aMK.140
Adat Shalom Synagogue.
Other possible trips designed to
attract a younger crowd include a fall
color tour of Ontario's Agawa Canyon,
a trip to Toronto to see the musical
Hairspray, and a tour of selected sites
in India, with Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg
of Congregation Shir Tikvah as tour
guide.
"He really knows the Far East,"
Wolfe said. "We are tailor-making a
trip so Rabbi Arnie can lead it."
Cruises appeal to every age group,
she said.
"When I escorted a cruise one
Purim, I brought Purim masks and
had the ship give us a Purim cocktail
party," she said. "Others on the cruise
— even those who were not Jewish —
asked to join us because we were hav-
ing such a good time."
All tours are exciting, Wolfe said,
but the biggest surprise of all came
several years ago, on a trip to Greece.
"When we were in.Delphi, it was
my birthday," she said, "and someone
must have told every storekeeper on
the street. Everywhere I went, I got
glasses of ouzo and a little gift." El
Stone, 70, said the two-week trip was
the longest she'd taken, but "I had such
a good time, I didn't want to go home."
Evelyn Spitzer, 71, of Commerce
Township came home from Arizona a
little the worse for wear — walking
out of the Marriott Suites Hotel, the
group's home base, her shoe caught in
a crack in the sidewalk and she fell
face first.
"One of the gals went on the hotel
van with the medical technician to the
hospital," Spitzer said. "We spent a
half-day at the hospital, then went on
with the rest of the trip." No bones
were broken, and she had a great time
despite her bruises.
Everyone on the trip gave Wolfe
high marks. "Marilyn is so patient,
flexible and caring," said Spitzer. "We
all knew that, if something happens,
you'll be taken care of."
Helen Husid, 76, of West
Bloomfield, said that, as a single per-
son, she's not always comfortable tak-
ing trips with couples. But I can't
imagine anyone would feel out of
place with Marilyn," she said. "I've
made wonderful friends from her
trips."
Added Krugel: "I usually only go on
trips if Marilyn is leading them."
In 10 years of traveling on JCC-
organized tours, Gloria Krause, 70,
has been all over the world. In
Hong Kong, the group went to a
building constructed by Sir Jacob
Sassoon in 1857 that housed two
synagogues, one Reform and one
Orthodox. In Shanghai, the
group toured the extensive neigh-
borhoods where Jewish refugees
from Nazi-occupied Europe set-
tled.
In Cuba — a trip Krause
missed — the group attended
Beth Shalom Synagogue and the
adjoining Patronato, which func-
tions as a Jewish community cen-
ter and library.
"In Turkey, we got to the syna-
gogue, but they would not let us
inside because they had been
bombed several years before,"
Krause said.
Yo unger Audience
The JCC trips have traditionally
attracted an older crowd.
"We have savvy travelers on our
tours," Wolfe said. "It's not at all peo-
ple who need schlepping."
In organizing the trips, Wolfe works
to keep prices reasonable. Two more
Center-sponsored one-week trips to
Cuba have been planned for this year,
at a cost of $2,549 per JCC member
based on double occupancy. Single
occupancy is $2,974, and non-JCC
members pay an extra $150.
These prices are only $99 more than
the first JCC-sponsored trip to Cuba
in 1999, Wolfe said.
"We get a mix for Cuba, because it's
such a fascinating place," Wolfe said.
But more needs to be done specifical-
ly for young adults."
In the-works is a young adult Jewish
camping trip, including white-water
rafting, organized in partnership with
Top: David Weisman of West
Bloomfield and Marilyn Wolfe stake
their claim to Alaska's Mendenhall
Glacier.
Above: Enjoying the Lansing
Gardens is Edythe Klein of
Farmington Hills.
3/19
2004
9C