Many of us love to visit Theme Parks. According to a survey conducted in the first quarter of 2024, 61 percent of respondents in the United States enjoyed amusement parks. Theme park corporations in the US, UK, and China rank in the top ten by most number of visitors worldwide. The Disney Experience theme parks worldwide hosted over 157.3 million guests, making Disney Parks the world’s most visited theme parks, with United Kingdom-based Merlin Entertainments coming in second at 67 million guests. Theme Parks was the topic of our June 20th meeting. Our members and guests shared their experiences visiting theme parks as children and then returning to that same theme park years later as adults.
Our Travel Topics Master, Kit Myers, shared phots from Theme Parks in Europe, the US, and the Bahamas. We talked about rollercoasters, water rides and theme park food.
Meghan Burns presented the final speech of her Level 1 project for Presentation Mastery. Her speech, “It’s the Journey and the Destination” was a revised version of the speech she had given at the May 16th meeting. She incorporated the suggestions given by her evaluator to enumerate each tip to provide structure and to enhance the Zoom background to emphasize her tips about activities during airport layovers. Everyone appreciated the enhancements Meghan added to her speech. We enjoyed hearing her tips for how to spend time while waiting in airports–explore the shops, relax in the lounges, get a massage, watch the planes takeoff, and listen to the tower instructions to the pilots.
Our second speaker, Lisa Hamil, shared a poem with us, “The Stately Hills,” and a photograph of the view that inspired the poem. She asked us questions after reciting her poem about our reaction or feelings about the poem and the photo of the hills of this National Monument in Utah.
The Destination Master for the meeting, Helen Josephine, provided these clues for an area somewhere in the World:
- This area of Great Britain was designated a World Heritage site in 2017 and it is the largest National Park in Great Britain.
- Known for England’s highest mountain Scafell Pike (3,209 ft (978m) high) and sixteen major lakes, including Windermere, the longest and largest lake in England with a length of 11 miles (18 km) and an area of 5.69 square miles (14.73 km2), and Wast Water, the deepest lake in England (259 ft (9 meters) deep).
- This area is intimately associated with English Literature of the 18th and 19th centuries including poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge,and the children’s book author Beatrix Potter who is known for the Peter Rabbit books.
- Tourism is this area’s major industry, with about 12 million visitors each year, mainly from the UK, China, Japan, Spain, Germany, and the US. Hikers, trekkers, bicyclists, and mountain bikers flock to this area for its miles of open road and beauty. The Coast to Coast or Sea to Sea Cycle Route (C2C) is a 140 miles (230 km) cycle route opened in 1994.
If you guessed the Lake District in Great Britain, you are correct!
The theme of our June 27th meeting is “State Fair.” Join the Travel Talkers group for a fun evening sharing stories of your State Fair adventures. This event is for all travel enthusiasts. Engage with fellow members as they share their stories about traveling. Focus on your public speaking skills and get valuable feedback in a supportive Toastmasters-style environment. The meeting is on Thursday, June 27th from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm Pacific time. We want to hear about your travel and adventure plans.
Guests are always welcome to attend our meetings. If you would like to join the club, contact Helen Josephine for an application form.
Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
RSVP on MeetUp to let us know you are coming to the meeting.
We look forward to hearing your travel stories! Join us to be inspired to take your next trip.
Helen Josephine,
Travel Talkers Toastmasters
Travel Talkers Toastmasters 
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