Jim Quinn's Endless Adventure

Jim Quinn's Endless Adventure

Jim Quinn’s “to do” list is 400,000 miles and two decades long. Since 1985, the Zionsville, Pa., resident has been crossing dreams off his agenda.

The dreams, in this case, come in the form of adventures lived and lessons learned at programs run by Elderhostel—a worldwide travel and learning organization for people 55 and older, which has 11,000 programs in 100 countries.

Enrolling in 268 Elderhostel programs in 50 states and three foreign countries, Quinn, 76, has shot rapids in Oregon, skied in Colorado, sailed in Maine. He’s tried ballroom dancing, writing poetry, kayaking, stand-up comedy, and scything hay. He’s toured Hemingway’s home, Carlsbad Caverns, the Gila Cliff Dwellings, and New York City. He’s studied bird watching, pottery making, calligraphy, volcanoes, and the meaning of life.

“We have a few people with over 200 programs, but Jim tops the list,” says Destina Gakopoulos, Elderhostel spokesperson. “Once people experience Elderhostel, they keep coming back.”

Quinn didn’t know about Elderhostel when his daughter’s friends teased her about his gray hair. To prove he wasn’t old, he parachuted from an airplane and gave his daughter, Chrissy, the certificate.

“The next day I thought, ‘There are probably other things I can do,’” says Quinn, who developed 60 goals. When the last of his seven children enrolled in college, the widower hit the road, intending to wander about the country in pursuit of adventure.

“When I discovered Elderhostel, I said, ‘Eureka!’ This is exactly what I want to do&Mac226;’” Quinn recalls. “I signed up for nine (programs) without talking to anyone.”

Elderhostel’s educational element includes lectures by experts. Participants also do field work and behind-the-scenes activities. “They’re unique experiences you wouldn’t get just doing a tour,” Gakopoulos says. Meals and accommodations are included in the program’s fee, averaging $105 a day for American and Canadian programs.

Driving 25,000 miles for more than 40 weeks a year, Quinn schedules an Elderhostel experience about every 300 miles. An all-season wardrobe fills his back seat. He packs books on bird watching, geology, and drawing cartoons, and carries a coffeemaker in his trunk. After heart surgery in 1996, he added nitroglycerin patches and a cell phone.

In the classroom, Quinn learned ballet, clogging, Greek mythology, and photography. “I wasn’t into long-hair music,” Quinn says. “Then I went to the Peabody Institute of Music and thought, ‘Why did I wait so long to be exposed to this?’”

A clowning workshop spurred Quinn, wigged in blue, to perform at hospitals, senior centers, and kindergartens. Creating a 23-inch puppet was another highlight. On the flip side, shooting rapids turned harrowing when the current threatened to bash his raft into rocks and, another time, strong winds grabbed his hot air balloon, requiring Quinn and his companions to bang their basket into trees to slow down.

The veteran traveler chooses locations featuring his children’s interests—running, mountain climbing, fishing, and art. “I took Elderhostels where I could learn how to do those things,” he says. “I do things we can enjoy when we’re together.”

Quinn returns to Zionsville from time to time to stay with his daughter, Elaine. Traveling has gradually phased out neighborhood friends. “I’m never lonely at Elderhostels,” says Quinn. “There’s always something happening.”

“Jim Quinn is so energetic,” says Bob McGill, director of the Bittersweet Ozarks Adventure in Branson, Mo. “He participated in all the craft activities. He painted gourds and carved wood. He asked a lot of questions during the lectures and went on all the field trips.”

Quinn gave up running a marathon and learning to sing. Of his original list, he still aspires to fly an airplane, wind surf, catch a 10-pound fish, play a tin whistle, and hone his waistline to 36 inches.

“I turned 76 in September,” Quinn admits. “I want to run off a mountain and hang-glide. And I haven’t been to South America—yet.”

Victoria Cox is a frequent contributor to American Profile.

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