Welcome to Walkabout International!
Walkabout is an all-volunteer non-profit organization offering over 850 local walks each year, numerous low-cost day trips, overnight travel, parties, potlucks, holiday celebrations and other activities.
Established in San Diego in 1977, Walkabout promotes healthy regular exercise, social comaraderie and discovering new places.
Celebrating our 36th Anniversary Year!
For walk details and more walks during the month of May click here
May Featured Walks
Here are some samples of the many walks that Walkabout leads every month. Go to Calendar and you will see the complete list. Be sure to take into account the pace and length of the walk before you choose. Walkabout also has day trips and overnight trips around the country as well as internationl travel.
For walk details and more walks during the month of May click here
Thu. May 2 9:00 am
AMERICA'S CUP HARBOR. Join Mark L. and Rob for a moderate one-hour walk around the recently opened
Promenade along America's Cup Harbor past the boat yards, fishing
fleet, famous seafood restaurants, etc., and back. Meet at the
Bali Hai Restaurant FREE parking lot on the east end of Shelter Island
Dr. by the circle. OPTIONAL: After, we will join the Shelter
Island Walk & Talk Bunch for a second hour along the bay, followed by an
optional lunch or free stretching class. (See next walk).
Repeats every Thursday. Mark L. (619) 964-3097.
Sun. May 5 9:15 am NC
RANCHO SANTA FE OLE! Start the cheerful Cinco
de Mayo day off on the right foot by dancing along festive footpaths and
tantalizing trails in the "lake district" of this cozy community on a
3-hour, moderate-plus paced prance over mixed-up and down
terrain. Scenic delights beckon around each corner in this remarkable
realm. Look for Larry in front of the Rancho Santa Fe Library at
17040 Avenida De Acacias near the corner of La Granada (route S-9). BYO
water; rainwater cancels. Larry@walkabout-int.org (858)
755-1751 (evenings and weekends).
Mon. May 6 10:00 am
CROWN POINT AREA BECKONS. Start out your
week with beautiful scenic views of Mission Bay and nearby homes as a
guest leader takes the group on a moderate to moderate-plus paced flat walk for about 2 hours with a pause for coffee or yogurt.
Take the I-5 to Grand Ave. and go west to Lamont St., turn left on
Lamont St., then right on Crown Point Dr. to meet at the west end of the
parking lot near the restrooms. To use public transportation, take
the trolley to Old Town and board the #9 bus at 9:10, get off at La Cima
Dr. and walk 3 blocks east to the parking lot. Rain cancels. Kathy L. (858) 484-0349.
Tue. May 14 10:00 am
TUESDAY WALKERS VIEW CORONADO GARDENS.
Since this is the height of the season for Coronado's award-winning
gardens, meet Fran W. at the Library on Orange Ave. between 6th
and 7th Sts. for a moderate, flat 1.5-hour walk as we view some
of the area's most beautiful gardens and homes. Optional lunch
follows. Rain cancels. (619) 271-7107.
Mon. May 20 6:00 am
SUNRISE
SERIES: crystal pier. Oh, what a glorious morning (we hope)
as you meet Verna at Crystal Pier at the end of Garnet St. in
Pacific Beach. Come whet your appetite as we walk along the
boardwalk at your own pace for 1 hour. Give your attention
to all of your senses as you see birds and perhaps clouds with a rosy
color from the sunrise (or maybe fog?), smell the odors of the salty
sea, the whiffs of breakfasts being cooked at the coffee shops and small
eating places, and then you can really enjoy the taste of an optional
breakfast at our favorite spot overlooking the open sea. There'll be
your leader and a “caboose” to make sure none of the slower walkers are
late for breakfast. (619) 276-3055.
Tue. May. 21 3:00 pm
Talmadge
Travels. Stroll the streets named for the three
Talmadge sisters of movie fame as we view beautiful gardens and some
Moorish architecture. Meet Evelyn K. at the corner of Euclid and
Monroe Aves. (1 block north of El Cajon Blvd.) for a moderate,
flat 1-1/2 hour walk. Bus #1 stops at El Cajon Blvd. and Estrella
Ave. (east-bound) and El Cajon Blvd. and 47th St.
(west-bound). Rain cancels. (619) 461-6095.
Wed. May 22 10:00 am
GOLDEN HILL MANSIONS. We’ll enjoy some local
history on this casual jaunt for about 1+ hour with some slight
hills. Golden Hill’s location was perfect for wealthy businessmen in
the late 1800s, and its closeness to downtown is still very appealing to
today’s young professionals. Join Larraine at the corner of
25th and A Sts. Optional lunch follows plus our usual
visit to a Mexican bakery and maybe the fire station. (619)
583-7644.
Mon. May 27 10:00 am
Memorial Day
at Mount Hope Cemetery. Let's visit some of San Diego’s
pioneers' gravesites as we walk around these mostly flat, beautiful
grounds at a casual pace. We'll see Union, Confederate and
Spanish American War gravesites as well as those of the famous. Maybe
we will see the trolley as it bisects the park. Meet at the visitor
office off Market St. east of I-15. Optional ceremony for Civil War
Veterans may follow. Rain cancels. Pat K. (619) 469-6223.
Featured Trips
SENSATIONAL SWITZERLAND June 23 – July 7, 2013
Once again, Walkabout heads to the land overflowing with the most spectacular scenery accessible by foot – Switzerland. Savor sauntering through the renowned vineyards overlooking Lac Leman near Montreux; into the realm of traditional cheese-making above Gruyère; through the heart of the Berner Oberland surrounded by the triumvirate of Swiss mountains – the Monk, the Eiger and the Jungfrau; around the serene green waters of the lakes embracing Interlaken; along the steaming streams of Europe’s highest hot springs resort, Leukerbad, just a peek away from the majestic peak of the Matterhorn; and even venturing into the cozy principality of Liechtenstein where Queen Elizabeth’s royal family has escaped to vacation at the border with Austria – which we also will dip into.
BEAUTIFUL BOISE, ID and TRAILING of the SHEEP FESTIVAL
October 10th to 17th, 2013
Join Stan Follis and co-leader, Walter Konopka Jr. for an 8-day (Thursday - Thursday) exploration of southwestern Idaho. We will fly to Boise and coach to the Sun Valley area for a few days in this mountain paradise, usually visited in the winter, but we will see it in the fall and the “Trailing of the Sheep” festival. Our accommodations will be at the Christophe Condominiums in Ketchum, ID. We will see the Sawtooth Mountains and Craters of the Moon National monument.
For more information on these trips click here.
Dan Haslam will lead more than a half dozen trips for Walkabout in 2013
A week-long trip to the Washington, DC area is planned for spring (May) with highlights including a tour of the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport (never done by Walkabout before), and a tour of the Frederick Douglass home museum in Anacostia.
We will also visit New York City for a week (perhaps in September), probably commuting across the river from NJ to make the trip more affordable. An educational/cultural trip to Cuba is in the planning (no date set), and a trip to New Orleans in November is likely.
In the early spring (April) we’ll plan a trip to Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA, and the dogwood and other spring flowers should be blooming.
In the early winter (Nov.- Dec.) we’ll fly up the CA coast for a trip down Highway 1 along the northern CA coast and an opportunity to walk in redwood forests.
Other possible trips include a fall trip to the Biltmore estate in Asheville, NC and the Blue Ridge mountains, a Cape Cod-Boston trip immediately after Labor Day, a fall foliage trip to the Northeast Kingdom in Vermont, and a summer camp week (July or August) at the Poland Springs Inn in Maine.
If you are interested in any Walkabout trips for 2013, you should call the office and place your name, email address (or a friend’s email address) and phone number on the interest list for that trip. We already have lists in place for most of these trips. Once the leader has additional information on the trips, you will receive that information on a priority basis. It’s likely that most trips will fill from the interest list so that a further advertisement in SDFeets may not be necessary.