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It's the most wonderful time of the year for visiting the Big Apple!

It is with great pride and pleasure that we bring you the latest edition of The Traveler including your invitation to Spring Preview Day.  The date of June 8 just happens to coincide with Sports Leisure’s 45^th anniversary.  We hope you will join us for the celebration!  RSVP required – read about it on page 1.

New Vacations begin on page 11 featuring in-state trips to Mammoth, Mono Lake, Bodie and Hollywood, along with holiday adventures featuring Hearst Castle, Cambria, Solvang, Santa Barbara and The Ritz on Half Moon Bay.  Cruise fans will want to jump aboard the extremely well-priced repositioning cruise on Holland America’s Zaandam.  Our ever-popular Key West trip is also herein, heading out in January 2025.

Looking for holiday season travel a bit farther from home?  Consider our annual journey to Thanksgiving in New York featuring two Broadway shows and the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular.  A more homespun holiday experience is yours in the Appalachian Mountains with visits to Asheville, Dollywood and Nashville.

You’ll find pages of new Daycations with a spotlight on live theatre in the region through September.  We’re especially excited about a trip to Richmond focusing on the contribution of women during WWII.  All hail Rosie the Riveter!

Wishing you and yours a happy springtime. We look forward to seeing you on the road, rails and water soon. Your next vacation is only a phone call away!

Featuring a night at the iconic Hollywood Bowl

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

@ the Curran Theatre, San Francisco

Stops in St. Helena and Oxbow Market

It's time for our annual catalog, Wandering in Search of Wonder! We hope you’ll find within its pages something to help make your travel dreams come true!

Featuring three days cruising on a private yacht.

Orpheum Theater, San Francisco

Art comes to life in the most magical of ways.

Yoho National Park and Emerald Lake.

The state's culture, beauty, and history together in one vacation.

Seats are in sec. 224 C

Presented by the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival

Stay two nights in GRAND style on North America's favorite island.

In the high country of New Mexico are some of our country's most unique historical places. They celebrate our multi-national heritage and the people who lived on this land long before we did. Santa Fe is the third oldest city in the country, founded in 1610. Taos is a relative newcomer, having been founded officially in 1795. It was however, inhabited long before that, with the first mission dating back to 1615. Most historians and anthropologists seem to agree that the Taos Pueblo is the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America.

Butchart Gardens in the Fall!

Seats are in sec. 224 C

Featuring two Broadway performances at the stunning Tuacahn Amphitheater

Section 224C

Come with us on this culinary journey

The Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Devils Tower.

French countryside, historic Quebec City and cosmopolitan Montreal…it’s all here!

In August of 2023, a savage wildfire swept across the island of Maui, with the historic town of Lahaina directly in its path. Over a hundred people lost their lives and nearly 2,200 buildings were destroyed. It was a devastating time for the residents, many of whom lost their homes. Visitors stayed away in big numbers at first, but now are returning. 

East Sonora Theatre

Featuring the Blue Angels

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.

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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 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 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.

A weekend packed with high-rising fast-paced fun!