OSTC February 2022 Member Highlight!
The Valences
Each month we highlight another member so we can all get to know one another better! Since it's Valentine's month, we're going to highlight an OSTC couple! Member highlights are nominated and voted on by the OSTC board, then highlighted in that month's newsletter. That member will get the same set of Q&As! Read on for Chuck and Cyndy's answers:
How did you get exposed to travel and adventuring, what brought you to our club?
Chuck: The 20 years I served in the Marine Corps took me to places all around the world, which whet my appetite. I learned to scuba dive in Japan and have dived off-the-grid places like East Timor, Tinian and other places. Then I met Cyndy, who has just about the biggest travel bug of anyone I know!
Cyndy: Our big family trips growing up were to Disney World, and believe it or not, that’s where I got the first inkling that there is a lot more out there to see and experience. Chuck got me into scuba diving, where I got to experience the underwater world in Key West, Oahu & Curacao.
Our BFF’s, Earl & Laura Schuette, introduced us to the club! Earl served as President and tried for years to get us to join, but our focus was scuba diving…until we took an impromptu Thanksgiving trip to Aspen, where I was able to get on skis for the first time in my life and Chuck once again after 25 years. We. Were. Hooked! We joined the club the following year and traveled to Whistler and quickly realized that one of the best parts of traveling with the club is not only the friendships we’ve made and the camaraderie, but if you are at different ski levels, you’ll always have someone to ski with. While I was off taking lessons or on the beginner runs, Chuck could hook up with others to ski more challenging runs and I didn’t feel pressured and he was able to have fun! Thankfully, my skiing has improved over the years to where we now ski together.
What is your favorite OSTC memory?
Chuck: My favorite memory is probably during the 1st trip we took with the club to Whistler. While the ski conditions weren’t the best, the apes ski in the village WAS. I specifically recall the last night there and dancing like no one was watching…really let my hair down (while I still had some.)
Cyndy: We have so many! I think mine (just like Rose) is the long weekend we spent in Geneva March 2020. We were supposed to travel for 2 weeks in Switzerland and then COVID hit, everything shut down, and we had to come home. But that weekend in Geneva stands out because we had so much fun and really bonded as a group. Little did we know just how drastically things would change the next 2 years, so that foot-loose and fancy-free feeling we all experienced in Geneva is a memory I will cherish!
Where is your favorite place to travel to and if you could create your own trip, what would it be?
For both of us it’s Hawai’i. It’s where we got to spend our first wedding anniversary and visit with our Ohana, Earl & Laura, and where we’ve traveled back to several times with them. As for creating our own trip, there are so many on the list - Japan, Thailand, New Zealand. Cyndy's retirement dream is to live in a major city - US & Europe - for 1-2 months at a time over a 12 month period.
Hobbies, talents and interests outside of traveling:
Chuck: Bowling, working out, sports, working out, softball, and working out 😉
Cyndy: Reading, cooking (especially Spanish food, I make a mean Flan), voracious reader of current events and news
Fun fact no one knows about you:
Chuck: I once competed in a body building contest in College and wore a purple posing speedo 😎
Cyndy: I’m a homebody at heart, a Sci-Fi nerd (where my Trekkies at?!), and a former Nurse for 23 years.
