of that history is both visible and well-preserved as a lot of those areas were buried under sand for hundreds if not thousands of years. What we see today looks a lot like it did thousands of years ago. You can’t say that about many places in the world.”
At this time, travel to Egypt is also ideal, Butler said, as there are fewer people visiting the country. In 2011, an uprising in Cairo quashed tourism, lowering prices and reducing the number of explorers to well-known sites. Butler said Cairo is safe now, and, Abercrombie & Kent has intense safety protocols in place.
For instance, in 2011, when the unrest occurred, Abercrombie & Kent had over 200 travelers in the country, and they handled the situation with grace, Butler said, noting that within three hours, the company had private jets transport all the Cairo travelers to Jordan.
When Butler and his family visited the country in 2018, they felt welcomed. “My family and I never felt concerned for our safety. People were friendly and made us feel very much at home and a part of their culture,” he said.
To learn more about Glenmeadow and its history and offerings, visit www.glenmeadow.org.
About Glenmeadow
In the 1800s, elderly individuals without family or means were sent to live at what was called “the poor farm.” In 1884, a group of civic leaders raised funds among themselves and other area families and purchased a house on Main Street in Springfield’s south end, establishing The Springfield Home for Aged Women. Quickly outgrowing that house, land was purchased on the corner of Chestnut and Carew streets, where a new home was constructed and opened in 1900. In 1960, the name was changed to Chestnut Knoll, and, in 1992, it began to admit men.
In 1993, the organization purchased a 23-acre parcel in Longmeadow to build a new community that would provide both independent living and assisted living in one building with various common areas. This was a new concept known as a continuing care retirement community. Existing residents from the old Chestnut Knoll property were moved to the new campus in 1997. Shortly after the move, the board voted to change its legal name to Glenmeadow to coincide with the name being used by the developer of the property.
Continuing care retirement communities are now referred to as life plan communities, responding to the needs of the aging population with new opportunities for care, plus creative, educational and personal exploration. Glenmeadow offerings, which include everything from senior living options and handyman services to personal care and travel programs, are provided at its Longmeadow campus and across the region through Glenmeadow at Home. Glenmeadow strives to fulfill its mission of nurturing the whole person in mind, body, and spirit.
