Travel Talkers Toastmasters

We explored new travel destinations at our meeting on August 3 with the theme of “Wide Open Spaces.” Our Destination Master, Samantha Jamwal, gave us these clues for her destination.

• This destination is a National Park of the United States of America.
• It covers 3.4 million acres.
• It has the highest recorded temperature in the world, 134 degrees Fahrenheit.
• It has the lowest point in the United States.
• Some of the Star Wars filming locations are here.
• It is the home of the mysterious wandering rocks.
• It is drier than the Sahara desert.
• It has 6 species of fish.

If you guessed Death Valley National Park, you are correct!

Kit Myers was our Travel Topics Master and she asked us questions about where and how we would like to travel to enjoy the many wide open spaces in the World. Would we prefer to travel to the Sahara desert or to the Transantarctic Mountains? Would we dare to take the Qinghai-Tibet Railway that climbs to 16,627 feet and requires oxygen for the passengers?

Would we prefer to take the Rocky Mountain Mountaineer train to travel across Canada or take the train through the Rocky Mountains from Moab, Utah to Denver, Colorado? To enjoy the expansive sky, would we prefer to watch the incoming storm clouds or the Perseids Meteor Shower?

Our speaker, Helen Josephine, shared four places she has visited that unexpectedly created a sense of serenity and tranquility in her during her visit. In her speech, “Experiencing Serenity,” she shared a personal story about each place, as well as photos and a quote from someone connected with each location.

Muir Woods National Monument, Mill Valley, California

“And into the woods I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” -John Muir

Bahá’í Terraces and Shrine of the Bab, Haifa, Israel

“Turn all your thoughts toward bringing joy to hearts.”-The Promulgation of Universal Peace, Abdu’l-Bahá 

Memorial Church, Stanford University, Stanford, California

“While my whole heart is in in the University, my soul is in that church.”-Jane Stanford

The Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek, California

“Well who cares if I am around or not. Someone will be around, and if I don’t plant it then nobody will get to see it.”-Ruth Bancroft

Join us for our next meeting on August 10 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “City Parks and Peaceful Parks.” If you would like to join the club, please contact Helen Josephine for an application form.

Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink

Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!

Helen Josephine,

Travel Talkers Toastmasters