SUMMER
PLEASURES

The
Sports

'Mb

of West Bloomfield

ALL SPORTS CAMP

Take A Hike

Walking vacations are increasing in
popularity.

CAROL SORGEN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

W

/-'

`—;

/-2

hen Matthew and Ellie
Fink of Chevy Chase
planned their vacation
last summer, they
wanted to get away from phones
and faxes, do something com-
pletely different, go somewhere
completely new to them, indulge
their interest in history and —
oh, yes — get a little exercise, too.
An impossible mission? Not to
the Finks, who discovered the
ideal solution — an eight-day
walking trip of Scotland.
The Finks, who are both in
their early 50s, planned their trip
through Country Walker, an
adventure vacation company
headquartered in Waterbury,
Vermont. "Our primary criterion
was, "It can't be too difficult," said
Mrs. Fink with a laugh. "We're
way out of shape."
The Finks learned about the
company from a magazine ad in
the New Yorker. Advertisements
for this and similar companies
can be found in the New York
Times' Sunday magazine, as well
as in travel magazines and up-
scale publications such as Town
and Country.
According to Bob Maynard,
president of the 6-year-old Coun-
try Walkers (and previous own-
er of Vermont Country Cyclers
for 18 years), walking is the
"fastest-growing leisure activity"
in the United States.
Moreover, in the adventure
travel market, walking is "lead-
ing the pack," he enthuses.
One reason for the popularity

of walking vacations is their
accessibility. Country Walkers
co-owner Cindy Maynard said,
"While many adventure compa-
nies offer mountain biking,
cross-country skiing and even
running vacations for the super
fit, walking remains an activity
a reasonably fit person can un-
dertake."
At Country Walkers, for ex-
ample, most levels of fitness can
be accommodated. Each trip is
rated to indicate varying levels
of rigor. And, each day on a giv-
en trip walkers are presented
with several options that meet
differing physical abilities.
"The first couple of days we
thought we'd die," recalls Ellie
Fink. "We'd race each other to
[soak in] the bathtub when we
got back to the hotel. But by the
end of the trip, we felt wonder-
ful."
Should you want to take it
easy for a day or two, that's a pos-
sibility, too. You don't have to
walk every day if you don't want
to. Some people just stayed put
in the hotel now and then, Mrs.
Fink recalls, or went off on their
own for shopping or sightseeing.
Another bonus of the vacation
was that the company makes
every effort to hook up with a lo-
cal expert (in addition to the tour
guides who accompany the trip).
"In our case," says Mrs. Fink,
"we had a local lawyer and his
wife who took us up into the hills
to see the Stone Age forts and fill

HIKE page 12

1997 EDITION

The "Camp of SUMMER 1996" is back.
Give your child a chance to experience this
fast-paced, fun-filled, sports extravaganza!

SOCCER
TENNIS
BASKETBALL
TAIKWONDO
SWIMMING

for kids ages 6-10
9:00am to 3:00pm (Precare and Poslcare available)

Camp Weekly Sessions begin June 161h
Limited space available

Call Today

810-626-9880