It was a memorable journey–long, but memorable. Twenty-three days from San Francisco, California to Vancouver, British Columbia making a big reverse “C”: visiting Las Vegas and five western U.S. national parks, through Montana to Lethbridge, Alberta, and then two Canadian national parks, along the Yellowhead Highway, down the Frazier River Gorge, and finally to Vancouver.
On Board, twenty guests from the U.K. all visiting western North America for the first time. As with most tours, it is the people on board that make a tour interesting–and challenging. Two of the most unforgettable on this tour were Charlie, an 87 year old mustachioed British gentleman with silver hair and pale blue eyes. He gave the well-dressed, well-groomed, erect appearance of a former military officer, though, at 87, he moved a little slower than he was probably used to in his earlier years. All on board became particularly fond of Charlie. Also on board, was Richard, another British gentleman a few years younger than Charlie, but legally blind. He walked with a collapsible white cane, an indication of his disability. He was intelligent, gentle, and a great conversationalist at dinner. The first question that comes to mind is: “Why would someone legally blind book a twenty-three day sight-seeing tour throughout western North America? Richard indicated that he could see some color and could distinguish some shapes, but it didn’t take long to realize that, more that the sights we saw, the camaraderie and personal relationships he developed during the tour were of more value to him. All the other guests adopted Richard.
The day 6 itinerary called for us to leave Las Vegas at 10:00 in the morning after a full buffet breakfast, travel to Hoover Dam for a guided visit, and then proceed to the Grand Canyon for an overnight stay. It had only taken five days and I already had the guests trained–everyone was on the coach at five minutes to ten. As we pulled out of the hotel parking lot, I provided the guests with my Travel Thought of the Day: (In America there are two classes of travel–first class, and with children. –Robert Benchley, Kiddie-Kar Travel) and then I went over the days itinerary. About fifteen miles out of Las Vegas one of the guests came forward, tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Charlie forgot his hearing aid. He thinks he left it in the room at the hotel.” I told the driver that we needed to return to the hotel to fetch Charlie’s hearing aid. Within twenty minutes we were pulling back into the hotel parking lot and as we stopped the coach the same guest came forward and said, “Charlie found his hearing aid. It was in his pocket.”
On the road again, about twenty miles out of town, Richard approached and said, “Larry, I hate to bother you, but I left my passport and all of my money in the room safe at the hotel.” So I said to the driver, “Brian, we need to return to the hotel to fetch Richard’s money and passport.” By 12:00 noon we were in the hotel parking lot ready to go: money, passport, and hearing aid in hand. What do you say to the other guests about the delay without further embarrassing Charlie and Richard. So I told them, “We have had two practice departures this morning and you have all performed so well, I think this will be the real thing.”
What did I learn from this experience? In the morning, before departure, always ask the guests if they cleared the safe and have remembered everything they brought: nightgowns, cameras, cell phone chargers, etc. But, more importantly, I found how heart- warming it is to see other guests provide aid and comfort when necessary to those who may be a little slower or handicapped in some way. And, I discovered that, what may seem to be a challenge at first, in the end may be the satisfying, emotional type of experience that keeps us in this career.
Saying goodbye at the airport in Vancouver, Charlie, with a tear in his eye, told me that there were two things he had always wanted to see before he died–Grand Canyon and the Canadian Rockies. Fortunately, on this tour he was able to see both. We made his dreams come true. Richard said he will never forget the things we “saw” together and always remember the many new friends and the patience and kindness they all showed him. Can you think of any other job that provides this feeling of satisfaction?
Larry Bell