We had a wonderful time on this trip. Generally we do not participate in group travel, but did on recommendation of a friend. Yes, moving 24 people is at best difficult for the group leaders but they did so without effort. There was a wide diversity of ages, but everyone kept up with the pace. We saw 121 species. Franklin and Cindy wee patient and knowledgeable given the range of expertise of the trip. They really seemed to care about our seeing every bird we could. The food was belly filling. This trip could use an upgrade in the class and quality of the restaurants. Also fewer people in teh van would have made bird spotting more fun. Overall - a good time and well worth the money.

Regretfully, this is my last Road Scholar birding trip. That's because the problem is both the group size and the wide spectrum of participant's birding experience. 1. The number of people in the van is too large. Gtting in and out of the van is difficult. Seeing birds from anywhere except the front seat is impossible. The van is crammed! Three people per row isn't my idea of a "small group." The back of the van is HOT -- the air conditioning doesn't reach the back of the van. Getting 23 people to do much of anything takes too much time -- and by the time everyone's moved, the bird we may have seen is long gone. 2. Participants are of mixed birding experience which is a liability: We're experienced birders and do NOT want to spend time with spouses who don't have binoculars and who've simply "come along for the ride." The food selection was based on money only -- Mel's restaurant was less then mediocre and the service was awful. One might wonder if Road Scholar gets a commission from choosing these restaurants. The more SERIOUS problem is Road Scholar's inability to listen to its participants' feedback and make changes. I've complained about the size of the group in other Road Scholar experiences, but it's like talking into a tunnel with no one listening.

Great time wonderful learning experience if you enjoy birding this program is for you.

Program 11908

Birding in Southwest Florida, Jan 15-20, 2012

This program was on the go from early morning till 8PM most nights. We visited all of the birding sites listed for the program and probably some others too. If you love birding and like the outdoors this program is for you provided you have good stamina. The walks were generally easy; most were on flat boardwalks or pavements, and only a few were on beaches. Our birding guides, and driver/coordinators were Cindy Hackney and Franklin Adams. Both had a great knowledge of the birds in the area. We spotted 121 different birds over the four and a half days of the program.

The hotel we stayed in - Spring Hill Suites by Marriott in Naples FL, at exit 101 on I-75 - was excellent. The breakfasts were continental, provided by the motel and were ok to good. The lunches were picnics. They were provided by our coordinator who shopped for good sandwich or salad fixings every evening. In some ways they were the best meals of the day. Our dinners were at local restaurants near the motel most evenings. We ate at Mel’s Diner twice; the food was very good but the service was very slow. We ate at Cracker Barrel once and the food was better than I expected. Our organic supper in downtown Naples was tasty, but ir should have been thermally hotter.

This program could have used some down time every day. We were out of the motel and on the road from 7:30AM till after supper (8PM) on two days.

Pictures will be posted at: www.umassk12.net/photo