The Traveler

Hello Sports Leisure Travelers and Friends,

Here’s a quick in-between-publications update from your partners in travel at Sports Leisure Vacations. Inside you’ll find your invitation to attend our annual Spring/Holiday Preview Day scheduled for Saturday, April 4 at the PBS KVIE Studios. There are two morning sessions at 9:30 and 11:30 for you to choose from, and complimentary shuttle service is offered for those who need a ride. Your attendance and/or shuttle ride requires a reservation, so give us a call. Participation is strictly limited to 200 per session and 55 per shuttle, so don’t delay. Call Sports Leisure today.

What exactly is Spring/Holiday Preview Day you might ask? It’s held every spring and is our opportunity to roll out all Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s-themed tours for the upcoming holiday season. In addition, winter tours to Key West, Yellowstone, Alaska/Aurora Borealis, Yosemite (staying at the Ahwahnee!) and Hawaii will be introduced. Finally, we give everyone gathered a preview of what we have in the pipeline for 2027 and beyond. Read all about it on pages 1-2.

Beyond that you’ll find a selection of new Daycations and Theatre Outings on page 3, and a summary of space-available tours from our 2026 Dream Book after that. As a special bonus fast-forward to the end and find the itinerary for Donnie’s newest dream vacation to Japan! If the Far East is on your radar screen, this is one trip you will not want to miss! 

Most sincerely,
YOUR Sports Leisure Team

Hello Sports Leisure Travelers and Friends,

Happy New Year from all your friends at Sports Leisure Vacations! We hope 2026 is filled with every good thing for you and yours. Whereas we may be a bit biased, we can think of no better thing to enjoy in the new year than TRAVEL. If you agree, then read on. This newsletter is most definitely for you!

We are super excited about the large number of New Vacations & Getaways presented on pages 9-14. There you’ll find the Laguna Pageant of the Masters, South Dakota, our annual trip to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, Ghost Towns of Nevada and the western half of Route 66 celebrating The Mother Road’s Centennial. Looking for something a little further from home that requires a passport? How about Oktoberfest in Canada (paired with spectacular Niagara Falls) or Mexico’s equally spectacular Copper Canyon?

In The Tour Calendar you’ll find vacations with space available from our 2026 Dream Book. Mark wants to be sure baseball fans don’t overlook Spring Training on page 15 which is now in final operations. Game ticket purchases must be wrapped up soon, so don’t delay.

We have an exciting selection of Daycations & Theatre Outings through July on pages 6-7 including the Phantom’s triumphal return to the Bay Area this summer.

Curious or concerned about changes at Southwest Airlines? That’s a story that is still writing itself, but you can read an update on page 5 in The Barber Pole.

We look forward to seeing you on the road again soon! Until then . . .
 

Hello Sports Leisure Travelers and Friends,

Here’s a quick between-publications update from your partners in travel at Sports Leisure Vacations. Inside you’ll find our 2026 Giants Baseball schedule, including a special opening game weekend overnighter. Scott brings you a chance to explore nature in the Carson Valley in February with an expedition focused on Bald Eagles who migrate through the area. Finally, Mariea and May have an excellent selection of Daycations and Theatre Outings to take you into the spring. All of this is just a taste of great things to come in our first newsletter of the new year which you can expect to receive in mid-January.

As the old year winds to a close, we pause with joy, thankful for the amazing gift of travel and the family we are blessed to share it with for 47 years and counting . . .

The Sports Leisure Team

Hello Sports Leisure Travelers and Friends,

Here’s a quick between-publications update from your partners in travel at Sports Leisure Vacations. Work is already underway on the next publication which is none other than our 2026 Dream Book. The working title is BEYOND BORDERS. We live in a great big state, nation and world. How far you go is only limited by your dreams. Let us take you to the next border and beyond!  Our tour catalogue for the coming year will be chock full of new destinations and returning favorites. It will be mailed and e-mailed to ALL active Travel Club members in late September.

As always, you’re invited to spend a few hours with us to receive tour information in advance of that mailing. Tour Preview Day is Saturday, September 20 with two 2-hour sessions starting at 10am and 12:30pm. We will return this year to The Sophia, home of the B. Street Theatre, located in downtown Sacramento on the corner of Capitol Avenue and 27th Street. Parking is available for a nominal fee in the garage behind the building. Complimentary shuttle service is also available. Your RSVP is required to attend and/or ride the shuttle. Read all the details on Pages 2-3.

We’re saving most of our new departures for Tour Preview Day, but included one carrot in these pages to whet your appetite. And what a carrot it is! A $550 million renovation has just been completed on an old friend - The Hotel del Coronado. It’s been a minute and we’re eager to return. How about you? It’s all on Page 4.

Mariea and May have an exciting selection of new Daycations & Theatre Outings running through the holidays. Check them out on Pages 8-11.

We look forward to seeing you on the road and at The Sophia soon! Until then…

Dear Sports Leisure Travelers:

Below is the latest edition of our newsletter, The Traveler.  Some readers of this newsletter attended our recent Spring/Holiday Preview Day at KVIE, where many of the new trips were rolled out.  I won't lie to you, some of the tour listed in this newsletter have very limited space left, in some cases only a couple of seats.  A couple sold out and are not listed.  Our office hours are 9am - 3:30pm, M-F, if you want you jump on a tour or tours now.  There are also a couple of new baseball day trips on the schedule, as almost all of the previously announced trips are sold out.  Mariea has also added a host of new day trips.

Don't be afraid to put your name on a wait list if your requested trip is full.  History tells us about 2/3 of the people on a wait list get an opportunity to take the tour at some point.  

There will be an "in between" informal newsletter at the end of July/first part of August.  The 2026 Tour Catalog will roll out at Tour Preview Day on Saturday, September 20th.

Thank you for your support and referrals to friends and relatives.  We are extremely proud to be your hometown tour company, supporting things in the community that are important to all of us.  I was reminded, as the Loaves and Fishes man joyfully placed the donated diapers and pet food into his truck at Preview Day, that small groups of people, working together, can make a difference in the community.  Your, our travelers, have proved that over and over again.  The sales of tours are wonderful, but seeing all of you at events or on the road, watching you rise to support important causes, reminds me this company is a little different than the rest.

Hope to see you on tour or on the radio (Saturdays at 11am) soon.

Mark

Welcome to the second edition of something new from Sports Leisure Vacations, the "In Between Newsletter."  

This is our way of updating you on our offerings between publishing our full newsletter (3 times a year now) or catalog (once a year).  Our web site is updated daily, but this gives you an opportunity to see what is available in a format that is quick, easy, and informal.  It’s also very up to date, because changes can be made right up until the day it is sent to you by email or regular post.

It is with great pleasure that we wish you all a joyous start to the new year with the latest edition of The Traveler. We hope you, your families and friends enjoy a happy and prosperous 2025!

Welcome to something new from Sports Leisure Vacations, the "In Between Newsletter." 

After going "all electronic" with our newsletter last year, we recently realized something. In the change, we left a lot of people behind. Either they didn't see the e-newsletter in their mailbox, or the settings on their computer sent the newsletter to spam, or....who knows. But at the recent Preview Day, comments from those in attendance made us aware of the problem. (Because we MAILED the newsletter announcing Preview Day, everyone got it, which is how we became aware of the challenge.) This publication is being emailed to all on our email list, then mailed by US Postal Service to those who asked (and paid for) hard copies of all newsletters.  

Changes in the Newsletter Going Forward
The next full newsletter will arrive in your e-mailbox AND by regular mail, about January 20th. We will publish quarterly full newsletters and email and regular mail them to all on our list. In Between those full newsletters, we will send out a blast like this one, with important updates and even some new trips. Those will be email only, with the exception of the 300 or so who paid $10 a year to get their newsletter by regular mail. If you have questions, send me a note (Markslt@aol.com) or inquire of our staff.

This will increase our communications from 6 to 8 times a year without a dramatic increase in cost and keep our members better informed. 4 regular printed newsletters (actually 3 and the annual catalog). It isn't perfect, but we think a step in the right direction. Your comments and suggestions are always appreciated.  

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The Travel Guys Radio Show - Saturdays at 11am on KFBK, or by podcast

For the past 17 years, Tom Romano and I have hosted a weekend travel show on the radio, KFBK, 1530AM, 93.1 FM. It can be heard at 11am Saturday mornings. The live show is turned into a podcast and is available to be listened to at your leisure. You can find the podcast at https://www.sportsleisure.com. While it is a general interest program, we occasionally talk about Sports Leisure trips.

Starting Saturday, December 7th, there will be a Sports Leisure update every week, at 11:33am, after the news break at the bottom of the hour. The purpose of the "Sports Leisure Minute" is to give you updates on trips. Perhaps something has been added to a tour, or a news announcement has prompted us to create a new tour. We hope you will tune in live or on the podcast to stay current with your favorite travel company.

***
Thank you for your support. Tour Preview Day overwhelmed us, but in the days since, we have placed over 160 people from wait list to the trip or trips of their choice. The point here is, put your name on the wait list. Sometimes we add an additional date (Wonder Valley/Redwoods/Kings Canyon, Laguna Pageant and San Juan Islands are three examples of tours where a second departure has been added in 2025.)

See you on the road or on the radio on Saturday mornings.

Mark

It is with great pride and pleasure that we bring you the latest edition of The Traveler.

It is with great pride and pleasure that we bring you the latest edition of The Traveler.